I don't even know where to start on this blog. So many thoughts running through my mind. So many questions. Guess that's pretty normal for anyone working with kids though. Tom is a guy I met a couple of years ago. On first appearance, he seems to be a humble guy, a good kid. And for the most part he was. Outside of the usual teen issues.
But, Tom seemed to have some sort of mental problem. He was always polite to me but usually seemed to not really have it all together. He was usually giving his grandmother a hard time and recently disappeared for a couple of weeks.
He reappeared about a week ago. I did home visits last week on Wed. and spent a considerable amount of time talking with him and his grandmother about the way forward for Tom. Would he be returning to boarding? A day school? But, most importantly, where did he stand in his faith? His behavior showed us one thing while what he said showed us something different. At the end of the conversation there were more questions than answers. But, by the time a child reaches 17, there's only so much one can say. The rest is turned over to God in prayer.
While there talking to Tom and his grandmother, Tom complained about headache and stomach pain. Both of these are signs of malaria. His cousin-brother is a student in one of the technical schools in the national hospital and was able to get him treatment. However, last night, Tom worsened. His cousin-brother left with Tom to go to the hospital. Along the way, Tom collapsed and was dead before reaching the hospital.
It's put so many things in my mind. Again, wasted potential. Then imagine spending your whole life in a dirty slum, only to die before reaching your 18th birthday. Never to know anything different. Never to have any hope of anything better. It makes me ask myself so many things.
Was I talking to him and directing him enough? Was I praying for him enough? Am I praying for all my kids enough? Was I loving him enough? Was I showing him Christ's love enough? Was I really teaching him any valuable life lessons? Did he really know Christ? Where was he standing in his faith?
I've said this many times. In Uganda, witchcraft and superstitious beliefs are embedded in the culture, even among very devote Christians. One thing that I've heard repeatedly over the last few weeks is that Tom was being disturbed by clan spirits. It was said that these spirits were the ones making him do odd things, including not wanting him to study at school. Today, I was told that it was these spirits that killed him.
I'm not real sure what I think at the moment. It's definitely possible. But, it's equally as possible that it was simply just malaria. Or maybe it was just God's time for him.
Whatever the case, please be praying for all of us here as we head to Tom's burial tomorrow. Burying a child, no matter how old, is never an easy thing. Pray for peace for his family, especially his grandmother. She's already lost 5 of her 8 children (4 to AIDS, 1 to war) and a number of her grandchildren. In a perfect world, the old wouldn't have to bury the young. Pray for safety as we all travel. We'll be going to a village a couple of hours away. Pray for hearts to be touched in the midst of tragedy.
No comments:
Post a Comment