I was more excited to go to the children’s hospital this week than other weeks because there was going to be a team from the states performing cleft lip surgeries. When we got to the hospital, we were greeted by a couple ladies on the team who were very surprised to see a bunch of young white people at the hospital. While we were talking to them, Pastor Roni was in one of the rooms talking to one of the patient’s mother. He left the room and called me aside. The excitement I was feeling suddenly turned into a different mix of emotions.
He explained to me that there was a ten year old girl who was sexually abused eight days ago by her eighteen year old uncle. To make matters more horrific, she has special needs and her mother was the one who found her brother-in-law doing this to her little girl. Pastor wanted me to go in and comfort the mother, woman to woman he said. I didn’t know what I was going to say to this lady, and I prayed that God would work though me.
I filled Jaimie, one of my teammates, in on what happened, and we walked into the room. I gave the mom, Norma, a hug and kneeled down beside her. You could tell on her face that she was deeply broken. You could see the pain that she was feeling; pain that I can’t quite comprehend.
Jaimie sat on the bed with the little girl, Vilvia. We talked with Norma for a little, pausing every once and a while just to watch little Vilvia sleep. Since the abuse, Vilvia hasn’t been eating or walking. Before the abuse, Norma said Vilvia was always happy. What I saw when I looked at her was a brutally broken little girl that might never recover. I can only imagine what Norma saw when she looked at her once smiling happy little girl. I rubbed Norma’s back and held her hand as we talked about what happened.
Norma has a total of five kids, and she homeschools all of them because there isn’t a school close to them. She been staying at the hospital and has been sleeping on the floor every night. She told us her neck was starting to hurt her.
After about an hour and a half, it was time to go. We said our goodbyes, but I knew I would be seeing her again soon. Once we left, all Jaimie and I needed to do was look at each other and we knew we were both thinking the same thing- we needed to do something for Norma.
We went with Pastor Roni to the store and bought some snacks, fruit, drinks, tissues, bread, and a blanket for her. While we were in the taxi on the way to the hospital, I was in constant prayer that we would be God’s hands and feet and that He would bring comfort and healing to this broken family. When we got to the hospital, the guard let us in with all the stuff we just bought, which I later learned usually isn’t allowed. Pastor Roni said it was by the grace of God that we could.
When we got there, Norma wasn’t in the room but Vilvia was awake. Jaimie and I sat with her, played with her hair, held her hand, and sang songs to her. After about 20 minutes, Norma came and we gave her the gifts. She was surprised we were there and kept saying thank you and God bless you.
As I was riding in the taxi on the way home, my mind was full of emotions and thoughts. I was angry at the uncle. How could a man who was married do that to his niece? My heart broke for Vilvia and Norma. Will Vilvia every recover from this? Will Norma be able to sleep peacefully when she has that image in her mind? And why did God choose Jaimie and me to talk to Norma?
I have heard these types of stories on the news, but to actually hold the hand of the victim was completely different. The pain is there, and it is so real. My prayer is that God will erase those memories from their minds, that He will heal Vilvia’s body, and that Norma has the strength to get through these difficult days.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our trouble, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” -2 Corinthians 1:3-4
