January 28

This is an addition to the story about the woman with the polio that we visited a few weeks ago

Yesterday, it was laid on my heart and on the heart of a coworker to go visit our friend who spends her days laying on a cot in a musty room. We called to let her know that we were coming. And after I heard what she said on the phone, I was so thankful that we were going to visit. Our friend had been feeling especially low. In fact, she has gotten so depressed that she has been having suicidal thoughts.

My coworker and I prayed fervently on the way to her house.

Lord, help us to speak into her darkness.

As we arrived at the house with the bright blue doors, we saw our friend. Someone had pulled her cot out into the sun. Our friend looked up and tried to manage a weak smile. Her face screamed with pain. She looked at us with defeated eyes.

The conversation was awkward at first. After all, WHAT can we really say to this girl??

We decided to play the game "21 Questions" The game turned a dark afternoon into a lighter one.

We went around the circle answering questions. What is your favorite color? What is your favorite food? When is your birthday? As we got around to our friend with the polio she said "January 28th"

January....wait what??? That's TODAY!

This girl had been on our minds and we were both lead to go visit her...on her birthday! And so of course our next question was "what is your favorite birthday memory"?

The girl answered "I have never celebrated my birthday. Its a waste of time".

After all these months, I would have thought that my heart couldn't possibly break any more. But I know I felt it crack in that moment.

It is NEVER a waste of time to celebrate life.

We went on to ask each other more questions. The girl thought of a question herself and asked "if you could take anything away from this entire world, what would it be"?

We took turns answering as we went around the circle. It came time for her give her answer. It wasn't what I thought she would say...
"the ability to walk"
"a straight back"
"no more pain"

But instead she answered...

"I want to have the ability to meet God"

Her answer cut me to the quick. We spoke with her about the God who came down to meet HER. The God who knows her name and celebrated the day she was born.

Just as before, when we left, there were tears in her eyes. She has been on my heart and mind ever since. Pray for this dear soul. I have asked, no BEGGED for a miracle in her life. Won't you join me?

Doing His Thing

I must admit that lately I have been spiritually anemic. So, I am just taking it one day at a time, praying that I will be ready for the opportunities and moments that He brings me. I have a sweet friend here whom I have known for several years. Of all my friends here, I would say that she is the one who understands me the best. She is the one person who wants me to come over for no other reason other than to enjoy my company.

For months on end, I would go to her house once a week and tell stories. She and her family were slowly slowly learning. Until...on one hot summer evening... she slammed the door in my face.. (ok...not literally...) But she got mad at something that she learned about Him and she shut down and pushed me away. The rejection hurt but I knew that it wasn't me she was rejecting. With a sad heart, I decided that I would back off a little and give her some space. We would still send text messages to each other and occasionally visit. But the heart to heart conversations stopped. And all I could do was leave her in His hands.

Today, she called me to her house. I hadn't seen her in awhile and I was in her neighborhood anyway.

Going back to being spiritually anemic, I wasn't really expecting any dramatic change in her life. I wasn't expecting any deep conversations. I just wanted to wish her a happy holiday (today is Republic Day) and be on my way.

We sat in the warm sun drinking chai. She leaned forward and asked me "what are you thinking about"? I decided at that moment to be as authentic as possible. I told her that I had been disappointed with life lately. Her oval eyes looked back at me with understanding. I guess when it comes down to it, a women's heart is a woman's heart, no matter the language. The walls that she had placed around her heart came crashing down and we talked, I MEAN REALLY talked for the first time in months.

"I want to start reading again" she said.

"Oh good, on which topic"? (reading is her hobby so I just thought she was talking about that)

"No...I want to start READING again...His Word"

"OHHHH"? I said....as realization set in

"Yes, things are changing, my life is changing. I want to be happy".

"Well, as you know, things are not always happy. But he does promise to be with us in the sad and in the happy." I told her.

She again looked back with understanding. Ah HAH..she is getting it.

And I can take no credit. Because basically I have not seen her for months. He is at work. And I just happen to show up from time to time to see Him do His thing. And for this, I am thankful.

The Shoe Thief

Sometimes its hard to navigate these murky waters. I am confronted daily with the reality that the Lord says "what you do for the least of these, you do unto me". I am confronted daily with dying to selfishness and giving up my life because He gave up His. However, sometimes I just don't know how its really suppose to work.

There is this woman who comes very often to my door. She has legitimate needs. She is a single mom, working hard to support her kids. She always comes with a desperate look in her eye. I know I have written about her before. Every time I see her small face poking through my screen door, my heart just sinks.


A few weeks ago, it came to a boiling point. She asked for money. I gave her some flour instead. She didn't like my flour. So I gave her some tea leaves instead. She didn't like my tea leaves. I gave her some rice. Or kooch?? she asks (something more?)


I told her she could come back and clean my ceiling fans if she wanted some extra money. She seems happy with that so she comes back later that day. I hand her a bucket and rag and encourage her to get started. She complains as she climbs up the ladder. "Your fans are dirty"

"YUP", I say....(I don't think that translates)

After a few minutes of watching a half hearted effort, I pay her more money than the job is worth. As I start to tell her goodbye I look down...and she is wearing my shoes. She. is. about. TO STEAL MY SHOES!


That's it. I hit my limit. Normally, my Hindi gets worse at times like these. But, with unusual clarity I tell her....

"Take off my shoes. I am not a store. My name is Cathy. I have a family. I am a human. I have blood running through my veins just like you do. STOP taking advantage of me. THIS is why I don't give you more work".


Tears overflow in her eyes. I know I have shamed her. She responds "but you have other shoes" and I respond "but its wrong to steal, take them off NOW". She knows she is wrong. She actually would NEVER do that to another South Asian. She would get fired in an instant and never allowed back into some one's home. But there is always the 'white person exception' to the rules around here.


She leaves without making eye contact.

I can't sleep that night. I toss and turn with these thoughts running through my brain... Was I wrong? Was I too harsh? I AM suppose to give my tunic to the one who doesn't have any. Isn't that what He tells us to do?? But doesn't He also say..if they ASK for it...she didn't really ask.....but then again...I don't really even like those shoes...UGH...but its the principle of the matter...

I talk it over with a few people who have dealt with this stuff for years. My friend reminded "yes we are supposed to give to the poor but we are also suppose to love justice. And its wrong to steal in this culture too."


This afternoon I hear a knock at the door. The same small face. Well...I'll be. SHE CAME BACK! I would never NEVER want to show my face again if I were in her shoes..(.oh wait...she was in MY shoes..)

I am not really sure what she wants but I know what she needs. The next time she comes, I pray that I will be ready.

Pray for this lady...this annoyingly- persistent- potential- shoe- thief who needs His love. Pray that I can be a vehicle of that love to her.

You Have A Story To Tell

This week I had the opportunity to lead a story training with some tribal ladies from the east. It was a big learning experience for me and I found it very interesting. I end this week very tired... but its a happy tired. It was strange being the "woman in charge" but by the Lord's grace, I made it through. The very first day of the training, 30 trembling ladies stood before me. Almost none of them had ever had this experience before. They learned how to share their testimonies and their faith. For the first time ever, they were able to hear "you have a story to tell".The first day, I had almost o% compliance. But by the following afternoon, almost all of them had gone out and shared. They were jumping and dancing and praising Him! My hope is that a few lives were changed over this past week. Its nice to see that He is at work!

A Request

Please be in prayer for my sweet friend Baby. She was in a bad accident and seems to be bleeding internally. The doctor turned her away because she didn't have the money. Around here, if you don't have money, you simply don't get medical treatment. I have been out of town so I haven't been able to do anything about it. She has been one of our strongest story crafters and a very sweet friend. Here she is in one of her happier moments, enjoying the swing at the training center. Please be lifting her up

A Familar Voice

Every day, the quite of the morning gets broken up by the voices of men yelling. When I first moved here, it startled me. I thought it was someone fighting or angry. But I quickly discovered that these yelling men were actually salesman. "Potato, Cauliflower"! The veggie man calls out. "Bring out your trash" The recycle man calls out. Or often times, I have no idea what they are saying. It sounds like one of them calls out 'Can I get a little help'?? (but I am pretty sure that's just my imagination).

At times, its quite convenient. I remember one time, when i was cooking the kitchen, I ran out of tomatoes. And at that exact moment I heard MY veggie man call out in his familiar sing song voice...Potato Tomato..... YES!! That saves me a trip to the market! When it comes down to it, I really only recognize and listen to the voice that I know. All other voices I just tune out. But when MY veggie man comes...I go running.

It reminds me of what Jesus said about knowing His voice. And when I hear it, may I run to Him!

A Glimmer of Hope

We entered into the dark room and saw three faces illuminated by the light coming from the door. A woman and two small children. They were bundled up with hats and scarfs and laying on a cot.

The two children quickly got up but the woman remained. The woman shifted in bed a little and as she moved, I noticed that her spine was as crooked as a winding river. I noticed her unused crutches propped up in the corner. A victim of polio. My coworker asked me about the disease process of polio. And I didn't know what to tell her. Hasn't that been eradicated? I thought....

The women's eyes filled with physical and emotional pain. Pain is an every day occurrence around here. It becomes easier to just pass it by without much thought. But this lady wore her pain on her sleeve. She had a pain that you couldn't just pass by. The tension in this woman's eyes made her young face look old. She spends her days laying on a cot in a cold and stale room.

'There is no God, I don't believe in Him. WHY WHY WHY', she said over and over again as she lamented about her misery. A South Asian believer, R, had come with us to help us translate. R told her story about how she had come to faith and how God had changed her life. The woman looked at R and uttered cold words that I will never forget. 'I don't believe you....'

What could we possibly tell this women? How could we possibly show her God's love? I prayed "this would be a great time for a miracle Lord" It really will take a work of God to intervene in her life. We spent several hours with her. We offered her words of encouragement, tried to answer her questions... tried to love her the best way we knew how. Darkness was quickly coming so we knew we had to go. We prayed for her before we left. As we exited the room I looked back to see her sad eyes watching us. "Come again" she said weakly.

Was that a glimmer of hope I saw in her eye?

I sat in the room that was filled with shades of purple, blue and red. The chair was one of those comfy types where there was room to pull my legs up underneath me. In January, the cold tends to linger so I pulled a soft blanket up over me and stared at the dear lady across the room as I sipped my coffee.

She looked at me with her clear blue eyes filled with wisdom and years of experience. "So...tell me.." she said with a reassuring smile.

The flood gates opened and I talk.

She sat with me for a good hour just listening. This lady who seemingly can't be shocked by anything. This lady who is on her final victory lap of her career. This lady who has lived here before people really even came to South Asia. This lady who has mentored countless others. This lady whom I consider a privilege to know.

Her words are few. She reminds me of His Truth. She says small short sentences of affirmation. But she just mainly listens and says "I know"And the thing is, she does know...

After having let go of the burdens, my load is lighter. My shoulders are straighter. I can take a deeper breath. And I smile. At this dear sweet kindred spirit who has been a vehicle of His grace for me today. And I trust. That He has it all under control.