Our Thanksgiving Weekend

We have plenty of busy weeks or weekends and most are unexpected or unplanned.  Rarely do we have a SCHEDULED busy weekend.  Thanksgiving week/weekend was one of those rare times.  I have been meaning to send all the happenings (both planned and unplanned) of that weekend as a newsletter but time as usual has gotten away.  So I will post the events, both happy and sad here. 

Give Thanks

 

Thanksgiving Thursday was great fun as we had over 40 missionaries (including kids) at the GSF guesthouse for a feast.  Everyone else on the compound continued work as usual and were very respectful of us and our holiday.  This was our nurse Katie’s first Thanksgiving as she is from England.

Introduction

 

Some of the "Groom's Family" all decked out in our traditional garb

The next day, Friday, was the wedding introduction for one of our staff members who grew up at GSF.  The introduction is the time when the groom gives the dowry for the bride.  It is a HUGE deal and each side hires a “speaker” to represent them—a drama of sorts.  The neatest thing about the introduction in my opinion is that the groom had worked very hard at the dowry but still did not have as much as usual.  The speaker spoke for him saying he was still young so he was not able to have as much for the dowry.  They asked the bride if she would still accept him and she said “Yes!”  Beautiful.  At the end, the groom’s guests/family bring the dowry gifts in.  Amy helped carry in the leg of a cow. Ha!

 

The Happy Couple

Wedding

 

Saturday was the wedding for Isaiah, GSF farm worker, and Norah, his bride.  The wedding was beautiful and took place in our chapel.  All the GSF kids also got to go which was fun.  Amy helped them find clothes to wear to dress up.  Our girls helped all the GSF girls get their nails painted on Friday.  Over 350 people attended, which is more than double the number expected, yet there was still enough food for everyone.

 

‘He gives and takes away’

 

The morning of the wedding, as we were all getting ready, Big David, our tailor, called Mark and told him that his 2 year old needed to be rushed to the hospital.  Mark could tell it was an emergency and one of our drivers was heading toward the hospital at that moment.  We got word about 45 minutes later that 2-year-old Simeon didn’t make it.  Simeon was developmentally delayed and medical exams had not yet turned up the reason.  He may have had a heart defect.  It was so sad, but David (who had been very instrumental in planning the wedding) said the celebration must go on and they would have the burial the next day.  Big David said, ‘The Lord gives, and He takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’ 

Little Simeon in May; Big David is in the background

Sunday was a tough day.  We had a shortened prayer service at the church.  David and his family live on the GSF compound so all the kids knew Simeon.  Some of the older girls were very close to him and cared for him often.  We loaded our bus a two other vehicles with 45 people to attend the burial.  We went about an hour away to David’s home village of Kakira for the burial.  It was somber ending to an exciting and packed 4-day weekend.

Gifts

Walked down to the little cemetery at GSF today. . .

I've been there before but it had been a while.

And in a while . . .

Beautiful Norah with hope in her heart that she would someday see her Savior saw that someday in September.

Charming Emmanuel learned that Jesus could give him a body that would work so perfectly that he would dance before the King and he did just that in early January.

Incredible Gloria who taught me so many things learned in March that God would heal all her wounds and infirmities and make her new.

But I stand here in this little cemetery and cry and thank God for the gifts He gave me in these three precious lives! I also stand here and thank Him for the 80 other precious lives He has given me on the other side of the hill from the cemetery.

Lessons learned from Gloria

GSF is full of sweet and great stories of kids whom God obviously has His hand on. One of the sweetest is of Gloria. It has been said that Gloria's mom had measles when she was pregnant with Gloria. Gloria was born with severe cerebral palsy and mental retardation. I have been told that many kids from Gloria's tribe who have deformities "accidentally die" as babies. But Gloria did not die--God had more for her to do! She came to GSF 5 years ago in 2006; she was estimated to be 4 years old at the time. She received much therapy and love. Her story taught me that God values all life!

When I first saw Gloria, I didn't know how to approach her. She would want me to lift her but she was just too big. Finally one day, an ENT came to visit GSF and went to look in Gloria's ears. I sat down to hold her so he could check her. I cradled her in my arms and she immediately snuggled in! I was floored! She just wanted to be cradled. God taught me through Gloria that everyone desires love in one way or another and I should strive to give it. I loved going and holding her and she loved it as well. I grew to love Gloria dearly.

Early last year, Gloria got really sick with Typhoid. How she got typhoid, we will never really know but she became very weak and small. She was in the hospital for a long time but finally got to come home and we all rejoiced. About a month later, chicken pox spread around the orphanage and Gloria got it the worst. It was all over her body and inside as well. Eventually Gloria recovered from chicken pox and we were all relieved. She then began a cycle of being in and out of the hospital due to pneumonia at least 4 times. Several times we thought we were going to lose her. We have sent out blog updates asking for you to pray for her numerous times and you have prayed and God always answered our prayers. Many of you will remember the entry about Lilly going to the hospital and praying for Gloria. God taught me again that God had Gloria's life in His hands and He was a miracle working God.

Through this time of Gloria's illnesses, we had 2 other children die (Norah in September and Emmanuel in January). Both deaths were difficult and very eye opening into the differences of how this culture deals with death compared to the culture I grew up in. Both deaths were in the early morning and it was so difficult waking up to the news and sharing it with others. I began to dread the day that God would call our sweet Gloria home and even asked that He would take her during the day. At the same time, when I would see Gloria suffering, I would ask Him to take away her suffering. I knew she would be so much better off. One evening, Gloria was gasping for air after choking on something. We had to rush her to the hospital. I asked God if this was the end and told Him I was dreading it. Gloria defied death again and came home the very next morning smiling and alert. God gently reminded me that everything was in His timing.

Three weeks later, I was sitting on my veranda and got a "Gloria update" from Sarah, one of the nurses. She seemed okay but did have a fever and was having a difficult time breathing. None of us thought much about it as she had struggled so many times before. About an hour later, Mark walked out of the back room holding my phone and said that Sarah just called and she couldn't find a pulse on Gloria. I stopped . . . what was the scene going to be like when I went to her house. Mark raced on over but I hesitantly put on my shoes and had a chat with God as I walked over to the house. Believe it or not, when I arrived I came upon a very peaceful scene. They had Gloria laying out on a mattress on the back veranda working on her. We had said we wanted to do what we could to try to save her life. So the nurses and others were courageously but so peacefully working to see if she would begin to breath again. Gloria went into the presence of her Heavenly Father March 14, 2011 at approx 8:30 am. A glorious morning--praise Him that it was a beautiful sunny morning! The arrangements were taken care of effortlessly (unlike the other two). We had the memorial service for Gloria at 4:30 that same day. Her uncle and aunt took the body to her grandfather's land many hours away the next day for the burial. In all of this, God taught me that even when He takes one of His loved ones home, He still provides and lovingly cares for those left behind. I so often dread those things that God in His time gives me the grace and peace to deal with.

God is a God of peace! God teaches us even through those whom the world calls the "least of these." He loves and cares for them and wants us to learn to love and care for them. Praise God for Gloria's life!