Today some of my teammates and I went on a home visit to encourage a Swazi man named Joseph. Joseph is an older man taking care of his wife, his daughter, and his two grand kids. He lives miles off the main highway and has to walk down a dusty dirt road, through sugarcane fields, to even get to a bus stop where he can catch a ride. He makes this walk daily to try to find ways to feed his family. Joseph has tuberculosis.
This is an all to common story here in Swaziland. People in this country are mostly sick and hungry with little resources to provide for their families. People go to great lengths and endure great amounts of pain and suffering just to survive. This country is literally dying off, but I saw more hope in Joseph than I have in most anyone I have ever met.
The purpose of the home visits we go on is to hear the stories of the people we meet, encourage them, and pray for them. These are people who are usually in poor health with little to no other support than the help AIM provides for them. The only doctors they can see for their sicknesses are hours away by bus so they have to find ways to pay for the bus fare there and back. The AIM staff help them get to the doctor when they can, but because of the amount of people who need help and the lack of ways to be in communication with them, AIM can’t always be there for them. All in all the quality of life of these people is low, even by Swazi standards. As Americans, we have nothing to even compare it to. All we can do is try to encourage them with bible verses and with prayer and hope that the support AIM gives is enough.
Today we were tasked with visiting Joseph and his family and encouraging them. We found Joseph walking down the dirt road toward his house with a rag held over his face to keep the dust out of his lungs. He was still miles away from home. He hopped in the van with us and we went to his house for our visit. We sat on mats on the ground in front of his house because the house was too small to fit all of us and because tuberculosis is highly contagious. We met Joseph’s wife and his two grand kids and started the usual awkward small talk (through our translator Pilo). Joseph told us a little about his family and his sickness and about the troubles he faces trying to feed his family in spite of the fact that he can no longer work because of his sickness. It was heart breaking to hear and it was hard to even find words to encourage him.
Joseph didn’t need our encouragement though. Honestly, I don’t think he really needed anything from us at all. We came to a point in his story where he was telling us of a recent trip he had to take to the hospital. He was literally on his deathbed and he was all alone because his wife hadn’t made it there yet. He said as he was lying there God gave him a vision. His vision was of his future in eternity. He said he was walking in a field of bones all alone, but he wasn’t lonely, tired, sick, or hungry. There was a bright light ahead of him that he was walking toward and he knew that he was heading into heaven. He was walking right over the bones, but he wasn’t scared. He said that he didn’t ever want to leave, but all of a sudden, he heard his wife’s voice and he decided that he wasn’t ready to leave her alone. God gave him a choice and he decided that his family still needed him. When he opened his eyes his wife was beside the hospital bed and he was torn between wanting to be in two different worlds.
I know that this sounds like just another “white light” story. People use that description all of the time when they tell of their near death experiences. In America we hear these stories on news reports and in movie plots all the time. We aren’t in America though. Joseph doesn’t even have electricity, much less a television. He has probably never even heard other stories like his and had absolutely nothing to gain by lying to us about his experience. He was just sitting on his front step telling us what God has shown him lately.
Joseph did not wake up completely healed from his sickness. He is still hungry and he is still suffering. He had an opportunity to be done with all of that sickness, hunger, and suffering, but he made a sacrificial choice to endure it all a little longer for the sake of his family. He praises God through it all. He says that no matter if God completely heals him or if he suffers until he dies, he knows for sure that God is good. He has had a taste of what he has in store for him and he knows it is worth whatever this life throws at him until that time comes.
Joseph has told his story to his friends and neighbors. He says that very few of them believe him, but he keeps telling it anyway. When Joseph thinks back on his vision, all he knows is that he was close to heaven and he made a decision to stay here for his family. When I heard his story I saw his vision from a different perspective though. My attention was led to the bones he was walking over and I was reminded of Ezekiel. I was reminded that God used Ezekiel to bring similar bones back to life to form a great army for the kingdom. Swaziland is a dying nation. The suffering here is great. Hope has been lost and this place is all but destroyed. I believe that God is going to use Joseph and others like him to breathe life back into this valley of dry bones. I believe that Swaziland is not destroyed and that there is hope for its survival. I believe that God has huge plans for this place; that breath is being breathed into these starving children and that they are going to rise up into a great army for the kingdom. I believe that God is going to turn the tide of death, sickness, and suffering here and that the testimony of His love and His glory will be undeniable.
It is easy to get caught up in this missionary life. It is easy to view these outings only as a way for God to use us to bring hope and healing to the people in these countries. Sometimes I forget how much God is working in our lives as well, though. We went to Joseph’s house to encourage him and his family, but God used Joseph as much or more to encourage us. Through Joseph and his vision I am now able to see God working in a place I was unable to see much hope in and I am encouraged in God’s promise of an eternity without worldly suffering. Through Joseph I have found freedom from my own disbelief and my limited outlook. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Love Y’all!!!
