As I continue to answer God’s call to care for widows and orphans, and
to work with everyone at our organization with the same calling, we
find it can be a heartbreaking task. This story has had me at my desk
in tears for most of the day. All around the office we’ve been
grieving. As we pray comfort for Pelile, and for our teams in Africa, I
feel called to share this story with you…
Read what these
two World Racers have to say about Moses, the baby they were given to care for in
Swaziland:
From Megan:
I climbed into the backseat of our kombi after a long
morning at the care point, expecting a semi-normal answer to the question, “How
was your day today?” When I turned to our ministry contact Pastor Gift, he
replied, “We got a baby today.”
“We got a baby today?!” I said
back to him a bit confused. He proceeded to tell me a story that ended with my
team caring for the tiniest baby boy.
Mcolisi (or Moses as we call him)
is four weeks old, and his mother Pelile is suffering from AIDS. She has not
been able to feed him because she is no longer producing milk. She has four
other children, and now is teaching her eight year-old how to “mother” her
siblings.
From Traci:
Krystle and I took Moses to the hospital. After some blood-work and
x-rays, the doctors decided to treat him for pneumonia and malnutrition.
Krystle volunteered to stay at the hospital. This morning around
quarter to six, Gary came in to tell me that Moses had passed away. Apparently,
he just stopped breathing.
It has been a roller-coaster day. Pastor Gift,
Aaron, and I rode down to Nsoko to tell Pelile. She was crying, but
consolable. I have been a mess all day. Back and forth-sometimes laughing
while we play cards, and other times breaking down. I know that this was all a
part of God’s plan.and that awareness has been raised about situations like
this.
My question is: What will you do? I want to know what you will do
to prevent this. What will you do to encourage me to never be the same; to never
take life for granted; to never waste a second thinking about what I can do for
someone else’s life?
There is so much tragedy in this story. The tragedy
of a mother’s life soon to be cut short by AIDS and TB. The tragedy of her
children who will be left behind as orphans, the oldest an eight year-old girl
who’ll soon be “mom” to her siblings. The tragedy of Moses, a precious baby
whose life was cut short.
And yet, the greatest tragedy is one you might
not realize – the tragedy that this is normal in Swaziland.
Everyday there, children are orphaned by parents dying of AIDS. Over 130,00 AIDS
orphans are struggling to survive in Swaziland now. Everyday, children die of
disease and poverty, without parents to care for them, without food, without the
proper medical attention. Most of them die unnoticed and unknown… until now.
Today, you’ve heard Moses’ story. You know about this beautiful little boy who
impacted the lives of so many in such a short time. Though he never had the
chance to grow up, other children can – with your help.
Now it’s time to
answer Traci’s question:
What will you do?
He was only a few weeks old,
but his short life can help bring hope and life to thousands of children in
Swaziland. Today, give a gift in memory of Moses. Today, help change tragedy to
hope!
to give a gift in memory of Moses, and choose “Nsoko
Project” from the drop down menu.
*To read more about Baby Moses, visit these links:
how can i love one boy so much??
