I looked down and she was just there, reaching her arms up to be held. I picked her up and she clung to me. Sitting down I wrapped my arms around her and rocked her back and forth. She looked to be about 5 years old. "My name is Sandra" she barely whispered when I asked for her name. Her body was burning hot against mine. She must be sick, I thought to myself as I continued to hold her close. I watched the other children running and playing while my mind spaced out. I was tired after a long week of traveling and transitioning into life here. Eventually Sandra seemed to gain energy and she grabbed my hand and dragged me around to play. She was beautiful and precious. As other children gathered around me and sought for my attention she fought hard to remain my number one priority. I tried to divide my attention among all of them and she wandered away. Later I saw she had crawled into Adam's arms, exhausted once again and he held her for the rest of the afternoon. He told me later that Sandra's mom had talked to him and told him that Sandra is HIV positive. This precious child I was holding was going to die. It hurts my heart knowing this and knowing how many more stories I am going to hear like this. It becomes so much more real when you have a name and a face to put to a horrible epidemic. oh precious child, I pray that someday she will be with Jesus and no longer suffer.
