I felt the weight of the male species as we walked through the opening of the stick fence. How can men be this absent from morality? What goes through a man's mind that would allow him to hurt a little baby? How does that work? I was really, really mad.
As we approached the stick and mud hut, we saw two adult women in the general area and four children close by. There she was. There was Love. Naked as a jaybird! Not 20 minutes before, she had on new clothes, shoes, even my favorite visor. The visor has a spear logo on it. We are the Warriors. I thought if the people who were neglecting these babies saw the spear then they would get my message. Anyway - seeing Love standing there naked kind of made me put my guard down a little. We made such a big deal out of the clothes and she took them off as soon as she got 'home!' One of the ladies brought out three chairs from somewhere and we sat in them, as this is the respectful thing to do. One of the women kept her distance, the other woman sat near us, three of the babies surrounded us and then Love did something that I will never forget. As if to show us respect, she went into the hut and put on a skirt and some way over-sized sandals before she came to greet us. I heard her before I saw her. I heard her sandals, the left one to be exact. I heard her left sandal drag across the parched dirt as she walked toward me. Her left leg is the one that drags when she walks. The injuries to her hip must be awful. God help this Angel.
As we began to share testimony of God's love to the woman that was near us, the reality of where we were began to sink in. It is like I had one of those 'out of body' experiences. I was present and in the conversation but my attention began to focus on the surroundings. The trash. The odor of human feces. The stillness of the air. The sound of the wings of t
he flies that were buzzing all around. The coolness of the evening air. And then my attention was back to the conversation at hand. I asked, through Zwakele, who the primary caregiver was. The lady I saw in Tom's video from last July was older than either of the women at this homestead. The frail woman answered. Then silence and a look from Zwakele to me. Then more conversation in Siswatsi. Then, in a soft whisper, Zwakele told us the answer. There was no primary caregiver. The Go-Go is in the death ward at the hospital. She has been away for over two months. Its just the four girls there and the oldest one is 5. 5 years old. God help them. The four girls have four different mothers and their whereabouts isn't certain. Maybe dead. Maybe worse - maybe alive but have abandoned their little girls. I just don't get it. The ladies there were neighbors that live earby and they check on the girls every once and a while. We were very appreciative to the women for checking on the girls. During this conversation, Alexis got up and went across the yard because she realized one of the girls had diarrhea and it was all over her. So Alexis, as many of her friends were doi
ng things most 17 year olds do during the summer, poured some water from a jug onto an old rag and she cleaned this child up. Selfless.
he flies that were buzzing all around. The coolness of the evening air. And then my attention was back to the conversation at hand. I asked, through Zwakele, who the primary caregiver was. The lady I saw in Tom's video from last July was older than either of the women at this homestead. The frail woman answered. Then silence and a look from Zwakele to me. Then more conversation in Siswatsi. Then, in a soft whisper, Zwakele told us the answer. There was no primary caregiver. The Go-Go is in the death ward at the hospital. She has been away for over two months. Its just the four girls there and the oldest one is 5. 5 years old. God help them. The four girls have four different mothers and their whereabouts isn't certain. Maybe dead. Maybe worse - maybe alive but have abandoned their little girls. I just don't get it. The ladies there were neighbors that live earby and they check on the girls every once and a while. We were very appreciative to the women for checking on the girls. During this conversation, Alexis got up and went across the yard because she realized one of the girls had diarrhea and it was all over her. So Alexis, as many of her friends were doi
ng things most 17 year olds do during the summer, poured some water from a jug onto an old rag and she cleaned this child up. Selfless. I asked if I could look around and I was forever changed at what I saw. The doos on the hut wouldnt close. Inside the hut was inhumane. The stench of something rotting made me gag. There was paper everywhere. Trash. It was cold. It was scary. It was dark. I have seen bettter conditions in a pig pen. Seriously. Animals live better than this. Can you imagine what those babies go through each and every night? In Thulwane, when nightfall comes, it is dark. Pitch black dark. Can you hear the sounds of the night? The cries for help? Can you see their little eyes looking around every time they hear a noise during the night? I left words of strength and tears of pity in the doorway of that hut. I asked God to blanket their homestead with the power of the Holy Spirit. Please pray for these babies.
I saw what has become the picture that defines the hope we experienced during this campaign. At the side of the hut, just in front of the wheelbarrow they used to transport Love in was the empty wheelchair that Love was first video'd in. Kriek and Jumbo heard about a littl
e girl who was in a wheelbarrow and they purchased her a wheelchair. But that chair couldnt hold Love down! Praise God that she is trying to be mobile on her own!In part 6, I will summarize the 'Love' experience and describe her in detail to you. In the meantime, please continue to pray for the girls and also ask for understanding for us as we face these situations head-on. God Bless.
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