This sweet girl lives with this family on weekends and holidays because she is an orphan. Here she does the cleaning, washing, bathing the younger kids, etc. Another girl, who also just turned 17, is there as well to help and these girls get up at 4am every morning to study for school. They don’t have alarm clocks nor do they get much rest until they lay their heads down for bed around 10pm. These are hard workers. I have spent some sweet time getting to know them. And I LOVE THEM!!!
We will call this girl Cinderella since she is exactly her. We would laugh and hang out but one day something was different. There was no smile, no emotion, just silence. My heart became burdened for her. I tried everything to get her to snap out of it. Nothing. Then one night as I crawled into their bed as a joke I shared what was going on with me. This opened up a door for her to finally share what was going on in one word. She said she was frustrated and left it at that. Progress!
Cinderelli Cinderelli night and day Cinderelli. Wash the dishes! Scrub the floors!
The next day she continues her normal duties plus we are doing things for a pre-Christmas/birthdays celebration. All day Tambo is in the kitchen cooking our American food for them. We are getting frustrated with everything in the kitchen. But I make an extra small pan for us of sweet cornbread. There are over 30 people so we want to make sure there is enough. It finishes early while we continue working on empty stomachs. We break into it! We stuff cornbread into their mouths for them since they are hard at work. This lifts all of our spirits and they want more.
After everything is over that night we begin a movie with the family in the living room. I settle in then Cinderella walks past with a depressed face saying she didn’t want to watch but to enjoy. Well, that didn’t set right with me. So my chasing after her begins again. We end up lying down on the bed where we like to do most of our personal talk. She wants to share stories. I convince her to tell me hers even though it’s all sad she said. Cinderella begins her story…
Her twin died when she was one year old. Since she was a burden to her parents they gave her to her Aunt who lived at a boarding school. She spent the next several years growing up with her as her mother. Her father would often visit and bring her gifts but he never told her that he was her father. Then her Aunt passed away leaving no choice but to move back to her biological parents she didn’t know. Their tribe was at war. Sometimes at school they would come shooting leaving them to hide. That was the end of her going there. Then one night all the houses were being set on fire so they ran and hide in the ditch. Her life was like this for a while. When her father came home one night he was telling her horrible things about her stepmom…the next thing I know I am being asked a question I NEVER thought I would be asked.
Have you ever seen a human slaughtered? No…
My stepmom slaughtered my father like a cow. She had seen his body. My heart broke for her. Every time I tell her story I break down. This is why her life is miserable she said. Now she must work in someone else’s home working for food, clothes, a home, school, and love.
Lord BLESSED me this month with Cinderella. My (His) persistence on having her open up and talk to me was about showing her people do CARE. There was a poster in the kitchen that she read and believed that basically said don’t tell people your problems because they will either laugh or don’t care because they have more problems. Only tell God your problems. Yes, tell God your problems ALL the time, but I fully believe He sends us people to help us. By the end of my stay there she told me she was going to burn it since it was rubbish. Praise Jesus! He reached her. We had so many sweet talks about her feelings/issues our last days. The Lord has created a strong sisterly bond between us that I KNOW we will see each other again. So Cinderella’s story ends with her finding love in her Savior and a new sister. She continues to follow her Prince of Peace until she enters the Pearly gates of Heaven. But until then she will pour out Jesus’ love on all those around her.
