Do I Really Thirst?

Do I Really Thirst? It is currently one of the hottest months in Zimbabwe and I am really feeling it. One of my favorite things about summer time in the States is the BIG GULP drinks that you can get at a discounted price at the gas stations. There I seem to always be carrying around a 32 oz drink for less than 75 cents whether I am thirsty or not, usually not. Today we went to a VERY rural school over an hour away, deeper into the ‘bush’ so to speak. Traveling the gravel and dirt paths in the old Toyota pickup tended to be a bit bumpy but the air conditioner in the truck is a luxury we do not take lightly. Pulling up to the school, passing the rural clinic in a place called Nyaunde, brought back memories from many years back when we shared the Gospel and saw people commit to Christ and get baptized. The school had a fresh coat of bright sky-blue paint and it was eerily quiet because the 7th graders were all taking tests, to see if they could qualify for secondary school. The rest of the kids who came to school were outside trying to find any spot of shade available under the trees. We had come to share the story of Salvation with them to pass the time while the others were testing. Over two hundred eager students sang songs with us and listened to the Gospel story. To reinforce the message we had a craft to share with them. Using colors to represent parts of the story we talked about a Golden heaven that we are kept from because of our darkened hearts, but how the red blood of Jesus can clean us and make us white as snow. Once we believe and receive Christ as our Savior we are baptized in the blue water and continue to grow in the green grace and knowledge of Jesus. The youngest students returned to a classroom with a coloring page entitled “C is for CROSS”. Sounds basic and simple, however, these students had never seen crayons before and didn’t know what to do with them. Once they caught on they were thrilled with the results and proudly displayed their pictures to us. The older students created a salvation bracelet and learned about sharing the gospel by using the colors as symbols to tell such an important story.

Doing this outside in the 100 degree heat was not nearly as miserable as cramming inside a classroom with no breeze to present the school with some simple gifts of a soccer ball, jump ropes and more crayons. At the closing prayer our eyes were stinging, not because of emotion, but because of the sweat dripping into them. The children and teachers were thrilled with the day and headed out to lunch. Our day was only half over because soon the Ladies would be gathering for the weekly WMU meeting and my friend Mickey was going to be sharing her testimony. The heat was stifling and we couldn’t seem to get enough to drink. I had brought what I thought was an abundance of frozen water bottles but even as we sipped continuously on the melting drinks, our thirst was still ravishing.

Love Buckets

Love Buckets. So what’s in a “Love Bucket”? Roses, chocolate candies, sentimental notes? Hardly. More like a towel, sheets, gloves, vitamins, a scrub brush, lotion and bendy straws; at least that is some of what is in the Love Buckets sent to AIDS patients around the world through a program sponsored by the Baptist Global Response (BGR). Dubbed “Love Buckets” by missionary emeritus, Bud Fray, these gifts of love and compassion were distributed to 15 different patients in the Sanyati area of Zimbabwe. Bud’s Sunday school class at Central Baptist Church of Crossville, Tennessee, packed the buckets with particular items designed to specifically assist homebound AIDS patients. In September Bud, along with some men from his church, brought the buckets to Sanyati in their duffel bags. Joining up with the Village Health Care Workers, we had the opportunity to visit people in their homes and share the love of Christ in a very tangible way. Every village had a different story.

Amai Tinotenda, lying on a mat in her hut was barely able to sit up when we visited her. Blind and very weak from the Virus, she was being cared for by a 16 year old son, the only other person living there. Who would have thought a simple sheet and mattress protector were loving items? Amai did when the Village Health workers spread them on her straw mat giving her a bit more comfortable place to spend her day. Priska was in too much pain to walk and our hearts were torn as we watched her brother push her in a wheel barrow to their simple living room so we could share the “love bucket” with her. Who would have thought that a tube of Carmex would be a loving item? Priska did when we applied it to her cracked and sore lips. The smile that came as a result of this and the songs we sang for her about God’s love lit up the room. Judith, a 12 year old girl laid on the floor in her room, too weak to go to school. Her parents had both passed away and her Gogo (Grandma) took care of her. Judith was very quiet at first as we greeted her and began to share about why we came to see her; all the while her Gogo lovingly comforted her. Who would have thought that a bendy straw was a loving item? Judith did when she was able to take a drink without having to struggle to sit up and not spilling the juice all over her.

Tyron is 13. Some days are better than others and he can attend school; today he was home. His parents are both deceased and he is living with his grandparents. Small for his age and covered in a rash, Tyron is still able to smile and is very grateful that we have come to see him and share the “love bucket” with him. Who would have thought that Multi vitamins were a loving item? Tyron and the whole village did. They had been praying for a way to get vitamins, often referred to as “boosters”, for HIV+ patients, knowing that good nutrition is vital to someone being treated with ARV’s (anti retroviral). This was an answer to their prayers.

These are a few of the stories. The fact that Love overflowed from these buckets was very evident. It really wasn’t just the material items that the patients received that blessed each recipient and family; it was all the love and prayers that went in to packing each individual bucket, the love and prayers that accompanied each individual visit, and the love and prayers that now continue as names and faces are associated with each individual gift. WE continue to pray for the opportunity to show God’s love in a very real way to the people who are struggling everyday with the harsh reality of illnesses that this world brings. May they find the comfort of a Heavenly Father, who sees their pain, and whose Love NO BUCKET could contain.