{"id":10491,"date":"2024-09-09T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-09T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cgk.nl\/?p=10491"},"modified":"2024-09-12T08:46:30","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T06:46:30","slug":"it-seems-so-simple","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cgk.nl\/en\/zending\/het-lijkt-zo-eenvoudig\/","title":{"rendered":"It seems so simple"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Wilma de Vries<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is an ordinary Monday when I park the car in front of the former caf\u00e9. Now it is the church. On the programme is an outreach: with a medical team we attend a local church to provide free medical care. In practice, it's mainly offering a listening ear, minor check-ups and giving advice. This day we focus especially on the children, as we have seen many malnourished children on previous visits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are on the early side and decide -according to Albanian custom- to first have a coffee at a caf\u00e9 a little further down the road. A good opportunity to see a bit more of the village, where it turns out there is a lot of poverty. In the street, I see children playing who should really be at school. Someone is digging in the rubbish bins looking for something that makes money. Construction workers are working on a new building, where it seems safety is not the most important thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The person who wants to take our order focuses on me. I get a hug and in rapid Albanian she starts talking about me. The woman, whom I don't immediately recognise, piques my interest. I try to follow what she says about me. I hear the team respond with 'Lavdi Zoti' or 'Praise God'. In itself, it is not strange that she starts talking about me, because as a foreigner, I am easily recognised. What she tells makes me silent and grateful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

'You love me'<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

She talks about the last time we were in the village with our medical team. About the listening and the advice, the time we took and the impact it had on her life. There on a rickety chair in a poverty-stricken village, I am suddenly thrown the blessing on our work. As she tells her story, I recognise her too. Simple work, done in all love and dependence, has been blessed by the Lord. 'You showed that you love me, that I have value and now, like you, I also want to come to know Jesus'.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It took a while, but eventually we get our drinks. All in all, we still arrive late for our consultation hour in the church. This consultation hour for children is much needed, but at the same time it is also a trial. There is no money for doctors' visits. Most children educate themselves or each other. The tubes of toothpaste we brought with us are mistaken for sweets and emptied by the children. Fortunately, the apples are also in great demand, but only by the children who still have teeth in their mouths.<\/p>\n\n\n

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