“You may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again that you did not know.” -William Wilberforce
Today was Yennifer’s “going home” day. As morbid as this may sound, I never thought we would see this day.
I remember vividly the day she was brought in. I wasn’t even sure she was alive at first. She was 6 years old and only weighed 9 pounds. “How is this even possible?” I thought to myself.
Her skin was dry and flaking off in areas, her pulse was thready and beating at 38 beats per minute, her breathing slow and still. I choked back my own tears as we undressed her to do a full assessment. She didn’t stir, she didn’t fight, she didn’t even wince. She was much too weak for any of that.
Her mom stood across the room, watching our every movement and choking back tears herself.
But this is the story of rural Guatemala. This is the story of hundreds or maybe even thousands of children that are stuck in a life of famine. Already impoverished areas are struggling to find food because of the drought.
I once visited a home and saw four children waiting patiently at a table. “What are you waiting for?” I asked them. “We are waiting for breakfast.” I looked at my watch. It was 11:45, nearly time for lunch. There was no fire built to cook and their mother sat on a hammock, desperately trying to squeeze out another drop of milk to her starving baby. I asked them what they had eaten yesterday. “A tortilla with some salt,” the oldest boy spoke up, realizing that he would be lucky to receive the same meal today.
It’s hard to change the demographics of an entire country, but we sure can try. And it starts one child at a time, no matter how sick, no matter how hopeless.
Please pray for Guatemala and Hope of Life.
You are loved,
Whitney
More “going home” pictures!
She looked at me and burst out laughing. I expected her to be happy, but I was a little surprised that laughter was her response. Did she not see the remarkable change?! “His color is better, he is not longer malnourished or dehydrated, his pneumonia is gone and he can breathe easily, he’s grown so much!” I thought to myself.
“He posed with his pinky fingers up in both pictures.”
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
And while she stood there and giggled, enamored by her beautiful son, I was moved by the smile and the joy of a mother who a few short weeks ago was stoic and hardened by her situation. She argued with me that she did not want to come and receive help and that her dying baby would be just fine. I truly thought that day if she didn’t accept help, baby Marlon wouldn’t make it. (And he probably wouldn’t have.) While I don’t have a before and after picture of her, I can promise you that she found hope here. She found healing here. And the day we rescued Marlon, we also rescued her. As captivated as she was about his two little pinky fingers, I was even more so captivated by her. Her joy, her bravery, and her story of healing.💛 Thank you Lord for letting your light shine in the darkest and most hopeless areas of Guatemala.
These stories are so painful…but so necessary to let the world know of the crushing need. We are grateful for what the Lord is doing through you and Bryan. Glad to be a part of “Team Saulton” in Guatemala.