It is with a heavy heart that I
write this blog. For those of you who
don’t know, U squad’s three months in Africa come to completion tomorrow. We departed Swaziland yesterday, and are
preparing to fly from South Africa to Ukraine tomorrow evening. Our time in Swaziland was joyous; we were
able to be the hands and feet of our amazing God. Yet, at the same time, it was a terrible
month of beholding the suffering and need of the Swazi people. What I want to do is share with you three
stories that define this past month of ministry, and to somehow try and process
the emotions that are coursing through my heart as a result.
Story 1: Grandmother Lily
Rachel with Lily the first time she was able to walk out down her step and out of her house!
Two weeks before we arrived in
Nsoko, Swaziland, a woman named Grandmother Lily suffered a debilitating
stroke. No longer able to walk, she sat
on the floor of her hut in her defecation.
Her legs developed sores from soaking in her pooled urine. Lily’s grandchildren sporadically fed her,
but most of these two weeks were spent alone.
When our team first met Lily, her legs were severely swollen from lack of use, and her home reeked of ammonia.
Rachel Ritsema, the team leader of Willow,
was an occupational therapist before coming on the Race. Thus, dreams of therapy for Grandmother Lily
were born the moment that we stepped out of her hut. The next day we tracked down a walker and
shared our plan with Lily. Sessions
began that day.
Throughout our three weeks in
Nsoko, Rachel and I visited Lily twice a day for therapy. When we began, Lily could stand for only
seconds on her trembling, walker-supported legs, before collapsing onto her bed
in exhaustion. Yet, her improvement was
drastic! Soon, Lily could walk across the
room with our assistance. Then, she
could do it on her own! During our final
week, she walked out of her hut, down a stair, and into brilliant African
sunlight. I was beaming like a proud parent. As we prayed over her legs (for God is her
healer) she looked at us with untold gratitude.
She told us through a translator, “I never had hope of walking again
until you came!” Praise God – her legs
were no longer swollen, and the full-time missionaries in Nsoko vowed to carry
on her therapy after our departure!
Story 2: Grandmother Aliyah
Aliyah proudly showing Tiffany her solar-powered SiSwati bible!
This past month, we also had the
opportunity to help build a home for a widow named Grandmother Aliyah. When Adventures in Missions first met Aliyah,
she was so starved that she had resorted to eating grass. In addition, she was suffering from severe
pneumonia, and she was sleeping in a collapsed hut by night. Her drunkard son, whose societal responsibility it was to care for her, had ventured to another city. She was left completely alone.
Adventures in Missions provided the
money to build Aliyah a new home (about $5,000 USD). As we helped the builders, Aliyah sat outside
and listened to a solar-powered SiSwati bible that had been a gift from
AIM. She delighted in God’s Word, and
had so much of it memorized! On breaks,
we would often talk to her about the bible, and she told us with uncontrollable
enthusiasm about God’s love. I felt
unbelievably blessed to help build a home for this deserving woman
and her two grandchildren!
Justin and I helping build Aliyah’s two-bedroom home!
Story 3: Irene
Rachel and I visiting Irene.
While the previous two stories are
colored by victory, Irene’s story is not.
Irene approached Adventures in Missions a few days before we left asking
for our help. She explained to us that
the previous weekend her hut went up in flames.
She was left with nothing but the clothes on her back. We told Irene that we would come visit her
homestead later that day. As we prepared
for our visit, our contact shared with us more of Irene’s story.
Unlike Lily and Aliyah, Irene is not
walking with the Lord. She is known in
the Nsoko community for being an alcoholic and for neglecting her children. Three weeks earlier, Irene’s unattended
five-year-old daughter was run over by a car as she wandered aimlessly down a
nearby road. Of her 11 kids, 6 have
passed away. The man Irene was living with was not her husband.
Rachel and I visited Irene at her
homestead. We sat on cinder blocks next
to the remnants of her home. Tears ran
down Irene’s face as she shared with us her life of misery. Irene has no home. She has just lost her daughter. Her five living children have moved away. She has no food, no job, and no money.
The ashes of Irene’s home.
We told Irene that we were sorry,
and we told her about God’s love and forgiveness. We told her about a hope that seemed far off. We promised that we could at least bring her
some clothes and a little bit of food. There was not a lot more that we could do. She is only one of many in her community who are
in need of food and shelter. So, we prayed for Irene and we left. As we walked
away, I looked over my shoulder at the old, hopeless woman sitting on a
cinder block. I was reminded, again, that
there are so many people in this world desperately in need of the love of God and their neighbors.
Irene sitting on a cinder block as we left her with nothing but the clothes on her back.
Hands and Feet
I really do rejoice at God’s
provision for Grandmother’s Lily and Aliyah.
I really do rejoice that there were so many kids this month that we were
able to provide with clothes, food, and love.
Yet, my heart is almost clenched with despair knowing that in this
moment Irene is probably sitting on that cinder block – knowing that there is
still untold need in Nsoko alone.
Distributing clothes!
This morning, my despair mounted as
I watched the news for the first time in months. I was almost frozen as I heard about all the
agony, destruction, and division that plague our world. I know that I am called to herald the love
and hope of God, but what the heck am I to do in the face of such extensive
suffering? Sure, I have seen God pour
out His Kingdom on a few people in Swaziland this month, but what about the billions who are strangers to His love?
I guess that I’ve always believed
that Christ would change the world through me.
Yet, sometimes I think that this is an unrealistic expectation. I tell myself that there are too many people,
and too many bad things happening. I
tell myself that the evil and injustice are insurmountable. I tell myself that it would be easier to
throw in the towel – to just look out for myself and avoid suffering as much as
I can, because when God gives me even a taste of his love for humanity, then it
rends my heart apart.
I had one of those moments this
morning. Then, I opened my Bible up to
Psalm 46:
“God is our refuge and our
strength, a very present help in trouble… He makes wars cease to the end of the
earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with
fire. ‘Be still, and know that I am
God. I will be exalted among the nations;
I will be exalted in the earth!’ The
Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”
I needed that Divine reminder this morning. Suffering and evil have erected massive towers in this world. But, these structures will all crumble at one word from our King. He is COMPLETELY in control, and He promises that one day His Kingdom will come fully and perfectly to our earth. Until that time, I know that He is asking me
to be His hands and feet – to help build His Kingdom now. When I think about this seemingly daunting task, I am reminded of the
widow in 2 Kings 4. In the face of her great need, she had nothing to offer God except one jar of oil. Yet, God took her small offering and
multiplied it until many jars were filled.
In the same way, I believe that God is saying to me, “Love whoever I put
in front of you, and I will multiply your offering of love for the great
advancement of My Kingdom.”
It hurts to share the burdens of
those who are suffering. But, there is
no other avenue down which true joy is found. So,
I pose this question to whoever is reading these words, “Is your heart calloused to the needs of someone around you?” My answer to this question is always yes. Praise God, though, because He is
always willing to shear off whatever has become tough to His purposes.
In closing, I pray that we would look at this world and know that Love is victorious. I pray that we would fight like hell against callousness in our hearts and extend sacrificial love to others – that our cups of love would be recklessly poured out. God may
not change the whole world through us today.
But, He will change the whole world for
some people through our love. We are broken people, and we love in broken ways. Praise God, then, that He has given us His perfect Spirit to help us love – even when it hurts, even when it seems hopeless. Let us walk in this Spirit and hold high the banner of Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 13,
“Love bears all things, believes
all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never fails!”
If you are at all interested in supporting AIM’s work to care for vulnerable people in Nsoko, Swaziland, please email me at [email protected]. There is an awesome missionary family from Michigan living in Nsoko for the next two years, and they would make fantastic use of any benevolence funds for the community!
