Matilda

We loved on many kids in Zim, but four took a chunk of my heart: Amos, Naomi, Lillian and Matilda.   Matilda lost both of her parents in 2003.  She shared her story with me as we walked on a dirt road, surrounded by fields of maize, with tears rolling down her cheeks.   She can't afford school.  Her dream is to go to South Africa and be a hair dresser.  If Lillian was my sidekick #1, Matilda was sidekick #2.  If I painted, she painted (both our cheeks and the walls!).  If I raked weeds, she raked.  She wanted to hold the paint bucket for us.  She wanted to get all of our supplies.  While painting once, I felt a wet cloth touch the back of my neck.  She had dipped a cloth in turpentine to remove the paint from the back of my neck.  Seriously.

I see such beauty in her.  I see a heart bigger than my own.   I am better for having met her.  I'll be praying for my friend.