Something New

Well lately I feet like I have been deeply challenged.  Things that we have seen and gone through have really rocked my boat.  But even in all that, we see incredible things and  I know that God is watching over us. 

I just returned to South Africa recently after my first trip to Zimbabwe.  Let me tell you that Zimbabwe is incredible.  A beautiful country with amazing and warm people.  I have some good friends from Zim, especially my brother Saul, and if you could meet them you would see the warm heart that propels the country through difficult times.

I got a snapshot of Zim, through meeting the people and spending time in their homes.  They invited me in with open arms and shared their stories with me.  One of these stories I would love to share with you.

The community I would like to focus on is called Sakubva which is a part of Mutare.  The community was built years ago for railway and mine workers.  It was a place where fathers and husbands would live as they worked and they were separated from their families.  If  you were a worker your wife and children were not allowed to stay with you there and it was strictly enforced.  The houses were tiny as they were meant for men to stay alone, so one building was split up into 4 or 5 separated living spaces and they were tiny.
Today, these places are no longer for workers but for families.  So in one small place they have now crammed 4 or 5 families.  To walk there it seems unimaginable that so many people could fit in such a pathetic and small place.

I walked this community with a lady named Priscilla.  She is maybe 5 feet tall, but commands the respect of a giant when she makes her way through the dirt roads of Sakubva.  Priscilla is the coordinator for her community project that looks after orphaned and vulnerable children as well as patients.  She led the way as we went to visit some of the people that she looks after in their homes.  It is one of these people that I want to share with you, a young boy named Richard.  Richard lives in a house with his mother, and if you are reading this from Canada, let me tell you their house is probably the size of your bathroom.  As I walked in the tiny house, I saw Richard and his mother.  The first thing that hits you when you see these too is how sick they are.  Richard's Mom sat on a bucket on her chair because she hadn't been able to go to the bathroom for a week and she was completely emaciated.  Then my eyes turned to Richard.  They tell me he is 13 years old, but looks like a 9 year old child.  I look at him he is so skinny and I can see that he is dying.  His breathing sounds like every breath is so painful and difficult.  I try to find the strength to even imagine, if I would have the will to live when every breath I took was like being stabbed in the chest.  They tell us he has full blown AIDS and a serious heart condition.  I look at him and wonder what chance he has.  We sit and talk with Richard, I find out that he was in even worse shape in March when he was hospitalised.  He was kicked out of school because he was too sick.  I ask him what games he likes to play, and he tells me he has never been able to play games.  The kids at school would run away from him and make fun of him because he was sick.  My heart breaks, but I don't want to cry in front of him.  I tell him that we are friends and that I pray one day I will be back to visit him. Then I hand him and his Mom both an orange and they clap and smile like I have just handed them a stack of money. 
I look over to the ground and I see Priscilla sitting there with a smile.  She visits these people EVERYDAY.  Incredible.  When you or I have a sick relative we visit them once and say, "OK well that's done".  Richard is not family to Priscilla, not by blood anyway, but she has adopted him into her life.  She is committed to care for those that the world does not see.  I look at Priscilla and I see all that is good in the world.  She is how I know that my faith is real.  I believe that God is working through her to save lives, and sometimes to be a loving face for people like Richard to see as they slip away.  I would challenge anybody to come to Sakubva and walk into the homes, and not see that.

I don't need to make up these stories.  These are the incredible people that I meet.  Their stories give courage to us all. 
There is always hope.  Please, the people that we look up to should not have the biggest house and the and the best job title, it should be people like Priscilla.  Which one of us has the strength to do what she does and see what she sees everyday.  I continue to be deeply challenged and encouraged at the same time.

We love you guys, and you are always in our thoughts.

~T