While we are here in Cape Town, one of the aspects of our ministry is to do outreaches every Wednesday night. Our team packs up a van with enough soup to feed a small village, and we head to squatter camps or slums in the outlying farming communities (near the church we serve at during the days). It's nothing fancy or glamorous. Just a few songs, testimonies, a brief gospel presentation, and a lot of children.
On this particular evening, the group that came for soup was literally all kids. They would come out of their shanties and make their way through the trash-filled, sandy roads on their bare feet, joining us at the front of the village. We hadn't even gotten through our first song when one of the kids started having a seizure…
"Yes, Jesus loves me." Then a boy collapses and starts foaming at the mouth.
Besides the obvious, the most surprising thing about this was that all the kids just kept carrying on in their singing and hand gestures, as if this sort of fit was normal. The boy's mother walked into the middle of the circle, picked him up, and carried him away to their home. We would later discover that the boy's name is Enrico, and his mother that carried him away is actually his mothers cousin. His real mother has passed away and his father is completely out of the picture, having other kids with other women (unfortunately a very common circumstance in South Africa).
After we wrapped up the songs, a few people from our team decided to go find where Enrico lives so we could pray for him. When we get to his one room house, we find him asleep on the family couch/bed. There were four or five of us crammed into this tiny space, but we all cozied up around the boy. I couldn't tell you what all was said or asked, but we prayed for healing, rest, comfort, and deep, peaceful breaths. Enrico remained sound asleep the whole time, which is exactly what he needed.
There wasn't a lot we could see with our own eyes, but I am sure there was so much going on inside of Enrico, two sides fighting for him. I'm thankful for the Lord's timing, that He brought us to Enrico's village on that very night, at the exact time he began to seize. I'm glad the Lord put us in a position where we could go to war for the weak, help the helpless, and fight for the fatherless. The world seems a lot smaller, but God seems a lot bigger, when we're praying for Enrico.
