Magdelna is a woman I met last night at church. I walked in and she says to me “sit here”. Caught off guard by her English, but drawn into her warmth, I sit with anticipation. In graceful mannerisms uncharacteristic to what I’ve seen in a gypsy, she begins to unveil the secret treasures of her life. I piece together that she learned English in Rome where she lives. She is a jewelery designer and is just home visiting her mother in Bor for a time, helping her with things, as her mother isn’t well and lives alone. She relentlessly invites us to her house the next day, so we plan for 3.
Failing miserably, and beyond disturbed, I gave up to using my hands and left the ax to capable hands… the 87yr old mother.
After a few perfectly precise wacks she relinquishes her duties on account of her backache. She cant do the things she used to. Her spirit is feisty as ever… but her body is no longer willing to cooperate. So Magdelena has come to get a few things in order for her. She tried to take her mother to Rome with her, but she refuse because she likes her country life, her house and the fact that she knows the language here.
O…M…G
Did they kill a chicken for us to eat?!?
I try to ignore that only to be assaulted by the sound of what seems to be a pig getting slaughtered. As the three of us vegetarians sit in horror for a bit, Sue says ,
Magdelena proceeds with an abbreviated version of her life story. Living in Rome most of her life, she moved to India to learn Jewelry making. While studying she was diagnosed with cancer. After many treatments and different medication, she had given up hope. On a last minute attempt at fate she decided to go to the Phillipines. She had heard rumors of faith healers there. The details are fuzzy through her broken English, but what I gathered is this. She went skeptical and Buddhist. To check these people out, she translated for them for a while. After a bit she started going to a small church with them, like the gypsy one we met her at. Each Sunday wearing her traditional orange Buddhist attire and mantra necklace. She said the Christians never said anything about it. She would speak her Buddhist mantras while they prayed, still, they would say nothing about it. One day, the room smelled so bad, she sat bt the window she said, because she could barely breath. Then during worship, out of nowhere, came the most beautiful aroma. The smell of enchanting perfume.
“I’m going crazy” she thought, “I’m losing my mind, this place smells awful!”
In that moment she says all of her Buddhist training and thoughts were deleted and wiped clean. Unaware of how to respond, she retreated home for bed. As she got dressed the next day, orange attire and the mantra… she couldn’t put the necklace on. She said her hands stopped and she couldn’t make them pu
t it on. She said ok and put it down. From that day forward she began walking towards Christ and learning from these Christians that loved and accepted her right into the kingdom.
All her time near the Vatican, and God met her in a hot, smelly church that meets in a basement in the Phillipines.
Oh… and her cancer was healed. When we asked her when… she just says, “over 5-6 years of prayer, faith, and walking towards Jesus.”….Now its gone.
God is funny.. and amazing… and way more than I will ever pretend to understand.
