Tears for Chifuniro's Daddy

Ephraim and his sister Eliza rode on 1 bicycle for 3 hours to get to Hope Village with 11-day old Chifuniro on Eliza’s back. Their bike broke down about 5 miles from here, so they finished their journey on foot. All in all, they traveled about 8 hours that day.

When we first met them 2 weeks ago, we saw their heavy hearts - Ephraim’s wife had died 11 days earlier during childbirth. He had 4 other children at home between 4 and 11 years. Eliza agreed to bring the new baby into her home, although she also had 5 other children in her small village home. They had been feeding Chifuniro goat milk, when they were told about our baby sponsorship program. They were eager to make the full-day bike ride to get here each week to pick up cans of formula.

We held Chifuniro that day, loved on him and his family, weighed him, gave him new clothes, baby supplies, baby quilt. We prayed with his dad and his aunt. See Chifuniro’s sweet face in this picture! Our next step was to post his picture on the web site to find a sponsor.

Ephraim came today to tell us that Chifuniro died on Tuesday. He got malaria last weekend and his little body could not fight off the high fever for 3 days. Another heartbreak for Ephraim; another burial in just 3 weeks. His face was resigned. The hope I saw last week had been buried with Chifuniro. I watched him walk away slowly from our clinic today with his bike, knowing he had a 3-hour ride home. Back to his 4 young children as a single dad, back to the hot work in the fields, back to the everyday struggles to find food, find joy, understand God’s plan. I thought of Melia and Joseph, our other babies that recently died from fever as well. I felt hopeless … surely there is something more we can do? So, I sobbed.

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. For the old order of things has passed away.” Rev 21:4