I sent this out on Facebook last week, and then the week got
very busy with no time for emails, blogs and communication. Last week
Alejandro, 2 years old, went in to get tests run because he wasn’t feeling
well. According to his brother, who I interviewed for a video, he thinks his
brother is in the hospital for fainting. So I assume he must have fainted and
then they started with the testing. A week ago Monday (almost 2 weeks ago) he
came at the end of the day with his mom to pick up his brother and cousin, they
showed me the bottom lids of his eyes and said the
doctors said he had very bad
anemia and were going to run more tests. The next day we found out he had been
admitted into the hospital and were running tests for Leukemia. Last weekend we
were waiting for the results, and Monday we found out he does have Leukemia,
although it doesn’t look like it’s the bad kind, but only time will tell. This
past Tuesday we had the chance to go and visit Alejandro and Marcela (his mom)
in the public hospital. From what I understand the public hospital is
completely free, which is a huge blessing for a family from this community. We
had to put on (I’m drawing a blank on the word in English)… smocks/aprons, and we
could only stand at his bed for a few minutes because of our germs. Zulema
wasn’t able to go in because she had a cold. We prayed for Alejandro and
Marcela and got to give Alejandro his birthday present, since he was going to
miss our big birthday celebration for all the kids. We went during visiting
hours, but it wasn’t a good time for Alejandro. They were giving him more
treatment and he was in a lot of pain. His mom said that a group of visitors
came with stuffed animals and since Alejandro was in a bad mood, he said he
didn’t want one. Then a little while later, he sat up and told them, “I’m going
to be in a good mood, I want a stuffed animal now please.” She told me he was
also telling his nurses about Miss Jenny and counting for them. I talked to his
grandmother yesterday and she said they had to move the IV from his foot to his
hand because his foot had swollen up so bad from everything they were putting
in him. I will keep you posted, but pray for Alejandro and his family. He turns
3 years old this Wednesday.
Yesterday we celebrated the Birthday’s of all the kids in
the ministry. I measured their feet and bought everyone a brand new pair of
shoes and a toy, then we loaded up my car and in two trips we went to Popeye’s Chicken.
It’s hard to describe or understand that Popeye’s is a huge treat for these
kids. We think McDonalds of fast food is just an option when we don’t want to
cook. These kids never go to eat fast food because they cannot afford it; they
all dressed in their nicest clothes for the trip. The kids loved playing in the
play area, eating fried chicken and biscuits. It was funny, the ladies I work
with didn’t know what a biscuit was, even as they were eating it. When we got
back to the daycare, ready for naptime, we cut a birthday cake and opened
presents. It was very hectic, but the kids enjoyed celebrating their birthdays!
Thank you to everyone who helped make this possible. If you would still like to
donate specifically for the birthday party, please let me know. 12 out of 20
kids were sponsored for this party ($25 per kid), so the rest came out of my
monthly budget. God has always provided, so I was not concerned about
sacrificing for this special day, but pray about if you would like to give to
this specific event. I was planning on sending out this blog earlier in the week,
but with looking for shoes and toys in over 10 different stores, and 3
migraines this week, the blog was not written until Saturday night.
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| David (Alejandro's brother) |
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| Heydi and Oliver enjoying the food |
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| The first part of Juan's present (shoes!) |
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| Seun (mom) holding Eliana, showing her new shoes |
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| Oliver and Genesis pausing for a picture |
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| the gifts before they were wrapped |
Please continue to pray for my health. I’m finally back to
eating normal from the stomach sickness, but the headaches the past two weeks
have been very frequent. Also pray for my preparation and travels for furlough.
I will be connecting with supporters and traveling all over the States. Thanks
for your prayers, encouragement, and support!!
