This little guy has been on my heart ever since we left Haiti in August. I pray for him on a regular basis, but today for some reason, he is weighing heavily on me and I would like to ask you to pray for him as you go about your day and your Christmas planning. Jerry is 10 years old and quite a bit smaller than Lexi. He has a precious, precious heart and is a kid anyone could fall in love with at the drop of a hat. He has meant a lot to me since I first started coming to Haiti, but he affected me so deeply on our trip this summer. Jerry is very smart. He speaks English incredibly well and ALWAYS has a smile on his face. A big, beautiful smile. Last summer when Lexi and I were at the orphanage for a much shorter time, he touched us most when we were leaving. He was standing beside me as we were hugging all of the children goodbye on loving on them for our last few minutes. As I started to walk toward the truck, he grabbed ahold of my leg and wrapped his little self around me. He looked up at me with his gorgeous big eyes and said "Shelly, you no go." I dropped all my belongings and stayed another week. HA! Not really, but I sure could have. Lexi has used this phrase MANY times since to make me smile, or cry, depending on the moment.
During our summer in Bercy, Jerry fell off of a bike and broke his arm. Not a little, simple break ... but rather serious. He broke it right near the elbow and was in A LOT of pain that afternoon. As my friend Cheryl got him new clothes and a bagful of things to bring along to the hospital, I picked Jerry up and loaded ourselves into the truck. He held me tightly with his other arm and was sobbing the entire way to Doctors without Borders, a free and wonderful ministry that has helped so many. We arrived and they would not let my translator come in with me, only ONE person per patient. SERIOUSLY??? I tried no to freak out on the outside, but inside, I certainly was. God, help me! I can't do this alone! Being there was one of the most difficult moments for me in Haiti all summer. Seeing all of those around us suffering : A woman in the bed next to Jerry's had been beaten badly by her husband. Two children, each in seperate beds (I believe that they were brothers) were terribly burned and in so much pain AND ALONE. It was heartbreaking and terrifying and I can't get the pictures out of my mind sometimes. We were there for what seemed like forever before anyone saw us and then we were informed that aside from wrapping it and giving him some meds, they could do nothing. We had to go see a surgeon the next day. I must pause the story here and share with you that we had quite a language barrier here. As I mentioned, they wouldn't let my translator come inside. The doctor we had spoke only Creole. The nurse spoke only English. I speak only English and perhaps 10 Creole words at that point. Jerry speaks both, but is in pain and now on meds and unable to help a whole lot ... amidst the struggle and frustration, another nurse came up and began to speak to me in Creole ... I tried to inform her that I didn't speak Creole, when she said a word that I recognized as it sounded Spanish ... and that was an AHA moment for us both. She was fluent in Spanish and well, I can get by. God helped me that day in an amazing way. I know quite a bit of Spanish, yet how would I understand medical terminology, etc?? I did! I understood 100% of what they were saying to me and had NO PROBLEMS communicating once we reached our "common" language. Amazing stuff.
Back to my little buddie, Jerry. We took him back to the orphanage that evening and set up a bed for him in our room so that I could keep close tabs on him. Believe me, this was a treat and he was THRILLED beyond measure. Lexi thought it was pretty cool too. That next morning, we took him to a wonderful hospital in Port Au Prince called Sacred Heart, where we met an incredible surgeon who put two pins into Jerry's arm. He was a trooper and did great. 99.9% of the people in Haiti never have an opportunity such as this ... to go into Port and get the best surgeon in the best hospital for their child. The surgery was nearly $2000 US currency and that is UNHEARD of in Haiti. I counted my blessings a million times over every second we were in that light amidst the darkness. Jerry was able to come "home" the very next day and of course, gained a whole lot of attention from the rest of the children. He became rather comfortable having his own little bed in our room, so we let that continue for another week or so. He became a part of our little family for sure. As the days continued, he felt great and the "old" Jerry was definately back. Talking, laughing, being silly ... and loving to be around me constantly. He ate many meals upstairs with us and truly received the royal treatment. :) Okay, so he was spoiled rotten for quite a while there.
When it came time for Lexi and I to return to the states, it was a VERY difficult time for us and for the children. We had to leave a bit earlier than we had planned and this took the kids by shock ... as well as Lexi and I. The morning we were heading to Florida, we were hugging and loving and trying our best to convince the children how much we loved and cared for them even though we had to go away FOR NOW ... and I couldn't find Jerry anywhere. Finally I found him, alone, around the corner out the front of the orphanage. He was standing against the wall with a rather serious pout on his face. I asked him to come give me a hug and he took off running the other way. It took a little bit, but I was able to chase him down and grab him in a hug from behind. I told him that I loved him very much. He looked at me through tears and said, "I don't love you."Talk about tearing your heart in two. I have never shared that with anyone (so of course I choose to write it for whomever to see) but those words ripped me apart. Of course, I realize where he was coming from, I know it was his sadness and hurt and fears talking ... I know all of that, but my heart still says that I should have somehow managed to stick him into my suitcase and bring him home with me. I think about this precious little boy every day and those words STILL ring in my ears and bring tears to my eyes as I think about our time in Haiti.
Dear Father, hold Jerry close to you today. Let him feel Your love and Your presence in a way that he has never felt it before. I know you have huge plans for this little guy and I know that in Your arms, he is safe. I know beyond a shadow of doubt that Jerry knows and loves you and I praise you and thank you for that. I pray that He continues to seek you as he grows and experiences so much more in his life. I pray that someday, he will be used so greatly for You and that his talents and abilities take him so much farther than what the circumstances say for him right now. Thank you Lord for taking care of him for me and for loving him even more than I ever could. Thank you for the precious honor ... for allowing me such awesome time with him and all of the other children and I look forward to seeing him and the rest of our precious little ones again SOON.
AMEN!
