How on earth does God heal this kind of suffering?
The child with ginger colored hair, delicate
long fingers and the angelic singing voice dressed in a bright
little flower sundress was named Sipho. Over a dozen bright
and smiling little faces tugged for my attention the first
day I visited Acres of Love, the first stop of many as I began
my research for my next documentary film in South Africa. It
was Sipho who caught my eye and my camera lens. The more
questions I asked about her…the
more unimaginable the truth and the miracle of her life today became.
At 3 1⁄2 years old she was found sitting next to the body
of her dead mother inside their shack in a shanty town on the outskirts
of Johannesburg. Doctors who examined her said Sipho had been sitting
beside her dead mother for at least a week. Her mother’s
life had been cut short because of AIDS and the care-givers
at Acres of Love told me Sipho had full blown AIDS too.
I had so many questions. How did a 3 1⁄2 year old survive
the fear, tears and week beside her deceased mother? Did she eat?
Was there water? Why didn’t anybody help? What were Sipho’s
mothers last comforting words as she said goodbye to her daughter?
Perhaps there were no words, no goodbye. Maybe they just sang
together until the only one left singing was Sipho.  These
are answers I’ll probably never find. How on earth does
God heal this kind of suffering? This was an answer I didn’t
expect to find but at Acres of Love there is an answer and it
begins one child at a time. Somehow through fate Sipho was plucked
out of this tragedy by the hand of God and given a second chance
at life at Acres of Love.
She arrived
on September 11th 2001 suffering from severe malnutrition, virtually
unable to walk. She had
a huge distended belly and
enlarged liver and spleen plus a mouth full of rotten teeth
that hurt when she ate food. When I asked how long she would
live…no one would say. Instead they’d tell me she
had already made amazing progress in the month and one-half
she had been at Acres of Love.
What was clear was that her life at Acres of Love was so dramatically
different than her beginning. Sipho was now living in the affluent
suburbs of Johannesburg in a home filled with love, caring volunteers,
Christ’s compassion, laughter, wonderful food, friends
and her very own bedroom which she shared with new sisters and
brothers. Sipho seemed genuinely happy and she was rapidly learning
to speak English too. By the end of my six week trip to South
Africa she was almost walking on her own. On my way to the airport
I stopped at Acres of Love one last time to say “goodbye” but
she wouldn’t let me. Stubborn, and firm in her tone, she
looked me straight in the eye and said “No, I will see
you later,” and she walked away without giving me the hug
for which I hoped for. Sipho was right. The little girl in the
flower dress captured a deep place in my heart I never expected
to open. Back in
the US, I couldn’t get this incredible AIDS orphan
out of my thoughts. I decided to sponsor Sipho’s
anti-retroviral medication to ensure she’d have
the longest life possible and I decided to go on with
my life producing my films. Within
months I was offered another opportunity to return to South
Africa. I never expected to be back so soon to see Sipho.
I also never
expected to be producing a short film about her life. This
time she was running, dancing and had taken on the caring
spirit of
her caretakers at Acres of Love. Sipho was watching over
the smaller children and even enjoyed helping feed them.
It has been 3 and a half years years since the first
day I met Sipho and I have returned two more times to South
Africa to see
Sipho grow,
run, swim, ride a pony and blossom into a vibrant, tall,
slender, beautiful and healthy young girl. She’s
had her few tough bouts with illnesses like chicken pox
and a short stay in the
hospital to treat an abscess under her chin. I remain astounded
by her progress yet I keep waiting for the email or phone
call that confirms my worst fears that she has become seriously
ill
due to this terrible disease. That call has never come…instead
another shocking call came back in November 2004. Sipho
was being taken off antiretroviral medication because the
count of the
HIV virus in her body was so low it was virtually undetectable!
What a miracle to my ears. Sipho is as healthy as she could
possibly be today and I know it has everything to do with
the magnificent
care she receives at Acres of Love.
After hearing this incredible news I compiled
my favorite photos of Sipho over the last 3 1 D2 years so I
could
watch her remarkable
transformation over and over again. She is an Acres of
Love miracle. Sipho’s name means “gift” in
Zulu and meeting her has been one the greatest gifts
in my life. She is a living
example of God’s love, healing and hope for the
future of every child who enters the doors of Acres of
Love as they
open new homes to heal the suffering in the AIDS crisis
one orphan at a time.
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