Asicole.

This is my first blog about Africa. I'm sure there will be more. I'm going to do my best to share specific stories about what happened on my trip. It seems almost impossible to put what happened into words but I'm going to try.

I think my favorite ministry was going to the hospital. We would go to the children's ward and visit with the sick children and their parents or caregivers. At the hospital, there was one room with rows and rows of beds. Not very much privacy, the opposite of the U.S. There were three rooms off of the main room. One of which was the Malnutrition Unit. This is where I spent my time.

The first time we went to the hospital, I hated it. I thought to myself  "I'm never coming back here, I don't like it here."  We could chose from other ministries so I thought I'd do something else. But as much as it made me uncomfortable, I couldn't stay away. It was a hard ministry because you had to be okay with awkward conversation and not having the right thing to say, especially because of the language barrier.

 I think it was my second visit to the hospital when I met this mother and her baby in the malnutrition room . I asked to hold the sweet little one and that was it. I fell in love. Her name is Asicole. (don't ask me how to pronounce it, there is a click in there somewhere.) She was 14 months old but she appeared to be 6 months.

I held Asicole and I tried to get to know her mother. Then, every time I could visit the hospital I went to see them. Twice a week for one month I got to spend time loving them. I would go into the small room and scoop up the precious child in my arms. I spent hours singing to her, rocking her, loving her, praying for her little life, whispering to her how much Jesus loves her and telling her that she was going to make it. Telling her that she was going to become big and strong because Jesus has big plans for her. Asicole was such a happy baby. She would giggle and smile as I made silly faces. I would hold her as she slept on my chest and I would talk to her mother, desperate to understand what happened in their lives, what brought them to this point. I never got much of their story but I do believe, I was a friend in an otherwise lonely circumstance. Despite our inability to truly communicate, I think I communicated my love for this woman and her baby girl.


It was hard to say goodbye to these lovely girls. Because when they left the hospital, I didn't know what was going to happen to my Asicole. I didn't know if her Momma could care for her because obviously she hadn't been able to before. There are so many questions and worries I still have. Even now, as I sit in my living room thinking about them, I still don't have any answers. But I do know Someone who does know those answers, I know Someone who is watching over them right now. I know Someone who hears my prayers for them and that Someone is the one that let our paths cross. And I am thankful that He would let us have even a short time together.