If I were to describe Busia in one word, it would be busy. Walk down the road and you'll see women balancing baskets of fruit on their heads, steel being grinded, goats waiting to cross the street, men gamblilng. Semis drive on the sidewalks. Everywhere you look there's another business. Shop is set up under trees where people wait in line to have their hair done or buy mangoes for lunch. There's fires in the ditches burning the trash, and the sweet smell of meat roasting takes hold of the hot air. There's business men running late for work, Masai tribesmen, devout Muslims, and bicycles…everywhere. Life is bustling, and everyone seems to have somewhere to be.
Those that are hurting are everywhere. But to find the ones that life just 'skipped over', you have to hit the pause button. This busy world doesn't seem to have the time for those that really need it.
Compassion first really hit me when we were walking the streets and stopped into the house of a newly widowed woman. She had just lost her husband from cancer several days before. He was the family's main provider. Now, the family gets by on just $12 American each month. She has several small children, all 7 or under. She explained to us her brokeness and worried how she would pay the bills each month.
Compassion hit me again when we went to the hospital and saw people in more pain than I could ever possibly imagine. The man with the skin infection, engulfing his entire body and handcuffed to his bed. The babies who were burn victims, and in so much pain their screams were blood curdling. And the families wondering where God could possibly be in all this. I saw people who hated their lives and were ready to die.
Compassion hit me hard today when we went to the house of a family that had a child with special needs. He is 20 years old, blind, and can't use his legs. So he crawls through the house. Due to complications at birth, he can't speak or control any bodily functions. The family's doctor told them that there wasn't much more that they could do, and that they should consider taking him off his meds and just letting him suffer. The mother doesn't know how she will continue to care for him.
The amount of hurt here literally leaves me feeling drained. I came to Africa to find the forgotten, and remind them of their worth. I came to give hope. I came to see how the rest of the world lives. But most importantly, I came to show them that they are loved.
This week, I challenge you: Let compassion hit you.
We have 12 needy widows in our church and are hoping to do a sort of 'adoption program,' where each of us sponsors one widow. These women have nothing. Their roofs are caving in, they can't feed their children. Let's give them hope. Remind them that God hasn't forgotten them. He has called them, just like you and me, by name. One of my next blogs will be about the widow I 'adopt' and will have information on how to send in donations. Please keep these forgotten women on your heart this week, and pray about sending a donation in. Help remind them that they haven't been forgotten.
