hi friends! i’ve been in ethiopia for two weeks now, and africa has my HEART. we have no wifi where we are staying, so that’s why you haven’t been hearing from or about me in a hot minute.
i’m with my whole squad this month and we are living at a Christian orphanage mission home called HOPEthiopia (check out their website here).
half of our ministry this month is loving on the orphans and doing life with them, and the other half is manual labor around the compound.
words can’t even begin to express what it’s like to see the joy on these kids faces despite the lives they lived at such a young age, whether that was abuse, neglect, abandonment, or extreme loss. they are full of laughter, goofiness, snuggles, and the love of the Father.
in places such as east africa, it’s easy to sense the Lord. there is little distraction, people live to love their neighbors, living in community is the culture, and the nature is just astounding. God is here and alive in this place.
for part of my ministry, i have been working with a little bit named Robira. he is the sweetest little guy and has so much life ahead of him. his story is truly amazing, and impossible without the power of Jesus.
Robira was found in a box when he was 6 months old. he was completely comatose – no expression, no movement, no reaction to anything in life. some might have called him lifeless or a lost cause, but God said otherwise. he lived in an orphanage for disabled kids until this past december when it shut down. he was then moved the HOPEthiopia where he now lives with the other kids and his house mama loves him dearly.
i clearly remember the first time i saw little Robi. it was during our compound tour and his house mom was holding him. i looked into his eyes and saw something was different with him. yes, he was a bit “off”, but there was an incredible sense of life in his eyes. there was something inside of him screaming to come out. disclaimer: God never leaves us where we’re at.
fast forward a few days when a teammate and i, who both have backgrounds in the health field, sat down the health officer of the orphanage and told her we wanted to help the orphanage in any way we could regarding health – helping with the nurses station, nutrition of the children, helping to educate the house moms on health-related subjects, literally anything that would be beneficial.
one of the first things Dagi, the health officer, mentioned was this: Robi. he needs attention, he needs help. ashley and i were so excited to be able to use our passion of health and knowledge of physical therapy to bring heaven to earth.
currently Robira is said to be 3 years old. given the molars in the back of his mouth and his history of stunted growth and development, id say he is probably closer to 5 going on 6, in a 3 year old body. he is known as a miracle child simply because he is no longer comatose and continues to have growth. he reaches for people he likes, he makes sweet little noises, smiles and giggles, can roll on his back to his belly and back over, and can do a little bit of an army crawl.
ashley and i have been putting our heads together and working with him for about 4-5 hours a day in the play school where a few other tiny humans come to play with toys and learn before they are old enough for real school.
with Robira, we are strengthening his muscles in his back to sit up straight, his neck to hold his head up on his own, his arms to pull himself up, and his legs to eventually be able to walk. his fine motor skills are being worked with building blocks – being able to pick them up and put them in a bucket, and pull them apart after we put them together for him.
the improvement we’ve seen in the 5 days we’ve worked with him is… the work of God alone. he wasn’t able to sit up on his own at all when we first met him. his back would curve and he would just topple over like one of those weeble-wobble toys. now, he is able to have enough control over his core to sit up on his own and even keep a straight back and his head up while doing so. he wasn’t able to stand on his own while holding onto the window at the beginning. we would have to keep his hips sturdy and stable for him so he wouldn’t bend in half and fall over. now, he hangs onto the window for minutes at a time and watches his friends play outside. his right hand is much more crippled up than his left hand, so he is naturally left dominant. we have seen him begin using his left hand to take apart his building blocks.
we are in awe of his willpower and resiliency. he gets tired during sessions, but he never gives up. and no matter how tired he is, he is still overjoyed to see his house mama at the end of a long morning.
all of this is a testament to God knowing what He is doing, when He is doing it. i worked in a PT clinic for 3 years in college. i was on the PT team in Uganda on a mission trip. i have had lots of training in PT, but when it came time to apply for PT school, God shut that door on me. i didn’t know why, but i trusted it was for a greater purpose. this month IS that greater purpose.
i had that training so that i could be one of the people to change the trajectory of sweet Robira’s life.
we are praying fervently that God would let us see the day that Robi takes his first steps. join us in praying this bold prayer and that Robi would continue to grow and be strengthened, not only physically but also begin to see God’s love for him just as he is.
whatever the Lord is doing with your life today, trust Him. trust that He has a greater purpose for you and that you were created for more. He has great things waiting for you when you put your trust in Him.
heaven is among us, friends.
much love and all the blessings,
mags xx
