God always places you exactly where you need to be. It’s not always clear to us why we are where we are. Sometimes we don’t know the reasoning. Other times it’s crystal clear. My placement in Zimbabwe is one that is very clear why I should be here.
As I talked about in a previous blog, I have no desire to pursue a career in the field that I worked so hard to get a masters degree. That is a story of how sometimes it’s not so clear why we are where we are. As I said in that blog, maybe a degree in speech pathology was just preparing me for the Race and after the Race I’m meant to do something different. After seeing my ministry in Zimbabwe I am beginning to believe that even more.
This month we are doing several different things. Each day is a little different. Some days we go to an orphanage, some days we help at a soup kitchen, some days we hang out with some teenage boys, some days we paint, and some days I go to a school. All of them are great, but I want to talk about the school.
The school is where I am needed the most. I am the only one on my team with the skills needed to help one little boy. This is because he needs a speech pathologist. Twice a week I come and hold individual sessions with a boy named Obvious.
This boy is about 10 years old and a handful. Honestly, there isn’t much that I can do because I don’t have any materials with me. I would like to administer standardized tests (receptive and expressive language and articulation just to name a couple that I would start with) in order to get a better understanding of areas that he needs the most help in. Unfortunately this is not possible. I can only do what I can see from the little amount of time I have been able to spend with him.
Obvious is such a loving kid. He has the biggest smile and is always happy. He works hard during our sessions, even though I constantly have to redirect him to the task and remind him to focus. He loves hugs and high fives. And his favorite part is taking pictures with me after we have finished our work.
He needs a lot of help though. I see many areas of difficulties for him and I just don’t have the tools or time to give him all that he needs. But none of that really matters. He loves the time that we spend together. More than helping him with his speech and language, I can show him love and individualized attention that he might not otherwise receive. This is the easy part of being a stand-in speech pathologist here at the school in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
We attended the church that the family we are staying with goes to one Sunday. The pastor said a quote that was perfect for my time with Obvious. “God’s got you where you are so you can touch someone’s life.” Even though I don’t particularly enjoy doing speech therapy, it is obvious that I was put here for a very specific reason and that 6 years of school aren’t being wasted.
God placed me here because he knew that Obvious needed someone to touch his life. There are only two speech pathologists on our squad. I am one of them and God chose me to be here to help Obvious. He entrusted me with the task of helping his speech and language while touching his life. I may not be able to make a huge difference in his speech in the limited time I am here, but I can still spend time with him and also help educate his teachers so they can continue to help him once I have left.
This is my story of how God is using my skills to make a difference and how God doesn’t let anything go to waste, even education. God is using my skills to touch someone’s life. This is my obvious story.
