Feet, ugly little dresses and goiter

Feet have always grossed me out. A few years ago, I received a missions pamphlet about "foot washing" in Africa, and all most fainted. I laughed that of all of the ways to serve the Lord, that would be one I would skip. Last year, I helped lead "Zimbabwe Footwashing Team." Obviously, the Lord has a sense of humor, and He can use ANYONE as a vessel for HIS work! 

  Last December, Mom felt the Lord calling her to sew little dresses for the Zimbabwe Aids Orphans. Mom's never sewn a day in her life. She had fabric donated to her, and each morning, would call me to tell me how ugly her dresses were. We often joked that the little African girls would be fighting over who would have to wear the "ugly dresses." (as you can see, they were quite cute, but it was still fun to tease mom) The dresses, along with shoes, a few soccer balls, flip-flops, new shoes for all of the Zimbabwe staff, shirts, leggings, gloves, hats, and handmade blankets would be going over with the February Zim team. I text Claimet to ask if there was ANYTHING else they needed, after all, these 2 extra duffel bags were $400, and were gonna get our money's worth. Claimet replied that August 2012 would be his 20th wedding anniversary with Sipho, and that he'd like to renew his vows with----a wedding dress. 

Huh?..... Did I just read that right? "All right Lord," I thought. "A wedding dress for our dear Zimbabwean friends." I told Claimet to pray about it, and waited to see what the Lord would do. Fast forward to February... the 2 duffel bags safely arrived at the Gwanda base. (A blessing in itself, for ZIm customs is known for stealing and taking anything worth value) However, our wedding dress was still lacking. 

 To outsiders, this may seem like a frivolous request. However, to this couple, love has sustained them through famine, economic collapse, HIV, the death of a son, daily poverty, and illness. Claimet met Sipho through missionary work. He wrote her a letter to propose, she waited a year to say yes. Claimet is a gentle giant. Sipho laughs a lot, and always praises the Lord. They both felt called to run an Orphan Aids base, and help those in need... In my eyes, they were the ones in need. About a month before the Summer team was to leave for Zimbabwe, the Lord provided a wedding dress. It was given by one of my girls who went to Zim. 

Okay, so it didn't exactly look like the picture, but Sipho was overjoyed, and so were we.

 Which brings me to my next subject, goiter. I was up late studying (cramming) for a nutrition's exam, when I came across "goiter." I yelled, "That's IT!" Sipho had a large lump in her neck. I wondered if it was a tumor or some odd African condition. Somehow, the protruding neck issue had gotten lost amongst the shoes and dresses, but here, right in my textbook was an explaination. Sipho had an iodine deficiency... and once goiter appeared, only surgery could repair the enlarged thyroid gland.

 What does this mean? Essentially, Sipho lacked Iodine or table salt in her diet. Her thyroid gland overcompensated by growing larger to try to absorb more. Overtime, it's grown so large that's begun making breathing difficult. Once again, I felt that nagging feeling to do something. "All right Lord." Mom called tonight, and we began talking. The Lord put mom on a webpage for a Christian organization with a surgeon in Zimbabwe who performs pro-bono work. Mama wrote, and I prayed. The same God who delivered the Israelites, also safely delivered those sweet little dresses and shoes over in February. The same Lord also provided a wedding dress for a poor Zimbabwe couple. I'm fairly certain, the same Lord is very capable of providing a doctor to help Sipho. 

 20"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen".- Ephesians 4:20 & 21