A Cup of Cold Water

When we first moved to Togo, West Africa our learning curve was pretty steep. Among the many areas in which we found ourselves with insufficient knowledge and expertise was the area of entertaining visitors who would come ringing the bell at our gate. We came here with an overall suspicion of anyone who would ring our bell within the first year. We had been warned by more than one seasoned missionary in West Africa that all of the con men and crooks would come to our gate, as new missionaries, because we wouldn't know them from genuine people with needs.

Sure enough, within the first week of being in our house we had a man at our gate claiming his son had been bitten by a rabid dog and he needed money for all sorts of different medicines that were required to treat his son's condition. I remember David and I questioning our workers (who had previously been employed by other missionaries in town) if they thought he was genuine. I remember sitting in our living room at night going over the details of his story after having to struggle very hard to understand the French he spoke which we were still so new at speaking and understanding. I remember calling our teammates to inform them about this man asking for money and working to keep each other in the loop to see how much each of us would, or would not, give him. (So that he wouldn't get the full amount for medical costs from each of us.) I remember never knowing for sure if he was genuine or not and begrudgingly giving him a bit of money in the end. This was only the first of many similar situations to follow in the coming years. After living here in Togo for about 6 months or so I think we just started turning everyone away who came to the gate because we realized at one point that we'd given some money to a smooth-talking thief and didn't want to be taken advantage of again.

Gradually, over the past 6 years we've moved far past this point. It has taken time to spot the obvious con men who make the rounds of the foreigners' houses with the big stories and yet the now-obvious-air of something being "not quite right". And we still don't always know. But something much more significant has taken place in our hearts. The Lord has grown compassion there, again. This compassion trumps the need for self protection and I feel compelled to tell you a story about my husband that took place about a month ago.

This transformation of our hearts bent on self protection and concerned with the preservation of rights into hearts leaning towards compassion and following Christ has taken place first and foremost through the leadership of my husband. I remember about 2 and a half years ago a woman came to our gate asking for money for whom we had no way of corroborating her story. And David decided to give her what she asked for. I protested, asking David how he knew she was telling the truth and wouldn't just use the money for alcohol or drugs. And David, said, "I don't know, Becky. I have no way of knowing. All I know is that I feel God prompting me to give to her and I'm not going to ignore those feelings anymore." I am sad to admit that I went on in questioning his motives, asking if he felt compelled to give out of guilt or it just being easier. He responded that he was quite sure this wasn't the case as he didn't feel compelled to give to people who beg every time. He explained that many times he felt a confirmation that they were lying, but there had been definite times when he felt the need expressed was genuine. He also explained he had recently become aware that he had grieved the Holy Spirit by not giving when He had prompted him to give. I, somewhat skeptically, agreed with his thoughts and watched my husband display Christ's compassion in a gradually greater manner over the next few years.

As you know, we've just returned from the states a little over 2 months ago after having our fourth child. A couple of weeks back, an everyday event of someone begging at our gate pierced straight to my heart. I think having been away from Togo for four months and having a lot of time for spiritual reflection gave my heart the perspective it needed to see in a new way the holiness of asking and giving and receiving in the light of Christ's compelling love (2 Cor. 5:13,14).

I was sitting at the computer on a Saturday morning in a rare moment when my three older children were at school and Caleb was actually napping. The bell rang at our front gate. Our day guardian has Saturdays off, so David went out to answer the gate. I didn't pay much attention as he came back in the house, went into the kitchen and then returned outside. (Our bell rings on average of about 7 times a day with Christians stopping by to chat, workers coming to fix something broken in the house, utility men coming to hand deliver bills, the occasional beggar, and various other visitors.) About 5 minutes later he walked back inside with an empty cup in his hand and a look of joy that stemmed from a broken humility that I have trouble describing in words. My mind quickly began to piece things together as I asked, "Who was at the gate?" "A crippled woman," David answered with a break in his voice. My throat began to tighten with emotion as I could mentally picture the sad state of many crippled people here in Togo. "Did she have a cart?" I asked. (Many crippled people here who are fortunate enough to secure one, have a cart made out of old bicycle parts that they can maneuver down the road by turning the "pedals" with their hands, propelling their contraption forward and giving them a way to get around) "No," he answered. The picture in my mind switched to the even more pitiful state of a crippled person without a cart. These people have flip flops on their hands and "walk" by putting one hand on the ground in front of them and swinging the weight of their body forward, just managing to get their other flip-flop-clad hand around to the side of their body to maintain their balance. Their polio-ravaged legs usually hang limply to the side, dragging the ground. My eyes were full at this point as I gave him a questioning look. ("What was your response to her?" I was wondering) David's eyes were brimming with tears as he answered with raw emotion, "I gave her the money she asked for and a cup of water. She looked so thirsty." I stood up and embraced him for a long moment. The emotion which we shared was not the result of self pride at having served "the least of these". It was not utter depression at the sad physical state of this poor woman. It was the feeling of compassion for someone so utterly broken physically mixed with the holy awe of somehow Jesus Christ, himself, embodying this crippled woman, coming and knocking at OUR gate to allow us to serve Him. David pulled back from my hug and said through tears, "I could tell she was happy when I gave her the money, but when I came back with the cup of cold water she literally beamed." We both cried as we knew it was Jesus smiling at David, saying "Well done."

Oh, the privilege of seeing the Lord in this context of poverty! When the days feel overwhelmingly frustrating and my thoughts jump from blessing upon blessing of living in the states and I don't much feel like living here anymore, it's in these moments of seeing with spiritual eyes how Jesus actually came and knocked on our gate just a few weeks ago that sustain my heart. I know he knocks on doors and reveals himself faithfully in the US and anywhere in the world. But for now He has called our family here. And the tangible reminder that He knows where we are and will show us His face in a surprising person now and again is a grace that makes me want to obey him and love him and thrive where he's planted me. "Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go, anywhere he leads me in this world below......Anywhere without him dearest joys would fade... Anywhere with Jesus when he points the way." It's all worth it with Him. Without Him.......I'd have nothing to live for that really meant anything.


"I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited me in....And the righteous will answer Him saying 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink? ....And the King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say unto you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'" Matthew 25:37-40