In a lot of ways, my brain is still processing. Thank goodness for being able to have this experience with a friend Amy, who has become an ever-so-much-dearer friend in the last few weeks. It also helps immensely having a boyfriend that grew up in a third-world country. I've been told the processing takes a while and has different stages....and I am a believer.
So, my plan is to blog in pieces.
Here's the piece for today. Yemamu and Sisay.
These two men blew my mind. I have never in my life seen two people completely embody the heart and spirit of Jesus as these two have. Yemamu and Sisay spend their waking hours talking with people the people of Korah, going to their homes, meeting with them, hearing their stories, shedding tears with them, walking beside them, learning what their needs are (both physical and spiritual), and then spend every effort and energy and dollar they have to meet the needs they see. (They have been working for the last year to start an NGO, a feeding program, for 60 kids. They will feed them twice a day, every day. Their vision for the future of this program needs it's own blog post).
These two men have grown up in Korah. They both lived in the trash dump for several years of their adolescent lives. And now, by choice, they are staying in Korah. They spend their lives walking beside the least of these and loving them as Jesus does. It blew my mind to see how well they "get it." And they don't just get it, they are doing it...everyday. And I am jealous. They are loving their neighbor everyday, all day. They live in a community in the truest sense of the word. They are making a difference - a marked, huge, life-changing difference in those around them as they love like Jesus loves. Many of these people have nothing. They scavenge at the trash dump on a daily basis to eat, find things to sell, etc. But, Yemamu and Sisay are giving them something they never thought possible - hope.
I don't know how to do what they are doing. But, I am in awe. I am challenged.
