When 15-year-old John Halgrim told a Make-a-Wish volunteer that
his last wish was to open an orphanage in Africa,
the volunteer was dumbfounded. Normally, the foundation grants requests such as
meeting a celebrity or taking a trip to Hawaii.
She wasn’t sure that Make-a-Wish could carry out such an ambitious, long-term
request. “Do you have a second wish?” she asked John. The answer was no. “God
didn't allow this to happen to me so I would get something out of it,"
John said, referring to his illness.
As Make-a-Wish struggled to figure out how to grant John's
request, his mother arranged for him to meet with a local pastor and explain
his desire to help destitute children in Africa.
After he was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, John had deepened his
relationship with God. So he was thrilled when the pastor asked if he could
videotape John discussing his vision for an orphanage that would serve children
orphaned by AIDS.
After showing the videotape to a few congregations, the
pastor had raised enough money for John’s mom to proceed with designing and
constructing an orphanage in Nairobi.
Two weeks before he died, John was shown an architect’s sketch of the John E.
Halgrim Orphanage in Nairobi.
And last month, one year after John’s death, his mother flew to Nairobi to welcome
neighborhood children into the building.
Photo: Help the Least of These
