World... Meet Mercy

The photo was taken the first day we met Mercy. When we first arrived at the Kidz House we were welcomed with open arms and smiles from ear to ear. We weren't there long before we got wind that an abandoned baby was now staying there. At first I was reluctant to hold her, with the fear that I would get too attached.

A few days passed and we heard that Mercy needed to be rushed to the hospital. She had a high fever and severe cough. Carol along with one of our Ugandan Interns named Angel took Mercy to the hospital the following day. They found out she had pneumonia and was extremely malnourished they prescribed her some medication and insisted we start her on formula right away. After the day at the hospital Mercy was taken back to the Kidz House. It wasn't long before the next phone call. This time Mercy had a huge lump on the side of her head. So back to the hospital they went. They found out she had a septic infection and that had most likely started in her lungs and spread to a lymph node on her head. The doctors drained it and sent them home with more medicine.

After returning back to the guesthouse the decision was made that Mercy would stay with us until she was healthy enough to go back to the Kidz House. But before long everyone in the house had quickly fallen in love with baby Mercy. Instantly she had 11 moms and was in constant rotation between, feedings, changing her dressing (for the hole they had to drain), rocking her, changing her diaper and night duty. Loving this baby was seemly a lot easier when at all times someone could figure out why she was crying.

However, I have to be completely honest and say that I held my guard up and stayed my distance. I knew from the first night we had her until now that she may not have made it through and that at any moment she may not live with us anymore. The risks of getting too attached were to great for me to bare. So much so that I didn't even attempt to offer to fed her until right before the girls left to go back home to the states.

Now... it is just Jess and every morning when I wake up to Baby Mercy's cry I am relieved that she is with us. Mercy is not just another abandoned baby to us, she has a name now. She has a group of young women that love her more than words can explain and I am accepting that it there is purpose behind why she was brought into our lives.

Every morning, I pray that God brings a family into her life that can provide for her. I look at her and imagine what she will look like when she is older, I wonder if she is happy, I pray that she always knows she's beautiful no matter where she ends up. Every time I look at those bright brown eyes and hear that tiny giggle I am reminded of where Mercy came from. I am reminded she is not the only one, but she is the first and will not be the last of sick babies that will come into our lives. Mercy is just one of the many reasons we are reminded why our work here is so significant.