Death and Hope

3 of my children, Ryan, Becky & Kara.

How do you share these two thoughts in a blog that would draw the reader into grasping both aspects of life? Why would I want to do this?

Today is the anniversary of my daughters death,  September 13, 2004.  This day is as fresh in my mind as if it had just happened.  She was 25 years old and loved life.

A major portion of her life was spent in hospitals, fighting to stay alive. I was with her when she died and in spite of the incredible medical technology and a great medical staff she left this world. Gone in the blink of an eye.

I am a mother who lost daughter.  I am not the only mother that has lost a child or even children.  There is a very large sorority that know of this sad experience.  Since the beginning of time losing a child has been a heartache shared by too many.  However, when one is touched by this type of tragedy our hearts should become tender and bonded with others who know this pain. Our sad hearts should reach out to others who need comfort.   Bitterness and anger can keep you trapped and the days of life you have left to live are wasted and most likely miserable.  God numbers each of our days and I intend to make each day count.   Memories of Kara remain close to my heart but walking life's paths with a desire to give others hope of a better life on this side of heaven, gives me delight and pleasure!

 I shared yesterday that the AIDS epidemic in Zambia takes 27% of the people. Typhoid, Malaria, Yellow Fever are just a few diseases that add to this AIDS issue.  It is very sad to think about the losses these people experience. These orphans in this photo are actually the fortunate ones, they have a place to stay, they are fed and they go to school. Death has stripped them of their families but because others care they are given a chance to live, grow and change their world. They are a rare minority. 

I live in the Midwestern part of the US.  I am often in very small towns and as you enter or exit these towns, cemeteries are a very distinct and an important part of the town.  Plots of land with markers for the people who have been buried there, can be seen from the two lane highway. More often than not a church is next to these places of rest.   Some cemeteries are several hundred years old. They are a documentation of a life, its beginning and its end.  These dates are important to those who are left behind. The tomb stone's indicate that this person was important to someone, they lived, they died and someone cared about them.  I find them to be places of reflection and peace. It is a place to grasp the brevity of life and to count my blessings.  It is a place for me to pray with out interruptions.

In Zambia I did not see any cemeteries.  Why would you care some would ask?  Of all the things to think about or to see on the trip, why would you even go down this path?  I am glad you asked.   Life is very important to me and my desire to be part of helping another live a healthy life, stems from having a loved one die so young and being with those who have suffered.   In her memory I choose to help give life. Soon I will share that 'hope' with you.


When a Zambian dies in the Western Provence they are buried almost immediately.  If a family can afford a simple wooden coffin their loved one rests there.  More times than not they are wrapped in a blanket and then in a straw mat before they are buried.  I shared that I did not see cemeteries, places marked with tomb stones of some sort.  However, I am guessing that in a village there is a place where those who die are buried. A place that one's earthly body is put to rest.  Monuments to ones life, as we know them, are most likely not to be found.  Poverty would limit this and death is so pervasive that permanent grave markers are not in abundance. I will find out more about this on my next trip, not because I want to focus on those who have died but to learn how people remember those loved ones who are no longer here. Those we love who have died, are not forgotten and should be remembered,  A loved one who has died is not forgotten.

Hands of Hope brings a hope of a better life in many forms.  Water is where it all begins.  Kara was a severe diabetic.  Water was like air to her, too many days of her life.  When her blood sugars were so very high her thirst could not be quenched.  I shared in my last post had she lived in the Western  Provence of Zambia she would have died by the age of 10.  Just the very dirty water would have caused her death.

 

Kara's life was short but she was a delight to those who knew her.  Her need for good, clean water made my Zambian experience all the more emotional as I was forced to see  how precious water is here. Placing myself as mother with a child who needed water more than food, in a country where water is a treasure and not a passing convenience, pushed me to  help these people to obtain a very basic need of life, clean pure water.  You WILL read more about this in blogs to come ;)  I promise. :) for me this message is a critical one to share.

Water is where all other help in a community begins.  Hands of Hope has plans to dig more wells. Money for 10 wells is needed before we can bring in the equipment to dig them.  Right now we have money for 2.   A well in this area costs $5000 to place in a village. An entire village is helped by one simple well. Diseases contracted by dirty water are drastically reduced and that is just the beginning.

 As I close this entry, I want you the reader to get yourself a glass of clean pure water.  Sip it, savor it and then thank the Lord for this blessing you have just tasted.  You won't get sick.  You did not have to get your water from the river pictured above, nor did you  have to walk 5+ miles to acquire it.  You did not have to carry a 40lb jug on your head back the 5+ miles to get it to your home. You just walked over to your sink, or your refrigerator and this life giving beverage was yours.  In the next 24 hours you will probably take a shower or a bath, this water too will be clean and plentiful.  I ask that you relish this blessing for it is rare in most of the world.  These children whose picture is just above reflect the joy we each should have as we list incredible blessings in our lives.  Water being one of the most important.

Filthy Water Cannot Be Washed - African Proverb