Meet Eric

Eric is maybe 8 years old, or 5. No one really knows. His teeth show maybe he is 8 but his body says 5 and his waist says 3 months old. Last night a neighbor came and tried to drop Eric off at Mattaw. We said we don't take drop ins and would have to have our social worker investigate and write a report. This morning we went to Mattaw to give Noah his medicine for a runny nose and ended up giving Juma, Nelima and Gracie medicine for a horrid cough. I asked about the boy that had come last night. They started to describe him and my heart quickly woke up. I told Vivian to go and bring him. Our neighbor happened to be at the hospital for a minor thing and while there some nurses were asking if anyone would be willing to take this child. He has no mother and the father had taken him to the hospital but quickly abandoned Eric. Our neighbor knew about us and has been to our church a few times so she brought him. As they walked in the gate I saw Eric on the woman's back. When I met him my stomach just caved. His face was swollen, his eyes almost shut. His feet were badly swollen and he had wounds all over. They then lifted his shirt and I wanted to cry. His frail little body was shriveling up to nothing. His ribs sticking out and veins popping out. His back had scabs all over. I had no idea last night that this is the child they were talking about. Hollie and I were talking about how different it is for us than for most Kenyans. They see this happen often. If we would of found the child, I'd be calling Bud saying I'm bringing a child into the emergency room immediately. He was just in rags as clothes. I went and dug out an outfit in the container. I grabbed some shorts not paying attention to the tag. Right before putting them on him I realized they were pants for 0-3 month old and they fit him just right. When I showed him the slip on shoes he got the biggest smile. He was so happy to receive a nice new looking jacket. His voice kinda sounds like a raspy frog. From talking with him last night they gathered that he has no mom and was locked up in a house while the dad would go to work. He didn't know where he came from or who any of his neighbors were. It is absolutely heart wrenching! So we loaded him up and off to Sister Freda's hospital we went. This is the same place we took Mary who was on the verge of death due to mal-nourishment. So we thought. This little boy looked way worse off than when we found Mary. We came by the house to check on the babies and got some food to take with us. I gave Eric a piece of bread and he chowed it down quick. They said not to feed him much because his tummy can't handle it. We got to Sister Freda's and as always had a warm greeting from the nurses. They quickly got him registered and into a bed. They then started taking blood for all sorts of tests. There is also some missionaries from the Ukraine helping out there. One of them got a bucket of hot water and started washing his legs and massaging them to get the blood flowing. We were told there is an American doctor around for a week that specializes with kidney problems so he will take a look at Eric as well. When taking blood they had to poke on his arm several times before finding a vein and putting an iv in him. I got really weak and dizzy watching. They finally used a super thick needle and got it. I sat and held his hand. It was very cold. I told him in my chopped up Swahili that he was going to get better and not to fear, God has a plan for his life. I told him how much Jesus loves him. I asked him if he knew and he just kept silent. When we left I made sure he understood we'd be back. I would of stayed there through the night if I didn't know without a doubt that he's in good care. Tomorrow morning we will go and see how he is doing and find out the test results. We already got good news on one test that he does not have AIDS. Please pray for this little boy. Also if you're interested in paying for his medical bills, let us know. We wont know how much until the next couple of days. My heart is now wide awake and about to jump out of me for little Eric. This is Eric...

When I was digging out some clothes for him off of the container I was reminded of a saying that my hero Heidi Baker often says (irismin.com) and it's so simple, I just love it. "Love the one in front of you". That is our life calling to love the one in front of us. Whether it's the person sitting next to me on a plane, a child on the street, the person next to you in class, a co-worker, the guy selling the paper on the corner or the woman selling roses. Love the one in front of you. Today for me that was Eric. It's moments like this that I can feel the heartbeat of God. This is what I was created for. To love my Jesus and love the one.