a Father's kindness


I met Saleen and her mom about a year and a half ago at the hospital. She was a skinny little baby girl.

They came back to the house with me that day so we could try to figure out a way to help them. Before we even made it here her sweet mom was crying from the hopelessness she felt over not knowing how to help her baby grow stronger and the uncertainty of whether she had passed her disease onto her little girl.

In the first month that we gave Saleen formula she gained 1.5 kilos - that's pretty good.

In all the months since then we have seen her continue to grow. She has also had all of the necessary blood tests say she is completely HIV negative.

Last spring a few of us went out to visit them at their house on the Thai border. Saleen was asleep, but I was able to meet her dad for the first time. He is so kind. That day he thanked us for helping his little baby be able to live.

Today I was able to go visit them again. They recently moved to another house nearby. They wanted a place closer to the ground so Saleen would not get hurt. (Apparently she had fallen out of their old house a couple times. :) ) While we were there today they invited us in. We talked for a while. They shared how they've been since the last time we saw them, they asked about our lives, they gave us some fruit they bought for us to take with us and they fed us lunch before we left for home.

All of our time there was a huge blessing, but what encouraged and blessed me the most was watching Saleen's dad and listening to him interact with Saleen and his wife. I am sad that many of the children I know don't have dads in their lives. But there was one little girl being loved and held and taken care of by her dad today.

Tonight I am thankful we said yes 2 summers ago when we agreed to help them. Thankful Saleen is alive. Thankful she is thriving. Thankful her parents love her. Thankful we get to be a part of their lives. Thankful for the generosity they showed us today. Thankful for my Jesus who lets me see his goodness in this world.

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