Ana continued her battle and very gradually she got stronger. A short time after the rainy season ended a visitor came to our home, Ana's birth-father. He walked to the station to find the grave of his daughter. Once he got to the area around the station he learned that the child was still alive and that we were taking care of her. When he told me who he was I invited him in. After a short conversation he asked if he could see his child. I was feeling really anxious at this point because we had no legal standing should he decide to take her from us.
Donna went into the bedroom and brought Ana out to him. He held her on his lap for a few minutes and smiled the whole time. Donna took her back to the bedroom and came back out and sat next to me. We told him about her struggle to survive and how God had provided for her. We told him we thought the formula from South Africa was helping her to become strong. He told us that he could see how much we loved her and that the local people felt Ana was a special gift.
After a few minutes of conversation he thanked us for caring for her. As he was getting ready to leave he told us that he would like us to care for her until she was one year old and then he would come and take her back to the village. He left the house and after his parting words Donna began to weep. We both knew that if he took her back to the village any time in the next few years she would die. A little while later Hilary came in and we told her about the visit. After she and Donna cried a little more we knew we had a lot of praying to do. For our little Ana and for ourselves.
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