July 3
It is now less than 5 weeks until I will arrive home. The time is not exactly flying by but is not crawling either. I have been spending more and more time looking through photos of friends and family that I brought with. As soon as I hang up from talking with someone from the states I look forward to the next call. I call home about every three days.
Knowing I have already missed 8 weeks of being home this summer and still have 4 to go is somewhat of a challenging thought. I miss familiar faces and easy conversations and encouraging hugs. Believe me, I have spent more than my share of time being quiet and a little depressed and plain old crabby becasue I just long to be surrounded by my family and friends again.
As usual, God did not let me sit in self pity for too long. I feel ashamed and so selfish at how self-centered I have been the last few weeks. I have spent so much time missing home and have probably missed opportunities to learn something new here or start a new friendship. I have been so concerned about myself that I didn’t notice the lives of those around me. A few days ago something clicked and I was overwhelmed as I let the reality of the lives of the people I have met sink in. Here are stories from people that I have only met and some who I have spent much time with. I know the names and faces of these people and now I have come to know their stories.
5 yr old boy. A son whose mother was HIV + and never told a soul. She died during the birth of her son and no one thought to test him until now—and now is too late. He will not live another 2 months. With treatment he could have easily lived a long life.
18 yr old girl. A daughter and big sister who lost both her father and little sister. Because children belong to their fathers in this culture as soon as her father died, she had to leave her mother and live with her father’s brothers. In a way she has lost her entire family.
29 yr old woman. A mother who suffers from depression because she lost a child during birth because an emergency C-section was needed but was not available.
8 yr old boy. This big brother is wasting away from HIV because his parents rarely bring him to the hospital for treatments and never follow up with medications.
13 yr old girl. A daughter spending day and night at the hospital instead of in school to care for her mother who is now paralyzed for the rest of her life because the cause was not discovered in time.
10 yr old girl. A daughter whose mother died from malaria.
34 yr old man. A father who was killed in a moto accident. He leaves behind 3 small children and his wife.
4yr old girl. A very much missed sister who died of malaria.
11 yr old girl. A daughter and sister who was in a multiple pile up moto accident which killed everyone involved except her—including her entire immediate family. She underwent major surgery and was sitting alone in the ICU struggling to survive because none of her extended family has found out yet and it will take days for them to reach the hospital.
These people have lost their family members forever. They will never be able to talk to them again on this earth. I am thankful that it is not too late for me to encourage them and share the love of Christ with them before I return. I am also so thankful that I am able to go back to my family and friends. They are still here and well.
Please remember these stories and pray for the people they belong to.
2 comments:
I wanted to just leave a quick note of encouragement both from God and from Google :) haha <3
2 Corinthians 1:3-7 helpful votes
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.
As for homesicknesS:
You feel tired, anxious, discouraged, isolated, angry, and homesick but cannot think of any reason why you should feel that way. You have been on missions but these feelings always seem to be there-increasing and decreasing. You wonder what could be causing them. It could be culture stress.
Culture stress is the stress that occurs when you change to a different way of living in a new culture. It is what you experience as you move beyond understanding the culture to making it your own so that you accept the customs, becoming comfortable and at home with them. If you are trying to become a real part of the culture, to become bicultural, you are likely to experience culture stress as you assimilate some of the conventions to the point that they feel natural to you.
Most importantly you can overcome! You can do anything with the Lord by your side! Look at how far you have already come and how much you have already grown. You will continue through this process in the next few weeks and the things you will learn and the people you will encounter. It will be so worth it! I love you Mari and am continuing to pray for you every day! Have a good day/night depending on the time differences lol. <3
Thank you so much for the encouraging words Brianne! Love and miss you.
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