I have told you before in the past about that baby orphanage that I have been working at. Well, I went the other day and saw a new baby in the corner. This baby looked very different than the others. He was about 2 months old and had essentially a white stretchy ski mask on his face. I ask one of the ladies who worked there what it was. She told me that he had been badly burned. I asked why and her answer made my heart sink. Here in Bolivia all of the stoves are gas. One day Gilmer's (the baby) mom was cooking in the kitchen. For some reason an explosion occurred, killing his mother and badly burning his face. He was taken to a hospital where he received a skin graft from his leg.
It was quite clear that Gilmer has not adjusted to his new life. He is fussy all of the time and very squirmy. I was so happy to have the opportunity to give him the 1 on 1 attention that he so badly needed. It brings you down to earth every time you hear a story filled with tragedy and hold the child who has lived through it. Once again Gilmer has been blessed to be at Casa de Amor. There he receives so much love and attention compared to the thousands of children who live on the streets here in Bolivia. There is so much hope for little Gilmer though. I was told that most of the children at Casa de Amor are adopted pretty quick. Hopefully his sad story will end with being adopted by a loving family who will show him Christ throughout his life.
The second part of the title of this entry translates into "new life." Now that you know that I want to tell you about one of the coolest experiences I have had here in Bolivia. Today I went into the city to work at a hospital called the CBA. It was started by an American man and his wife. It is now one of the biggest hospitals in the city and specializes in many different things. In this hospital I got the opportunity to see a new life brought into this world. An emergency C-section was being performed when I arrived. Basically the placenta was positioned on top of the baby, rather than below. About 20 minutes into the surgery the lady began to bleed BADLY. The doctors were running around with bloody rags, towels and instruments attempting to slow the bleeding. I looked at my 2 fellow observers in the room and all of our eyes were huge. All we could do was hope and pray that mother and baby would be ok. After about 1.5 minutes of insane bleeding it was under control. I have never been so relieved in my life to see someone stop bleeding.
They continued to cut through muscle and fat until they reached the uterus. The doctor allowed us to come up close and see. It looked like a blob of crazy blood and guts, but underneath you could see what looked like a tiny little head. I backed away and about 30 seconds later the feet of the precious little boys feet were sticking up through the mothers belly. This however was not a good thing. The baby was transverse and they were unable to turn him around. After about 1 minute of pulling and trying to re-adjust a little body was pulled from our patients belly. His small blue body was placed into the arms of a doctor who rushed him over to the corner. It felt like an eternity waiting for that baby to cry. But finally a cough, followed by screams came from the corner of the room. Mother and baby were both alive and well. I never learned the name of this new little guy, but I along with about 6 others people got to witness the first moments of his life, his first breath, and first whimpers.
We left the hospital all feeling pretty excited inside. We went to eat at a local restaurant here in town. I once again go the opportunity to "meet needs." A homeless man wandered in and started asking for food. I had just finished eating and still had an abundant amount of food on my plate and was able to offer him some of it. It didn't change his life or anything, but it at least gave him lunch for the day. Sadly, we got back to late to go to the orphanage today, but tomorrow is kid washing! I just received a new bag of winter clothes that my mom donated. Rachel brought them with her when she arrived at HOH earlier last week. I am so excited to go tomorrow and provide warm clothing for the children who live on the streets!
All I can say is that I am so blessed to be spending 6 weeks of my summer here in Bolivia. I am still hoping and praying for new opportunities, and a chance to build some relationships in order to share Christ with the people of Bolivia! Thank you so much for all of your prayer and support. Please continue to pray for open doors, and chances to share Christ's love here in Bolivia!
Anna
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