Darbens: This guy is special.

 

This is Darbens. He is one of our little ones in Haiti that we sponsor. He just turned 3 in August and he is so special to us. We picked Darbens because he had a birthday in August. We have two August babies that we never were able to hold, see, snuggle or share life with. August is hard as we remember the loss and hold onto the hope of seeing them one day in Heaven. In choosing children to sponsor we wanted to sponsor a child born in August so that it would be a reminder of God's faithfulness and love to us as we celebrated that child's life every year. Darbens was the one the Lord led us to. We did not know that he had a medical condition. When Dustin visited the Hands and Feet Village in Haiti back in January we found out that Darbens has a mild case of Celbral Palsy. I knew the term but didn't know what it meant. Celbral Palsy refers to a group of disorders affecting a person’s ability to move. It is a permanent life-long condition, but generally does not worsen over time. It is due to damage to the developing brain either during pregnancy or shortly after birth. Cerebral palsy affects people in different ways and can affect body movement, muscle control, muscle coordination, muscle tone, reflex, posture and balance. People who have cerebral palsy may also have visual, learning, hearing, speech, epilepsy and intellectual impairments. We did not know that Darbens had a medical issue. The Lord knew. What I believe is so remarkable about the Lord is that I know that many times in grieving for those children that are not with us now my heart kept thinking that something must have been wrong..... I started studying a little about miscarriage and found out that in at least 60 percent of miscarriages are thought to be caused by mismatched chromosomes. What does that mean? Chromosomes are the tiny structures in each cell that carry our genes; we each have 23 pairs of them, one set from our mother and one set from our father. Sometimes, when the egg and sperm meet, one or the other is faulty and then the chromosomes can’t line up properly. In that case, the resulting embryo has a chromosomal abnormality and the pregnancy usually results in a miscarriage. Couples who experience two or more miscarriages in a row sometimes learn, through medical testing, that they have chromosomal anomalies that don’t affect them, but do prevent a pregnancy from taking hold. All I know is this information seemed to help in some small way. I knew that God was in total control. I trusted that His plans for me were the best plans. I love the fact that He cares about every detail of our lives in that He would weave a little boy into our lives that was born in August and was born with a medical issue. He was born special. A special reminder to our family that I believe the Lord is continuing to show His love, faithfulness and goodness in. I can't wait to see this special little boy scoot all over the orphanage in his new wheels! Lord willing, only 33 days away!