Today was such a touching day for me. We went to visit with the women of the Karamagian village. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect there, but I was just blown away by all of the wonderful women I met! These women are known as the “Least of the Least”…they are so poor…and literally have NOTHING. Their houses are made of mud and sticks—MUD AND STICKS!! As a child my sisters and I would go outside and build tree houses similar to this for fun and to play pretend. But these women LIVE LIKE THIS!!! They have no other option…No other choice!
Bathroom....
The same mud that we drive on here in Africa is the same mud that are the walls of their houses! If you stop and just think about it….it seriously just breaks your heart!! … Why someone has to live like this?? WHY…Why God? But yet, when we got to their village…I was blown away by their kindness…blown away by their hearts…and realized that although they physically don’t have much—Spiritually they have A LOT! They live…I mean really LIVE for God each and every day! They have such serving hearts and are grateful for the little that they do have. Oh how they were SO HAPPY when we came! They just loved having us there and were so excited to have “white” people…(“muzungos” as they call us) in their village! We got there and they showed us some of the necklaces, bracelets, bowls and rugs that they made. Honestly, these women are SO crafty and creative! Their items that they made are SO beautiful!! And don’t worry—we made sure we bought a bunch of these items to help support them!!! I think we actually bought everything they had!!! Plus, all of their stuff is so awesome and unique! :) I got an Acacia Necklace, a mat/rug, a purse, and a little bowl.
After this we did introductions where they got to learn a little bit about us and we got to hear their stories. We then sang them songs to them to help encourage and bring hope to them…We sang this song at the prisons and at all of the other locations we went to! Here are the lyrics. This song is SO BEAUTIFUL and SO TOUCHING…It brings tears to my eyes every time we sing this song…because this song is so fitting for everyone…but especially these people!! It goes like this:
“I will pray…In Jesus name…and believe…that things will change….I will pray…In Jesus name…and Believe…that things will change…for I know Jesus hears me when I pray…so I won’t worry or be afraid…I will Pray…In Jesus name…and believe…things will change…I will pray—In Jesus name.”
We had a translator explain to them what we were singing and they all just smiled and clapped…you could tell they were all very moved by this, as were all of us! After singing we were able to show them how we make friendship bracelets…They were all excited to learn something new so that they had new items they could sell in the markets. It is also just so crazy how these women pick up on this stuff!! They seriously are SO TALENTED and have so many wonderful gifts! We were able to leave a ton of fabric and string with them so THANK YOU ALL for who helped donate this!!! :) They couldn’t believe it when we told them this big bag was for them!! They were truly so thankful and appreciative!
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| A Mud House!!:) |
One thing that I also wanted to share with you was how the children in the village reacted when we first go to the village. Throughout the trip we were so used to having the children RUN UP TO US and SMILE!! AND CLAP!!! AND WAVE!!! AND CHEER!!! They were always SO excited to see Muzungos!! It was seriously like we were famous or something because EVERYWHERE we went we were the ONLY white people! And, when people saw us—They would either look a little confused and seemed to wonder what we were doing there?!?? Or, they would get SO EXCITED and HAPPY!!! --Especially the children, they were ALWAYS happy!! I have told this to so many people but when we would ride through the towns and the markets it was seriously like a parade! We would have our windows open and we would be waving and smiling and handing out silly bands, candy and gum to as many children as we could!! AND, this is the sad part—When we would give them ONE little silly band…they would hold it in their hands and look up at us with the BIGGEST SMILE on their face!!!! Oh my goodness you guys—One silly band!? How little and cheap is that and it meant the WORLD to them!! Oh, how I loved seeing their faces light up like that!! :) Anyways, wherever we went the kids literally came running towards us with excitement! So, when we got to this village we were just assuming that these children would be like all of the rest..And we started going up to them—super friendly of course! Smiling, saying hi to them and being as warm and welcoming as we could…When all of a sudden they started screaming and crying and ran away!! They were SO frightened—It was so sad! I seriously could have cried…I felt SO bad. Here I was thinking, “They’re going to come running up to us and give us hugs and hang on us the whole time!” Which I LOVED (and I miss so much now that I’m back in America!) but instead it was the complete opposite. Our team leader Diana saw that we all felt so bad and she did a good job at calming us down and reminded us that this was probably the very FIRST time they had seen white people and how we must have looked SO different to them. However, for the most part, the longer we stayed and the more they saw how we were helping and getting along great with the older women, they started to warm up to us. Some kids we okay with coming up to us and getting a Silly Band from us…While others stayed back and watched. One little boy that came up to me and got a Silly Band went back to his friends and was all excited about what I gave him. He was showing them and he started nudging them towards us…Basically telling them that it was okay…that we were nice…and that we would give them a special little gift. But, there were still a few kids that didn’t want anything to do with us, so that little boy came up and got a couple to bring back to them. Once he handed it to them their unsure—sort of scolded looks turned into great BIG SMILES!:) It was so fun for me to just observe them and watch their reactions!!
After spending time in this village we went to another school where we played for a little while with all of the children. It was SO CUTE!! We arrived and were waiting outside in the open grass…when all of a sudden the children got let out and came RUNNING and were CHEERING and LAUGHING as they came to us. They were SO excited to have people come and spend time with them. Really—This is all they want! Just our time…love…devotion…and support! Why can’t we do this??...This is what God has called us to do…We have MORE than enough here in America. Yes, right now our economy isn’t all that great—But to so many countries throughout the world we are still SO SPOILED ROTTEN!! So why can’t we do this? …James 1:27 states what we’re supposed to be doing clearly…so why the hesitation? Why the doubt? Why the excuses? When the Bible—GOD’S WORD boldly explains how we are to live and look after orphans. Yes, we are to care for them…Yes, we are to help widows…Yes, we are supposed to not give into the ways of this life and the ways of this world…We are not supposed to be corrupted or spoiled in everything that this world offers and throws at us. Please do something—ANYTHING that will help these children and widows in need. I strongly believe with my whole heart that if we can RISE UP as the body of Christ we CAN—And we WILL make a HUGE difference! Who is with me? :) Who will follow and live up to what God has called each and every one of us to do? I pray so badly that you will do something—whatever it is that you can, and so do these orphans around the world…because they do desperately need you!
“Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted (clean) from the world.” —James 1:27
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