My Christmas Miracle!

It was a Saturday morning in December and Alicia and I were out on the town picking up last minute items we wanted for Christmas. Alicia’s phone rang and it was Matt wanting us to come home because he wanted me to look at a sick baby. I am a baby lover so my heart did a little jump. We finished up and headed home to examine said baby who was waiting on the porch in the arms of her Papa. As soon as I saw her it just tore at my heart. She was so pitiful. Her tiny body was swollen from malnutrition, there was diarrhea leaking out of her diaper. It was obvious that she was in severe pain but she was so weak that when she tried to cry it just came out as a pitiful little mew. Matt asked me to examine her and see what I think so brought her inside and opened her diaper to change her. What  I saw sent prickles all over me, her little bottom looked like it was almost rotting away! The skin was peeling off in sheets leaving raw bleeding sores and the diarrhea was burning it. It was just awful. This poor baby was totally stiff, she couldn’t even move her limbs. I just knew this baby was not going to last long in this condition and that’s what Matt felt too; so that is how a precious little love story began!!

Just look into those fearful, pain filled eyes!

The first days and nights were a challenge but I loved every minute! I followed the instructions for re-feeding that I learned at the Missionary Medical Intensive classes I took before coming to Haiti. Every two hours around the clock I fed her two ounces of diluted milk and sugar. I could not give her more for fear of overloading her malnourished body. That first night I spent all night pouring over her feverish little body, praying for her and just asking Jesus to please show me what to do for her. I gave her a warm soapy bath then massaged her for a long time with coconut and lavender oil. She was so tiny and precious and helpless. We rocked and sang hymns for hours just like Veronika and I used to. The intense care and the feeling of helplessly relying on God for healing brought back so many memories of Veronika’s baby days! Once again I saw God’s healing touch on this small baby’s body. He cares so deeply even for tiny, sick, babies! Within days baby Jenny had lost a lot of fluid and was a lot more comfortable, not so stiff all the time. She quickly recognized and preferred me and her eyes became a little less anxious looking every day!

 

And then she began to thrive and gain healthy weight! She began to smile and even giggle. I fed her soft nutritious foods, avocados, bananas, cooked carrots and lots of little veggie stews, cream of wheat, liver pate… I was so thankful to my sisters for sending me a supply of real butter and coconut oil which is all I used for her. Its no wonder she loved to eat! She got so excited when she saw me stirring up little messes on the stove!

 

Jenny was such a dear, dear baby! Perfect in every way; getting healthier and happier with every passing day! Her and Veronika got very attached.

Her eyes got all sparkly and she lost the stiffness in her limbs. She became very soft and cuddly!

One day she even got to try fries and ice cream! Veronika taught her how to open your mouth really wide so as not to lose any ketchup when the fry goes into your mouth and I taught her that if she screams really loud after every bite of cookies and cream ice cream the next bite will come bigger and faster!! That little girl adored ice cream!!

I kept trying to get cute pictures of my two babies together but the results were always a bit topsy turvy! So we tried this:

But that wasn’t the most flattering moment for any of us either!! So we mostly took separate pictures!!

These were darling days filled with precious baby love!!

Just look at those bright joy-filled eyes!

The little princess is sound asleep! Her tummy is full of warm cream of wheat! She fell asleep while she was eating and slept for hours!! And look at that smooth baby skin, as soft as angel breath from all the coconut oil!

And then the time came to say, “ Goodbye.” Baby Jenny was strong enough to go live with her Papa again.

I held her tight and tried to just absorb everything about her; her smell, her wet kisses, her tiny hands touching my face. Dear baby girl, how I love you!

Then there was nothing more to do but give her one last bath, dress her one last time, one last bowl of warm mush, one last snuggle, a couple pictures…

and then she was gone.

The month that I had baby Jenny is a month that I’ll always remember as one of the highlights of my life. She was such a perfect baby- crying when she needed something and happy when her needs were met. She was soft and cuddly and playful!

I am so thankful to God for thinking about starting people out as babies and so thankful that I had the privilege of loving and caring for another tiny girl even though it was not nearly long enough.

A Motherless Baby

There is nothing that stirs my heart like a motherless child. Could there be anything more lonely and empty to a child than to be with out the touch of its mother? Such was the case of Lovenie a nine month old baby girl who lost her mother last month due to an extended sickness. One day she was a cared for and nursed by her loving mother and the next she was suddenly left hungry and crying in the arms of her father. Her father loved her enough to make the most loving choice he could find- to let her go.

Lovenie is a sweet, cuddly little girl and it is a joy to care for her!

I’d say Lovenie is pretty happy with this Mama!

Just look at that smile! Ergo babies are happy babies!

Polenta a la carte

The latest food craze I’m on is this simple dish made quickly with inexpensive ingredients probably found in almost every kitchen. I simply call it polenta with fried eggs but if you want to be fancy it could be called Polenta a la carte!!

To start with you chop some onions and garlic and sauté them in oil or butter if you’re rich enough to have that on hand. Next add either chicken broth or water with chicken bouillon cubes and salt. Bring that to a boil and add cornmeal- any texture you want, its delicious with course grits or with fine ground it just depends what you have on hand. Cook it for a while and then add some milk or cream just like a half cup or however much you need to make it nice and creamy but still thick.  Then put the lid on and let it sit while you fry the eggs.

For the eggs- melt butter or margarine in a pan and let it get hot but not too hot then crack your egg open right in the middle of your butter or if your paranoid you can always put it in a small dish and then transfer it to the hot pan. However you do it please be so careful not to pop the yolk. After you have it in the pan hover over it with eagle eye, adjust the temperature accordingly to cook it nicely with out making brown crispy edges. When the white part turns white gently take a spatula and expertly flip it to the other side once again being ever so careful with that golden yolk. Leave it for about 2.5 seconds and then grab a plate put a big pile of polenta in the middle and then lift the egg and place it right smack in the middle of the polenta.

You will feel quite excited at this point which is normal! Grab the salt grinder and grind madly over the egg and then repeat with the pepper grinder. Sprinkle lightly with cayenne pepper and a good size pinch of fresh chopped parsley. Whisper a prayer of thanks to Jesus and then dig in!!

Just look at that liquid gold running out warm over the hot, creamy polenta! Its exploding with flavor and unexpected richness pared with  fresh parsley that adds a touch of freshness! And its all common simple ingredients put together in just the right way to create a masterpiece that will make your taste buds sing and hearts happy!

Devensky

A couple weeks ago I had the blessed privilege of caring for Devensky for two days. Devensky is a small boy maybe 4 or 5 years old and he came to our cholera center along with a group of others who came for treatment. They had to travel for hours to get here and by the time they got here small Devensky was almost gone. Thankfully the nurse who was on duty got an IV started right away and saved his life. The problem was that he was so severely malnourished we were afraid his body couldn’t handle all the liquid and indeed within the first hour his little stomach was big and tight. We wanted to transfer him to another hospital right away but there was no one who was willing to go along with him. None of the people who came down with him wanted to be responsible for him and in fact two men who came with him slipped away quick leaving one old lady here to take care of three ladies and little Devensky. Unfortunately this lady was not interested in wasting time on him so there was no one to take care of him. He was almost dying and needed someone so Mike asked me if I’d be willing to take him till we figure out what to do. Of course I jumped at the chance and I got to take care of this precious little boy.

He was so pitiful and thin laying there on the cot in the hospital all by himself. It just broke my heart.

I thought he was going to break when I gently gathered him up in my arms and carried him to my soft bed. The first thing that was in order was of course a warm bath!! There is little that compares to the joy of bathing someone like Devensky in warm soapy water. When I took the warm washcloth and started gently washing his face he just smiled! He was so dirty the water actually turned brown.

Judging from the bottoms of his tiny feet I doubt that he’s ever worn shoes or socks; not only were they covered with black grime but they were calloused thick like the soles of shoes. Washing those feet and massaging them with coconut oil was pure joy!!

What a beautiful boy! All clean and sweet! Sleeping peacefully!

And then the worms came! I guess they were pretty hungry and decided to go find some food. Out they came from both ends! Unbelievable amounts and some the size of small snakes- even out of his mouth!! It was so awful I just wanted to sob.

The first night we didn’t know if he’d make it through the night but by morning he seemed to feel better so after another bath and some clean pjs he sat up and tried to eat a bit of breakfast.

But alas, every time he would drink a little something or take a bit of food he’d get this sick look on his face and hold really still for a long time and then sure enough an evil worm would come out of his mouth. And he passed fistfuls of big fat ones in his diaper.

Then he stopped eating and drinking all together. We couldn’t get him interested in anything. I even tried a sucker which he took and put in his mouth for about two licks then he was done with that too. He was completely uninterested  in life I got the feeling that he was trying to die.

Finally I just realized he might be more than I can handle right now. What if he would die just because I wanted to keep him and couldn’t admit that he needed to be somewhere he could get more care than I had to offer. So after two days and nights of loving on him I let him go. He is at Real Hope For Haiti which is a rescue center for children just like Devensky who are severely malnourished. They were delighted to have him and I trust he is doing well under their experienced loving care.

I am so thankful I got to be a small part of his life. I wish many times I could have done more for him but I release him to God and trust he will work everything out for good in Devensky’s life!

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Do In Remembrance…

In October we as a staff were blessed to be able to have a lovely communion and foot washing service hosted by John and Deb Rumble from Washington. ( Wendy Levy’s parents )

Here Deb and two of her granddaughters mix the dough for the unleavened communion bread.

Willing sister hands knead the dough smooth, blending the individual ingredients. Working it together till it forms one big happy union just like all of us blending together and with Christ until we are all one body melted together.

Teaching little sister hands to make the bread. The bread we eat to help us remember how much Jesus loves us!

We roll it out gentle, cutting each piece with care! The older teaching the younger just like Jesus said!

This is my body broken for you and as you eat it remember me~ Jesus

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”    Luke 22:19

This is my blood poured out for you and as you drink it remember me ~Jesus

And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the covenant in my blood. Luke 22:20

“ If I then your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.”  John 13:14,15

The older woman bending low to gently wash the feet of a busy mother.

Real life gets messy, people get messy, trials are hard, and patience wears thin but in the middle of it all we stop to remember… remember Jesus, remember love, remember why we are here!!

It’s a Yoder thing…

Legend has it that many years and many generations ago there was a Yoder who once died a slow, awful death of starvation. Besides the fact that it was a Yoder and that the death was long and painful there aren’t many details. Its just one of those facts of life every Yoder knows and accepts. The knowledge gets passed from one generation to the next right along side stories of Aunt Fannie falling into the creek while wearing a new dress she was proud of and Grossmommy putting a cup of milk and graham crackers at little Sammy’s bedside in case he gets hungry during the night. ( I actually own the original little brown cup- I got it at Grossmommy’s auction. )

It is because of this fact that us Yoders are always worried about food. Its why Dad insists on putting a pack of cheese slices into my purse before I board that plane for Haiti and its why Aunt Kate used to go to gross gma with a hefty slice of chocolate pie stashed in her diaper bag supposedly for her children or maybe it was for her unborn baby!! And its why she still takes food in her purse- only now its in case one of the grandchildren gets hungry.

I know how it is- slipping that peanut butter and honey sandwich or a wedge of cheese into my purse in case I get light-headed. I know very well how it feels  when all the peers smell like fancy perfume but somehow mine got lost by the overwhelming scent of ham sandwich or sweet bologna cubes that I’m hiding in that cute purse- the cute purse that might not even have money in it! The following photos are the insides of two Yoder purses before leaving on a two hour road trip. These photos are genuine- not posed. These purses were packed with careful forethought they are meant to sustain life.

Now as a mom I do it for sure. I rarely if ever step out the door without water and a snack for Veronika and more than enough to break and share with others like Jesus broke the loaves and fishes that the little Yoder boy carried along when everyone else forgot!!

In a lot of ways Veronika is so thoroughly Yoder you’d never guess she wasn’t biologically a Yoder! To her the food issue is as alive and well as in any of us and in fact because of her early starvation and close to death experience as an infant it is very strong. She loves food, loves to eat and loves to cook and yes, she must carry a spare honey pot.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Two and a half years ago I was doing this:

And now my precious baby is doing this:

just look at those thighs!!

Veronika is a hopeless baby lover just like me. We are praying for another baby to take care of and love on!!

Nearly every day of Nika’s life she has seen Mommy do this:

Just look at her writing in her journal!! Looks like she still needs some lessons in holding the pencil!!

Today we are doing this:

Before I know it Veronika will be doing these things on her own. That is the chain of life- a mother teaches her daughter, the daughter grows up and teaches her daughter… generations come and go and traditions are passed from one to the next for hundreds of years!

I love this Mommy thing! I love this passing from one generation to the next! This is the way we love babies, keep record of life in our journals, mix up a chocolate birthday cake, butcher a pig and knead the bread. This is how we do our part to make the world go around.