day sixty: grace and redemption

i am convinced that a child's smile is one of the most redeeming things on earth. when God made us, He put more of Himself in this majical expression of joy, and saved it, only giving it to us when we are young. you can be having the worst day, and everything can be turned upside down when a kid bestows this gift on you. its like, your heart remembers what love is, what joy is, and you live in that moment for the rest of the day.

i never knew that joy until eddy. maybe its because i have invested so much of myself into him, that when i see him happy, it makes all the difference in the world. in truth, i dont know why, but it lifts my heart heavenward.

its amazing what a few short weeks can do, the difference that can be seen in them. ive already written about the state eddy was in at first. sick with way too heavy a burden for anyone, let alone a child, malnourished to the point of starvation, unresponsive, uncaring, just taking each day as it comes, waiting for death.

three days after, the light in his eyes was returning. i heard the sound of his voice for the first time- its so sweet. i still smile every time i hear it. i got my first glimpse of a smile, heard the first fragments of a laugh. two weeks later, eddy is a different person. if he isnt babling away about something, shuffeling around, or sitting contentidly with a smile across his face, you know something is wrong. no longer does he just sit and wait. he is not content with being ignored. and if he is feeling it, you know it : )

he is becoming more confident in himself. if ronnie, mom, or myself, are around, he will tell us when he needs anything. i love when he asks me for anything, even if i dont always understand him, and if at all i can, i love getting him what he asks. sometimes, im worried we are spoiling him, and we probably are, but after four years of neglect and witholding of love, i think a little excess is in order.

when ronnie or i come home, he comes running to us from wherever he is, or at least, as shuffling along as quickly as he can. its adorable. and theres nothing better than scooping him up and while he laughs gleefully.

he is still shy around strangers, but he's getting better. we are working at acclimating him, building his confidence in social situations. we bring him to the kids home once or twice a week, though hes still scared of them. who wouldnt be, when you are the size of a toddler, and dozens of kids are towering over you, running every which way? he is becoming fond of the neighbors as well. and when we walk down the road with him, he loves to point out all the different things he knows the names of, while waving to the shouts of all the kids, muzungu, muzungu! (they are calling to me, and muzungu means white person, but he waves anyway)

i think im getting carried away, and im sure most of you have lost interest by now, but what i want to say is this. this kid is a daily reminder of Gods grace, and is teaching me more and more how He loves us, His children. each day that eddy lives, he gets stronger. every breath he takes, every time he laughs, every step he makes, is evidence of God's healing presence in his life. and its a beautiful picture of how He has saved us, brings us to Himself, makes us stronger every day.

apart from that, im going to jinja this next week. ill be working with a girl named renee, who is running a ministry out there, doing a biweekly feeding ministry and also taking in kids, nursing them back to health. i have a few other contacts out there that im looking forward to getting in touch with as well. it should be a good experience, seeing God's hand in another place, with other people.

there is a lot more i would love to say. i waited too long since my last update, and now i dont know where to start. so instead, i just said what was on my heart, and thats eddy. maybe ill be able to do another of these soon. God is working mightily here, and i feel privledged to be a witness to it.

one last thing. we took eddy and charles for HIV/AIDS testing on monday. after a long day of anxious waiting, we got the results that they are both negative(which means aids free)! God is good!

in His arms

jon