little Irma

Last evening, just as we returned from a long day in clinic in San Andres, Duane got a phone call from a pastor out in Mixcoloja. Mixcoloja is a tiny, mainly Mennonite community, out in the middle of nowhere at the complete opposite end of our valley. We have know Pastor Humberto and his family for many years but recently worked together with them to help Candalaria - the woman who had lost her home. By the way, she just had her baby, is living once again in her home, her husband is back and has rededicated his life to the Lord. God is certainly good!! Anyway, Pastor Huberto said a woman had come to them with her very sick baby, and they were hoping that we could help them. Mixcoloja, fortunately has a very rough little landing strip and by air is only 5 minutes from our house. It would take about 5 hours to get to them in car. So we packed up a few supplies and flew out to see them.

We were greeted by a small group of Mennonites with a little Indian woman and her two children sitting in the middle of them. Irma, a little over 2 years old was so sick with pneumonia. She was dehydrated and malnourished - weighing only 17 pounds. Her 4 year old sister was malnourished as well with a swollen face, hands and feet and an enormous belly. Maria, Irma's mom is 7 months pregnant. She held her baby out for me to examine and I thought my heart would break. She was so listless and pale. I told Maria that we needed to take Irma into the hospital but she shook her head and said that her husband would not let her...there was no money. They are buying enough corn each day to get through the day. There is no other food...no beans, no rice, not even salt to put on their tortillas. Their entire corn crop died in the field this year. So we gave her an antibiotic and some pedialyte and some food and then we prayed - entrusting her to a God who sees and knows the injustice that this family is suffering. As we prayed, all I could think of was Matthew 10:29 which says "Aren't two sparrows sold for next to nothing,,,and yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father's consent....so don't be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows." I told Maria that Irma was like one of those little sparrows and that God had not forgotten them. Pray for this little sparrow...that God will heal her body and that this family will understand that He is a kind and merciful God who always cares for His children.