The Beautiful Life of Ken Ken

You hear stories all the time about Aids, third world countries, and how they go hand in hand. 

I do think that most of us can possibly take in the reality of it unless our lives have been touched by it in some way. If you have never known anyone suffering from Aids then you simply feel sad when you hear the stories and don't know what else to do.

 If you are honest with yourself you could say, "Why would God allow a little baby to be born into the world with Aids, only to die and never know what it's like to truly live life?" We all ask ourselves some of these hard questions. We ask, "What significance does a life like that have?" 

Well, I am here to tell you that I met a little baby named Ken Ken, in Haiti, fighting for his life with Aids, who changed, and truly transformed the life of a young girl struggling to find her purpose in life. 

You may have read in my previous post from our Haiti trip about a young girl named Carley who's life completely changed when she stumbled upon this brave little baby in the hospital dying from Aids. He was 9 months old at the time and barely weighed 9 lbs. He was on death's door, and in walks Carley with the baggage of her American life that had been dragging her down for years. What do you do with what you think are your worst American problems in life when you see this little life staring back up at you, looking for any glimpse of hope he can find? 

You roll up your sleeves, take a long hard reality check, and begin to pray and nurse this little baby back to health...which is exactly what she did! 

 She nursed him back to health, prayed over him, and visited him every day. 

Miraculously he started gaining weight, his hair started growing, and his teeth began to grow in. It truly was a miracle!

While on our trip to Haiti, we met Carley who was working as an Intern for Chadasha Foundation. She told us her amazing story and what was so neat to watch was how God took this little baby's life and matched it with Carley's. As Ken Ken began to grow and heal, so did Carley. She was finding her purpose in this beautiful life that God set before her. She decided to take us to meet Ken Ken one day and we were so thrilled! We showed up just as he was finishing his bath.

What an amazing bond this young Mom, who is struggling with Aids, herself, has with Carley! She watched Carley come in and selflessly love on her baby boy and nurse him back to health when she had done all she could do with what she had and there was nothing else to do but watch him die. 

We all loved meeting Ken Ken! It truly was like holding a little miracle. 

Carley was scheduled to leave the next day to go back to the US. She had been there since November. It was a very bitter sweet moment as she had to tell them both goodbye. There were many tears and we all gathered around and prayed for Ken Ken and his beautiful mother. 

Carley knew that she would be back in the coming months to visit Ken Ken and watch his progress. What she didn't know was that this would be her very last goodbye. 

Within days of Carley returning home to the US, Ken Ken lost his brave battle with Aids and left this world to join God in a world free of pain or suffering. 

Ken Ken's life mattered. His little life brought more hope and purpose not only to Carley but to his mother, than anyone could ever know or understand. He was a gift from God and he was beautiful! 

We celebrate his life and what it meant to so many who knew him. 

Why do some have to be born into this world to suffer, only to die? It sounds like another familiar story we have all heard. The answer to this story and the other story of God's own son doesn't just end with death. It ends with hope and many lives being set free. None of us can control that we live in a fallen world, full of pain, sickness, and suffering. But we can control what we do to help others in the middle of it. Every single life on this earth has a purpose. Some live their entire life into old age without discovering it. Ken Ken was called home at an early age, but his purpose is one that many search a lifetime to find.  Carley's life was one that was set free as a result of seeing, holding, and touching, the life of Ken Ken, a baby that suffered, but was ultimately touched by love and touched by God. In the end, Ken Ken is set free from suffering and Carley gained new purpose, life and hope to live for greater things....to live for others....to live for God.

It's a beautiful story!

Pray for Ken Ken's beautiful mother as she strives to move on in her life. 

I will be featuring the Chadasha ministry soon as some of our featured Ordinary Heroes in Haiti. In the meantime you can visit their website to donate if you wish to help Ken Ken's mother. Click on donate and put "Ken Ken" in the memo. She lives in a tent city with no running water. She is still displaced from the earthquake two years ago. Her living conditions are very humbling to say the least, as you can imagine in a tent city. This is an amazing organization, doing awesome things to help those in need. 

We were blessed to be able to witness Carley's final 48 hours in Haiti. We had our awesome videographer with us who captured many of the special moments and then made this video for her to remember Haiti by. At the time we had no idea that Ken Ken would soon not be with us anymore. It makes the video that much more special. Thank you, Ryan, for putting this video together for them. 

Look for more Haiti videos to be coming soon over the next several days. 

You may also read Carley's blog in her own words by clicking here. 

Now grab your tissues!