Miracles Come in Different Sizes
KENYA — It was feeding time, and we woke up the little girls, named Naomi and Ruth, and were allowed to feed Ruth while Mary fed Naomi. The babies are very small, about four pounds, but their skin is very loose on their arms and legs.
An account in the Kenyan newspaper, Daily Nation, reads, “Woman dies of hunger days after delivering twins…breastfeeding mother had been surviving on a diet of water since giving birth.” These little baby girls had been fed nothing but water with sugar and salt added for 17 days before being brought to Springs of Hope abandoned baby center just a few blocks from our home in Machakos (We have known Mary, the director of the home, since 2007, and had visited in May when we took four large bags of clothing for the babies and small children).
We made an appointment to visit and took our remaining newborn clothing and blankets for these tiny babies. We were warmly greeted and ushered into the “nursery.” It was feeding time, and we woke up the little girls, named Naomi and Ruth, and were allowed to feed Ruth while Mary fed Naomi. The babies are very small, about four pounds, but their skin is very loose on their arms and legs. The good news is they have both gained a few pounds since arriving at the home. Ruth was very alert while I fed her and Naomi cried, which was a good sign, as she hadn’t made much noise since her arrival in Machakos.
Last week we donated several packs of Pampers and cans of powdered baby formula for the babies. Mary has seven babies younger than three months old in the nursery with one waiting at the hospital for her. At present there are 47 children at Springs of Hope. The maximum capacity for her facility is 40.
It is certainly a gift from God that these two babies could survive this ordeal. They are in good health, and are going to have a future in a place of warmth and love. Two other siblings accompanied their sisters to Machakos—a two-year-old named Lucky and their sister Nthenya, who is seven. These children will be kept at Springs of Hope until the father can care for them properly. However, food in their area is very scarce, and a minister, Pastor Nicholas Muia of the Living Water Ministry in the village was quoted as saying, “There was little that neighbors could do as nearly all of them faced the same situation.” This area is considered semi-arid, and everyone that lives there is suffering from drought for the past 3 years. Why do the people stay? It is complicated, and there is really no place else for them to resettle, as this is their ancestral home and they have always been here. They are poor and have no funds to try to move somewhere else in the country.
Why am I writing about this account? The place we work and the area our children live in that we provide support for are very near this village, probably about 20 kilometers away. When we drove out there Saturday, the earth was parched and dry, with no grass or crops growing anywhere. This is the worst I have seen it since coming to Kenya in 2004. No crops can be planted again until November of this year, and only if the rains come.
Don and Jenny Weaver
Missionaries to Kenya
Project Number 0650838
Jabez Children’s Program
Project Number 1029015
© 2009 Church of God World Missions
