Living Out the Ministry of Presence

While some of the team members were busy painting one of the transitional homes, Karen, one of the nurses on the team and I continued with our home visits, community health teaching, and checking on the children whom we had treated on previous days.

One morning, only two days before the Christmas party, we heard a sad cry -- not just a normal cry, but crying due to pain. We noticed a lonely little boy holding his head and in great discomfort. When he got closer we asked what was wrong, he answered with tears down his cheeks: ?My head, my head...? Touching him we felt him burning up with fever. I knew the parent of this little one and using my back as the ambulance, we carried him home. Once at his tiny tin shack, his dad came running down and wanted to take him to the hospital. We triaged him and gave him painkillers for his headache and fever, prayed for him, leaving instructions for him to drink lots of fluids, and we promised to be back in an hour.

We left with a heavy heart, wondering what we would find after an hour, yet believing God would touch him.

An hour later, the situation seemed worse. We spoke with the father and said if there was no improvement after another hour, we would make sure he got to a clinic. As we left the home, we asked God to touch this little one.

Returning yet an hour later we were met by the dad with a big smile on his face, the boy?s little cot was placed outside under a tree, along with an open Bible and children?s Bible story booklet. Getting closer our little boy met us with the biggest smile ever, almost jumping up and down and off the cot. We were stunned -- what happened? This little guy had a fever of 38.9 Celsius (102F). All we could say was ?Thank You, Lord.?

The father too was excited and thankful. He kept expressing his gratitude over and over.

As it was Wednesday and church night, both father and son got changed and went to church -- they both had something to be thankful for.

Needless to say we left the village that day with a full heart as well.

Marianne Lako is a full-time HFI Field Team Member in Haiti, along with her husband, René.