Well, it has been a week since we got home from Riga. I'm still in awe of what went on during our time there and I seem to miss it more this year than previous ones. Part of that reason, I believe, is because I was introduced to a little boy this year who will forever be a part of my life. Nikita is a 13 year old orphan who at first seemed very shy. It took a lot of patience to get him to talk; and the fact that he only spoke Latvian and very little English made it even more difficult. But something about Nikita was drawing me to him, so I would harass our translator to come be the middle man for us. Over the next several days, I learned Nikita was born with HIV. His brother and sister sometimes live with his parents and sometimes live at the children's home with Nikita. He has to take 11 pills a day in order to survive and he doesn't take this lightly. He is aware that his medicine costs 2,000 lats every 2 months, the equivalent to about $4,000. But what really drew me to Nikita was his appreciation for the life he's been given. Despite being diagnosed with one of the most depressing diseases, Nikita is thankful that he has one of the "milder" forms of the virus. He hopes to live a long life and one day come visit us in America, which could not make me happier. Our team does a pretty good job at keeping in touch with many of the kids we meet, and every now and then we meet one that we know we need to love on for as long as possible. Nikita is that child for me. Please pray for him; I truly believe that our God is capable of completely healing him from HIV. But I also believe that there is a plan in all of this that I cannot understand. If Nikita can continue to trust and hope in God, he is going to go on to do amazing things.
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