October 24, 2008

Dear Friends,

It is mid-July and the earth is cooling quickly as the sun sets. Half buried in the sand along the Phapa River in northern Malawi, a newborn baby cries for help. There is no response. The only reply to be heard is the whisper of a chilly wind moving stealthily through the rushes like a burglar. So the baby cries louder. Still no response as the darkness deepens around him. Refusing to surrender to the surrounding gloom, the infant defies the conspiracy of silence and starts shrieking at the top of his lungs. His sheer will to live will not be stifled.

Standing at the door of her mud-brick dwelling, she thinks she hears something, yet it must be her imagination. The sound is coming from the direction of the river, and nobody goes down there at this time of day. But wait! There it is again. It sounds like the call of a strange wild bird, or maybe…. Could it be a crying baby?

“Don’t be afraid. Go down by the river and see what is making such an insistent howl,” says the voice insider her. Slowly, cautiously, she makes her way toward the source of the noise. Now there is no doubt in her mind—it is the cry of an infant. Picking up her pace, she soon comes upon a scene she will not forget—a baby, half-buried, with his umbilical cord still attached. The newborn has won his battle for survival.

“Let us call him Chotondo,” suggests a volunteer worker at the Lusubilo (Hope) Nursery in Karonga, where the little one is brought by his savior. Chotondo means “victor”!

However, after a few weeks, little Victor is still struggling for life. The nursery in Karonga contacts our Ministry of Hope Crisis Nursery in Mzuzu and asks for help. Our reputation has spread throughout northern Malawi. We are known as the place where infants in crisis are nursed back to health. We are known for our professional, careful attention to the needs of the most vulnerable.

Moses embraced by his new siblings.

The next day, accompanied by a television crew, our staff makes the three-hour drive north to pick up their newest charge. Underweight, undernourished, and with badly scratched skin, Chotondo is re-christened Moses. The one abandoned in the reeds by the river is warmly welcomed to his new home at the Mzuzu Crisis Nursery. His story is told on national TV and touches the heart of the nation. For the first time, many Malawians become aware of the vital work being done in the name of our Lord by Ministry of Hope.

Moses introduced to his new parents, who live in the same village where Moses was found lying in the sand by the river.

Now, three months later, the smooth-skinned Moses is strong, healthy, and ready to become part of a village family. The nursery staff gathers around to say goodbye, praying, and singing “God be with you till we meet again.” Paul is privileged to accompanying Moses back to Karonga, where a foster family of mother, father, and four children eagerly await his arrival. The TV crew is contacted, but alas the president is in town and even Moses can’t compete with the honorable Bingu Mutharika.

Thanks to the woman who responded to his cries, thanks to the nursery staff who nursed him back to health, and thanks to your loving support, Moses is crying no more. It takes a world to save a child.

Paul and Darlene Heller

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