Paying it Forward

Wednesdays are special because I the Nana get to spend time at my son Matt's house with the grandkids so he and Esther can go out for a few hours. This week has been something else in this area. Since the last time I babysat, a storm passed thru and Matt has lost 5 huge trees in his back yard and one lovely large pine in his front yard. Part of the roof had come off in one corner also. Not to mention days without electricity and a basement that flooded.

It's pretty devastating to look out the back window and see the trees- root end up -caving into themselves in the back yard. Monstrous trees and I wondered how Matt will remove them all. One week has seen lots of wonderful helpers show up also though. A friend, aka angel, came by to patch the roof corner in the driving rain and wind . Another angel, aka brother in law aka genius son in law came by with a generator to help Matt pump out his basement. Saturday arrived with folks giving their time to remove some of the trees for him.... more coming to help this Saturday probably.

I am sitting there last night listening to Isaac relate all the tree removal stories and wire repair electric trucks he's seen this week....contemplating how thankful I am for all the folks that reached out to each other and especially to this precious family of mine.... when I pick up one musical intrument to put on the bookshelf. It's wooden with a primitive face and metal prongs for making notes. Isaac says "that's mine from Ghana.... Dad brought it home to me this time"--"Last time he brought me the carved animals."

Wow---he is casually referring to Matt's trip to Ghana when he brought something else back too---Malaria!!--my little son Matt so fragile at birth--my BABY---who went fearlessly to a very primitive country and loved it! He got cursed by a WITCH DOCTOR for trying to share his Christian faith with a temple slave girl. He was trying to free her from the bondage she was in each day--cutting herself for the demonic temple. (I kid you not) So guess what?--he went back again!! the next year. He loves it there---he helps lots of people. The hardest part is saying goodbye because he knows the work is never done there. He had to step over very sick children just to get back on the bus to go home...

A co member for the Ghana mission team said Matt will always go back. He relates to the people in a way unexplainable. Matt admits that he fits in over there better. Selfishly I am glad he comes back and only visits that country. But I can tell you the tree, generator, roof thing was not the start of the pay it forward chain. Matt had started doing that awhile ago....