August 5, 2012 (Christina)
It is very hard to describe the overwhelming realization of the reality of the hope and love that we have in Jesus when you are in a small, cramped room with a woman who is bed ridden by tuberculosis, who is smiling from ear to ear thanking you over and over for coming to her home to visit her. What’s even harder to process is when she fights with all her strength to sit up in bed so that she can look you right in the eye and tell you that she has faith that she will walk again soon.
Today, Sam and I, along with two friends that we met over here from Blackhawk Church in Madison, WI, John and Rebecca, had the opportunity to go on a few home visits with one of Beacon of Hope’s Community Health Workers (CHW). A home visit usually involves a Beacon staff member or CHW going to a patient’s house to drop off medication, check on the patient’s wellbeing, or just stop by to encourage them. Ann (not her real name) was the CHW who we tagged along with this day. We asked Ann why she decided to become a CHW in the first place. Ann’s humble and gracious spirit opened up and she poured out her heart. When Ann first came to Beacon three years ago, she was not the healthy, full-figured woman who stood before us today. She was deathly sick, infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and weighed only 66 pounds. As she lay in bed covered in a rash, her fever soaring, and rapidly losing weight, Ann made God a promise: if he healed her, she would help others in her situation. The staff at Beacon helped nurse her back to health, and when she regained her strength, put back on some weight, and started taking ARVs (antiretrovirals are medications taken for the treatment of HIV), she made good on her promise. For the last year and a half, Ann has been bringing the same hope and help that she received through Beacon to others in her community.
We walked through Ongata Rongai with Ann, stopping in at the homes and workplaces of many people who’s lives have been transformed after getting involved at Beacon. We went to three businesses that were only made possible by God’s grace through micro-loans facilitated by Beacon of Hope, and we met two commercial sex workers who were both HIV positive and still active in the community.
One of the women we visited, Sarah (also not her real name), had recently opened a tailoring business because of a loan she got through one of Beacon’s programs that works to empower entrepreneurs. The entire time we were there, Sarah did not stop praising God for providing for her and blessing her with her business. Sarah started her tailoring business a few months ago and is a busy, single mother of three; she also is a CHW through Beacon. Though her workspace was not bigger than a small closet, and she admitted that business was slow and she was having trouble paying her children’s school fees, Sarah was obviously grateful and joyful about her circumstances. This woman had a heart for the Lord that was so genuine.
The second woman we visited was Mary (also not her real name), who is bedridden by Tuberculosis. When we first arrived at Mary’s home, we were greeted by her daughter Elizabeth, who warmly welcomed us inside. We were told we could not go back to see Mary right away because Elizabeth was in the middle of changing her diaper. Mary has TB in her spine, which has rendered her legs useless. She has not left her bed in two months. We waited in the living room for a few minutes while they finished up. When we went back to see Mary, she was lying in bed, under a thin blanket, with a smile on her face that lit up the room. All five of us greeted her and she invited us to sit down around her to visit. She didn’t speak English, so Rebecca, who is fluent in Swahili, did most of the talking. Rebecca told her that Obama sent his greetings, which sent Mary into a fit of laughter. Many Kenyans, regardless of what they know about his politics, love Obama. Mary is currently undergoing treatment for her TB; she is in her second of six months of treatment and has been confined to her bed since treatment started. As she fought to sit up, she told us with great joy that she has faith that she will be able to walk again. After some more encouragement, John closed with a prayer, and we said our goodbyes. Mary invited us to come back again soon, and told us with confidence that that next time we see her, she should be up and walking. We walked out with Mary’s daughter, and as we’re stepping through the gate we heard a voice behind us and looked back. Elizabeth was standing against the side of the house, a huge, proud, loving smile on her face, and she said, “That’s my mom.”
Leaving Mary’s home I am hopeful. And full of joy. Today I saw Jesus’s hope and love in that tiny, dark room. I saw a woman who had every right to be angry because of her situation; but she wasn’t, because of hope and faith. Mary believes that she will walk again soon. But more than faith in healing, Mary believes that God is in control of her situation. I believe that one day she will walk again, because I know that Mary believes. Over and over again here in Kenya I am amazed at what God is doing through Beacon of Hope. This organization is a vessel through which the compassion and love of Jesus are manifested in such powerful, life-changing ways. I never could have imagined that I would be able to see the love of Christ in this way. But I guess that’s what makes him the one “who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” “To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Eph 3:20)
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