An orphan. A motherless child. Abandoned. Forgotten. Abused. Misused. Lost. Broken. Starving.
Freidah. Beautiful. Joyful. Free. Smart. Lovely. Full of life. Encouraging. Redeemed. Made new. Powerful. Strong. Obedient. Wise. Teacher. Loving.
These two descriptions are so opposite of each other yet true of one 11-year-old girl that I had the honor of meeting last month in Zambia. My team was traveling around Zambia looking for new ministries that our organization, AIM, can partner with in the future. Saying that we were blessed is the understatement of the century. Our first find of the month was Family Legacy, one of the most incredible organizations I have ever seen. Our first day with them, we go on a tour of the orphan village, Tree of Life, that they have built and we walk into Della’s house. There a little girl runs up to me, grabs my hand and leads me to the large dining room table in the middle of the house. She tells me her name, Freidah. She’s 11 years old and loves English class. She wants to be a teacher someday. After a few minutes, she gets up and walks over to the chalkboard and art easel in the corner of the room. She writes “You are special. I love you.”
Who is this girl? What is her story? I have to find out. As we play hula hoop outside, I let the Holy Spirit lead me into a conversation with Freidah about her life. And I was appalled by what I heard. Her parents died in an accident four years ago, leaving her and her little brother orphans. She was in tears telling me the story and you could see the deep love that she had for her parents in her eyes. This alone amazed me as she later shared that her parents would come in late at night and tell her that she was a dog, worthless. Many people hurt and abused her while she lived with her parents. After they died, she was sent to live with her grandmother. Here she was beaten and abused repeatedly. Freidah’s situation had to have been terrible for her to be placed here at Tree of Life. They evaluate each child’s situation with social services and take in the cases that are life threatening. That was Freidah- caught in an unimaginable situation where her the length and quality of her life were below the line of what is acceptable and just.
This amazing, vibrant, warm and loving little girl radiated Jesus to me. Tears streamed down my face as I listened to her story, as I watched pain become etched across her face. I can’t relate to her story. But, I can love her. I can tell her the truth about herself. I can come alongside her hopes and her dreams for a future that is far from the past that she has known. I can look at her and tell her, “You are loved. You are beautiful. You are special. You are made new. You have a future. Jesus hears you. He’s never left you. He has a plan for your life.” I know that Jesus lives in the heart of this precious girl. I have seen it.
Almost two weeks after first meeting Freidah, my team returned to Tree of Life for the last time. I can’t find Freidah anywhere. We go to the school on campus for a short tour and I hear my name. I turn around and with a beaming smile on her face, she comes running to me. Oh how full my heart was at that moment. We talk for a few minutes and she runs back to class. I think that’s the last time I will ever see her. A few hours later, as we are waiting for our cab to come, I hear my name again – Freidah, running into my arms. For the next hour, I laugh, I cry, I hold this beautiful little girl. And she pours Jesus’ love out all over me. She speaks life, love and protection over me. She shares the Word with me. She asks me to always remember her. What she can never fully understand is that her words, her face, her love is tattooed on my heart, etched into my soul. This is the World Race: So often we think that we are here to bring Jesus to people. But, the truth is, the beautiful people of these nations bring Jesus to us.
Go to my Facebook page to see the touching video that Freidah made for me. Please keep this beautiful little girl and all others like her in your prayers.
