Lazarus – A Man filled with JOY!

During most mornings I like to walk down to the Chicuque Library. The library is about a 15-minute walk and is nothing more than a small building with several hundred books and four older computers in it. It’s a good change of scenery and it serves as my Mozambique “Starbucks” where I can go to study Portuguese. The only “downfall” of studying Portuguese at the library is everyone, and I mean everyone, wants to come and sit at my table to talk. While I enjoy meeting new people, I seldom make any progress in Portuguese because everyone wants me to talk to them in English or wants me to teach them English.

About two weeks ago, I sat down at a table and within a few minutes a man pulled up and chair and sat beside me. The first thing I noticed was his huge smile and that he was a little different from many of the people that come in the library. He used crutches to get around and couldn’t support his own weight alone, because his legs were not fully developed making them non-functional. He had a huge smile as he sat down next to me and began to color a picture while he hummed a song. With the little English he knew and the little Portuguese I know, he explained that his name was Lazarus and he lived in an area called Madima We exchanged a few questions and then he went on to explain that he was shot in the stomach during the Civil War and that it affected the use of his legs. The Mozambique Civil war recently ended in 1992, and there is still a lot of structure damage visible as well as many of the people still having psychological and physical effects from the war. Lazarus and I talked for a while, until I explained to him that I needed to head home for lunch. Lazarus then asked me if I wanted to come see his house on Sunday. I was a little surprised about the quick invite since I had only know Lazarus for a total of 30 minutes, but I told sure as I packed up my things to head home. We both said our goodbyes as he just continued to smile and color a picture. Several days passed, and on Sunday, I noticed that he was waiting for me outside after Church. With the biggest smile, he reminded me that today was the day that I was supposed to come to his house. We agreed that he would come to my home to get me after lunch to take me to see his house. While there was a little hesitation on my part on wanting to go alone, only because I hardly knew him and had no clue where he lived, I knew God would not allow anything bad to happen. What did happen was far greater than I could have imagined as Lazarus really open my eyes.

Lazarus is nothing short of an amazing man. This man has a joy and happiness about him that I have never experienced or seen in anyone. First off, the way he gets around is a miracle in itself. Even with very limited use of his legs, only able to use them a middle crutch, he gets around great. His biceps are huge, as his arms have to support his weight with every step he takes. What is so remarkable is the distance he has to walk from his house in Madima to Chicuque (where the church, library, and everything else is.) The distance is over 3 kilometers each way, not to add the roads are pure sand, which makes them a challenge to walk in regularly, little on with crutches. Many people take a Chappa (Mozambique taxi van) to get from Chicuque to Madima which cost 7 Meticais (about 28 US cents), but Lazarus walks it everyday because he says he can’t afford the 28 cents Chappa ride.

Lazarus loves to talk and tell stories. On the way he explained that once owned a sewing shop that was his source of income, until recently it got broken into and robbed. He told me that he lived alone and had no family. Between every story, his mood never changed and he would just continue to smile, laugh, and talk about how great God is. After several turns and down many long paths, I was excited when he said we were finally at his house, as I was tired from walking, but could only think that he walks this distance everyday, sometimes twice a day both ways. His house was the normal bamboo hut square frame house located in the “middle of nowhere.” I was a little nervous on how I was going to get back to the main road to get home, but at the same time had a sense of peace and joy being with Lazarus.

Inside his home the wall was decorated with various handicap and coke posters. He proudly showed me where he slept and some photographs he had of him several years back. I noticed that on a table he had sat out two plates. He asked me to sit down as he went and got a bucket of water to wash my hands. This man, who didn’t have enough money for electricity or for a 28 cent Chappa ride, had prepared and cooked a meal for me and even bought a bottled of water for me to drink. He made rice, as well as some other type of soup. Before we ate, he asked if I would pray, and all I could think of was being thankful that God brought Lazarus into my life to open my eyes. After I prayed, he said a pray in Portuguese and then we ate the meal in his darkly lit house. The food itself tasted “different,” but that was the last thing I was thinking about. Throughout dinner, Lazarus hummed and sang Church songs from the church service and talked about God. I can’t over exaggerate the number of times this man talked about how good God is. We finished our meals and prayed together once more, as I need to get home before dark. We took a picture in front of his house, and I headed home just thinking about how much Lazarus blessed my day.

I have NEVER met someone with so much joy and happiness for the Lord and for life. The entire time I was with Lazarus, he just laughed and smiled and never once complained. Here is a man who has no family, can’t walk without assistance, has very little if any money, lives alone, and has no source of income or job, yet has so much praise for the Lord and love toward others. He has so little, yet was willing to prepare and share a meal with a total stranger. Lazarus really made me think twice about the little and minuet things that I stress and worry about on a daily basis. In John 10:10, Jesus says “My purpose is to give life in all its fullness.” Even though Lazarus was very poor and had very little in earthly possessions, an overflow of peace and fullness flowed from him because he found his joy in the Lord, not in material or earthly possessions.

So often we think that, “If I only had this or that, that I would be happy.” More money, a better job, more friends, better health, etc. We can all fill in the blanks with our own desires and wants (earthly things and possessions that we think will fill the void in our life.) But after a few hours, days, or even months that “earthly thing” quits bringing us happiness and we are left empty again. Lazarus had few material things and a far greater physical challenge than most of us will ever have, yet he had the one thing that brings true happiness, and that is a relationship with Christ. From a human’s perspective, he was a poor, handicap, old man, but where it really counts and in all honesty, he was one of the RICHEST men I have ever met.

May you be rich today where it counts…

About one week ago, God allowed this story to come to life. I had the privilege of visiting Matthew and meeting his friend Lazarus. When I arrived in Chicuque, I wanted to do make sure to visit two homes… Lazarus’s bamboo hut and Orlando’s homestead with Chico, his monkey he bought in Maputo! On the first Sunday after Jeanette and I arrived, we picked up chicken, rice, and chips (french fries) take-away and shared lunch with Lazarus at his home. After we finished breaking bread together, he measured Jeanette and I to make us skirts! Lazarus gave Matthew, Jeanette, and I the walking tour of his village before we called it a day! It was an exciting day to bring all the stories I have heard come to life. Lazarus is truly “A man filled with joy unlike anyone I have ever met.”