At the last sary sary store we went to, the owner told us about her grandson. She asked us if we could buy a wheelchair for him so that he could go to school. It was the first of many times we would be asked to provide many tangible needs. Since it was our first day, and we were already advised about handing money out, we told her that we did not have any money to give, but would be more than happy to pray for him.
A few minutes later, his sister came out carrying him. His name was Dexter. He was one of the cutest kids I'd seen all month. His smile could light up any room and joy radiated from him. He was very shy and quiet at first, not saying much at all.
His grandmother tried to explain to us what his diagnosis was, but we don’t remember exactly. All we know is that he couldn’t walk or stand and therefore could not go to school. So we prayed.
That night back at our house, Ed mentioned that he felt like God was telling him that we should go back to Dexter's house every day we are here and pray for him. Instantly, Cathy and I said we had felt the same thing. And so we did.
We went to his house every day and prayed for healing over him, sang songs with him, and played with him. We even learned his favorite song [Jesus Came] so we could sing it with him, motions and all .We taught him new songs. We bought him a ball and mini basketball to play with.
One day, we even took his family to the pool. The pool is just a short drive [long walkl] down the road from our barangay and they had never been there before. And it was free admission! We took Dexter and did a bit of physical therapy type things with him in the kiddy pool and then just played with him the rest of the day.
By the end of the month, Dexter was looking out the door for us as we pulled up to his house. His smile made any day better. His sister told us when we weren't there, he would ask, "Where are my American friends?"
For Christmas, we bought him a toy truck and he nearly fell over in excitement.
Our visits weren't long or extravagant. Dexter didn’t get healed while we were there. But those visits changed his life. We didn’t have much to give, but what we did have, we gave to the fullest.
And even though he smelled like poop sometimes, I still held Dexter on my lap to help him through the motions of Sweet and Marvelous.
