The Sick Baby

Sunday we were at church when Mrs. Brenda (a volunteer worker from Oregon) noticed a little girl carrying her baby brother. Here it is not uncommon for children to be responsible for their baby brothers or sisters. Brenda saw that this baby was not well so she picked him up and he was nearly lifeless. He was so week and so hot from a fever. She took him to the pharmacy to get some medicine and they told her he would have died that day or the next. Brenda spoke with the mother and she said she had already taken him to the hospital, but he did not get better so she just gave up. This baffled me that a mother would send her dying baby boy with her 8 year old daughter out in the 100 degree weather. Some things I will never understand but I am so grateful God put them in our path to pray for and get medicine. The sad thing is that this baby is one of many of the stories. The medical care is limited in Yendi and none in the villages. I realize how much we take for granted our access to medical care. A flu or cold to us is not life threatening, but to them it may mean death.