He will redeem.

Tiny 20 month old Alex snuggles up against my chest.  My heart cries out, 'why is this happening?  Why is he still losing weight after living at GSF for almost 5 weeks?  Why will he still not eat very much?  Why does he have no will to live?'  Then I stop and I remember.

Precious Alex

I remember when Leticia. '"For I know the plans I have for her", declares the Lord.'*

Leticia Before

Leticia Now

I remember Philip.  'For my plans for him are good'*

Philip Before

Philip's 13th Birthday {A couple days ago}

I remember Isma and Moses. 'For I won't let evil and disaster win against Isma and Moses.'*

Isma on arrival at GSF

Moses Before

Moses and Isma Now

I remember Richard 'For I have given him a hope.'*

Richard Before

Richard Now

I remember Gracie  'I have given her a future.'*

Gracie Before

Gracie Now

I have to think, that if God could redeem Leticia, Philip, Isma, Moses, Richard, Gracie and so many others, he can redeem Alex.

“For I know the plans I have for Alex,” says the Lord.  “Plans for good, not to let evil win against him, to give him a hope and a future.” ~Jeremiah 29:11

Please join us in prayer for little Alex.

*A paraphrase of Jeremiah 29:11, changed to add in the kids names.

Lighting up!

I posted my last blog post on my Face Book wall the other day saying 'Welcome L&G! Ha - LG - isn't that an electric company?' 
My grandma commented and said 'They'll light up your world!'
I was pondering that comment because neither of them had been smiling much (I had seen them smile, but had heard that there had been a few smiles) and they both looked sick and scared.  Not much of lighting up my world picture.  I began praying that they would light up the world.  That God would make them happy little girls at GSF. 
The first time I met Gloria she was with her Jaja (Grandmother) and she was a little bit scared of me.  This was about the best picture I could get of her (right).

When I first met her

When she moved to GSF she wasn't actually scared of me but still I could no smiles or interaction.  This was about as good as it got.

But a week later ...  I was asked (by someone else in her house) to come down to her house to see all the girls, but they really wanted me to see Gloria.  And the quick 5 minutes in her house proved very successful - with pictures of Gloria and her housemates SMILING!  This is just about the only one of her by herself.

She's lightin' up this little part of the world!  I will save you from having to look through all the others (especially since my internet is so slow).
Little Letty (Leticia) is smiling more too.  I don't have any pictures of her smiling yet.  She has a very bad rash and is sick as well.  She is being cared for by one of the other missionaries for a few weeks.  A few days ago I was able to sit and just hold her for a long time when all the missionaries got together.  She would almost fall asleep but when someone would walk by she would wake up again.  She would just look into my eyes for a long time - it totally made my day (No, I didn't have my camera).
In other news of other kids who are 'lighting up' - Ben is ... well, getting darker ... but that is just his skin.  He is lighting up and is awake a whole lot more.

Sorry I made the words at the bottom too small - they say, 1 week, 3 weeks, 5 weeks

The rest of this I wrote a while back, but just haven't gotten around to posting it.

Here are a few quick updates on a few kids who I wrote a good deal about earlier but haven’t written about for a while.   Also in here are a few quick prayer requests.  Thank you for your continued prayers for all these kids.

1.      Babirye and Kato.  You may remember these two cuties from August (Mercy Ministry - twins).  Look at how much they have grown and how much their personalities have come out (I know, I can't capture a persons whole personality in pictures)

3.      Philip.  The change we have seen in Philip is amazing!  You would never guess that almost 5 months ago we were told he would NOT make it home without a BIG miracle and sent home 3 weeks later as a very sickly boy.  He has gone from 18 kilos when released to 27 kilos.  (Aug. picture credit of Nurse Meredith)

4.     Sebastian.  Sebastian is doing really well.  He is talking a lot and loves copying what others say.  I will try to write more about him later because there is a lot you haven't heard.

5.      Faziri.  The word now is that Fizo most likely doesn't have Hertzpurung (I really don't want to try to spell that again) but they aren't sure what he has if he even has anything.  I will keep you updated.

Yeah, I think that's all.  If there is someone I used to write about a lot but haven't in a while or someone you have been praying for because of this blog but haven't heard about in a while you can comment and tell me if you would like to know more (sorry for that run-on sentence).

An update on Philip + picture of Susan

Philip (right) with Benji

Many of you have been asking for 'Philip Updates'. I don't know if I have mentioned it before but the hospital that Philip is in, is not close to GSF. He is in Kampala, which is two hours away. So, my mom and several others were able to go when they were in Kampala and today some house moms went to visit. The other updates have all been from his auntie by phone. Those calls have been few. That is why updates have been few. The calls usually don't contain enough information to write full blog posts about. So, this is kind of a combination of those phone calls and visits. The latest news is, he is doing better but doesn't want to eat. He does want bananas, apples, and yoghurt however. He has been threatened with a feeding tube.
Hopefully he will start eating and will not have to go on a feeding tube so he can come home soon.

Philip soon after we came to GSF

Current Prayer Requests for Philip:

• That he will have an appetite.
• That he will be able to come soon.

Susan hasn't been at school much this week so I just got this picture today.

Prayer

I am writing this post for several reasons, all of which involve prayer requests. Thank you everyone for your prayers!
This is a very special little boy ... Philip. He is very special to many ... all over the world. Many are praying for him everyday. On Wednesday he was diagnosed with a very serious type of Pneumonia. Every since Philip was little he has lived a very difficult life. The worst part is that no one can do anything to help him ... he will always have a hard life. Why? Because he has that awful disease called HIV. So, all that to say please pray for him.
As I said earlier Philip is special to very many people. Why? Well, because he can put on those puppy dog eyes and look sad and make you want to give him as many bananas and fruit snacks as he wants. Because of skinny little legs and that bandage that is on his ear a lot. Because he is silly and when he starts acting and dancing you can't help but laugh. (he is the one on the right in this picture the other boy is one of his good friends, Geoffrey.) And because he has an amazing smile.
And really just because he is special.

On Wednesday I went to devotions with the preschoolers. At the end one of the teachers brought a girl who is about 6. The teacher said 'We are going to pray for this girl. She is ever sick (she is sick a lot). Her name is Susan. Everyone hold out your hands and pray for her.' That is exactly what we did. I do not know exactly what is wrong with this little girl, how old she is, or where she lives but, I know her name and that she needs our prayers. I do not have a picture of her right now but I will post one of her as soon as I get one.


Well, that is all - thank you for praying!