Joy Unthinkable

Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Goodness. Kindness. Faithfulness. Self-Control.

These were the words that greeted me by one child yesterday. She remembered our lessons from last year. I was touched and emotional. She made of point of seeking me out, touching my arm, and then reciting those words. Impact!

This was just one of so many impactful moments for the team yesterday. To put it bluntly our emotions were fried. We spent the entire day connecting with individuals from the village and learning from them: Sara T, Marian and myself with the women, teaching them to sew; Pastor Bob, Allan, Luke, and Sarah V doing home visits throughout the village. Every person had a story, and their stories were filled with many sorrowful events. These were stories that left us with questions: How do they go on? How do they still have faith?

One story was of the visit to Shakira’s home. This is a sponsor girl of one of our Northgate members. Shakira lives with her grandmother. Her parents are deceased, as are all of Shakira’s siblings. It is just Shakira and her grandmother. A lot to bear! But yet, they are filled with hope and joy. Shakira’s grandmother praises God for bringing our team to Marare, and for Shakira’s hopeful future. Shakira’s grandmother, despite all of her regular daily duties that include cleaning, working the fields, meal planning, and other physical jobs, is found digging the trenches for the new school addition because of the hope it offers Shakira and the other children.

In our sewing lessons, the women of the village were very nervous about learning to cut fabric. They had never used scissors, and Sara T orchestrated ‘cutting lessons’ while Marian and I had a group of women at the two sewing machines we purchased.
Despite having never used scissors or sewing machines, they women were determined to get it. The encouraging part for us was seeing them work together as a community: once one would catch on, they would help and encourage others. Every one worked together. There was no sense of frustration, only joy!

All of the day yesterday caused me to reflect on Pastor Sieg’s message last Sunday. How appropriate it was for us, yet we didn’t realize it fully until the end of the day. We must be unworthy, and make God worthy. One question he posed was ‘how do you know when someone is unworthy? They don’t complain.' And, in Marare, they do NOT complain. They are filled with joy unthinkable.