Meet Zinha (pronounced Zine-yah).
Zinha lives in Mozambique next door to the ministry site where my team was working this month. She is six years old, she loves to catch dragonflies by the wings, and she loves to climb to the tops of the trees that surround her home. Her two front teeth are missing but she still smiles all day. Her laugh is contagious and the warmth she spreads is full of light.
But when Zinha and I first met this wasn’t the case. The first day I met Zinha she was sick.
On our very first day of ministry no one really noticed this little girl except one of our squad leaders, Renee. Renee saw Zinha and immediately recognized that this little girl was sick, her belly was bloated her skin looked thin and there was a dullness to her eyes that wasn’t healthy. I watched Renee on this first day as she walked over to her and placed her hand on Zinha’s head and I overheard her praying for Zinha’s health calling upon Jesus asking him to heal this little girl from her sickness. She was asking Jesus to instill joy in her heart and fill the emptiness within her.
I can honestly tell you I didn’t think anything of it, I thought that we would come back and Zinha would be the same the next day. I couldn’t imagine that there would be a change overnight but God is teaching me that he is bigger than I could ever imagine.
The next day when we returned to our ministry site there was a huge change! Zinha immediately came over to us when the kids gathered around to play games and her presence exuded the healing hand of God. She looked extremely comfortable in her own skin and her face was covered with a smile. Light filled her eyes and her energy seemed endless as she constantly ran throughout the field climbing trees and catching dragonflies.
I could immediately see a difference in this little girl! Joy filled her smile and her laugh was infectious and over this month she has surely become one of my favorite little girls! I have prayed for her and her family everyday and I am so thankful that the orphanage we are building is right next to her house. God is watching over her family and I know he will be known in their house.
Throughout our time with this ministry we met more of Zinha’s family and one of my squad mates, Rachel, wrote a blog about Zinha’s older brother Luis (http://rachelbarnette.theworldrace.org/?filename=eyes-of-the-sons-and-daughters).
A few days ago I had to say goodbye to Zinha.
Our last day I was worried I wouldn’t know how to say goodbye. There was a part of me that was scared that she wouldn’t remember the love I felt for her and as she ran to my arms to greet me the morning we left I knew I would be leaving a piece of my heart in Mozambique.
But I don’t think leaving a piece of my heart is a bad thing. I trust that this piece of my heart will be kept in Zinha’s heart and she won’t forget me. I know I won’t forget her but most importantly I know God will not forget her. He sees the unseen. He sees the depths of our hearts and his healing hand has made a lasting impression on this little girl. I do not fear that she will not come to know the Lord, I trust that he is already doing a great work in her life. Thank you Jesus for filling me with your joy because of this little girl.
