Comings & Goings

"They left?!" I tried to absorb the words from Mama Z's daughter at the end of January. Mama Z had moved away from Nampula. No warning, no goodbye, just gone. I felt her loss deep within me throughout February.  (see https://racheljwmk.blogspot.com/2022/01/worth-it.html for backstory)

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My phone rang in mid-February. "They took my husband! I don't know where he is or if he's okay," Mama Z said.

I could hear the desperation in her voice. He had gone back to visit his hometown further north and the military had taken him without warning. I felt helpless. I couldn't even visit her to offer comfort. "I'll be praying," I replied. I called to check in with her several times throughout the next few weeks. No news. 

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"You're coming back?" I asked in excitement. I had called to check in with Mama Z. She said she needed to visit Nampula to take care of a few things before going back north. "I'll come to see you in a few days!"

I took Roseli with me when I went. Seeing Mama Z again filled me with joy. She's such a friendly, sweet lady. We had a good spiritual conversation and I told her about my grandpa's cancer diagnosis.

We went back a few days later. "How are you? Any news of your husband?" I asked her after we sat down and greeted one another.

"We finally heard from him. He's in the jail in Pemba." She looked downcast when she said it. Her children had left earlier that week. One to her new job in a different town, two went to join their siblings studying in Pemba. She had to stay behind to take care of a few things. 

My heart went out to her. He's alive, I thought, but the jails here are terrible. He's probably starving, she doesn't know why he's in jail or how long they'll keep him for, and she's all alone here. 

She's hoping to go to Pemba as soon as possible to visit her husband in jail and be with four of her five children. I don't know if I'll see her again before she leaves so I asked if I could pray with her. She said yes. It felt special to lift her and her family up before the Lord and pray in Jesus name.

I'm so grateful God graciously allowed me to see her and spend time with her again. I pray the seeds planted in her heart will bear fruit someday. Not just in her life, but in her family as well.