Jojo (March 1998 to September 2, 2010)

On August , 30, 2010 I wrote that both Jojo and Leonel were seriously ill. Jojo had begun receiving intensive treatment after Dick noticed that  he was stuggling to breathe even more than usual.  I had shared that Jojo was suffering so much that I could not bring myself to pray for healing, but only "Come, Lord Jesus."  And Jesus came, early in the morning of September 2, to take Jojo with him to heaven.

This whole experience is bittersweet, as I know now that Jojo is free to breathe.  I laugh inside when I picture him running and playing with Jesus.  Somehow, it seems incongruous to picture his enlarged head supported by his tiny body, his tiny legs flying as he runs in heaven.  But this seems to be the picture God has given me in my head as I think of him.  I think the heavens much be echoing with his infectious "Hola!" and contagious laugh.

As Dick wrote in his journal:

Friends have been telling me that he will now have a new body and will no longer suffer. I am happy when I think about the no suffering thing but have a hard time picturing him looking any different than he did when he was here with us. Those of us who were fortunate enough to really get to know and love him know that he was already one of the most perfect little boys that God has ever created.~Dick

I have received emails from people from all over the US who have been touched by this dear one's life.  It reminds me again that God creates each of us for a plan and a purpose.  Jojo fulfilled his, and I'm sure got to hear Jesus say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."  I'm grateful God shared him with us.  As Cathy, who visited here just a few weeks ago, wrote to me:

God used him mightily when our first team visited Hermano Pedro in June of 2009. His laughter and smile calmed nerves and removed any fear from some of our [team members]. When I informed them almost every one of them shared a Jojo story, which did a lot to console us. They are heart sick from the news, but all know that Jojo is in a far better place where he is not only being cared for for eternity, but is in the presence of the very one who made him so beautiful here on earth.

He is beautiful!  And he is missed.  And I am a better person because I knew him.


(If you've ever struggled to understand God's plan and purpose for those who are less than perfect {all of us} you might want to take a minute to read this devotion from Our Daily Bread: Learning from Erin.)