Meet Naomi

The end of CampLife in 2008.

Precious, loving, quiet, and peaceful would be just a few words to describe Naomi.  Her father passed away when she was just two months old, so it has just been her and her mom.  The very first time I laid eyes on her she had a piece of my heart!!  When I came home from Zambia in 2007 and my parents had decided to sponsor one of my kids, my mom said she wanted me to pick out the child.  I knew that Naomi would be the perfect one and she has grown into such a beautiful teenager over the last few years.

During my trip in 2010, Naomi was again placed into my group for camp.  During the first day, someone from the onsite clinic came and got her.  She was gone for a while and when she came back, she had little white dots of medicine all over her face.  The nurse told me that she had chicken pox and that when she came back to camp each day, they would take her to a local clinic and she could get injections for the chicken pox.  Three things went quickly through my head: 1.  I didn't see any spots on her to begin with, 2. Can she really stay if she has chicken pox?, 3. What kind of shots can they give for that?  I thought it had to run its course......
Later that afternoon as I was asking more about it and Naomi was feeling worse and wanted to lay down in the clinic (which was not like her) the translation came across to me that she had measles.  Luckily my partner and I had spent some one on one time with Naomi that day. Her mom didn't have a job and she would try to find people to let her wash their clothes to earn some money.  They were not eating very often and sometimes the neighbor would share some of their food with them.  Naomi shared that her mother had been really sick for several weeks and couldn't walk.  Naomi couldn't stop crying and it broke my heart seeing her so upset and all I could think was, God her mom is all she has.  That was a moment that I will never forget as we both had tears streaming down our faces and I can see her face as plain today as then as she cried out for God to bring healing.
The next day Naomi didn't show up at camp and I was asking the kids if they knew where she was.  Some of the girls that lived close to her, said that she was too sick to walk to the bus that brought them to camp.  I again was asking God, WHY, why when it was her week to come to camp did you allow her to get so sick.  I should know by now not to question God, because in all things He has a plan.  I was on a mission to find out what we could do to get her the medical care that was needed.  After talking to the nurses, and some of the FLMI staff, and her Zambian discipleship leader, it was decided that a home visit was needed.  This is not something that they do with taking a nurse, American, and the discipleship leader during camp, but of course God had a plan and it was at work even though I couldn't see how at the time.  When we arrived at Naomi's house (which the entire house was about 12 X 12) we found Naomi's mom laying on the floor on a mat in the back of the room and Naomi laying on a couch asleep.  It took a little to wake Naomi up and she was burning up, but yet she was telling us that she was freezing so there is no telling how high her fever was.  The Zambians that I went with started talking to Naomi and her mom which felt like forever, because I had no idea what they were talking about.  All I knew is that no body was smiling and that it didn't sound good.  Then, everything was translated to me that her mom had been sick for quite sometime and had opened sores all up the back of her legs and so she couldn't even sit or lay on her back.  She constantly had to lay on her stomach and they had no food  at all or any means of getting any.  It was decided that they needed to be put onto the food assistance program that is available through the Father's Heart program and that someone would come to their house to pick Naomi up to take her to the clinic and that someone else would come to do some blood tests on her mother to try to find out what was wrong.  In the back of my head I knew why she had the sores that wouldn't heal, but I was pleading with God for it to not be what I had thought.

God thank you for this picture!  CampLife 2010.

That night I couldn't stop crying, I was so afraid that Naomi's mom wouldn't even make it through the night and I was completely heart broken for both of them.  I don't know if my heart has ever hurt so bad for someone.  God reminded me that night that when his children hurt, He hurts for them as well.
Naomi wasn't able to come back to camp that week, but I did see God's hand in why she was sick that week....1. She and her mom needed food desperately and the need was filled, 2. Medical care was needed and they did find out that her mom was HIV positive but now is on ARV's to help, (I don't know how much longer her mom would have survived in that state), 3. God showed himself faithful and that He is still a God that does miracles, that monthly provision of food was a complete miracle for Naomi and her mom as well as the medical care.

Our God is amazing and loves us more than we can ever imagine and when I wonder what He is doing and why things aren't going like I think they should He always reminds me that His plan is perfect in His time.  Thank you God for being so patient with us and for always loving us!!