Tifwe reached down and grabbed Dimi’s hand, and in that moment, I had uncontrollable joy that God knows all things. He writes our stories so beautifully, even when we question on the hardest days.
Last year, almost to the date, Antonio ran into the gazebo to tell me that Tifwe had broken his hand. The compound fracture exposed both his radius and ulna, and we knew our clinic didn’t the materials needed for the surgery. After forcing his mother to join us to the hospital, battling serious infection, and spending two weeks in the hospital, Tifwe learned that he would be able to keep his hand.
But he learned a lot more than that.
His always absent mother was forced to care for him. They kept her in the hospital the entirety of the two weeks. They made her bathe him, feed him, and clothe him. This attention was unlike anything he’d experienced in his young 12 years. As he was handed a cracker, he never neglected to place it in his mother’s hand first, offering her the first bite. In his dehydrated delirium, he reached to share his water with his mom. In two weeks, they learned to love one another in a way they hadn’t shown before.
When Tifwe returned from the hospital, his friends were by his bedside. They reminded us to take him water, made sure he was eating enough, and helped bathe him when he was hot. They showed him compassion with Christ-like love. Dimi was among them, always asking if he needed company, and helping him where he could.
This summer, Dimi began to experience chills and sickness. After walking to the clinic in the morning for medicine, Dimi didn’t have enough energy to make it all the way back to his house alone. As I walked beside him, Tifwe came from behind and slipped his hand into Dimi’s, offering him support. I stared at their hands that were interlaced. The same hand that was broken. The hand that once provided so much pain. The hand that taught Tifwe lessons of obedience and compassion. This hand was embracing another dear friend experiencing pain. God does not make mistakes. He writes our stories, and beauty is wrapped in the middle of it all.
30for30 Challenge 
Hope. Dreams. Abilities. Educated children are the future of Haiti. And the HCO Every Child initiative puts hands and feet to children’s dreams for a bright future through your monthly partnership.
Your gift of $12 per month educates, nourshes, and trains one of our nearly 1,950 children in one of our six schools. Our 2014 goal is to establish 600 new Every Child sponsorships.
As a part of our 30th Anniversary Celebration, we’re asking each of our partner churches to host an Every Child Sponsorship Sunday. We’re challenging each church to 30for30: commit 30 sponsors per church to celebrate 30 years!
An Every Child Sunday is a day your church sets aside to specifically focus on the HCO school children and encourage your members to become sponsors. Some churches share our Every Child Video. You can also host someone from HCO to share with your congregation.
Contact Cameron at cameron@haitianchristian.org or 765-461-5340 to schedule an Every Child Sunday at your church.
