On Thursday we had breakfast and headed out for a little door to door (walking around a neighborhood where they have dirt floors and tin roofs) Its a pretty typical 3rd world home setting. We stopped a few places along the way but as we walked by one home a man in a wheel chair really stuck out to me. I approached him and the team joined. Our translator helped me speak with him. I simply started by introducing myself, making small talk and a short prayer. As the conversation was deepening i asked him about the injury that placed him in the chair. He explained that one night he was walking to the disco (bar) just up the road from his home, when he sawd a man standing by himself. He asked the man what he was doing and right then the man shot him in the side. He fell to the ground, and when trying to come to terms with what happened, trying to get back up, he was shot again, only this would change his life forever!
The man was short with his story but it was simple to see, i didn’t need to know much more. He was paralyzed and would never walk again. He was so fully of joy, smiling the whole time we were there, offering us drinks of water, and a coconut fresh off of the tree that we gladly accepted. In this culture, if someone offers you something, even if they don’t have much to offer you should still accept it to be polite. You see, this blesses them to be able to give to us, as much as it blesses us to give to them. But back to the coconut… Horlyn (our translator) used a machete and cut the coconut open and we had fresh milk and we cut it open and had the coconut out of it as well. The man told us about his family, 3 children and 1 grand child that he is so thankful for. We are so ungrateful for the little things, when this man is just grateful to have visitors. Makes ya think a little…
I asked him if he attends a church and he explained that he cannot leave his porch because of the chair, and his arms are not strong enough to push him through the gravel, up a huge hill, and then down the gravel road to the church. His “yard” was very rough, so he probably wouldn’t be able to get out even if he wanted to. So i decided to bring church to him. We sat and talked about God some, and i read out of the bible for about 15 minutes or so to him. He was such a wonderful, greateful man. Now that im writing this i really want to go back and visit him….
We will see what tomorrow holds in store…..
