We had grabbed coffee from the coffee machine at a little tiny shop and hit the streets, carrying bunches of Bibles. I felt slightly conspicuous toting Bibles around a neighborhood but whatever! I was so ready to meet people in their homes, love on them, give them Bibles and invite them to study the Bible with us!
But right away I spotted this woman. She was trudging along the road, muttering a little bit and inspecting the ground, for what, I don’t know. As we got closer, I realized her back was hunched, so much so that she was completely bent over from the waist. Her mop of black hair hung over her face and she was carrying a white tote bag, full of stuff, on her shoulder.
We greeted her as we passed by, saying, “Buna ziwa!” which means “Good day!” She immediately hobbled over to me and noticed my little plastic cup of coffee. “Coffeeeee!” she hissed at me through chunks of hair. I walked a little faster. I knew she wanted my coffee, but I needed it. I mean, I was going to be walking for several hours and I had to have the energy boost! She started to fall behind as we kept walking.
I asked our Romanian friends (who are also our partners in ministry and translators) about the woman, who she was and if they knew her story. “I know this woman,” one replied. “She’s not right – here.” And they pointed to their heads. She and her sister are mentally unstable, they explained. The two women live together and walk around and collect garbage and random things. I looked back and she was standing in the middle of the road, having a loud, dramatic conversation with herself. “Ohhhhh.” I told them I understood and we moved on to our first house.
But I felt the Holy Spirit tugging at my heart. Is that it? Is that all you have to offer her? You greet her and quickly pass by, just like so many others who don’t care? She was out of sight by this time. “You’re right, God, I could give more but we probably won’t see her again,” I argued. “If you want me to do more, you’ll have to bring her back to me.” I wasn’t about to go out of my way to possibly make a fool of myself.
We were stopping at multiple houses and having conversations with people, so we were moving pretty slow. And once the woman rounded the corner, she was only a couple of doors down from where we were standing. But I STILL hesitated to make a move.
“I’m talking to other people about you, God. I have something else to do and I can’t make time for her right now,” I said under my breath. But I love her. I love her so much. Why don’t you feel the same way?
Okay, that’s it. “I’m going to go give her my coffee!” I blurted out to the group and abruptly turned around and tromped down the road, before I could change my mind.
She had sat down on a little concrete bench. She didn’t even notice me walking towards her, so I came close and held out my cup, which wasn’t even full by this time. A used slop of coffee – it wasn’t much of a gift. In one quick motion, she snatched it out of my hand, chugged it and thrust the cup back in my face.
I had to laugh. “Multumesc,” (thank you) I said. I felt the Holy Spirit telling me to touch her, so I placed my hand on her arm. She immediately stilled and looked at me. Looking into her dark, sad but curious eyes, my heart flopped. I figured she probably thought I was going to yell at her or take her off to jail or something. I began to pray out loud, for her to know Jesus and his great love for her, for emotional, physical, and most of all, spiritual healing. I prayed for her to be safe and protected and whole and loved. Of course, I hadn’t thought to bring a translator with me, but as I was praying, I rubbed her arm and hoped she would feel my love for her, even through the language barrier. When I opened my eyes, she was still staring at me.
I have no idea if she understood anything I said, but I know something happened in her heart. She was peaceful and calm, the opposite of her earlier state. I said goodbye and walked back.
She followed us for quite a while after that. And I kept thinking about Jesus and the people who followed him. They weren’t the people who had it all together or the rich people or the healthy people or the sane people. They were the people who knew they had a need. They needed Someone to take notice, care and help. They needed love.
Honestly, we all have needs. And He is always there, He always notices, and He has much more to give than a slurp of coffee and a prayer. He changes our lives forever.
I am so thankful for the One who looked back, noticed me, turned around and came back for me.
