today Rebecca and i went to Masese to lead one of the women's Bible study groups. when we arrived at the big tree at the edge of the slums (where we usually meet the women), not a single one was there. we walked a ways into the community to find out why nobody had shown up for study. we were told that the women were grieving. a young girl had died that morning when she was giving birth to her baby. there was also another young woman who had lost her son, hours after he was born.
there is so much pain happening in Masese right now.
Rebecca and i were led into a home by Betty, one of my dear friends who lives in this part of Masese. the room was hot and dark, with at least a dozen women sitting on the floor against the walls. in the center of the room was a body covered from head to toe with a dirty sheet. at first, i thought that this was the girl who had lost her baby. i immediately thought she was mourning the death of her child and i placed my hand on her head, asking if she was asleep. when Rebecca answered me that she was dead, i burst into tears - realizing that this was the young girl who had died during childbirth. there was an older woman kneeling beside the girl's body, and i knew that this was the mother. we embraced each other and i began praying aloud.
my eyes were so swollen from crying i could barely see as we walked to another home not far from the one we had just left. inside we found a broken-hearted mother. she sat on her twin mattress bed and told us the story of losing her baby. she had prayed for a son. she was going to name him Gabriel. she had prepared all new baby clothes and blankets for him; now they have been stuffed in a bag that is hanging on the wall. when she told me that her only prayer is that her baby is in heaven - i made that my prayer too.
we sat there, crying and praying and holding each other. i shared about losing my mom. Rebecca told us of losing her grandmother, who was like a mother to her. we were bearing one another's burdens, sharing in each other's pain.
and then i pictured heaven.
can you imagine?....this baby, Rebecca's grandmother, this child's mother, my mother....all the lost loved ones together forever in Paradise with Jesus. amazing.
when we left Masese, i told Rebecca that i didn't even know what i had said while i was praying for these women. she responded saying that the Holy Spirit was speaking for me, that all i said was what Jesus would have said.
today was incredibly hard for me - to be a part of this kind of suffering. to hear the cries of a woman begging God to bring back her baby. to sit next to a mother mourning over her daughter, who was only my age.
i don't think i could have been able to speak during these moments if i didn't have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside me. my heart was shattered for these women and God knew it. and when words could not come, He spoke through me, breathing hope and life and peace into the circumstances.
continue lifting us up in your prayers...
Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. Romans 8:26
there is so much pain happening in Masese right now.
Rebecca and i were led into a home by Betty, one of my dear friends who lives in this part of Masese. the room was hot and dark, with at least a dozen women sitting on the floor against the walls. in the center of the room was a body covered from head to toe with a dirty sheet. at first, i thought that this was the girl who had lost her baby. i immediately thought she was mourning the death of her child and i placed my hand on her head, asking if she was asleep. when Rebecca answered me that she was dead, i burst into tears - realizing that this was the young girl who had died during childbirth. there was an older woman kneeling beside the girl's body, and i knew that this was the mother. we embraced each other and i began praying aloud.
my eyes were so swollen from crying i could barely see as we walked to another home not far from the one we had just left. inside we found a broken-hearted mother. she sat on her twin mattress bed and told us the story of losing her baby. she had prayed for a son. she was going to name him Gabriel. she had prepared all new baby clothes and blankets for him; now they have been stuffed in a bag that is hanging on the wall. when she told me that her only prayer is that her baby is in heaven - i made that my prayer too.
we sat there, crying and praying and holding each other. i shared about losing my mom. Rebecca told us of losing her grandmother, who was like a mother to her. we were bearing one another's burdens, sharing in each other's pain.
and then i pictured heaven.
can you imagine?....this baby, Rebecca's grandmother, this child's mother, my mother....all the lost loved ones together forever in Paradise with Jesus. amazing.
when we left Masese, i told Rebecca that i didn't even know what i had said while i was praying for these women. she responded saying that the Holy Spirit was speaking for me, that all i said was what Jesus would have said.
today was incredibly hard for me - to be a part of this kind of suffering. to hear the cries of a woman begging God to bring back her baby. to sit next to a mother mourning over her daughter, who was only my age.
i don't think i could have been able to speak during these moments if i didn't have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside me. my heart was shattered for these women and God knew it. and when words could not come, He spoke through me, breathing hope and life and peace into the circumstances.
continue lifting us up in your prayers...
Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. Romans 8:26
No comments:
Post a Comment