Monday

I don't even know where to begin! I wish I was better about blogging every day because the past few days have been filled to the seams with things I want to share but will likely forget to include.

On Monday morning we woke up for devotional, breakfast and the blessing of the hands. I'm not sure if I mentioned this in my last blog but Blackwelder raised the funds to build a house for somebody. None of us had met the man we were building the house for, but to give you an idea of how he was living... he surpassed a waiting list of over 400 people in order to have a house built for him after his condition was brought to IsleGo's attention only three weeks ago. Mr Williams (Willie) is a 74 year old angel with no teeth, two pairs of shoes, a rusty sheet of metal for a bed, a dream of a carrot farm and a heart for the Lord. Oh, and some pieces of zinc thrown together with a tarp to call home. When I approached Mr. Willie to introduce myself, he was standing and looking at the commotion of "whitey's" that had come to his little piece of land in their tiny village to build a home. A real sturdy home with doors and windows... for him. Since I've known him (all three days), he's worn a look of shock on his face as if he'd performed a miracle through praying for a house and it was evident upon our first meeting that we were exactly where we were supposed to be. You could almost hear the angels partying.

Once I started talking to Mr. Willie, he wanted to make sure that I knew he never asks for anything. He doesn't ask for food, money or help because he has faith that the Lord will provide. When I smiled, he saw the approval and immediately wanted reveal more detail. He told me about how he's trying to plant a garden so he can eat from his own plants and is trying to start growing carrots. He then led me to his "house" where he showed me a can of carrots. He wanted to prove to me that he wasn't making up a story and even showed me the inside of where he's been living, all with a cheerful spirit and abundant pride. There's no way anybody could understand how adorable this man really is without meeting him, but I can't stop thinking about what a blessing it's been to spend time with him this week. When the team started construction, they realized that they didn't have any source for power and would need to ask somebody up the hill if they could use their current. Mr. Willie (who is pretty quiet and doesn't seem to feel comfortable asking for help) was asked to go ask the woman for power. He acted like I would have in middle school if I was afraid to ask my mom if I could do something that I knew she'd say no. He got ready to walk up the hill on a mission. He took off his flip flops and slipped into his new hiking shoes as he looked at me to tell me how much he loved them. Similarly to our reputation being brought down if teams act a certain way throughout a week, if one person gives somebody something they think we all gave it to them. Not sure if you'd heard but all white people are the same and since Jim gave Mr. Willie his shoes last week, Mr Willie had to thank me. He went all the way up to ask the lady, walked all the way down to tell Nattie that the lady was going to make him pay and walked all the way back up to pay her before coming back, changing back into his flip flops and sitting back down. The whole process took nearly 30 minutes and each time they failed at finding a power source, everybody would laugh hysterically before going to the next option. I'm readopting the Jamaica no problem, irie state of mind and it was very much missed.

Along with having the opportunity to be a part of this miracle, we've also been working in Windsor- an area that I spent time in a few years ago. I had very close friendships and a heart for the people up there, specifically two little girls named Kayauna and Shanique. Kayauna was an infant at the time and spent every day for multiple weeks cuddled up in my arms. I would feed her pineapple juice out of an old bottle with a needle-sized hole in the nipple, which was the only option if she was going to get anything in her belly. Shanique was a 9 year old girl that had a physical brightness about her. She was one of the few little girls that had goals and the ambition needed to reach them. She used to take me to her house to show me her puppies and ask questions about school and life. She would come find me every day so I could go pray for an older man, Johnny, because he was sick and she wanted to see him heal. We grew closer over the weeks and before I left, she asked me to be her godmother. I'd lost touch with Shanique but have saved all of her letters and pictures she'd drawn for me. After that summer, I stayed in touch with Kayauna's mom and the last time I talked to her she told me that Kayauna was sick and they didn't know if she was going to make it. After losing touch with them, we also stopped working in Windsor and I truly believed I'd never see them again.

When the team started building the house, I asked Nattie if she knew of a little girl named Kayauna. After thinking for a second she smiled and pointed to a happy, healthy 3 year old girl running around with a soccer ball. This will sound strange and possibly disturbing, but I felt like I could relate to fathers that went to see their child for the first time...but knowing that the child doesn't know who they are. I was so emotionally invested in thoughts and prayer for Kayauna and to see her there, alive and well, three years later was almost too much to handle. Hiding the tears from Nattie, I continued asking about people in town and found out Shanique was still around. That afternoon we went to VBS and when somebody found out who I was, they yelled over to Kayauna's mom and said "Kayauna's godmother is here," to which she responded, "Kaidie, is it really you?!" I was never very close to Kayauna's mom (she was in my phone as Kayauna Mama, if that tells you anything) but I really believe that that little girl was brought into my life for a reason. After VBS I heard a sweet little hello and turned around to see a gorgeous young woman standing in front of me. Shanique, although she's gone through puberty and is no longer a little girl, still has the same sweetness about her. She is proper, aware and brilliant but I know that the girl can handle her own. Her dad is working in Canada to make money and she wants to be an endocrinologist... in Windsor the girls gain status by being intimidating and acting 10 years older than they are. If she does take criticism, I can see a side of her that says she's been around long enough to stand up for herself and do what she has to do to get by. After seeing Shanique, I felt a little bit of parental-type pride just hearing her talk about the goals she still has for herself. I am so proud of who she's become and can't wait to see her continue to grow.