Winnie is a little 2 year old girl at the Hope house. She has been staying
there for about a month with her mom, Cynthia, who is sick and dying of AIDS
and TB. She takes care of herself at only 2 years old. Her older sister is the
caretaker but she has her own baby and is so overwhelmed with all the tasks
that she has. When we come to visit usually the house smells so badly because
no one has cleaned the house or bathed Winnie. Just this week we came with the
intentions to clean the house and bathe Winnie. I stepped into the bathroom and
there was a pile of dirty/ soiled clothes. Obviously you can imagine the smell
that hit my nose. There was no way I wanted to touch that pile or even go
anywhere near it but I knew I had to wash those clothes. That’s one of the
things I’ve been learning while on this trip, dying to my wants and desires and
having a servant attitude.
inside all day everyday with nothing to do. Her mom always appreciates it
because she is bedridden and can’t take care of her the way she would like to.
For the last few weeks she has continuously asked us to find someone to adopt
Winnie. I can tell it’s been hurting her heart just to watch Winnie not be able
to be cared for. Our translator was talking to one of her friends about Winnie’s
situation. Out of a completely pure heart the lady, Thembie, said she would
take Winnie into her home and care for her because she couldn’t stand hearing
about the life that she was living. So, just like that there were plans for
someone to adopt Winnie for the meantime until we could find an orphanage for
her to go to. We talked to Thembie about all the details and asked, “what if we
don’t find another place for Winnie to go? How long are you willing to have
her?” She responded, “forever.” We also mentioned to her that Winnie has a lot
of emotional problems because of the neglect she’s experienced and we asked if
she was okay with that or if that’d be a problem. Thembie responded, “I’m a
mother. I’m okay with it.” The way that God provided and was answering the
prayers of Cynthia was astounding. This Friday we had everything arranged to
pick her up. We had a contract written out and a translator with. When we got
there Winnie wasn’t there. Cynthia had told us that the previous day her pastor
came and decided to take Winnie because he saw a need. He knew she wasn’t
getting the care she needed. He said he was willing to take her forever. Also,
by the chance that Cynthia gets better she could have Winnie back. It was a
little bit of a shock for us that things didn’t turn out the way we were
planning but God broke other people’s hearts for Winnie. I find it so amazing
that there were two people that were completely willing to raise this little
girl forever. When God answers prayers and he doesn’t just answer them- but he
blesses in abundance.
