Tribute: our old friend

"Have you always been this joyful? Laughing so much?"

"Me? Joyful? I never even used to talk to my wife!"

Yes, these are the exact words we heard from this man months after we started caring for him. He became one of our most enjoyable visits. We would laugh, sing and joke together. He held the history of the land in his years. He remembered when the road we drive on did not exist. He helped in clearing the forest to create the road during the colonial days. It then was the main thoroughfare, then after the civil war, the bridge was bombed out and never repaired and now it's our one way dirt track. The dirt track that takes us to these treasured souls.

He was a bit of a medical mystery to us. I'm not sure he'd ever been to a doctor. He'd surely never seen a stethoscope. He reported that his leg had been so swollen and caused him so much pain that he could hardly walk. The pain and body itching kept him up at night. It grieved him, that because of this ailment, he wasn't able to be in the field helping put food on the table for his wife and family. He's one of the few patients that we have that has only one wife. And, once he was feeling better, the joy that they had in the presence of each other was evident. If he was resting, she was shelling her beans near by-- they liked to be together. They loved each other. 

One of the most beautiful things was the simple interventions we were able to do to help improve this man's quality of life. It was impossible for him to get to any sort of health care facility so for us to arrive at his home eager to help was a real blessing for him. And, the response that we saw from giving him calamine lotion, daily Tylenol, Epsom salt soaks for his leg and something to help him sleep at night, turned him into a new man. And fit him back into his old trousers that hadn't fit over his leg in years! Wow!

 Yes, these simple things improved his life but may I share that what REALLY changed him, as a man, was his having his very own audio story-teller. He cherished this bit of God's word and songs of praise. One day when we were visiting and trying to do an interview with him, he wouldn't turn the audio player off. So, in order to get his attention we asked to have the audio player. Well, that didn't work either! He was so concerned that we wouldn't give it back to him that NOW he couldn't concentrate on what we were asking because he wouldn't take his eyes off of his audio player. Yes, he cherished the word of God in his shirt pocket more than life itself. On one visit he was so sad because the cat had knocked the audio player off the roof (while solar recharging) and it no longer worked. He reluctantly let us take it so Chad could repair it. He didn't want to miss a week, a day, of not being able to hear the Word of God! 

We were delighted to be reunited after my 7  months away from Mozambique. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing him, despite a decline, we were pleased at how he was still doing. Laughing and joking with us-- singing and dancing...

...remember when he said he never even used to talk to his wife because he was in so much pain? Praise the Lord!

I took this video last Thursday. I share it because I know he'd be so proud to to have people see it. He was full of joy. As we left last week he said, "Next time you come, I'm going to be dancing on my feet!"

Well, he is right, this week he is dancing on his feet, only he's dancing on golden streets!! Maybe he knew that in a weeks time his body would be healed to fullness and he would be in the presence of His Glory!

We will miss you our old friend. Thank you for all the laughs and all the praises that went up from your home! We praise the Lord as we imagine you dancing on your feet this week! Thanks for sharing your life story with us!

Until...