Evelyn

Written by Erica Fye

When the war between the people of Northern Uganda and the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) rebels was at its worst, many families were forced to live in the “bush” away from the villages. Eventually, the government gathered them into Internally Displaced Persons camps. People went from living and working on large farms to having just a few square meters for a home. There is horrible sanitation, no food, no clean water, and utter hopelessness. They were designed to protect people, but they actually robbed them of every shred of dignity and slowly broke their spirits.

One such family had three children already and one on the way. Each day they fought to survive; they lived in fear, poverty and destitution. It was under these conditions that their fourth child, Evelyn, was born. Evelyn suffers from severe cerebral palsy. Her family had no access to medical care in her early years, so nothing was done to treat her condition. Now the family lives in a small home in the village. Evelyn is 18-years-old and is confined to a room in a house which she can never leave. She cannot walk. She depends completely on her family to take care of her.

Sister Teddy heard about Evelyn and went to visit her. Evelyn’s mother welcomed Teddy’s visit, but her father was ashamed of his child. He has a prominent position in Kitgum and sees Evelyn as a burden and disgrace to the family. In the Acholi culture, a child with disabilities proves there is a curse upon the family. There are cases of mothers deliberately tying the children loosely on their backs, so that when they bend down to wash their clothes in the river the child slips into the water and drowns. It’s not that these parents hate their children; they are afraid and have no idea why this happened or what they can do. Evelyn’s father tried to discourage Teddy from coming back.

When Teddy relayed this story to us, our hearts were stirred. We asked her how we could help. Teddy informed us that Evelyn was sleeping on the concrete floor of a storage space. She had bed sores all over her body. She was left in the room naked, except when visitors came then her family would wrap her in a towel. We bought her a mattress cover that is easily cleaned and that gave us the chance to go and meet Evelyn and her family. When we first arrived at the house her family kept us waiting outside for 20 minutes while they cleaned Evelyn up. When they finally let us inside, they were carrying Evelyn into the living room area. What we saw broke our hearts. This 18-year-old girl had a body that was very small and skinny, like that of an 8 or 9 year old. Her tiny legs were bent; her hands also were bent and crippled. She had only a towel wrapped around her waist. We were heartbroken, fighting back the tears for this poor child and her condition. But when we saw her face, everything changed. She had the biggest smile, and her eyes glimmered with pure joy and delight to have visitors. She is absolutely beautiful! Though her body is lame, her heart is not, it is overflowing with joy. That joy put us to shame and reminded us of everything that we have to smile about. We are so grateful that God opened our eyes to a tangible way to help this child. No longer will Evelyn sleep on the hard floor; no longer will bed sores consume her body. But that is not the best part…

Evelyn’s father was there that day when we went to deliver her bed. He was actually very welcoming. We expressed our desire to come back every week to share the Bible with Evelyn. He welcomed us. God had given us favor with this man. It was clear God wanted Evelyn to hear the Words of Life! The next week we came back to read the Bible to Evelyn. The father, mother and one of the sisters also joined us. They all wanted to hear the Word of God. Once again, we could barely hide our shock and delight. We read through Psalm 139. Evelyn’s father asked us for a Bible of his own. The next week we came with a Bible. He asked what he should read. We told him that the book of John is a good place to start; it is the book we are now going through with them.

We are excited to see what God will do in the hearts of each of these family members! We are praying that God saves them and shows them how much Evelyn is worth! We pray that they will start to treat Evelyn with the love and care she deserves. When Evelyn sees us come now she recognizes us and shouts with sheer delight. We greet her, smile with her, and tell her about the great love Jesus have for her as we study the Bible together with her and her family. We pray that they will see Jesus, not us, and that their lives will be transformed. Praise God for His Faithfulness! We are so privileged to get to spend time with this beautiful girl and to share the Good News with her and her family!

Unfortunately, though, there are many more children, just like Evelyn, who have yet to be discovered- children hidden in shame from the rest of the world. They are the silent victims of a war that has claimed as many living casualties as it has dead ones. Please pray for God to put back the pieces of the lives that have been shattered and mistreated by the LRA, their communities and even their own families. Pray for us to be directed by the Lord to those hidden ones, those whom the world has forgotten, but are so close to God’s heart. And please pray specifically for Evelyn. Her story is far from over- what Satan has meant for evil God is using for good. Our prayer is that Evelyn and her entire family will no longer be victims of a war that has displaced them and an enemy that left them broken and beaten; but that they will be more than conquerors through the saving power of Jesus Christ.

I know that one day Evelyn will be in a better place- a place where she will sing, dance, praise, play, and run; a place where she will have no more sorrow or pain. Her time of suffering is short; it is nothing compared with the glory that will be revealed in her. She is not crippled to God! She is His beautiful creation and one day everyone will see her as He does.

In Christ,

Erica Fye
FRM Kitgum

”Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price, so you must honor God with your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

”Give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but you now have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.” Romans 6:13b

© 2009 Far Reaching Ministries