This past week I had the incredible opportunity, along with my team, to work with a lady three hours away from us. She is a woman of incredible strength, dignity, and purpose. She rescues young girls who are being beaten, abused, or raped by their fathers and grandfathers. The young women she takes care of in her home have all given birth in incest. These young girls, some as young as 12, all have babies of varying ages, and with this woman, the babies (and the girls) have health care, hygiene products, food, shelter, and love. It was an amazing week to spend with them.
This is the kind of work that I want to do this year…and for the rest of my life. I want young girls to know that they are safe, to know that they are loved.
The real reason I wanted to write this blog is to tell you about the woman, whose name I won’t reveal here. One afternoon she was driving our team back to the bus so we could ride the three hours back home (often on dirt roads with holes the size of cars… it was a lot of fun). When we got to the place where the bus would pick us up, we were standing around talking, and two little kids walked up carrying trash bags. They were filthy, their hair probably hadn’t been washed in weeks, and they weren’t wearing shoes. Honestly, I didn’t pay a lot of attention to them; where I live beggars will dress their kids up or their dogs or their spouses in dirt and rags to trick money out of you. Heartless, I know, but all I’ve been taught for my whole life is not to pay attention to people on the streets.
Well, this woman (we’ll call her Jennifer) noticed these kids. Not only did she notice them, she stopped what she was doing and knelt down to talk to them. They were collecting plastic and glass bottles to turn in for money for their mother. Jennifer said some kind and loving words to them, quickly finished her water and gave them the bottle. Then she patter their heads, took out her wallet, and gave them money. She said, “Take this down the street and buy some bread and water at the pulperia (locally owned shop, very tiny, and there are millions around).” She made them promise to go right away, and not bring the money home to their mom. Later after they left, a teammate asked her why she didn’t want the money to go home to the mom. I honestly was wondering the same thing. And in the most impassioned voice I’ve ever heard, she responded with, “Did you see the way those kids were dressed? Did you see what they looked like? Did you see what they were doing? Where was the mother? Certainly not walking around the streets with them. And I guarantee you, if they don’t bring enough bottles home, they’re going to get beaten. The bread and water they are about to buy, that might be the only food they get today.”
My teammate Carina and I had been saving oranges for the ride home, and as she said these words, we looked at each other and just knew. She got the oranges out of her bag and we ran down the street after the kids. We caught up to them and gave them the oranges, and the little girl smiled at me like she had just been given the keys to a mansion of cotton candy and lollipops. It really broke my heart.
We walked back to where Jennifer and our team were waiting. Jennifer thanked us for our act of service, but I still felt shame that I hadn’t given the orange right away. I honestly hadn’t even thought about the dang fruit. She smiled at us and said, “You always need to be aware of what’s going on around you. You never know when the person sitting next to you on a bus, or walking past you on the street is in the middle of a life crisis.” She went on to tell us about a young girl, mother, and grandmother sitting on a bus with her, both of whom were silent and somber. She asked what was up, and they told her that their young daughter/granddaughter had appendicitis and needed her appendix removed. The young girl was in a great deal of pain on the extended, several-hour-long bus ride. Jennifer immediately laid hands on the young girl and prayed healing for her, and comfort for her family. She had to hurry to get off the bus in time, and she (to this day) has no idea what happened to that little girl, but she was able in one blink of an eye to offer comfort and prayer to a hurting family.
This woman is unbelievable. She is so empowered and anointed to fight for those people who cannot fight for themselves. But she doesn’t stop at just her own specific ministry. Her eyes and ears are always, always open, to whatever is around her, and she is always “on” so that if prayer, or comfort, or conversation is needed, she can provide.
Jennifer is a woman I want to emulate. Her compassion for people, her impassioned love for ALL, is a trait I have never seen to such a degree before. She always comes last. She never thinks of herself, her rest, her own desires. Why? Because she’s blessed. She has a beautiful share of life. So she puts herself aside in order to serve the world. I hope one day I, too, can be as caring, as selfless, as loving and gracious and generous as she, and that I can fight for those who cannot fight for themselves with the same passion and voraciousness. I pray the Lord blesses her beyond reason.
