From Then Until Now

From Then Until Now. One year. Wow. It has been a whole year since La Limye opened the doors and welcomed in the first baby girl. One year of lots of laughter and lots of tears. Memories that I’ll never forget and celebrations that will forever be engraved in my heart. One year of learning the ropes to being a mother figure to the most wonderful group of girls. One year of sleepless nights and bouncing through the hallway 10000 times trying to get the babies to sleep at 2am. One year of watching these girls hit milestones and beat malnutrition like warriors. One year of more sickness’ than my body has ever had. One year of crying out to Jesus and leaning on the only shoulder I had, His. One year of learning to be more independent and taking care of others before myself. One year of answered prayers and joyful recoveries. One year of dodging bullets and gas bombs. Lockdowns and plan B’s. One year of falling more and more head over heels in love with my Savior. Of risking it all for the sake of the gospel. One year of trial and errors. One year of failing, asking for forgiveness, and trying again. One year of grace and mercy given by Abba. One year later with 33 employeesand 7 children. It has been a whirlwind of a year but a blessed one for sure. I have learned that without Jesus, none of this would be possible. Annia, from 16 days old to 1 year old: You made this last year possible. I remember the day I got you. March 24th 2016. I had no idea how to take care of you. You were my guinee pig. You are my sunshine. You keep me breathing. Now you have the biggest personality in the house and are spoiled rotten. You, my child, are a gift from God.

Noldine, from three and a half to four and a half years old: you are my sidekick. You love to help out around the house and entertain your sisters. You have yet to master counting to 10 but you already have bible verses memorized and for this, I am well pleased. You have a servant’s heart. You say “Mommy Ellie” about 500 times a day. Seek the Lord for he is good. In the last year, I can count on one hand the number of times you have cried. You have never whined or thrown a fit. You always stay calm, even in a house full of crying babies.

Dachena, 13 months old to 2 years old: Little diva, you love your clothes and hair barets. You think you are theboss of the house and that’s ok. You love to sing even if you only know a handful of words. You came to me weighing around 13 pounds. Skin and bones. Everybody that meets you, falls in love with you. You are worth more than jewels.

Ciarha, 5 months to 17 months: The house was starting to get crazy when you arrived. But you made time stand still. I remember rushing you to the hospital. The doctors snatched you out of my arms and left me on that cold hard hospital floor wondering if I would ever see you again. I remember the journey to get you a blood transfusion. 8 hours waiting at the blood bank. I had one task. To put the blood bag in my cooler with ice and rush it across town to your hospital before the ice melted. You did it, pretty girl. You are a miracle.

Ketchina, 2years old to almost 3 years old: My special girl, I still have yet to get a diagnoses of what type of syndrome you have and how to help your disabilities. But we are working together and overcoming a lot of obstacles. One day you will be able to feed yourself, and drink out of a sippie cup, and speak. I fully believe it…but until then, I’ll enjoy this stage of life. Amanda, 2 months to 10 months: You are the easiest baby. Your chubby cheeks and head full of curly hair make your scrunched nose grins that much cuter. You weigh 19 pounds right now and have no desire to learn to crawl. You are the best snuggle and the happiest baby.

Ina, 18 days to 6 months: You are my baby and I don’t want you to grow up! You already are crawling and growing so so fast. Your big brown eyes remind me that you were made in the image of God. I pray you grow to be a follower of Jesus and love him more than life itself. He has big plans for you, pretty girl.

Melody, one day: My heart still drops when I think about it. Loosing you was the hardest thing I have ever had to go through. But I am forever thankful for the time I had with you. I am forever thankful that you were number 8 into La Limye. I am forever thankful that you get to spend every second with Jesus Christ. I am a little bit jealous. You were a part of this year….and I would never change that.

To all of my supporters, pray partners, family, and friends, with all of my heart, I say thank you. I truly could not have gotten through this year without you. You help this ministry together. You saved these girls out ofdarkness. You feed their bellies and educate their minds. You are the hands and feet of Jesus and not a day will go by that I do not thank my King for your gifts and sacrifices to make this mission possible. God is so good. Today I look back and see His hand in it all. He is the only reason I’ll press on. My heart and soul praise you God. you are all I need. You are all I want.

Melody

I don’t even know what to say. My whole being is numb. Every ounce of my fiber cries out. If only I could hold you one more time. Kiss your sweet cheeks one more time. Listen to that still small tune that flowed out of your mouth... one more time. She was born in the wee hours of the morning on February 26th. Her mom wanted her dead…but she was rescued. Then the mom fled. Perhaps it was the plan all along. She became number 8 into La Limye. She was so beautiful. I cleaned her up since she hadn’t been cleaned after making an entrance into this world, and I wrapped her up nice and warm and frantically called hospitals to see who could help her. I was scared as I held her three pound body so closely to mine. Living out in a rural area of Haiti meant no doctors close by with the materials needed that could help. She needed a place that had the resources to take in premature babies. So we made the drive. Over an hour in the car as I kept my hand on her little heart to make sure it was still beating. When we arrived, I rushed inside, hoping for a miracle, but it was too late. Melody died just a few minutes before arriving. I knew the reality but couldn’t believe it so I moved her around trying to wake her up. She was just asleep I thought. That sweet small tune had just came out of her mouth. The nurse kept checking…hoping I was correct… and then she said the words that will forever ring in my ears. “I’m sorry. She’s not breathing.” I gasped for air and started to shake. I felt sick to my stomach and the floodgates opened. This was my baby. I already had a crib made for her. I already had friends buying preemie clothes and teeny tiny diapers for her. I gave her a name. Melody. I already fell in love with you. You already met your new sisters and already captured my heart. Melody…the sweet tune coming from your mouth would only be a voice clip on my phone now. I stood there and stared at your lifeless body on that table. Racing through the emotions and feelings. Wondering if I did something wrong. I couldn’t believe it. My head felt like it was beating out of me, I didn’t think there was any more water left to pour out of my eyes. The only think I could do was clinch my fist and imagine squeezing Jesus’ hand as you busted through the gates of heaven and ran into your daddy’s arms. I can’t eat. I can’t sleep. The images are on replay in my mind and they won’t go away. But you are good. So good now. You are dancing on streets of gold. You are laughing and smiling and that sweet tune coming from your mouth is now chanting Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty.  I will indeed miss you…but I know you are looking down on me. Telling me to press on. To hold my other girls even tighter. To be happy. Because you are happy. I don’t know how or even when I’ll learn to cope but I can lean fully that one day “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:4 Have fun with Jesus, sweet girl.