Touched by a Girl (Gemena)

     She wakes up in the morning to work in the garden--one of her few pleasures--singing as she digs and plants in the red dirt.  Interrupted by fatigue, she is forced to quit because of her health condition. Returning to her brother's home, she dreads going back to a thatched roof that doesn't protect her from the rain and a family that doesn't let her use the dishes because of her disease.  At about 15 years old, Dedenteno Gbasememo has epilepsy, is covered in burn scars, and she desperately needs a sponsor.

     I first met Dedenteno on one of our many village trips to visit sponsored children.  Dedenteno was one of the girls I interviewed, and her scars set her apart from the others.  I interviewed her, just like the others, ending by praying with her.  When I had finished, I wandered around, taking photos of the children.  Later, the translator I partnered with came up to me and told me that Dedenteno was not in the system as a sponsored child.  My heart sunk.  The girl that needed a sponsor the most had none.  I felt helpless and broken -- until someone asked me to write her story.

     They asked me to write about this little girl whom I had barely met from another country and who spoke a different language from me.  And yet -- writing is my passion and I felt that God had directed me to this girl in order to spread the word about her need.  At first, I didn't know where to begin.  But I sat down, with a translator, and asked her about her life -- when she got epilepsy and how it affected her life.  Just a couple years later, she was cooking by a fire and because there was no one around to help her, she accidentally fell into the fire and badly burned herself.  Now, she needs a sponsor's aid for medical attention, food, and education.

                "O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear." 

Psalm 10:17

          "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."

James 1:27

 

     This girl is is desperate need, and a sponsor could give her the medical attention and spiritual guidance to bring about healing once and for all.  My prayer is that God would call someone to sponsor this girl and become her spiritual parents.