Godwing, I love you

Over the last couple months, I've gotten to know one special little boy, Godwing. I first met Godwing over in B Ward. He was the 'little boy in the corner'...he had both of his casted legs propped up in casts and just seemed to take in all the action of B ward from his little corner of the room. For some reason, Godwing seemed to just latch onto me. I only actually took care of him once or twice, but every time I was working, he would motion me over...then, he would hold my hand and say to me 'Rebecca, I love you' in the cutest little voice. After a few minutes, I would go back to taking care of my other patients and then he would call my name and motion me over again, just to have me hang out with him or to tell me again that he loved me. It was a precious little relationship we formed.

Because Godwing lived up north, he had to stay at our hospitality center, about two miles from the ship. Every now and then, I would visit the hospitality center and I always saw my little Godwing there. Whenever, his mom would see me, she would motion over to Godwing and say 'Rebecca, I love you.' It pretty much became an extension of my name...it couldn't just be 'Rebecca,' it was 'Rebecca, I love you'...every time :) 

A couple of the cutest kids from the ward

A couple weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go to the church service at the hospitality center. It was so fun being able to see so many patients I had taken care of! We got to sing together, dance together (because we all know that dancing is essential in every church service in Africa), and learn about God together. 

Godwing at the hospitality center

My favorite part of the service was the testimonies at the end. The speaker asked if anyone would like to go up front to share what God had done in their life through Mercy Ships. I was so happy when Godwing's mother went up and started talking about how happy she was that her son can now walk. She called him up to the front to tell his story. One of the hospitality center workers who was helping to translate put him up on his shoulders and Godwing was beaming. He seemed so happy that his story was being told...and we were all so excited to see him walking so well with his casts off!

This past week, Godwing came back for his final post-op appointment. His mother gave me a big hug and told me that it was their last day on the ship. She looked at me sadly and said 'I wish I had something that I could give you, but I will promise to pray for you.' I told her that was a gift in and of itself and she smiled. It was sad saying goodbye to my little Godwing, but fulfilling to know that he was one of the little lives I was able to impact. Godwing, I love you...