Last night I went out visiting some of my neighbors, just to say hello and get to know the people that I've been living around for the past six months. The first stop was Esther's house, where she stays in one hut with 3 out of the 7 children. Her husband died some years ago, and now she works hard trying to put food in the mouths of her children. I talked with her, but with the language barrier, I had to have my little sister translate from French into Nanjere, and throwing in the little Nanjere that I know, that's how we got to be friends. I looked around their hut, and didn't see very much. We were sitting on the grass mat where they sleep, the only nice thing they had was the chair that the oldest daughter sat on, but who knows, the father could have bought that when he was still alive. it was nice getting out and visiting this family. They didn't have anything to offer me, but they had opens hearts, and a space on the mat for me to sit...that's all I needed. Next I went to Florin's house. As I walked up they were all excited that I came, and they brought out their broken grass mats for us to sit on. We sat down and talked about their health, the heat, the cold nights, and the work. I asked where her husband was, and she said that he's around, but switches between the houses of his wives. He's drinks and smokes a lot, and doesn't provide the family with money. The nice clothes that the children own are from missionaries, and they had to work for each piece of clothing. The family asked me to come inside their wall to eat some food, which I wanted to say no, please, I'm really not hungry, but it was too late, they had a bowl out for me and we were already walking over. It was a sauce made with mangoes, which I thought couldn't be too bad, mangoes are amazing! I was expecting a yellow sauce type thing, since mangoes are yellow, but instead of a yellow sauce, it was gray. Don't ask me what was in it,because I can't tell you, but I didn't enjoy it at all. But this was all they had, this was all they could give me. I realized that this is what they eat everyday during mango season, and many days without rice because there is no money to buy it. But what happens when the mangoes are finished, what will they eat then? A few months back, Matthew gave a toothbrush to Florin, but since there was no toothpaste to give with it, he told her to brush anyways. I found out this week that she faithfully brushes everyday...with soap. I realized how hard their lives are, how far God must seem for them. Do they ever feel forgotten by God? They don't have blankets to keep them warm, they don't have running water, or even clean water. They are sick a lot, don't have money for the things they need, much less the things they want. They have to eat nasty food everyday of their lives, do they ever feel forgotten? I kept thinking this while we talked, but the longer we talked I realized it wasn't like that at all. Every time we would talk about something hard, something that they struggle with, hunger, or the pain they go through, she would always say that God is good, and God is here. God is good, and God is here. What faith. What trust. I sit here and complain about the food, but the food I eat is pasta, and rice, and goodish sauce, I have so much! I realized last night that they have everything that they need. They have faith in a God who provides for their needs, and never leaves them. God is good, and God is here.
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