Vanni

Vanni is a very special neighbor of ours. He is about 3-4 years old and has severe Downs Syndrome. A week ago we were resting on a Sunday afternoon with our front door open as we often do, for airflow through the house and as we were chatting, Vanni walked in. He stood at the side of the chair, just watching us as we continued talking. After some time, Trophi gave him a sweet and spoke to him in Swahili, asking where Mama was. Vanni can't speak much and was just mentioning a chicken. They had 2 chickens at their house and maybe the mom was going to slaughter one for dinner. Anyway, Vanni kept saying chicken, chicken in Swahili. Than Trophi gave him a sweet for his siblings, and told him to go give them out. Sure enough he did, than came back for one more!
Vanni has an older sister Vanessa and an older brother...but I've forgotten his name, and a younger brother Vensky. They are Congolese Refugees and are now our neighbors.
My heart goes out to Vanni, since he has a disability he's treated badly in the home and his older brother beats on him. On a few occasions I've had the 'misfortune' for lack of a better word; to witness the brother come out and just slap him across the face, for no reason at all. The first time, I was on our porch with Gabriel and they were on the opposite side of our compound, too far away to say anything. The second time was in front of our porch. Oh I was mad. I spoke to the older brother and I hope it registered. It's so sad seeing him bullied around and not cared for. He is dirty, has fungus growing on his head, his clothes are usually too big and very dirty. Regardless he is so precious and it's sad to see that he's not treasured or even cared for as the other children are.
I often think of a friend back in Chilliwack, who has a Downs Syndrome son, and think of how they love that boy ever so much. Than I think of Vanni who needs so much love. As you read this, please pray for Vanni, his family and all the needs that he has, physically, mentally and spiritually. He is so precious and even if his family doesn't care for him much, thankfully Jesus loves him more than we could ever imagine. I'd love to show you a photo of Vanni, but don't think his family would like that, so you can just picture this precious little Congolese boy and lift him on wings of prayers. Thanks for hearing my heart, I've been meaning to share about him for quite some time.

Ok, I managed to get sneak shot of Vanni and his little brother Vensky playing in the yard. I heard some funny noise and went out to see what it was. Turns out that Vanni was using a stool as his car and having so much fun, I couldn't resist and had to run for my camera. You can't see him well, but he is the boy on the green stool, scooting after his brother! It was precious to watch them!