Our newest resident . . . James

James after a week with us.

James came to our center not quite 2 weeks ago.  His mother was in the local street market right outside our doors when a woman who asked to see her baby sent her our way for help. 

James when he arrived at 3.3 lbs and 6 weeks old.

James' mother was preparing to leave and take him back to her community.  To get there, you take a boat to the head of the river and then walk a good 4 hours in.  The journey takes several days.  She had been brought to Yurimaguas by plane because of medical issues she was facing during pregnancy due to malnutrition.  Her skin was deteriorating and her hair falling out.  They were unable to help her with injections at the health outpost closest to her community so she was sent here.  She was 7 months pregnant.

While being treated inpatient for her medical issues, she began to hemorrhage and an emergency c-section was performed.  His mother was sick, scared, and alone.  While she had been accompanied into town by a relative, she was basically left alone at the hospital.  She does not speak Spanish and the hospital staff do not speak Shawi.  She from so far in, it's likely she's rarely, if ever, been to Yurimaguas before.  She was in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar food and little family support and she wanted out.  At just 2 weeks postpartum, she took James - born at 7 months gestation and weighing just 4 lbs - from the hospital against medical advice.  She never thought he would live - and it's a miracle he did.

In her malnourished state, she was not producing much if any maternal milk for James.  The only drink she knows is masato, a drink made from yucca, and that is what she gave him.  Four weeks later, she arrived on our doorstep because a stranger told her she needed to bring him here and we could help.  

We immediately bought formula and tried to feed him but without much success.  We also bundled him in warm clothes and blankets as he came with barely any and was so cold.  Premature babies have a difficult time regulating their body temperature and again this speaks to the miraculousness of his still being alive.  The next morning when we couldn't get him into the doctor, we took he and his mom to the emergency room.  In spite of our staff spending most of the first day there with them, she again left the hospital with him against medical advice after being there less than 48 hours.  She again was extremely uncomfortable and alone at the hospital and still didn't think he was going to make it and she was determined to go home.

Fortunately she had left some of her personal belongings here at the center and stopped by to get them on her way out of town.  With the help of another guest translating, I tried to explain to her that if she left with him, he would most certainly die.  She has no access to formula in her community and no way to pay for it even if she did.  It was a difficult conversation and finally I simply told her that if she was unwilling to stay, she should leave the baby - and thus, we now have James.

After his brief stay in the hospital, the IV fluids he'd received gave him enough strength to suck on his bottle and he is now gaining weight, albeit slowely.  

Mom said she'd be back for him but she didn't say when and the journey is long and difficult.  She left assuming he would die.  She did not show any emotion about leaving him.  Perhaps she had never allowed herself to bond because she believed he would die.  Perhaps it's cultural as it is uncommon to show emotion - especially pain or sadness.  Perhaps her life is filled with other greater pain.  I do not know, I do not know his mother.  

I do know that God has a plan for James, if not, he wouldn't still be alive.  He has defied the odds.  While he's here, we're blessed to love on him and see him grow.  At first I assumed God's plans for him were for his future as an adult.  However, after talking with one of our staff today, it occurred to me that God may have a plan for him even as an infant.

You see, James' mother and father are from 2 different communities very far into the jungle.  There are no Christians in their communities.  No one knows the Lord.  No one has come to our center from their communities before.  They have not known of our services and the love of the Lord we're here to share.  The physical needs are great there.  

You see, once James recovers, if his mother returns, his life will be a testimony of God's faithfulness and provision and we can share His love with her.  Perhaps others in physical need will learn to trust us and come with physical needs so we may minister to their spiritual needs.  If she hasn't returned once he's recovered, this opens a door for us to go into their community and share the love of Christ.  

So, I realized that while I was correct that his life is a miracle and God has a plan for it - it is not just a plan for the distant future, but a plan for the immediate future.  Please join us in praying for James' physical recovery and for doors to open for spiritual healing in the lives of his parents and their remote villages.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."                             Jeremiah 29:11

                                                                                                              ~ Jennifer