Patience - A Precious Legacy
Patience is her name. Patience is, by definition, the ability to accept or tolerate delay, trouble or suffering without becoming angry or upset, and she embodies the very definition of that name as if it is her duty to live up to a title of royalty given at birth. Patience wasn’t born with any entitlement though. In fact, Patience was born into a household doomed to, instead, embody the destructive elements of a culture fraught with trouble and tragedy.
She was born on February 22, 2004 into an impoverished household filled with sadness, abandonment and even disease. Her father disappeared when her mother was pregnant with her and he never returned. But he did leave HIV behind as a parting gift to his wife. Alone and desperate she quickly remarried, and in another act of desperation, followed her new husband to parts unknown, abandoning Patience at her sister’s home.
Patience lived with her aunt until she was 8 years old. It was then that her aunt, a widow herself, gave up the struggle to feed Patience and a brood of her own children, asking Irene at Life of Favor Children’s Home for help.
Patience came to Life of Favor a broken child. Her body broken from malnutrition; her spirit, broken from abandonment and neglect; her mind, stunted and broken because she had no formal education. A child without hope.
But things would change for her at Life of Favor. Things would change quickly.
Look into the eyes of young Patience in the picture on the left. This was taken not long after she went to live at Life of Favor. Already you see the hope in her eyes. Already you can see the gratitude in her smile; the health in full cheeks surrounding that same precious smile. Both, a reflection of the love and care she received there. The sense of belonging. The security of knowing each day that there would be more. More food. The same warm bed and soft pillow. More hugs and more play. Slowly, but surely, she began to heal.
As her body grew, so did her mind and her spirit. Patience attended school every day now. She woke to a time of grateful prayer and ended her days the same way; thanking God for all she received. She attended Church and learned about Jesus and the path to salvation. A solid foundation to build on.
Over the years, her confidence in herself grew as well. She learned how to raise animals. She learned how to raise a garden; even how to make her own clothes and shoes. Arguably, her life was filled with positive elements not even found in the households of many developed nations.
Then her mind became open to new possibilities. She began to dream. To dream of what she might someday become. And now it actually seemed possible!
Look into her eyes in the center picture. This is Patience when she was 16 years old. This is a face filled with resolve and confidence. A face filled with an inner strength and yet one that seems to reflect the seriousness of her age as she began to prepare to step out into the world to fulfill her dreams. The fleeting days of childhood were nearly over and Patience began writing to us about her desires for college and a career.
Her hope was to become a nurse and then continue to study and become a doctor. That has changed some. She has since decided to become a pharmacist and has been accepted to and enrolled in a college to earn that degree. She will start her first semester this month.
Now we can’t see the Patience of the future. That is a story that hasn’t been written.
But what we do know is that you have given her all the tools to become successful in every aspect of her life. You have given her everything that she needs. You have cared for her from afar in God’s name, giving her a loving home filled with all of the elements necessary for a child to grow to become a healthy young adult.
She will be the first woman in the history of her family to attend college. She will likely become the first woman in the history of her family to break the cycle and raise her own children in a safe and loving Christian home. She will likely be the first person in the history of her family that will have the ability to give back to her own community and be an asset instead of a liability.
It is not difficult to imagine what her life would have been like without Life of Favor Children’s Home; without your gifts that made her life there possible. It is a heartbreaking thought though, and the result would have been ongoing generations of suffering and tragedy. If she even survived.
You are the source of the wonderful realities and possibilities in the life of Patience. You have made it possible for her dreams to become fulfilled. You have given a broken child a level playing field. You have evened and moreover stacked the odds in her favor.
There are many good things in this life we live. God has blessed us all in many ways, including countless opportunities to give back by showing His love in our actions. When we do good in His name, not only are we glorifying Him, from whence all good comes, we are also sowing seeds. And we may or may not be here to witness the reaping of the rewards… but someone will, and the world will be a better place because of it.
This young lady is a perfect example of that very thing.
Her name is Patience. And she is your precious, living legacy.