This little girl is a big deal! Her name is Irene, and she’s Snoden and Susan’s child. She turned one on July 31, which in and of itself is cause to celebrate, given the infant mortality rate in Malawi. Of every thousand babies born, seventy-six die before their first birthday. We’ve known some of them personally, and I don’t believe their deaths were necessary. In fact, we lose only five babies for every thousand born in the United States. That’s reason enough for us to do what we do through HUGS for Tomorrow, to give the kids in the village the same opportunities as our own children.
We’re not highlighting Irene because she’s different or special—although we think she’s pretty great. She just happens to be the first baby born into our program who will be able to experience every level of what HUGS offers. God has so richly blessed our feeble efforts to help some underprivileged kids in the village that we’re now able to begin providing comprehensive care for a child even before she’s born. Snoden and Susan are some of the best parents we know, but they haven’t always had what they needed for their kids. Irene is named after Snoden’s mother, who was raising the oldest sibling when we met their family. They have since brought all their children home and done quite well, but Irene is their first to have received what we would consider a proper beginning. Susan had everything from prenatal care to regular checkups for Irene and herself since the day she found out she was pregnant. We want that for every family in the village.
Irene has smooth chubby cheeks and clear brown eyes. She’s active and curious. Most babies in the village don’t look or behave like that. They’re smaller and less energetic. Of course, this beautiful family’s well being is worth all the resources that have been poured into HUGS, but God is multiplying our efforts, and so many more people are being affected than just this one family. Snoden and Susan were doing their best to serve their neighbors before we even met them. We believe God has seen their hearts and is rewarding them—and our program—in tangible ways. Now they just have more to share.
We’ve been away from Africa for longer than a year, so we haven’t met Irene in person yet. We’ve only experienced her adorable coos through video chats, but I can’t wait to hug her—and all the kiddos in our program—with my own arms. We plan to be there by the end of this year, at which point we hope to, among other things, spend some quality time with Snoden’s whole family and dream and plan together about all the ways we can take this program to the next level. We want every child to have the same chance for a good life and the same hope for a bright future as Irene. Together and with God’s blessing we can make that happen.
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HUGS for Tomorrow
P.O. Box 1816
Azle, Texas 76098
