Noviette and Novia

Essie had just returned from the hospital stay when Mary (the children's home nurse) came over because Essie was about to be rushed back to the ER. As we were running frantically, tripping over the Nebulizer cords, and trying to count heart beats, she mentioned that a little baby needs to come into my home. Her mom is crippled and I need to do something about it. It stopped me in my tracks for just a minute as I was already flustered wondering if the newborn in my arms was still breathing. I said we will talk about it later but left it at that. A few days later, the baby's story was mentioned to me again and I mentioned that I would like to visit the family and assess the situation in their village. Little did I know what I was getting my self in to. We jumped on the back of motorcycles and drove the uphill battle for 3.5 hours. We got off around 11 times and had to climb over big rocks and track through mud filled paths while the moto drivers pushed the moto through. After falling off twice (due to the back tire sliding on the mud or hitting a big rock) my sore, bruised, and muddy body made it to the top. There, I found a hut. Smaller than my bathroom. Made of mud, leaves, and rocks. And I found a girl. Not much younger than I am, sitting outside that hut....with no hope in her eyes. She was crippled. She has club feet and a mental disability making the daily rituals of bathing and using the restroom by her self impossible. Her eyes met mine as she spoke in a gentle soft voice that I was the first white person she has ever seen. My heart broke into a thousand pieces. How? Why? Who? Who could have shattered her joy? Why would someone ruin her dignity? How in the world did she birth this baby? This tiny baby that is 2 months old but has only eaten watered down crackers since the day she was born was birthed by this young teenager who's joy was stolen from her. Noviette was raped. The neighbors were all in the gardens working when someone came in and did this to her. She carried Novia, birthed Novia, but because of her mental disability she doesn't really understand the meaning of being a mom. She's handicap and needed just as much help as her tiny baby. After communicating with the locals around, I went up to Noviette and invited her to come live with me. I told her I would love her and her baby and take good care of them. She would no longer have to be afraid of the dark hours of the night, or the hunger pains that she's immune to, or the fear of life itself. I told her I have soap at my house and her eyes lit up. Soap. Something we take for granted but is treasured gold to her. As much as I dreaded that awful ride back down the mountain, I had peace. Peace to bring a teenager into my home filled with babies. Peace that I could somehow show her the love of Jesus and help her feel loved and worthy again. I gained 2 more girls and now I have a family of 10. Watching them grow and thrive is the best feeling in the world. Noviette needs a lot of help...mentally and physically. Novia needs lots of prayer as her little body is underweight. But I have a good God that loves us with an everlasting love. The devil meant to harm her, kill her, shame her. But God used it for good. God used it to bring new life to them. To give them their hearts desire....food, shelter, and love.