God gave me a heart for skinny dogs and orphaned kids; this is undeniable. They break my heart constantly. But – it’s a new sensation for me to be heart-broken over an elderly woman and her daughter.
There is a family that lives two doors down from us in the Gypsy village of Viile Tecii. The mother, Anutsa, is adorable. She is in her 70’s, loves her garden, and she is the proud mother of Stella. If you were to gander at Stella, you would think she is about to birth a child any day. Sadly, it’s not a baby in her stomach. It’s a cancerous tumor and fluid.
While running the other morning, I ran into Stella – waiting alone for the bus to take her into the city to have her stomach drained for the second time this week. She lifted her shirt and showed me her stomach – bulging and covered in scars from her recent surgeries. My heart sank. In broken English, I learned that her prognosis is not good. The cancer is obviously in a late stage, and is taking over her body. She is only 52. And she is all her mother has.
Not knowing what to do and feeling so helpless can be super frustrating. So, Kelly and I did what we do best … we showed up that afternoon with ice cream. We sat with them and enjoyed our tasty frozen treats and laughed at the language barrier – and in those minutes Stella and Anutsa were happy. When we left they cried as they kissed us goodbye and repeatedly told us, “I love you,” and “you’re beautiful.” Stella ran into her house and came back with her favorite tea for us to have.
We are continuing to visit Stella and Anutsa each day. They tell people in the village that we are angels, and they always greet us with hugs, smiles and kisses.
Someone recently told me that my biggest gift is also my biggest curse. Having a heart that cares can be quite painful – and this is proving to be especially true on this journey. It sucks at times. I get frustrated because I can’t fix it all – I can’t even begin to. I can’t cure the cancer, feed all the skinny dogs, or adopt all the orphans. But, I am learning that sometimes the least you can do can be the world to someone.
Bottom line? All you need is love. And a little ice cream.
