New Year’s can bring in any number of surprises for many people. Most people expect a relationship, a new job, or something along those lines. No one expects to, for instance, find a lost baby just lying around.
Jimmy Amisial of Haiti was welcoming 2018 in with friends when he found a baby near some trash.
It’d be pretty hard to process such a scene. Who would leave a baby beside the trash? And why?
The other people celebrating New Year’s eve hadn’t come over to see it themselves, though they knew it was there.
The locals were superstitious and thought the baby was cursed or evil. Really? A baby?
Jimmy knew better. This was no bad omen or evil child. It was just a lost, sad baby.
And it needed a guardian more than anything.
“It was in a pile of trash crying, and there wasn’t a single soul who wanted to do anything about it.” – he said
All over the baby were fire ants. They hurt tremendously so it’s no surprise that the baby was in distress.
Though the infant stopped crying when Jimmy picked him up.
This proved to be quite the surprise to his mother, Elicie Jean, who thought Jimmy would have come home drunk or something. Rather than bring home a hangover, he brought home an infant.
A bit of lotion was used to help the infant with the ant bites.
The police were alerted of the mysterious missing baby that Jimmy picked up.
It led to Jimmy being asked if he wanted to take temporary custody of the baby.
He already seemed to be doing a spectacular job caring for him anyway.
That question made Jimmy dwell on it for a good while. He was sleepless and wondered if it meant something.
“After he asked me that question, I had a lot of sleepless nights. I tossed and turned but my mother reminded me things happen for a reason.”
Of course, Jimmy couldn’t refuse. Why would he?
He was the one who rescued the infant in the first place. He felt a huge responsibility for it now, and that was just the start of it.
Jimmy had to return to Texas for a bit while his mother cared for the child.
It would seem that that time away influenced his decision.
In 2019, Jimmy made up his mind that he wanted to adopt the boy. It wouldn’t be easy.
Jimmy’s new obstacle was the cost of it all. Adopting a child isn’t a free process, and it’s a lot pricier when the child is in Haiti.
It would cost $40,000 or more to adopt the boy, whom they named Emilio Angel Jeremiah.
Jimmy tried to work for that money, but $40,000 is a lot of money. He needed help if he wanted to give Emilio the life he wanted, so he set up a fundraiser.
The goal was $60,000, and Jimmy received way more than that at $79,000.
That extra money would go to very good use. Jimmy now had a way to pay for Emilio’s education!
But Haiti is a very difficult place to raise a child in. It’s not the safest place, for one. And flying back is expensive.
Jimmy still tries as much as possible, in spite of the circumstances. He tries to visit as often as circumstances allow, and he facetimes Emilio when that’s not possible.
“My mom and I had an automatic connection with him. He calls me Dad. Even though I’m his temporary guardian, I still consider myself his dad.”
When Emilio grows up, he’s not gonna believe the story of how his dad found him. I mean, would you?
Still, Jimmy has the commitment that not many people his age have. Emilio is in good hands.
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