Kenya 2009 - Part 10

Martin And A Football

Martin, our five year old (or even six), who has the body of a three year old, in one day had HIV, pneumonia, chicken pox, meningitis and tuberculosis running through him. And he is still alive. This in itself is a complete gift from God.

Today, after six days in the hospital, Martin was discharged. He still has a ways to go but he looks 110% better than what he did when he was going in to the hospital.

He is staying with us for a few days. Since we are only a few minutes from the hospital, if there are any emergencies that come up in the next day or two, we are only a short ride away back to the hospital. And of course, we felt that it would be best for him to stay with us to get some complete spoiling of love and attention. :-)

This afternoon, Daniel was standing by the veranda door, looking outside. He called my name and told me to come and look. [Uncle] Sean had taken Martin outside to play. There was Martin, whom was on way to death, kicking around a football with Sean…a huge smile on his face the whole time. And as Daniel said, “This is why we are here!”

Thank you everyone for your prayers, for your encouraging words and your support. It has truly meant a lot to us.

Much love!!

xoxoxo

Martin....hanging out in the grass.

Martin and his football...

Getting the well deserved and needed rest...

Kenya 2009 - Part 9

Our Little Strong Martin

Wow!!! What a past few days this has been.

As you all know due to the prayer request and blog update that our little weak Martin was admitted in to the hospital on Thursday. At the time of this news, I was with the women from the PA team at our Neema girl’s house. We came together and prayed for Martin.

On Thursday evening, Nicole and I went to the hospital for a few hours, laying our hands on Martin, praying for healing. While Nicole and I were at the hospital, the rest of the team stayed back and prayed for him.

On Friday afternoon, we heard that his condition had not changed. Most of the team was outside in the yard, getting ready to play football (aka soccer for you North Americans) and before the game started, they got down in the grass, on their knees and prayed for Martin. I put in the Hillsong CD, This Is Our God, and played the song “Healer” a few times, praying and claiming the words the song said for Martin.

Over the past few days, our friends and family back in North America have stepped up in prayer over Martin as well.

And this is the text message we got from Anne, just an hour ago…

“Praise the Lord! He can talk and walk and he has gained appetite. I am excited.”

Yes! Praise be to the Lord! For He has heard our prayers and has answered them. He is our Healer, our Comforter and that has been so incredibly evident this past week.

We continue to pray for Martin; for complete health.

We also want to thank EVERYONE for your support and prayers. For when two or more are gathered in His name, there He is.

We love you all!

Meredith

Healer – Hillsong

You hold my every moment

You calm my raging seas

You walk with me through fire

And HEAL ALL MY DISEASE

I trust in You

I trust in You

I believe that You’re my Healer

I believe that You are all I need

I believe that You’re my Portion

I believe that You’re more than enough for me

Jesus, You’re ALL I NEED

Nothing is impossible for You

Nothing is impossible for You

Nothing is impossible for You

You hold my world in Your hands

Kenya 2009 - Part 8

Not Saying Goodbye, Rather “See you in a little while”

I remember when my grandmother died on February 3^rd, 1998. I remember the pain that ripped through my heart. I remember going to the funeral home and seeing her lifeless body there. I remember that no one could console me. I was devastated with her death; the one woman who knew me better than anyone, whom I had a bond with so strong…I couldn’t imagine her not being a part of my life. I couldn’t imagine her not being in her rocking chair ever again; I couldn’t imagine another Christmas without her. A part of me changed that day…a part of me went missing.

On Tuesday, July 14^th, in the afternoon, we got the devastating news that our sweet nine year old Veronica passed away. She was HIV positive and had contracted chicken pox. The chicken pox were just too strong for her weak immune system.

As I was given the news of Veronica’s death, the same pain ripped through my heart as it did when my grandmother died. As I attended the funeral of Veronica, seeing her lifeless body with her beautiful innocent face, looking as if she were only sleeping, the only thing that could console the unbelievable ache that I was feeling, was consoling one of our other children.

Veronica was nine; my grandmother was in her sixties. My grandmother experienced most of her life; she got married, had children and even knew most of her grandchildren. Veronica will never know of marriage; she will never hold her own child; she will never have grandchildren.

But what both Veronica and my grandmother do know is the love of Christ. They know His face; they know His love.

We are left here on this earth, in sadness, trying to answer the questions, trying to mend our broken hearts, trying to not miss Veronica and the beautiful, spunky and loving spirit she brought in to our lives.

The only thing that I can hold on to is the picture of Veronica, healthy of any disease and pain, dancing around, singing loudly….perhaps with my grandmother….hanging out with Jesus.

I won’t say goodbye to Veronica, instead I say, “See you in a little while!” And then we can dance and sing and hang out with Jesus, together.