More of the story. Stephanie, several others, and I have been taking the excess food from Food For Thought program out to the elderly who have no one to care for them. Today as we went around we saw Kadija, a Muslim lady, and she was showing us her hands that were badly swollen. We knew she had jiggers and so Stephanie returned to her “house” with one of the nurses. They determined to bring her to the clinic so I took the van to get her. Her feet and hands were covered in jiggers and she also had lice pretty bad. We knew we had to admit her to help her. The nurses gave her a bed bath and we put clean white sheets on the bed. Kadija kept on telling them that they didn’t have to use clean white sheets for her and was unsure why we would do these things because, “I have no money.” She also asked Shema “What religion are you that you would do this for me?” Shema’s reply was “We aren’t a religion, we are followers of Jesus Christ.” Kadija said “I have heard of him. I am Muslim. I want to hear more.” I looked in on Kadija later as she was resting on a mattress on the floor (didn’t want her falling off the hospital bed) with clean sheets, clean blanket and a pillow. She saw me and began profusely thanking me. Did I mention that Kadija told us she quit counting birthdays at 90? I have always loved preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and as truly rewarding as it is, preaching can’t compare to “doing” the gospel. “Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.” (James 1:27, The Message) There is at least one more chapter to this story. Stay tuned!
Posted on: Wed, 14 Aug 2013 20:41:25 +0000