Pretty Blue Beads
As we were leaving the community, Jonathan's mom hastily tied a blue beaded bracelet around my wrist. She and her daughter had fashioned four rows of interlocking translucent blue pony beads with blue yarn - a style of knotting and beading which they had learned during recent employment workshops in the community. The bracelet was a gift from a grateful mom, grateful because we had visited her son Jonathan every day, holding our hands over him in prayer. Jonathan was a miracle baby. His mom found out that she was pregnant just weeks after her oldest son was murdered. A year ago, when he was one year old, Jonathan was baptized. This year, as a two-year-old, Jonathan is spunky and playful and energetic. The day before our visit, Jonathan had fallen and hit his head on the hard ground. He had symptoms of a concussion, so his mom and dad took him to the clinic where they were told he had a skull fracture. Keep him still. Watch him. Com...