Precious Children of God

Growing up, I have always seen the love that children with special needs can give. My mother was a special education teacher for almost 30 years, and it was through her and her love for these children that my heart began to see the love, joy, and hope that children can give-and is where my heart for children began.

During my first trip to Haiti in March, I was blessed to meet a beautiful baby girl named Melissa. Melissa was born with Down’s syndrome and also had a serious heart defect. Her young mother, knowing she could not possibly give her the care she needed, gave her to those who could. 

This is sweet, beautiful Melissa Hope!

Melissa was taken in by an amazing couple, Wilna and Stanley, both of which I was blessed to work with in March. Wilna is not only an Olympic athlete, but an amazingly kind and loving person. Stanley has a wonderful sense of humor and a beautiful, kind heart as well. They both took in Melissa as their own and loved and cared for her. 

Wilna and precious Melissa!

A precious doctor from the United States, Jenny, came to Haiti to serve and was there when Melissa was first found. When Jenny met Melissa, she instantly fell in love with her. Jenny is an amazing, selfless person whose heart is as big as they come. Her and her husband Jack, who came for his first visit during my last 3 week stint in Haiti, loved Melissa dearly and they were in the last stages of adopting her. 

Jenny, Jack, and Melissa!

Melissa’s sweet, beautiful life on this earth was full of people who loved her. Her precious heart touched all those who knew her, including me. As soon as I laid eyes on her I was in awe of her beautiful spirit. And because of my connections and deep love for children with special needs, my heart was so glad to hear that she had a loving family desiring to adopt her and that Wilna and Stanley were taking care of her until the process was finalized.

You can also imagine the heartbreak when earlier this weekend, I was told that little Melissa’s oxygen levels were not where they needed to be and that she was in desperate need of surgery. Chadasha again started the process of trying to find a hospital in the US that would be willing to take care of sweet Melissa, and were having no such luck. This morning the situation seemed some better and while she was still on oxygen and had a fluid imbalance there was some hope that she could go home, but God had other plans…

Today, as sweet Melissa was sleeping soundly God called her home. Her beautiful life here on this Earth may have only been 18 months, but the lasting impact she made on all those who knew her will live forever. I cannot put into words how precious this beautiful child of God was, or how much I enjoyed her amazing smile, and hearing her jabber to me and knowing that we were holding a precious conversation. My heart is broken for all those who invested in her life, cared for her, and loved her as Christ himself would. Despite all this, my soul finds comfort in knowing that even though her earthly heart was damaged and couldn’t hold up to the stresses of this life, she now has a brand new heart-one that is whole again, where she can forever run and play and enjoy the beauties and splendors of eternity in heaven with our lord. Her heart will never be troubled, her eyes will never shed another tear, and her sweet, precious smile will continue to shine bright in her new, eternal home. It is there that she is waiting for all of those who loved and cared for her, and I cannot wait until the day that her earthly families see her again, and for the moment that I can hold that precious child in my arms again.

If you read my previous blog post on the sweet story of little Kathline, you can see that situations like this in Haiti are not few, and far between. They are real and they happen more so than any of us are aware of. It is a heartbreaking situation and one that I am so thankful that God has opened my eyes to. I know that little Kathline and Melissa are resting in the arms of Jesus and will enjoy all the wonders that heaven has to offer together, hand in hand, until their sweet families are reunited with them again someday. What could be more beautiful than that?  

Today, I again ask for your prayers. Prayers for the two sweet families who dearly loved Melissa, that God will comfort their hearts in the days, weeks, and months to come. Prayers for the missionaries on the ground in Haiti who have invested so much into the lives of children like Melissa and Kathline-specifically Michelle, Greg, John, Sara, and Chelsey, that God will strengthen them, comfort them, and continue to ignite this fire within them as only he can. And finally, please, please, please pray for the people of Haiti-that God will continue to send godly men and women there to help this nation of beautiful people. My heart resides within its borders and I pray that others will come to see the beauty that this place has to offer and be filled with a desire to help many other children like little Kathline and Melissa.

May God Bless you all!

Love and Prayers,

Brittany