YES, I WILL BLESS THE LORD...
HE FORGIVES ALL MY SINS...
PSALM 103:2-3
*****************************
TURNING ME FROM...
AND
THANK YOU, MY LORD!!
Friday, June 7, 2013
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
CHILD SERIOUSLY INJURED ... UGANDA BOOK
And, this was NOT fictionalized. This is a true portion of the book. Info immediately emailed to my husband and friends from Uganda ... slightly re-written just for you, to readjust the amount of space. But the reality is the reality.
==================================================
[This child is not the one from the story, but the same age. A dear one Jill and I met at the Rescued Children's Camp, mostly teens, but a few like this one who had somehow been lost from parents when running from the rebels. The fact that she smiled has always amazed me.]
.. Cary turned around and wandered through Pastor Justin’s area. Everyone stopped and stared at her because they so seldom had a white person in their part of the country, especially those who had been living in the villages. She was a whole new experience for them.
While looking at the cement pad next to Justin’s place, just a few feet away, she suddenly noticed a young child laying on a straw mat. At first she assumed the child was sleeping, although she wasn’t sure why it would be outside, but when she looked closely, she saw tears on the child’s cheeks.
She interrupted Joseph and Justin. “I noticed that child there is crying very quietly. Can you ask why?”
Joseph set the papers aside and walked to the mother and the two of them spoke for just a short time. Joseph turned to Cary. “They were heating water in a kettle on the 3-rocks
fire, and as the water began to boil, a stone fell over and the kettle hit the floor and the water splashed on the girls neck, shoulder, and chest. It happened not long before we came. She is in great pain.”
“She’s hardly crying, though. If that happened to one of my grandkids, they’d be screaming their heads off. Why isn’t the family doing anything?”
“In our culture, if a child is hurting, it is right to be as silent as possible. One reason is because our people are so poor they can’t afford to go to a doctor. In fact, one is rarely around. So, they simply learn to live with their problems.”
Cary said, “Well, this time that’s not the way it’s going to be!” She looked intensely at Joseph and said, “Tell them that I will take her to the clinic the ministry supports not far from here... I think we passed it, didn’t we?” She paused and Joseph nodded. “OK. Have them dress her and we’ll go.”
He told the family. An older sister brought out a dress to put it on the little one. The dress had a tight-looking neckline and tight sleeves. Cary remembered that the skin on the girl’s shoulder was sloughing off already, and she knew that this dress would cause a lot of pain. Before she even processed it all, Cary said, “NO!” Everyone froze. She turned to Joseph. “Tell them that would hurt her. Have them put a loose top on her. She doesn’t have to be very special-dressed to go see a nurse. They need to understand that.”
He explained. They did what Cary told them to do, then the wounded girl, her older sister, Joseph and Cary got in the van and went to the clinic.
When they pulled up under the trees on the edge of the clinic site, people were sitting in the shade. A number were lined up being examined by a nurse. She would determine where they should sit and wait for the next nurse to care for them. When Cary climbed out and took the girl’s hand and walked towards the nurse, she stopped what she was doing and came over. Cary told her, “This little one has been burned by boiling water. Her family has no salve or other medicine to help her. I knew you would be able to do so, so I brought her here.”
The nurse smiled very gently, moved the shirt away from the wounds, and looked a bit startled. “Yes, Madame, this is serious. I will do so right away.”
The nurse quickly went to the medicine area and returned with a creamy salve. She gently spread it over the entire area. Then she found some gauze and tape and covered it loosely. She gave the sister some pain pills, and, Cary found out later, told them in Teso, that they should come back the following week and that they would reassess the burns.
When they returned to their home, everyone was very happy, so pleased that their little one had been helped.
Later Cary realized that she knew no names, nothing. And they didn’t know her for more than that hour. She wondered if the years would come along and they would think that God had dropped an angel into their lives.
Cary, exhausted and so filled with weakness from that intense, but helpful time, thought, “Well, I sure don’t look like an angel, don’t talk like an angel, don’t walk like an angel, but am blessed that they appreciated my entry into their lives.
Cary relaxed.
==================================================
[This child is not the one from the story, but the same age. A dear one Jill and I met at the Rescued Children's Camp, mostly teens, but a few like this one who had somehow been lost from parents when running from the rebels. The fact that she smiled has always amazed me.]
.. Cary turned around and wandered through Pastor Justin’s area. Everyone stopped and stared at her because they so seldom had a white person in their part of the country, especially those who had been living in the villages. She was a whole new experience for them.
While looking at the cement pad next to Justin’s place, just a few feet away, she suddenly noticed a young child laying on a straw mat. At first she assumed the child was sleeping, although she wasn’t sure why it would be outside, but when she looked closely, she saw tears on the child’s cheeks.
She interrupted Joseph and Justin. “I noticed that child there is crying very quietly. Can you ask why?”
Joseph set the papers aside and walked to the mother and the two of them spoke for just a short time. Joseph turned to Cary. “They were heating water in a kettle on the 3-rocks
 | |
| At the Refugee Camp, too large, of course, but example. |
“She’s hardly crying, though. If that happened to one of my grandkids, they’d be screaming their heads off. Why isn’t the family doing anything?”
“In our culture, if a child is hurting, it is right to be as silent as possible. One reason is because our people are so poor they can’t afford to go to a doctor. In fact, one is rarely around. So, they simply learn to live with their problems.”
Cary said, “Well, this time that’s not the way it’s going to be!” She looked intensely at Joseph and said, “Tell them that I will take her to the clinic the ministry supports not far from here... I think we passed it, didn’t we?” She paused and Joseph nodded. “OK. Have them dress her and we’ll go.”
He told the family. An older sister brought out a dress to put it on the little one. The dress had a tight-looking neckline and tight sleeves. Cary remembered that the skin on the girl’s shoulder was sloughing off already, and she knew that this dress would cause a lot of pain. Before she even processed it all, Cary said, “NO!” Everyone froze. She turned to Joseph. “Tell them that would hurt her. Have them put a loose top on her. She doesn’t have to be very special-dressed to go see a nurse. They need to understand that.”
He explained. They did what Cary told them to do, then the wounded girl, her older sister, Joseph and Cary got in the van and went to the clinic.
When they pulled up under the trees on the edge of the clinic site, people were sitting in the shade. A number were lined up being examined by a nurse. She would determine where they should sit and wait for the next nurse to care for them. When Cary climbed out and took the girl’s hand and walked towards the nurse, she stopped what she was doing and came over. Cary told her, “This little one has been burned by boiling water. Her family has no salve or other medicine to help her. I knew you would be able to do so, so I brought her here.”
The nurse smiled very gently, moved the shirt away from the wounds, and looked a bit startled. “Yes, Madame, this is serious. I will do so right away.”
The nurse quickly went to the medicine area and returned with a creamy salve. She gently spread it over the entire area. Then she found some gauze and tape and covered it loosely. She gave the sister some pain pills, and, Cary found out later, told them in Teso, that they should come back the following week and that they would reassess the burns.
When they returned to their home, everyone was very happy, so pleased that their little one had been helped.
Later Cary realized that she knew no names, nothing. And they didn’t know her for more than that hour. She wondered if the years would come along and they would think that God had dropped an angel into their lives.
Cary, exhausted and so filled with weakness from that intense, but helpful time, thought, “Well, I sure don’t look like an angel, don’t talk like an angel, don’t walk like an angel, but am blessed that they appreciated my entry into their lives.
Cary relaxed.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
NEW TESTAMENT... GIVEN TO AND GIVEN AWAY
When I mentioned on Facebook today that I was reading a portion of the Revelation, and that the translation I am reading this time is JB Phillips. Then, my mind was buried in the miracle.
On Friday, April 15, 1966, at 6:30 PM, when I came to the Lord, the man, Stan, who had led me to Him, gave me a Phillips New Testament. I was 20 years old, from a rough "world", and this truly became a whole new blessed world for me, instantly. AND Stan's Word/verse, chosen specially for me, referenced in the Bible was this:
Philippians 2:13: For it is God who is at work within you, giving you the will and the power to achieve his purpose.
That was my special Bible.
Almost a year later -- February, 1967 -- I had been shifted from Tacoma, WA, to East St. Louis, IL. I was living with a friend the first couple months, and working in St. Louis.
Then, during May, life changed again. I was spending time out and about in the downtown area of East St. Louis, mostly as part of a serious gang-and-racial-and-poverty ministry. I was a serious, tough-cookie oriented person, and very few times was I hesitant or frightened by what others were doing towards, around, or about me. I was amazingly protected by the Lord, believe me!
Anyhow, I remember walking around downtown. Casually. A scruffy middle-aged man was standing on a corner, and asking for money. A homeless man, same as today. I had almost no money, couldn't help him. I might have been able to give him a buck or two, but that was all. THEN, however, while sharing the Word with him, just a bit, for a couple minutes, he said he couldn't keep knowing more; he didn't have a Bible.
I reached into the top pocket of my jacket, removed my small "Born-Again gift", and gave it to him, told him it was easy to read and that he could learn more of the Lord, that it was small enough that he could easily keep it in his pockets.
He thanked me. We smiled at each other. I left.
I haven't known anything further, of course. I hope it entered into his heart. I'll find out for certain sure whether this gift to him, one of the first personal spiritual ones I ever gave after my salvation, changed him. I sure hope to meet him again --
On Friday, April 15, 1966, at 6:30 PM, when I came to the Lord, the man, Stan, who had led me to Him, gave me a Phillips New Testament. I was 20 years old, from a rough "world", and this truly became a whole new blessed world for me, instantly. AND Stan's Word/verse, chosen specially for me, referenced in the Bible was this:
Philippians 2:13: For it is God who is at work within you, giving you the will and the power to achieve his purpose.
That was my special Bible.
Almost a year later -- February, 1967 -- I had been shifted from Tacoma, WA, to East St. Louis, IL. I was living with a friend the first couple months, and working in St. Louis.
Then, during May, life changed again. I was spending time out and about in the downtown area of East St. Louis, mostly as part of a serious gang-and-racial-and-poverty ministry. I was a serious, tough-cookie oriented person, and very few times was I hesitant or frightened by what others were doing towards, around, or about me. I was amazingly protected by the Lord, believe me!
Anyhow, I remember walking around downtown. Casually. A scruffy middle-aged man was standing on a corner, and asking for money. A homeless man, same as today. I had almost no money, couldn't help him. I might have been able to give him a buck or two, but that was all. THEN, however, while sharing the Word with him, just a bit, for a couple minutes, he said he couldn't keep knowing more; he didn't have a Bible.
I reached into the top pocket of my jacket, removed my small "Born-Again gift", and gave it to him, told him it was easy to read and that he could learn more of the Lord, that it was small enough that he could easily keep it in his pockets.
He thanked me. We smiled at each other. I left.
I haven't known anything further, of course. I hope it entered into his heart. I'll find out for certain sure whether this gift to him, one of the first personal spiritual ones I ever gave after my salvation, changed him. I sure hope to meet him again --
in heaven.
Monday, June 3, 2013
"TRIP" WITH SUSAN, EVERY DAY
This is how it began. Worth a grin.
About a dozen years ago, Dave and I, were up on the North Shore at Lake Superior, Grand Marais, MN. We dropped in again at one of our favorite touristy sales stores, Blue Moose. I saw something I thought would be neat for Susie's Mom, Etole. She, because of stroke-related illness, she had moved in with her daughter, because serious illness had forced her out of her own home. Susie was more than a blessing in helping her mother. With both of them in wheelchairs and life not very "easy", we were always just amazed at how the Lord would provide protection and support. Etole died near Mother's Day, 10 years ago.
Well, while Etole was at Susie's, the gift was over the kitchen sink, facing the east, and at sunrise it could be a bit shiny. And, as the day increased, the colorfulness and sparkliness was a treat. Anytime I visited, I couldn't help but smile and smack it a bit so it would twirl around and watch the "jewels" send their sparkles around the room.
When Dave and I were up there a couple weeks ago, looking
forward to seeing her, of course, but also "meeting" Caleb since his birth, spending time with his parents/Susie's dear family, and running and about a bit to see others. We had a wonderful time, in spite of the fact that the weather was pretty stormy and we couldn't "play" very much.
Just as we were getting ready to leave, Susie told me that the "jewels" in the kitchen were now mine. I was so very blessed!! Could hardly NOT feel guilty, because I know how much she loved it. But she insisted, so I did.
Well, on the way home [550 miles], I decided to hang it from the mirror. So, I did. Originally planned to take it in when reaching home and hang it in our kitchen. But got side-tracked... my personality issue ... and then over the days it was left in the car.
It will be forever. And today, when going out and about to do basic shopping, while on one of our main streets, I looked at it and though, "Oh, Susie and Etole are with me ALL THE TIME now." Been smiling about it ever since I got home a couple hours ago, so decided to share it with the rest of the world, too.
I met Susie and her mom in the summer of 1960. Her mother was a very important person in my life then, and forever. And Susie, too.
When I'm driving through Klickitat, WA, next month, on my birthday, 68th -- ouch!! --showing my grandkids where I lived and where their "Grandma" Susie lived, it will be shy of only a month before she entered my life 53 years ago. [The first time I saw and
met Susie was when I was being shown around and was taken down to the Klickitat River where the swimming "pool" was. She was walking up from the river. We were introduced. I immediately was amazed at her beautiful red hair. I never forget where I met her. -- While living there, I swam across the river, dove from the low rocks, name is somewhere, maybe, even after all these years.]
So, during my drive in July, I'll be taking "her" with me as she "jewels" herself in the window.
[PS. Can't get the font colors to work out. Oh, well. Computers are wonderful sometimes; drive me nuts other times.]
 |
| Downtown Lake Superior Area, Grand Marais |
Well, while Etole was at Susie's, the gift was over the kitchen sink, facing the east, and at sunrise it could be a bit shiny. And, as the day increased, the colorfulness and sparkliness was a treat. Anytime I visited, I couldn't help but smile and smack it a bit so it would twirl around and watch the "jewels" send their sparkles around the room.
When Dave and I were up there a couple weeks ago, looking
Just as we were getting ready to leave, Susie told me that the "jewels" in the kitchen were now mine. I was so very blessed!! Could hardly NOT feel guilty, because I know how much she loved it. But she insisted, so I did.
Well, on the way home [550 miles], I decided to hang it from the mirror. So, I did. Originally planned to take it in when reaching home and hang it in our kitchen. But got side-tracked... my personality issue ... and then over the days it was left in the car.
I met Susie and her mom in the summer of 1960. Her mother was a very important person in my life then, and forever. And Susie, too.
When I'm driving through Klickitat, WA, next month, on my birthday, 68th -- ouch!! --showing my grandkids where I lived and where their "Grandma" Susie lived, it will be shy of only a month before she entered my life 53 years ago. [The first time I saw and
So, during my drive in July, I'll be taking "her" with me as she "jewels" herself in the window.
[PS. Can't get the font colors to work out. Oh, well. Computers are wonderful sometimes; drive me nuts other times.]
Sunday, June 2, 2013
SIMON, ANOTHER UGANDAN SON
When Dave and I were officially at New Hope Uganda ... had been in and out of there for several months before, but were in the Kampala area and just going back and forth a couple days a week ... and now living in a teacher's home, we were so blessed by seeing more and more, day by day.
Simon, I would estimate, was in his late teens and his sister was one of the teachers. He lived in another part of Uganda and arrived about the same time we were there. He lived with his sister, Sarah, and her husband, Tonny.
One day, just as many others, he came to our door, and talked to Dave. He had purchased a battery radio in Kampala at a side-shop. It looked nice. Wasn't expensive, but wasn't overly cheap. When he got home and started to use it, it didn't work. When he opened it, as I recall, there were basic parts that were missing. So, he had been cheated. He asked Dave is he could fix it.
Dave did. He gave it to Simon a day or so later.
A day or so later, on a Saturday morning, Simon showed up our door, dressed in work-out clothes, and asked us what he could do for us, how he could work in our yard. It was because he appreciated what Dave had done and wanted to repay Dave. Other than Sam, our Ugandan son who had been dropped into our lives in a very special way about a year earlier, Simon was the only one who had ever offered help in a sense of appreciation. We were both very astonished and greatly appreciated him. I definitely was able to show him a couple places in our yard near the banana trees and pineapples where we could use some help. He did it all.
We were friends from then on. One funny thing. I was teaching French to some of the adults/teachers [didn't SPEAK it very well, but was good at teaching the translations, etc.]. We were meeting at a library, and someone had forgotten the key. This person went to get the key, and the rest of us were hanging out. I glanced at the side of the library, where there was a pile of dirt surrounded part of the building. Simon was kneeling there, his back to me, and I couldn't figure out what he was doing. THEN I saw that he was digging in the dirt and grabbing the insects that the Ugandans, from various locations, would eat. Can't remember if it was some kind of ant or grasshopper. I was horrified!!! Being from the States, that was definitely not something I had seen or thought was OK. [I could well be wrong, considering protein, etc., but still don't want to do it.] Anyhow, that is one of my favorite chuckles about Simon.
When we returned there for our son, Sam's, wedding, in September, 1999, we had dinner with Simon when he was one of the "parents" at a home with a number of kids. While talking with him, he indicated he wanted to be married and he asked us to pray for him. We held his hands and prayed very sincerely. Hugged him much. We truly loved him much.
It wasn't long before he was married.
I met his wife and saw children when I was there in late '03, early '04. Haven't seen him since, personally, but have seen him online, fb, email, etc. And continue to love him dearly.
He has become quite a worker at the orphanage. And a dear friend with my dear friends, such as Sam and his wife, Adhe. So, again, Dave and I are not "Aunt and Uncle" which is the common description of respect in Uganda, but now we are "Mum and Dad". What a treat!
He was on my heart today, so thought I'd put him on yours, too.
Simon, I would estimate, was in his late teens and his sister was one of the teachers. He lived in another part of Uganda and arrived about the same time we were there. He lived with his sister, Sarah, and her husband, Tonny.
One day, just as many others, he came to our door, and talked to Dave. He had purchased a battery radio in Kampala at a side-shop. It looked nice. Wasn't expensive, but wasn't overly cheap. When he got home and started to use it, it didn't work. When he opened it, as I recall, there were basic parts that were missing. So, he had been cheated. He asked Dave is he could fix it.
Dave did. He gave it to Simon a day or so later.
A day or so later, on a Saturday morning, Simon showed up our door, dressed in work-out clothes, and asked us what he could do for us, how he could work in our yard. It was because he appreciated what Dave had done and wanted to repay Dave. Other than Sam, our Ugandan son who had been dropped into our lives in a very special way about a year earlier, Simon was the only one who had ever offered help in a sense of appreciation. We were both very astonished and greatly appreciated him. I definitely was able to show him a couple places in our yard near the banana trees and pineapples where we could use some help. He did it all.
We were friends from then on. One funny thing. I was teaching French to some of the adults/teachers [didn't SPEAK it very well, but was good at teaching the translations, etc.]. We were meeting at a library, and someone had forgotten the key. This person went to get the key, and the rest of us were hanging out. I glanced at the side of the library, where there was a pile of dirt surrounded part of the building. Simon was kneeling there, his back to me, and I couldn't figure out what he was doing. THEN I saw that he was digging in the dirt and grabbing the insects that the Ugandans, from various locations, would eat. Can't remember if it was some kind of ant or grasshopper. I was horrified!!! Being from the States, that was definitely not something I had seen or thought was OK. [I could well be wrong, considering protein, etc., but still don't want to do it.] Anyhow, that is one of my favorite chuckles about Simon.
When we returned there for our son, Sam's, wedding, in September, 1999, we had dinner with Simon when he was one of the "parents" at a home with a number of kids. While talking with him, he indicated he wanted to be married and he asked us to pray for him. We held his hands and prayed very sincerely. Hugged him much. We truly loved him much.
It wasn't long before he was married.
He has become quite a worker at the orphanage. And a dear friend with my dear friends, such as Sam and his wife, Adhe. So, again, Dave and I are not "Aunt and Uncle" which is the common description of respect in Uganda, but now we are "Mum and Dad". What a treat!
He was on my heart today, so thought I'd put him on yours, too.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
ALEX PORTION OF UGANDA BOOK
This bit is from chapter two in my book and is fictional in a way, but non-fictional in another. The original meeting time of Alex was in the Fall of 1995, and he was then a young teen. His serious physical portion is told as truthfully as I can remember and as I was originally told. Include some photos now, so you'll hopefully understand. Oh, and one of my favorite photos of Addie and I. Worth a smile.
While writing, extending, and editing my book, I'm just going to drop pieces out into the world. Hopefully, it will open and touch hearts. Encouragement, as people see how the Lord broke through the horrific walls, will be a blessing. And some will be worth a good laugh... or a cry. But, either way, ANY way, the Lord must be revealed over and over as our King!!
So, here goes.
==============================================
Cary was walking slowly, and praying, when suddenly she heard a bicycle behind her on the path. She stepped aside to give the bike space to pass, and as the cyclist glanced at her, he fish-tailed to a muddy stop, exclaiming, “Aunt, Aunt, you have come!”
Cary laughed and reached out to grab his arm. “Alex! My heavens, it’s so good to see you.”
Cary and James had met Alex when they lived at the nearby orphanage and needed someone to hand-pump their water from the cistern under their porch to the water tank at the top of their house. After word spread that Cary and James were looking for help, Alex showed up on their porch, his huge smile and bright eyes contrasting greatly with the burn scars on his face. He was also missing all the fingers of his left hand. Cary and James had heard Alex’s story even before they met him.
According to the story, when he was about five years old, he
was pushed into a cook fire at his grandmother’s. His burns were terrible and he was dumped at the hospital in Kiwoko. The nurses and doctors took him into their hearts, and provided all they could for him. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to save his hand and had to amputate the fingers. Rejected by his family because of the serious needs from his injuries, when he was healed enough to live away from the hospital, he was taken to that orphanage where, years later, he came in contact with Cary and James. They weren’t sure at first that he would be able to
handle the job, but gave him a chance, and Alex proved to be a hard- working, faithful, johnny-on-the-spot young man. In the six years since she’d seen him, his shoulders had broadened and he’d grown several inches, but the smile and bright eyes hadn’t changed a bit.
“Auntie,” he said, with concern in his voice, “why are you out here? Why are you not at Uncle Sam’s?”
Cary laughed and shrugged her shoulders. “Well, Alex, I should be. But, I came for this walk and I have become lost.”
“Oh, Aunt! You are so funny,” Alex grinned. “Do not worry. I will take you.”
Alex had two huge jackfruits strapped to the back of his bike, and immediately started to take them off. Cary tried to stop him. “Alex, you can’t do that. Just let me walk beside you.”
“No, Aunt. Is OK. You are not far. I will put them under the tree and come back. You ride.”
Cary sat gingerly on the back of the bike. Her clothes were already very dirty. She was sure this ride was going to make them much worse, splattering mud and muck as Alex pedaled through the puddles and along the paths. Looking around her, holding onto the bicycle seat with an iron grip, Cary felt like she was a contestant in a reality TV show, and she wasn’t doing very well at the moment.
While Cary concentrated on keeping her balance, Alex moved along confidently. In fewer than ten minutes, taking paths Cary knew she hadn’t been on, Alex pulled into Sam’s yard. Addie was returning to the house from Cary’s room, and rushed to Cary and Alex.
“Mum, where did you go? I just found that you were not here.”
“Sorry to scare you, dear. I just decided I’d take a walk, and, unfortunately, I got lost. And then, just as I was really nervous, Alex came by. Is that God or what?” Cary ended with a laugh.
Addie smiled. “You look as if you need to bathe. I will send Mary with hot water.”
Cary peered down at the skirt of her dress and spread it out for a clearer view. “Pretty bad. I’m sorry to say, but when Mary brings the water to me, I’ll give her the dress. I’ve always done my own laundry, but I’m going to impose on your family this first time.”
“That is good. Someone will come this morning to help with the wash. Your dress should be dry by noon.”
Addie turned to Alex. “Thank you for bringing Mum home. Would you like to stay for breakfast?”
Alex smiled. “No thank you, Aunt. I left jackfruit by Kayanja’s bananas. I need to get.”
Cary hugged him. “Thank you, dear Alex, and God bless you. He sure brought you to my rescue this morning.”
“You are most welcome, Aunt,” Alex said. “I will come again to see you.”
While writing, extending, and editing my book, I'm just going to drop pieces out into the world. Hopefully, it will open and touch hearts. Encouragement, as people see how the Lord broke through the horrific walls, will be a blessing. And some will be worth a good laugh... or a cry. But, either way, ANY way, the Lord must be revealed over and over as our King!!
So, here goes.
==============================================
Cary laughed and reached out to grab his arm. “Alex! My heavens, it’s so good to see you.”
Cary and James had met Alex when they lived at the nearby orphanage and needed someone to hand-pump their water from the cistern under their porch to the water tank at the top of their house. After word spread that Cary and James were looking for help, Alex showed up on their porch, his huge smile and bright eyes contrasting greatly with the burn scars on his face. He was also missing all the fingers of his left hand. Cary and James had heard Alex’s story even before they met him.
According to the story, when he was about five years old, he
 |
| standing below the water tank |
“Auntie,” he said, with concern in his voice, “why are you out here? Why are you not at Uncle Sam’s?”
Cary laughed and shrugged her shoulders. “Well, Alex, I should be. But, I came for this walk and I have become lost.”
“Oh, Aunt! You are so funny,” Alex grinned. “Do not worry. I will take you.”
Alex had two huge jackfruits strapped to the back of his bike, and immediately started to take them off. Cary tried to stop him. “Alex, you can’t do that. Just let me walk beside you.”
“No, Aunt. Is OK. You are not far. I will put them under the tree and come back. You ride.”
Cary sat gingerly on the back of the bike. Her clothes were already very dirty. She was sure this ride was going to make them much worse, splattering mud and muck as Alex pedaled through the puddles and along the paths. Looking around her, holding onto the bicycle seat with an iron grip, Cary felt like she was a contestant in a reality TV show, and she wasn’t doing very well at the moment.
While Cary concentrated on keeping her balance, Alex moved along confidently. In fewer than ten minutes, taking paths Cary knew she hadn’t been on, Alex pulled into Sam’s yard. Addie was returning to the house from Cary’s room, and rushed to Cary and Alex.
“Mum, where did you go? I just found that you were not here.”
“Sorry to scare you, dear. I just decided I’d take a walk, and, unfortunately, I got lost. And then, just as I was really nervous, Alex came by. Is that God or what?” Cary ended with a laugh.
Addie smiled. “You look as if you need to bathe. I will send Mary with hot water.”
Cary peered down at the skirt of her dress and spread it out for a clearer view. “Pretty bad. I’m sorry to say, but when Mary brings the water to me, I’ll give her the dress. I’ve always done my own laundry, but I’m going to impose on your family this first time.”
“That is good. Someone will come this morning to help with the wash. Your dress should be dry by noon.”
Addie turned to Alex. “Thank you for bringing Mum home. Would you like to stay for breakfast?”
Alex smiled. “No thank you, Aunt. I left jackfruit by Kayanja’s bananas. I need to get.”
Cary hugged him. “Thank you, dear Alex, and God bless you. He sure brought you to my rescue this morning.”
“You are most welcome, Aunt,” Alex said. “I will come again to see you.”
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