Thursday, August 26, 2010

God's Gift of Hope

Hilary's first visit to the Chavuna-Chinjawa area had a tremendous impact. On our way back to the station she cried because the conditions were so bad and Ana's half brother and sister were so sick. We told her that each time we were able to go out to the village we would take food supplies out to them. That made her feel better for the remainder of the trip. Donna and I both knew the devastation that we would all deal with if little Ana had to go back to the village. Our prayers would need to be extra vigilant and we would need others to be praying for us. Donna told her mom and other people began praying for us.

In a week or so after that visit we made our move into the capital. Life was going to be very different for now on. Living in the city offered some luxuries that the bush did not, markets and some fresh vegetables. But, living in the city was also very dangerous. At night our living compound was closed down and twelve foot high steel gates were kept locked. It was pretty common to hear gunfire and sirens. When I traveled at night I never stopped at traffic lights or stop signs. Any body driving a newer vehicle was a target for heavily armed carjackers.

Ana continued to improve with the formula and now Donna was preparing her baby food. Fresh fruit, guava, mango and passion fruit were available and Donna used her blender to make the baby food. As she developed we noticed that her legs were bent to the extent that they appeared to be deformed. The doctors told us that due to the malnutrition she would probably have rickets, a condition that deforms bone growth. Even with that observation we were so happy that she was doing well. With her one year birthday approaching our love for her grew and our apprehension of the village grew as well.

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