Julien
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Sr. Simon sent
me a picture of a baby boy before my first visit to Haiti Kkottongnae in 2017. The
three-month-old boy had a round face and curly hair. In the photo, he was
holding Sr. Simon’s finger, gazing up at her with beautiful dark eyes. His name
was Julien. During my visit, I never once saw him crying. He would lie in bed
quietly and suck his thumb like he didn’t want to bother anyone. Whenever I
made eye contact with him, he smiled a beautiful infectious smile at me. Julien
was born with deformed legs. His legs were covered in a cast from hip to toe,
and he was regularly taken to the hospital to change the cast.
I met Julien again
a year later on my second trip to Haiti. He had grown a lot but still had the same
dark curly hair and infectious smile. He could now sit and crawl by himself.
His legs were no longer in a cast but folded under him, as if he was sitting
cross-legged all the time. It was amazing to watch this little boy sit and
crawl with his folded, crossed legs, pushing his body with both arms as he
crawled across the floor. When I gently patted his bottom, being filled with
such pride for him and his accomplishment, he turned his face back to me and
smiled widely.
Often, when I had
finished my daily tasks, I would visit House of the Angels in the afternoon to
see how Julien was doing. I would take Lestin, Keffi, and Julien for a walk
around the village, carrying Julien in my arms and following Lestin and Keffi most
of time. Julien was always so curious about the chickens in the yard and could
not take his eyes off them as they pecked seeds and grain off the ground. Yet
he was scared of a few-weeks-old puppy.
Julien was also
a good eater. He would eat a bowl of corn soup and drink a full bottle of milk.
One day, while returning to Kkottongnae after we dropped Lestin off at his school,
I realized that Julien would grow up and soon go to school too. Br. John made a
habit of teaching Korean words to Kkottongnae children whenever they were
walking together, and once I heard Br. John say “Eom-ma”, which means mother or
mom. Julien was abandoned by his own mother but was accepted by the
missionaries of Kkottongnae and was now growing under the care of the Kkottongnae
family.
The day I left
Kkottongnae, I spent the morning walking around the village with Julien. I
picked a purple flower from a flower bush and put it behind his ear. He pulled
the flower from behind his ear and turned it over and over in his hands with
his little fingers. Sr. Matthias said that Julien will be able to walk when he
undergoes a special surgery. Just like Lestin was able to walk after a surgery.
I pray to God to help Julien grow in His love. That he might love this world
that God has created, and love God and grow into a beautiful person. I send my
prayers to heaven every day, hoping and believing that they will come back down
to this world and fall softly upon Julien with the love of God.
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