Tammy Parker is one of the missionaries that is working here with her husband. One of her ministries is to help people who do not have money for food, clothes, formula, or their hospital bill. Due to her talking about this guy that she meet here, someone donated money for him to get food and money. She did not know where he lived till recently, so she was not able to give him the things till now. Tammy invited some of us to go with her to give the man these items.
On the way over to the man's house many thoughts were circling through my mind…. Tammy had told us that he didn't have leprosy anymore, but what if he still has it. I said to God "I just got over being really sick for weeks, please don't let me get leprosy." Will I have to shake his hand? But then if I don't it will be rude. Then I thought of how God has all power, so can protect me from getting it…
We arrived at his home and were greeted warmly by his family. Then came the moment I was dreading from before, shaking his hand. His hand for me meant that I may lose mine later, due to getting leprosy. Tammy and Naomi were the first to greet, then the rest of us shook his hand, which was missing the top of the fingers. We all sat down with him on mats that were already laid out on the ground. Tammy presented to him the things that she brought, which were a big bag of rice, soap, money, and possibly some other small items.
As Tammy was talking to him I was listening, but taking in the whole scene at the same time. In the Bible Jesus healed lepers, now I was sitting in front of one. He is probably older than 40 years old, lives with his wife and some of his kids, and is unemployed. His eyes are visible, but you cannot realize at first that he doesn't have the best eyesight. His body is very frail, skin is rough, only one hand fully has all fingers, he is missing the front part of each of his feet, and is only wearing a pair of torn up shorts. As i looked, or maybe I should say starred at him, I was investigating everything about him. Then it hit me, I should not be sitting here analyzing everything about him. I should not be treating him like a spectacle, but rather as a human being that wants to be heard not starred at. How many people did not want to shake his hand because he had leprosy? How many people just gawked at him rather than treating him like a regular person? I was no better than them. It reminded me how Jesus mingled with all types of people, not only those that were socially acceptable…
After I decided to stop starring I decided to start really listening. As his story unfolded I realized I was listening to someone with an amazing testimony. He has lived in Tchad for all of his life in the Bere area. About thirty years ago there was a war in Tchad, which took many lives. Many of his friends and family were killed by people that just came out of the bush and killed them. One time he was running away from them with his Bible under his arm. The bad men said that they would let him go since He had a Bible. (Isn't that amazing!! I am getting goose bumps thinking about it.) He doesn't remember when he became a leper, but it was a while ago. He used to be a minister before, but now he just ministers to those that will listen. A doctor who was from another country working in this area took it upon himself to help him out. The doctor gave him medicine that would stop his disease from progressing any further. He is human, so he wonders why did God allowed this disease to effect his life as it has. But, despite the disease he takes the time to talk to young people about God, His love, and how to live on the right path. Before we left he decided to give us a show. He started to move his arms and legs from side to side, while singing a song. He joked and said that there was a band playing with him as he sang.
When we were about to leave we found out that his wife was very sick. Her stomach had been hurting for over a week and she was very frail and weak. Tammy offered to take her to the hospital to have a doctor find out what was wrong with her. To me it seemed that we were meant to go to his house at that time, because we were not only able to help him out, but also his wife. As she was leaving he called her over and gave her the money that he just received from Tammy, so that if she needed anything she would be ok. As we left his house I was no longer afraid to shake his hand. I was not shaking a lepers hand, but a man that loved God. He wore a big smile on his face, which hid all of the pain he lived in his life. I came to the point where I could see him as he was, not as he appeared.
Meeting that man is something that I wouldn't change, because it opened my eyes to different things. First, I am not to look at people on the outside, but what is within. It is easy to look at the outside of someone and get stuck on what we see. One should not be captivated by the individuals outside appearance, but be there for the person, truly listening, and treating them as if there was nothing different about them. Second, bad things happen to people no matter their status, income, or relationship with God. The thing that distinguishes people is how they respond to problems. We came to give this man gifts, but he was the one that gave us gifts. He gave us laughter, joy, friendship, and faith in God no matter what happens. Another thing that touched me about this visit was the love that was in his family. He was a leper for years, yet his wife stuck by his side. He is only able to beg when he has strength to go to the market, yet she hasn't left him. He is not able to walk like everyone else does, yet she choose to stay with him. It reminds me of something I read once, love is not a feeling but a choice. She choose to continue to stay by his side and love him through thick and thin. I also saw the love when he gave her the money that he just got. He could have been greedy and kept it for himself, but instead he was thinking of her before himself. (That is what I call love!)
As we all interact with different types of people, let us be mindful of how we treat them. Let us take note when we are treating the person as though their disease defines them. Let us not treat the person differently based upon their past, nationality, income, race, religion, or sex. The world has a way of shutting away people who are not considered "normal", which is not how God wants us to be. We are to treat every single individual with love, respect, and as we would want to be treated. This profound thought just came to my mind as I am writing this: we are all equal in God's eyes, so what makes you think you can treat someone differently. (That is deep!!) When facing situations when you could react negatively, instead take sometime to place yourself into their shoes and view their world as they do. Doing this mere task could change the way you view people and the world around you. If I kept on treating the man as a leper rather than a human being, then I could have missed out on a blessing and an eye opening opportunity. How many more friendships could we have or created if we were to treat everyone with love and equality?
~ Don't miss out on a blessing, because you did not take the time to show someone God's love! ~
Charis it's inspiring to see how you have allowed God to speak to your heart in situations that can be discouraging. May the people see Jesus in you.
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