JOYOUS JOSEPHA!

July 27, 2006

Ben’s Blog http://www.benpahlow.blogspot.com
shows pictures of him meeting with a woman named Josepha. He wrote a beautiful journal entry about meeting her (see June 10th). She begs on the streets in Kigali. She is handicapped and has very short, unusable legs which she says “curled up” when she was five years old. Ben absolutely loves this woman. We often drive past the garbage dump she lives in and he always talks about going to visit her and her husband Simon.

Well we finally had an opportunity this afternoon to go and see her. There are tiny row houses behind the dump (which is filled with parts of cars and garbage) and she lives in one room that is about 9 feet by 6 feet. I really don’t know how they do it. There are two girls age 11 months and 3 years. Her 11 month old, Clementine, is nearly as big as she is. The baby seemed very passive and eerily quiet for her age.

Our whole family and Astrid arrived at the dump and all of the children seemed unfazed by her appearance. They readily embraced her as she reached up to them. Josepha has an irrepressible spirit… you can see it all over her face.

We told her that someone in America had sent money for her to buy a sewing machine (she has received vocational training of some kind) and that we were taking her to Kigali to pick one out. She was so thrilled. Her eyes got huge and she started clapping very loud. Simon was also clapping. She told us that begging on the streets of Kigali makes so little that it would take more than her lifetime to save enough for that!

Sometimes I think that poverty will not affect me anymore and that compassion runs out, but that is simply not the case. There is something special about the poor. They don’t run together like paint on canvas… they stand out. Their eyes each scream a different story. In Jospeha’s case, her eyes scream peace and joy. I don’t understand how she can be so heavenly. I wish I could make sense of her story… there is just no way to explain it. She has nothing… no decent shelter, no toilet, no electricity, and not even good health!

As a matter of fact, I believe she has faced a lot of painful harassment in addition to all her trials. I walked slowly behind them as her husband picked her up as we crossed the street. I heard snickers and laughter with pointing fingers as this wonderful gentleman carried his wife unceremoniously under the arm pits. How does she deal with that?? And how does her husband seem to hear nothing of it!? He truly loves her. I observed them together and watched him hold her hand and talking to her from 3 feet above… they not only respect each other but are real friends. Ben also picked her up at one point because Simon’s hands were full and the whole entire block laughed. I don’t think it was to mock her this time, it was absolute astonishment! No one could believe it.

I felt tired as we walked together, but I think it was because I couldn’t make sense of what was happening around me. I kept zoning out and not believing that I was in the middle of Kigali with an angel hovering below my waist. I am in tears realizing that right now she is probably wrapping her arms around her husband and they are pinching each other to see if today was real. Not only did we buy her a sewing machine and material but we also purchased a generator (to run the machine without electricity) and a bicycle for Simon! We gave them a new chain and lock to secure the items. We were led to also give the family money for mutual health insurance as well. And Astrid gave them children’s clothes. Basically, we spent way more money than we had been sent from America, but it was what God laid on our hearts to do for Jospeha!

Cyprien interpreted for us today and told us on the way home that everyone knows Josepha in downtown Kigali. They recognize her from begging each day. As we were leaving the area she waved to everyone from our car and said to Cyp, “Now God has saved me from begging and I won’t have to come here anymore!” Wow… that is all I can say.

If you feel led to help us recover some of the unexpected costs today and to help Jospeha financially, please email Ben at ben.pahlow@globalfamilyrescue.org