I knew that Zandile was sick. It was said that she was a
walking dead person: No life in her eyes, no will to live, and dying of AIDS
and Tuberculoses. Of course, I didn’t know just how bad the situation was until
I entered her home.
I had never been at the bedside of someone suffering from a
chronic disease. Although it is common for missionaries to go and pray for the
dying, this was my first real encounter. And I have not slept well since.
Zandile is a 23-year-old mother of at least 3 beautiful
daughters: A 7 year old, a 3 year old, and an 8 month old. The mother
contracted AIDS at some point in her life, and thereby contracted TB because of
her weak immune system. She had to quit taking her AIDS meds to take the TB
medicine, but defaulted on those by only 2 weeks. She was supposed to take the
pills for 6 months, but quit after 5 and a half because she felt better and
wanted to drink with her friends.
Now she lays on her bed, unable to get up and take care of
her children. She rejects help from the neighbors, won’t eat anything other
than meat, and neglects her children. The first time we went to her house, we
spent an hour praying over her, sharing the Gospel with her, and telling her
that she needed to repent and choose Jesus. I prayed with her and she repeated
the words I spoke. Afterwards, with her own will, she said that she loved
Jesus.
I wish I could say that after that encounter she was
different. When we entered the home the following day, we found the naked baby
laying on the other bed, rolling around in her own feces and holding a moldy
bottle. My contact Corine scooped up the sweet girl into her arms and carried
her to a neighbor’s house to bathe her. We washed her, fed her, and bought her
some diapers and a new dress. We then knew it was time to begin looking for
homes for the kids.
With the way things work in Swaziland, it is not easy to
find homes for the children. There’s no Child Protective Services who can
remove children if the home isn’t fitting. There’s no sound record of who the
fathers of the children are. There’s no adoption allowed in the Kingdom. And
there are few orphanages in this area. The only thing they have is a health
motivator, a lady who checks up on people from time to time. With that being
said, we have been talking to people in the community and have found very
temporary housing for them. A meeting will have to be called at some point to
decide what to do with them long term.
Of course I am praying that Zandile will recover, but it
does not look as though she will. The doctor says that with her desire to die,
her unwillingness to take the medicine, and no one to take her to the doctor
for her 6 months of daily injections, the chances are slim.
I wish I could end this with some sort of conclusion or answer.
But I have none. I don’t know what will happen to Zandile. I don’t know where
her children will live. I don’t know if the baby is going to be ok because she
is extremely sick. I just don’t know. I don’t know…. But God does. He knows.
I am holding to that. I am holding to the chance that she
meant that she loved Jesus; that she was in her right mind for that hour we
spoke to her. I believe that Daddy will protect His daughters the way He has
protected me, because He loves us all the same. I believe that I did not enter
that house in vain. I entered with a purpose and that purpose was accomplished.
We came and brought the Spirit of the Living God with us and He is moving
there.
He knows what this family needs… There’s hope… As dark and
hopeless as it seems.
