Alright, grab your tissues. Really, you’ll need an entire box.
Country music star Thomas Rhett’s wife, Lauren Akins, took to Instagram to share the heartbreaking, yet hopeful, story of a Ugandan orphan named Frances.
“[Frances] was found by our @147millionorphans ground team in Masindi, Uganda. He is a total orphan, meaning no living relatives, he weighed about 12 pounds-yet he’s about 5 years old. The reason he looked like he did is because of complete malnourishment, he had no one to care for him. The community would put cassava root in a little bowl and he just sat there in the dirt with jiggers eating up his fingernails, no clothes and barely anything to eat. Enoch, on our 147 team, took him to the hospital then brought him to our new 147 Million Orphans Reclaim Center. He cried when anyone touched him, and he cried when they tried to put clothes on him because he wasn’t used to any loving human touch. He had no idea how to accept it,” Lauren explained with a series of photos documenting the little boy’s plight.
Warning, some of these photos will absolutely break your heart.
“Oh my goodness. TODAY he’s not even the same child, thank you Jesus. He loves to be loved now not only from Ugandans but mzungus (white people) too now he has clothes, his fingernails are almost completely healed, and he has yummy healthy food and water, medicine, education and shelter-all of this provided by @147millionorphans in Jesus’ name y’all he’s the most precious little boy and there are many more just like him. So many of y’all ask me how to help. A huge way to help is by donating to @147millionorphans and giving children like little Frances a chance at a new life I held him the last day we were there and he fell asleep on me, we ate some snacks, we sang songs, we played & laughed and when I held him he held on to me so tight so thankful Jesus brought us to him and I cannot wait to watch him grow!” Lauren shared about Frances’ drastic improvement.
To learn more about 147 Million Orphans and their important work, visit their official website here. Lauren is currently with the organization in Uganda, less than a year after bringing Willa Gray home to Nashville.
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