Elderly Visits by Donna Bennett

“Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all the time thing.  You don’t win once in a while; you don’t do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time.  Winning is a habit. – Vince Lombardi

                                                                                                           

 “Hey You”!  This is how we were greeted today by many of the Haitian children.  I am not sure who taught these kids this phrase, but it has totally caught on and is now a favorite way for these kids to welcome interaction. 

So, “hey you”, read up and feel free to share or comment on any of the blogs you are reading.

This was an emotionally draining day for me, so this post will be short and to the point!

We visited the elderly today, a mass gravesite of 150,000 Haitians who died in the 2010 earthquake, and Grace Village which is Healing Haiti’s orphanage and school.

Most impactful for me today was our first visit with and elderly woman named, Maricia. 

The band started playing and Kari asked who would be willing to rub lotion on Maricia’s dry legs.  Well, I didn’t volunteer.  Seeing how dirty Maricia was and seeing blood and drool dripping from her mouth from just having teeth pulled didn’t seem inviting to me.  Crazy admission…. I know!  Truth of the matter is, I didn’t want to rub lotion on Maricia.  My hands had broken out in hives and I wasn’t sure if it was from something I had touched from our visit to City Soleil. 

I found myself staring into the tiny room that Maricia calls her “home”.  It is dark, messy and had one chicken walking around in it.

 My eyes were drawn to a certificate that proudly hung on her wall.  It said, “Certificate of Excellence”.

 As my eyes were fixed on this certificate, Sharalee asked Maricia, “What does Jesus mean to you?”  Maricia quickly responded, “I have nothing, so Jesus is EVERYTHING”.

Those words brought tears to my eyes as I took in the joy, thankfulness and love that Maricia has for God.

Maricia’s statement and her certificate instantly brought a Bible verse to my head. 

I Corinthians 9:24-25 (message) says, “You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race.  Everyone runs; one wins.  Run to win.  All good athletes train hard.  They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades.  You’re after one that’s gold eternally.

In an instant, I was in complete AWE of this beautiful lady.  She, Maricia, is running the race.  She is running to WIN!

I looked at Maricia and remembered that she is Royalty, the daughter of our King.  She belongs to and lives for Jesus.  He is everything!  All of a sudden, I felt like I was staring at an Olympic athlete.  My thought was “how can I not touch you, Maricia?”  All of a sudden I found myself at the feet of someone who is more than worthy of love, touch and affection.  As I rubbed her leathery body, I felt honored to be in the presence of someone who will one day hear from Jesus, “Well Done, Good and FAITHFUL servant”.

2 Timothy 4:7 says, “ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Philippians 3:14 says, “ I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”