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These lyrics were written two years ago when Living Room was merely a dream. Last night I sat in Kimbilio Hospice as Beatrice, a 30 year old guest living with TB & HIV, spontaneously began singing these words in Swahili: “Hakuna Mungu kama wewe. Hakuna Kimbilio kama wewe. Hakuna Mponyaji kama wewe. Hakuna Daktari kama wewe.” (There is no God like you. There is no refuge, healer or doctor like you.) Beatrice arrived to the hospice two months ago near death. Her body was failing physically, but she was also emotionally and spiritually wounded. I thank God that He is restoring her life. Her singing was a fragrant offering poured out that led me and the others within the home to cry out to God and to sing all of His praise.
The man sitting next to Beatrice, Hezron, is weak and gravely sick with AIDS. On the day he arrived to the hospice, he told me: “This disease has a way of making you no longer human.” As he joined in the singing, it was like watching the remnants of hope within him rise. He needs so much more than a song. He desperately needs the Healer he sang about. Another patient, Carolyne, who is no longer able to speak, smiled and radiated with a joy that is impossible to understand or explain. As she made feeble attempts to lift her hands, I wondered how all of this moved the heart of God. All the while, Chepchumba, our little eight year old, sat in the arms of a caregiver—loved and nourished. Others were in their beds soaking in the worship of a broken people.
Then Pauline, another 30 year old mama who is living with AIDS and is unable to walk, when asked how we can pray for her mumbled these words: “Nataka kutembea.” I want to walk. Compassion filled me with longing for this desire of hers to be fulfilled. I asked the God who loves Pauline endlessly to heal His daughter.
In a way I have never understood before, I glimpsed what Jesus meant when he said: “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for Him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted…” Amongst my broken friends, I experienced what it means to be blessed.
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