Our God is Healer.

Half asleep and trying to remember if the girls had everything they needed for school, I walked Micha and Jessica down the stairs.  As I bent down to kiss them bye, my eyes were drawn to someone sitting outside on my step.

I walked over and saw a small, young woman holding a tiny, lethargic child.  As I asked her what was wrong with him, she explained that she had been to the hospital with him almost a month ago because he was having diarrhea and throwing up.  She said they gave him medicine for both of these things, but the medicine was finished and nothing changed.

As I looked at this child whose eyes could barely open and who at nearly 2 years old didn’t even have the strength to hold his head up, I knew we had to act soon.  I felt his head.  No fever.  Felt his belly.  BURNING up.  Probably a parasite.  Looked at his fingernail bed and in his eyes, they were almost white.  Severe anemia.  SO skinny except for his belly and full head of red/orangish hair.  Severe Malnutrition.

I called our friend who is a doctor in Port au Prince and told him what was happening and the child’s symptoms.  He was able to get us an appointment immediately with a doctor only about an hour away. (Praise God!).

For the next week his mother Darlene brought him by our house at 8:00 am sharp so I could check on his medicine, make sure he was eating and just get to know them.  Religiously, she brought him early every day.  We talked about where she was from and how she ended up in Gressier.

As the story began to unfold even more we found out more about her living situation and her plan.  She was planning on bringing Jezilo to an orphanage after he was feeling better, because she wanted to find a job.  After finding out this plan and that she was sleeping under a kitchen table in a house that they were about to get kicked out of, I asked her and her precious baby boy to come live with us.  And asked her to come work with us.

Jezilo (or Baby J, as he’s been nicknamed) and his mom Darlene have lived with us for almost 2 months now.  It has been such a joy to see her be mentored by Tachi (our amazing Haitian superwoman who lives with us and also has a 2 year old).  Tachi has taught her so much and modeled so much of how to love, care for and be gentle with her baby.

I never cease to be in awe of God’s timing, his omnipotence, his path.  To see another story of healing right in front of my eyes brings so much joy to my heart.  Jezilo is the most precious, joyful but gentle child that loves dancing, singing and smiling.

It is Amazing to see God as healer.  And Even more amazing for my girls to see the healing power of God.  They still talk about when they would try to play with him and he would cry and scream.  They remember seeing him in pain, confused and mad.  But they understood what was happening.  About a week into meeting Jezilo, Jessica tried to touch his face, as Jezilo pulled away angrily, she gently looked at him and said,  “It’s okay, when Jesus heals you, you will want to play with me.”

 Now, this little boy loves playing (or is tortured sometimes) with Micha and Jessica.  He LOVES dressing up and is a beautiful and changed child.  A Healed Child.

In Exodus 15:26 God proclaims…“for I am the Lord, your healer.”   

Jehovah Rapha.  Literally meaning, the Lord who makes bitter things sweet.  Healer God.

 

Jezilo is a running, laughing and joyful example of who Jehovah Rapha is.  God the Healer.  OUR Healer.