A Layne Post
Some of you may have read about Rosina on my other blog. Rosina had a large tumor/open wound on her foot that was not improving, even with treatment. When I spoke with her a week and a half ago, she had just found out that the doctors had decided to amputate her foot and probably a bit of her leg. She was struggling to deal with the news, quite sad and overwhelmed. As I watched her face wince in pain, I tried to encourage her that perhaps the surgery would allow the constant pain to stop. Still, I left her in bed depressed.
I returned a couple days later to Rosina sitting, more wobbling, in bed. She no longer wore the cloth to cover her bald head, making her face look more gaunt than before. I sat with her in bed, trying to help support her, whole avoiding the wounds on her leg. The smell of rotting flesh has become so familiar to me. In her discomfort she tried to ask me to scratch her back. Me, not knowing the word for “scratch” in Portuguese, struggled to understand her wish. After some effort from her tired body, we figured it out, and I was able to scratch her back.
Once again I was reminded of people’s need for a companion in suffering. So many times I feel inadequate, angry that a close friend or family member cannot be there to take my place, someone who can understand them easily, someone who can naturally lay in bed with them. However, in that absence, somehow the Lord has placed me there, and in that person’s desperation they seem to cling to anyone, even a strange, foreign, white, pregnant girl.
The next time I saw Rosina she was laying in bed, unable to sit, unable to talk. In some ways I could not believe she had deteriorated so quickly, yet in other ways I was amazed that her body had somehow kept living so many hours, so many days in excruciating pain. That day was full of prayers, tears, and song, knowing her life on this earth was coming to a close. I begged the Lord in His mercy to take her quickly and to save her soul.
I was unable to return to the hospital until Friday, four days later, due to some vehicle paperwork problems. Thankfully, Rosina was from Maputo and had family in town that would visit a few hours a day. She lost her fight on Thursday; I believe her parents were present. I could not believe she had lived so long.
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Sometimes I feel like our ministry is slow going. It is taking time to get going, to start the project in our home, to fill up our schedules, etc. However, in moments like I had with Rosina, I think to myself, “She was worth it. She was worth my time, your support, my living so far from my family… Rosina was worth it.”
And so I thank you. Thank you for supporting Jon and I financially, emotionally and spiritually, for being part of this ministry. Thank you for making it possible for this strange, foreign, white, pregnant girl to sit in the beds of few sick Mozambican ladies and attempt to spread the tangible love of Jesus.