Elsi

In a country racked by poverty, there is always someone with a sad story; someone asking for help; and someone you can’t help. Always. But then there are the days that we can help. Maybe just one person. Today it was a tiny little person, weighing in around 20 pounds. Her name is Elsi. She is two years old and traveled to Gracias yesterday to see a medical team here. Her parents attend one of the churches that Shannon pastors about 2 hours from Gracias, up in the mountains.  Elsi is a sweet little girl with big serious eyes. She very calmly waited the 2 hours it took to see the doctor with no tears and no fussiness.  She gladly lets anyone hold her and since she can not walk yet we took turns passing her around. She was especially intrigued by my sunglasses. She doesn’t speak yet due to the severity of her cleft palate so she just looks around, taking in everything. Thankfully though, we were able to get her an appointment with a doctor to see if they might be able to do surgery on her cleft palate. So she and her aunt came yesterday and we went to the clinic this morning. A plastic surgeon is here donating his time to do surgery on anyone who needs it but mostly children. He was soft spoken and very concerned about how small she was as well as whether he could help her. What he decided was that tomorrow morning at 7:30 Elsi will have surgery to fix her upper lip. However, she is severely underweight and he can not fix her pallet until we help her gain weight because of the complications that might arise. This is a problem for several reasons. Most of what she eats goes up into her nasal cavity and falls out. Secondly, her family is very poor and are doing their best to feed her but it is not much. The doctor suggested protein drinks to help her get the nutrients and calories that are needed but we can not get those here. Even then she will need a special bottle to help the food get into her throat and not go out her nose. Hopefully, the doctor will be able to help us get the correct bottle though. If we can get the correct nutrients for her, then she might be able to have the surgery next year. Please pray that we will find protein drinks, bottles and vitamins to be able to help her gain the weight needed.  Although I didn’t do much, I am honored when God uses me to help the tiniest of his children, even if it means that I just hold her hand while we talk to the doctor and pray that God will use this surgeon to change her little life here in Honduras. Will you please pray with me?