a baby

There is a baby. 

Not near us, 

but actually quite a journey away.

A baby whose Mom lost her life in childbirth.

A baby whose first moments

and each day since

are missing the Mom who carried her.

A baby whose family has tried to keep her alive...

giving her the milk of a goat 

to sustain life.

A baby so loved

by her uncle ...

that he has made sure that, 

(while he lives far away from her

but very near to us)

the nutrition,

the formula she needs

makes the journey to her.

On his visit 2 months ago

to his homeland 

he took the formula

we had bought together.

It had been all I could do

not to send 

a store's worth of this precious nutrition.

But

that is just not the way things work.

Upon arrival 

she was not well. 

Not good at all.

By the time he left 

a month later,

she was thriving

on the formula we sent.

Praise God.

And now,

almost 2 months later...

another member of his family

is making the long journey home

and taking with him
more of 

the life sustaining formula.

And so 

I found myself back tonight

staring

at the boxes of formula

and dreaming of this 

treasured babe.

And wanting to buy

every box.

Just to make sure she has enough.

Because 

what if she doesn't?

What if she runs out?

Gets hungry and weak again.

Is it possible to get it to her another way?

Where she is...

I am not sure there is another way.

And so,

I send my boxes.

All that will fit in his bag

on the long trip.

To

a life so precious.

To

a face we have never seen.

To

a baby we love

and will always be in our hearts.
One
whose life has forever bonded to mine.