Suffering Surrounds Me

December 25^th 2013 (Wednesday) It’s Christmas morning and the sky is blue, the birds are singing and the sun shines bright. As we travel to church monkeys playfully jump from branch to branch beside the road. It is far from the look of Christmas at home where all is bitterly cold and white. 

 

It’s time to celebrate the birth of Jesus and many have walked a distance to join us.  Adults are welcomed to the front as the children have their chairs in the back of the church.   

The children have prepared special songs and dance for this very important day!  A few strands of colorful ribbons decorate the front of the church.

As I’m speaking I am soon made aware that we have a guest with us.  A flutter and clucking sound startles me as I realize a mama sitting close by has brought a chicken with her.  It’s time for the offering and this mama brings her chicken to the front of the church.  It is her offering and a big sacrifice on her part.

It is time to give thanksgiving to God for all that he has done in 2013. One by one they stand and give thanks.  From the middle of the room a mama stands and comes to the front of the church.  She wears the traditional wrap around her hair and one can see she has many struggles in life.  She faces the people and begins to speak.  Tears run down her cheeks.  Her heart is breaking and her pain has been felt by so many here in the village. Her seven year old son had just passed away a few hours earlier.   

Lack of nutrition, HIV, TB, and malaria has left many weak and suffering.  Disease and sickness robs them of the quality of life and it is has taken the lives of young and old alike.

After the morning service we had a special time of celebration with the school children.  They sit quietly in their chairs not knowing what to expect.  Soda is brought in for each one!  We’ve had mandazi , an East African donut, made and we have plenty.  Each child is given two!!  It doesn’t take them long to bite into these special treats.   

At the market we found two pieces of clothing for each child. We then put them in plastic bags and taped their name to the outside.  We took the extra time to make sure they could see their name on the outside of the plastic bag. We wanted them to have something of their own. I thought for sure the excitement would rise up within each one and the bags would be torn open.  I was wrong.  These children didn’t know that there was a gift inside.  They had never had a wrapped gift given to them before.  Not one child had opened their bag.  Each one sat there with the bag in their lap and waited.  I then realized that these children needed to be told that inside the bag was something for them.  They needed to be told to open the bag and see the gift inside. They learned by example as I took an extra bag and began to untie it.  

One by one the bags began to open and the clothes were pulled out.  I heard little ones giggle with excitement over a pair of shorts and shirt.  I saw eyes that expressed great happiness as they looked inside their bag. There were very big smiles and excitement filled the room. 

 

After the children were finished and dismissed for the day we opened up the church to meet with parents.  The people in the villages struggle and all have challenges.  They find school fees, even though they are very low, to be hard to meet.  Each one has a different story, a different problem but the need is the same. They need a job. They need food. They need school fees.  The area is filled with adults and complete families that have never gone to school.  They represent different tribes that have been displaced from their home land.  They own nothing.  The land they live on is not theirs.  They don’t have land to grow crops. Many are sick and need medical assistance.  They lack education and skills to find employment.

A woman staggers into the meeting.  She is loud and demanding.  She has tried to cover her pain with home brew.  She sits with us but with a stern voice she is told that she must be quiet or leave. She quiets herself and enjoys a soda.

The needs are many.  The lack is great.  Their pain and suffering surrounds me.

Leviticus 23:22 When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God."