Enrique's Story: When my heart is torn asunder...

I guess I knew all along that it could happen.

To be honest, I knew it was likely to happen.

And yet, somehow, in a million years, I never really thought it would.

I am the eternal optimist. There is always hope...until something so final happens, I can't argue my way around it.

Coming in from the airport at 9:00 on a Tuesday night after a whirlwind visit with our sponsored girls in Honduras, we found my grandfather, whom we care for, sick in bed. He had spent time in the hospital before we left, but we felt sure he was on the mend. Finding him in bed, discouraged and struggling, was a huge blow.

Our niece, Iyrie, is 15. She also lives in our home. As we spoke with my grandfather, trying to figure out what was going on and how we could help, Iyrie kept interrupting.

"Kim, I have to tell you something."

I pushed her aside. After a December from the bottomless pit, I was emotionally able to handle one problem at a time.

Being 15, tact is not her strong suit. She dropped the bomb.

"Kim! Enrique is dead."

And the world screeched to a halt.

My mouth hung open. Jonathan, who had been across the room, rushed over to where I was...and the floodgates broke.

I wept for my boy. Jonathan, who had never met Enrique, wept for me.

Somehow, in my mind, I wasn't sure that it was true. I had heard Iyrie's words, but I needed to see the words for myself. I ran to Facebook.

I couldn't argue with the black and white. Nujerling's message was short. I could read her pain in the few lines.

What do you do when one of your worst nightmares suddenly lurches to life? 

I can do something about hunger.

I can do something about nakedness.

But there is nothing I can do about death.

The details were slow to come. Over the next days, I learned the whole sad story...

The ministry who was beginning to invest in Enrique sent him for a medical check-up. He and his mother tested positive for HIV. They immediately began treatment.

Enrique went home. On Friday, December 13, he began having trouble breathing. On Saturday, he went to the hospital, where a blood test showed him to be dangerously anemic.

So Enrique received a blood transfusion, thanks to the generosity of the ministry.

My heart aches at this point. Recounting the details is difficult, but so many of you have supported me in this journey, I think it is only fair to share.

His body was too weak to accept the transfusion. The blood poured from his ears, his eyes, his mouth. His body, in shock, could stand no more. At 13, his body went into cardiac arrest. He died from a heart attack.

Maybe this would all have been easier if her died in his sleep...if it was fast. But it was slow. It was painful. I can't think of how scared he must have been.

I don't want to remember the boy with the brilliant smile this way. I am glad that I didn't have to see his little body lying there. Glad I didn't seem him being put in the ground.

The truth is, that in one sense, I can only be glad.

As I shared before, Enrique accepted Christ as his Savior only a month before his death. And while I can do nothing for death, Christ has done all.

Enrique won. I can't be sad that he left behind a life of suffering.

When I think of him now, I don't think of his illness, of him suffering and scared in a hospital room.

I see him smiling. I see him waiting, holding out his hand. When I see him again, I will see him as God always intended him to be--whole, treasured, and lavishly loved.

These weeks have not been easy; Christmas passed under the shadow of loss.

I miss Enrique, but God has assured me that I have not lost him. I have a year of precious memories, and the hope of an eternity more.

Phil Wickham wrote a song that has helped me through this journey...



When my heart
Is torn asunder
And my world
Just falls apart
Lord You put
Me back together
And lift me up
To where You are

There is hope
Beyond the suffering
Joy beyond the tears
Peace in every tragedy
Love that conquers fear
I have found redemption
In the blood of Christ
My body might be dying
But I'll always be alive

You have turned
Mourning to dancing
You have covered me with grace
The struggle here
May last a moment
But life with You
Will last always

There is hope
Beyond the suffering
Joy beyond the tears
Peace in every tragedy
Love that conquers fear
I have found redemption
In the blood of Christ
My body might be dying
But I'll always be alive

When the age
Of death is over
And this world
Has been reborn
I'll be there
Beside my Savior
This is our grace
And rich reward

There is hope
Beyond the suffering
Joy beyond the tears
Peace in every tragedy
Love that conquers fear
I have found redemption
In the blood of Christ
My body might be dying
But I'll always be alive 

 

Please enjoy this video tribute to the life of Enrique Pierre.

http://youtu.be/t0nWb1g2ylc