At Asha Nepal, there is something like 16 kids, 9 women, and
one old man. Now this old man is
special. He’s in his mid-70s and is not
well. He sits outside in his chair on
the porch all day long. He’s take short
walks around the yard for his exercise.
He shows up every night to our devotions we have for the kids. Then he goes to bed. He can’t really hear very well and he can’t
really see very well. The kids come and
torment him so he hits them with his shoe or a bamboo stick. I don’t really blame him. He mumbles a lot to himself, but I don’t
really blame him for that either since he doesn’t really have anyone to talk
to. He’s become one of my very good
friends. We have a special bond for some
reason. He misses me when I don’t come
down and say Hi to him every morning.
He’s very concerned for me when I’m not feeling well. And he just laughs every time I give him a
hug.
I was watching him the other day in devotion and started
thinking. It must be so frustrating to
not really ever know what’s going on because you can’t hear or see
anything. It must be so lonely to sit
out on the porch all day with no one to talk to. It must be so annoying to have kids come bug
the stew out of you when you’re trying to rest because you don’t ever feel
well. He must have stories and stories
that he wants to share. He must have
some really deep, profound thoughts with all the time he spends thinking. I wonder if he misses his village. I wonder if he misses his daughter. I wonder if he often thinks about his
past.
Papa ended up here about 7 months ago. His story goes something like this…His
daughter was sold into sex slavery by her “adopted brother� when she was a
teenager. She was thankfully released
and went home to find her father horribly sick. She now works at Bombay Teen
Challenge, which is the sister organization of Asha Nepal and actually takes
the women out of the brothels in Mumbai, India.
She brought her father to Asha Nepal to get the care he needs in a
caring, beautiful environment. I wonder
if he likes it here. I wonder if he
wishes he was back in his village so he wouldn’t be so lonely. I wonder how bad he missed his daughter and
worried about her when she disappeared.
I wonder if he ever found out who sold her into the industry. I wonder how emotional it was when she
returned home to him. He has so many
stories to tell. So much life to give. Too bad he doesn’t get much of a chance to
give it. I’m so thankful for the
relationship I’ve built with him. I’m so
thankful for that smile every time I say Hello to him. I’m going to miss that cranky old man,
especially his adorable mumbly old man voice.
