It's a girl!

I arrived in Kenya knowing that I wanted to sponsor a child through CCP, but I had specifically waited to pick a child until this trip because I wanted to actually know my child and sponsor a child I connected with. The other night, Stella, the lady that runs CCP, brought profiles of all the available children to the guest house for us to look at. The second to the last profile I looked at was a 4 year-old girl named Hadassah and her sweet face caught my attention and when I read she likes to jump rope, my heart skipped a beat. The next morning, which was yesterday morning, our team was scheduled for home visits in the Kawangware Slums and they arranged for me to meet Hadassah. When I arrived, I found a bright-eyed girl with a sweet smile that lit up her face. At first, she was a bit shy until I got down to her level and opened my arms to her. One of her friends came running over and hugged me then Hadassah followed her friend's lead. I picked her up, she giggled and I was hooked! Love just flowed through my heart and I knew I found my little girl. It took about 20 minutes to locate her mother, so as we waited, we played. We didn't have a jump rope so we just jumped, then we danced and soon about 5 of her friends joined us but Hadassah made sure she was the only child I held.

When Hadassah's mother, Beatrice, arrived she invited us into her very humble home to talk. Beatrice was married and had a daughter, Stella, who is now 13. Her husband got sick and died and they later determined he most likely died of AIDS. Beatrice was lonely, poor and didn't know what to do. In order to survive and provide for her daughter, she began prostituting. She eventually found herself a boyfriend and got pregnant. During her prenatal care, she learned she was HIV positive and the boyfriend, Hadassah's father, left her. He has never been seen again. Hadassah tested HIV negative at birth and at 1 year. The standard is to test again at age 5 as that is most likely when it will show up. She is showing symptoms of the disease so we are all praying that when they test her again in October, she will be negative. Her mother has had a very difficult time earning enough money to pay for their rent and food. They often go hungry. News of her HIV status spread among the slums and no one would buy her fruits and vegetables anymore. She now earns a very meager income washing clothes for neighbors.

When I told Beatrice I wanted to sponsor her daughter, she was overjoyed. My sponsorship will provide her school fees, nutritional needs, medical treatment and so much more. When it was time to leave, Hadassah didn't want me to leave. I gave her a hug and promised her I would be back next week. What she doesn't know is that I'll be taking her shopping next week for clothes, food and toys. I can't wait! Hadassah chased after me as I left her lot reaching for me. It broke my heart to leave her.

If God brought me to Kenya just to meet Hadassah, then it's been worth the trip. She is a precious child, loved by God and loved by me.