Many of you will remember Mommy Ahmed. We met in the hospital in Yaounde last year. Her grandson and Elliott shared the only oxygen tank in the hospital. Her grandson was 2 years old
and had a severe heart condition. We spent several weeks together in ICU caring for our children. During our hospital stay and our time at home, I had daily devotions with Elliott. Each morning and evening, I would read to him from a children's Bible, worship, and pray over/with him. (incidentally, we finished the entire Bible the night before Elliott died.) After a few days of her watching this, she put Ahmed on Elliott's bed just after I started reading. She asked in broken English, "Is ok?" I of course said yes. This may not seem like something significant but Mommy Ahmed and her family are devout Muslims.
The first day that Ahmed sat on the bed during our devotions, my heart was racing and my mind was filled with questions. What is the meaning of this? What should I say and what should I do? Yaounde is the French speaking side of Cameroon and Mommy Ahmed speaks French and a tiny bit of English. I speak a VERY tiny amount of French. My heart was overwhelmed with her asking to share our devotion time. How do you reach someone who doesn't speak your language? I just prayed that the words of scripture and the prayers I prayed would touch their hearts in a very special way.
We were in and out of the ICU for several weeks and each time we spent "quality time" with Ahmed and his grandmother. We struggled to speak to each other in broken forms of the other persons language and when someone was available who spoke both languages we peppered them with questions. I pulled out my camera and showed her pictures of my family and friends.
Ahmed and I played games and I would watch over him for his grandmother to go to bathe and vice versa. We developed our own "language" and a bond was created. There are no televisions in your Cameroonian hospital rooms and we were sharing the room with a total of 6 patients but the two of us shared something special.
The day that Elliott passed away, Mommy Ahmed had gone to the pharmacy. Her daughter called her and she came running and screaming back to the ICU. She grabbed me and held me for the longest time saying, No, No, No, Desole, Desole. (I'm sorry in French) I'm sure she cried more than I did that day. It was a few days before I had my meltdown... For the next several weeks we traded phone calls back and forth, checking on each other and just letting the other know that we cared. After a few weeks I wasn't able to reach her and she wasn't calling me.
One day my phone rang with a strange number and Mommy Ahmed was on the line. She was very excited and I could barely understand her. Fortunately, there was someone with me who speaks fluent French and they were able to translate. She was calling to tell me that Ahmed was being transferred to a hospital in Bamenda for heart surgery and she wanted to know if I would pray for him and for their family. My heart burst wide open. Tears began to fall and I couldn't speak for several minutes. I could only nod my head to my friend who was translating for us. I finally gathered myself and was able to speak. Here was a devout Muslim calling from 10 hours away asking this Christian to pray. That was a beautifully overwhelming moment for me.
I was struggling at the time with being angry for losing Elliott. I kept questioning how much time, energy and numerous prayers went up for Elliott and his life. I was angry that my baby was gone after God had given us so many good days and hope after so many bad days. The moment she asked for prayer my mind began to race with all of the good things that happened as a result of Elliott's life. I repented and told God how grateful I was that even in the midst of tragedy, His light was shining among people who didn't know Him.
Mommy Ahmed changed my life that day. Her phone call gave me the fortitude to move forward and to focus more on the good that had transpired over the past 7 months.
Flash forward almost a year. This past weekend was the anniversary Elliot's descent to heaven. I felt very strongly about going back to the hospital where we spent the last months of his life to express my gratitude to the Doctor's and Nurses who helped care for him. I had a wonderful visit with them and the following day I went to visit Mommy Ahmed. I took a friend with me to translate. She met us on the road a little ways from her house. We were calling her to get directions when she spotted us on the street and started running. She grabbed me and both of us had tears in our eyes. We held each other for a long time. She was speaking so rapidly in French my friend had trouble keeping up but she finally told me that Mommy Ahmed was saying how much the two of us love each other even though we have trouble communicating. Mommy kept putting her arms around me and smiling saying welcome, welcome.
There are no words for me to express the sweet time of fellowship that I spent with her and her family. She has 5 children and 7 grandchildren. I met 2 of her daughters, one son and numerous kids...(family and extended family) They welcomed us so warmly and told me over and over, "We are family," "You are our family," "This is your home." Once again my heart was overwhelmed. I was stunned to find out that Ahmed had also lost his battle with his illness and had passed away. She had called to tell me but I didn't understand her French and didn't have someone nearby to translate for me. Tears threatened to fall numerous times but I kept myself in check until it was time to leave.
As we walked through her neighborhood and around her home, my heart was full of prayers for this wonderful family. I have no idea what the future holds for them and for our relationship but I long for the day when they are also my Christian family. I believe that it WILL happen.
My heart was/is so full. It's amazing to me that God can take an insignificant girl from California and drop her in Africa and she finds herself at home. The people that God has blessed me with here constantly overwhelm my heart. I am so privileged to share life with people all over the world and have "family" wherever I go. I love that I can meet and fellowship with people from all walks of life and various backgrounds. Our common ground is always LOVE.
Love opens many doors and cultivates relationships. Love knows no barriers. Language, race, family background etc. make no difference when God has joined hearts. It is my honor to
share life with this sweet woman and her family. I'm so excited to see what God has in store for them in the future. Please join me in praying for this sweet family and that my life in general will demonstrate God's love to those around me.
1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
Matthew 22:36-40 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
