Today was a difficult day. Even as I sit here and type this I feel this heavy weight on my heart. I've been working on a long journal entry of every woman whose home we have visited. I haven't kept up the way I wish I had. I am very behind. But today I need to write.
I have felt this heavy weight on my heart and today it overflowed. I found myself sitting in the mini bus wanting to cry. And I did, actually I sobbed. I have heard some of the most devastating stories on this trip without thoroughly processing everything and it just hit me today. A wave of emotions pulling me into an ocean of tears. Just as I thought I had collected myself we visited the house of a woman whose story has truly changed my life. I'll start by telling you her story: her name is Nigist and her daughter is Kidist (5 years old, but looks like she is 2) who I have fallen in love with. Kidist is adorable. She has very little hair and the hair she does have is flat on her head. She wears a little hoop earring in one ear and a silver dot earring on the other. Her cheeks are big and round; I could kiss them all day. Both Nigist and Kidist are HIV positive. Her husband died from the virus a year ago and she lost everything. Thanks to Bill Gates and his friends they are both taking medicine for HIV, but mom is very weak and her blood count is low. The medicine isn't supposed to be a be all treat all (universal type medicine) it should actually be designed for each specific person, but that's very difficult to do. She cannot work and struggles paying the rent which is 400 Birr, an equivalent of $20 a month. Her sister has been helping her make the rent as well as the neighbors around her. She is overwhelmed with having HIV, but thankfully iCare is helping feed Kidist so she can have the proper nutrition.
As we, 14 of us, walked into their home (which is the size of a walk in closet about a 6x10) the only place to sit is on the bed and while the rest stand against the wall facing those of us on the bed. Nigist stands crying in the corner of this room. Our translator explains to us how she wished she would have known we were coming so she could have prepare coffee for us. It was humbling and it just stroke a cord in my heart. I sat indian style at the corner of the bed closest to the door with Kidist on my lap and heard this woman's story. After a few minutes of her sharing and amidst tears I asked for her age. I was genuinely expecting mid thirties, but her response was 29. 29! I am 29. This reality has shaken my world. I often sit in the pity of my own story and some of the suffering I have gone through, but none of that compares to what this woman has gone through. It's a reality check. I went through many emotions sitting on that bed...anger, sympathy, sadness, hope, to name a few. But none of that can make the situation better, only Jesus can. I feel a deep connection with this child and would love to sponsor her. Will you join me in praying for her and her mother? Pray Nigist may come to know The Lord with all her heart. Pray she may understand the meaning of the cross and that her salvation is solely dependent on her acceptance of Jesus. Pray she may come to have a deep relationship with him and please pray for both of their health.
I have felt this heavy weight on my heart and today it overflowed. I found myself sitting in the mini bus wanting to cry. And I did, actually I sobbed. I have heard some of the most devastating stories on this trip without thoroughly processing everything and it just hit me today. A wave of emotions pulling me into an ocean of tears. Just as I thought I had collected myself we visited the house of a woman whose story has truly changed my life. I'll start by telling you her story: her name is Nigist and her daughter is Kidist (5 years old, but looks like she is 2) who I have fallen in love with. Kidist is adorable. She has very little hair and the hair she does have is flat on her head. She wears a little hoop earring in one ear and a silver dot earring on the other. Her cheeks are big and round; I could kiss them all day. Both Nigist and Kidist are HIV positive. Her husband died from the virus a year ago and she lost everything. Thanks to Bill Gates and his friends they are both taking medicine for HIV, but mom is very weak and her blood count is low. The medicine isn't supposed to be a be all treat all (universal type medicine) it should actually be designed for each specific person, but that's very difficult to do. She cannot work and struggles paying the rent which is 400 Birr, an equivalent of $20 a month. Her sister has been helping her make the rent as well as the neighbors around her. She is overwhelmed with having HIV, but thankfully iCare is helping feed Kidist so she can have the proper nutrition.
As we, 14 of us, walked into their home (which is the size of a walk in closet about a 6x10) the only place to sit is on the bed and while the rest stand against the wall facing those of us on the bed. Nigist stands crying in the corner of this room. Our translator explains to us how she wished she would have known we were coming so she could have prepare coffee for us. It was humbling and it just stroke a cord in my heart. I sat indian style at the corner of the bed closest to the door with Kidist on my lap and heard this woman's story. After a few minutes of her sharing and amidst tears I asked for her age. I was genuinely expecting mid thirties, but her response was 29. 29! I am 29. This reality has shaken my world. I often sit in the pity of my own story and some of the suffering I have gone through, but none of that compares to what this woman has gone through. It's a reality check. I went through many emotions sitting on that bed...anger, sympathy, sadness, hope, to name a few. But none of that can make the situation better, only Jesus can. I feel a deep connection with this child and would love to sponsor her. Will you join me in praying for her and her mother? Pray Nigist may come to know The Lord with all her heart. Pray she may understand the meaning of the cross and that her salvation is solely dependent on her acceptance of Jesus. Pray she may come to have a deep relationship with him and please pray for both of their health.
Praying for Kidist and Nigist tonight. Thanks for sharing this story, Kay!
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