Junior, Lifeline's newest addition

Last week we visited one of the orphanages we provide food for in Port-au-Prince with a medical team. We hadn’t been there since October and were sad to find the children still in poor condition. We have concerns about dishonesty going on within the system and sadly, the children suffer for this. Please be in prayer for this situation.

Junior is a small, 7-year-old boy living at the orphanage. He is one of the more malnourished children and clearly needs proper nutrient care. On Tuesday, Jacques drove me (Michelle) to the orphanage again to take Junior to the hospital. The doctor was not in at 2 in the afternoon so I decided to bring him back to Lifeline. In the hour car ride back, Junior sat on my lap and I was terrified if I held him too hard I would break a rib, but if I didn’t hold hard enough he would fly off my lap from the bumpy roads; but as we sat there I had a strong feeling he would be at Lifeline for a while.

Once back at the mission, we all decided it was best for Junior to stay with us for we would be giving him the same care a hospital would (we have a doctor here 5 days a week if we need anything), plus we would give him love and constant attention.

Just to give you an idea of his size—he wears Jean Fritz’s clothes and weighs the exact same amount as Jean Fritz. They weigh 31 pounds and wear size 2T pants and 3T shirts. Junior is 7 and Jean Fritz is 2. They are 5 years apart…

It’s been a mere 4 days since Junior came to stay with us and we put him on a eating/hydration plan and we have already seen significant improvement! Adrian is playing soccer with him right now and I can see him running around on the soccer field. He could barely keep his eyes open when he first came.

He smiles a lot now too. He takes joy in such little things, like bath time and being read to (even though he can’t understand English).

The pictures are from the 2nd day he was here- as you can see he still wasn't smiling a lot. 

Junior and Jean Fritz 

Please be praying for Junior as he finds nourishment and love. Also, please be in prayer for his future as it is unknown.