Celine 26June2015
I watched American Sniper during our flight back to Chad. Besides feeling patriotic, I was also feeling emotionally raw. In the movie I was struck by the following line:
Back from a tour of duty, Chris Kyle said in exasperation,
"It IS ok... Im fine...
I'm driving down the freeway. It's sunny and 72degrees. I'm fine...
There's a war going on. There are people dying and no one is talking about it. It's like it's not even happening.
We're all on our cell phones; living our simple simplistic lives. It's not even on the news. And no one cares. There's a war going on and I'm heading to the mall. I'm not supposed to be here. I'm supposed to be over there. "
...
Honestly, that is exactly how I felt about being back in the United States again and about serving as a medical missionary in a terribly challenged, developing country. Does anyone even know what is happening over in Chad?
Think about your daughter... or your wife, or your mother or your sister. She is someone you would do anything for. Now think of Celine.
Celine is a young mother of 4 beautiful children. She is a single parent because her husband was a terribly bad man. After years of abuse, his violence escalated against Celine. I imagine the scenario and the dread she felt as she heard his footsteps approaching outside their mud brick hut. He grabbed her by the arm as she struggled against his anger. 4 children crying and screaming as their mother was dragged out of their one room hut. Celine's husband tied her to a tree, stripped her naked, and left her there. He repeatedly beat her and she had to flee. She finally did escape with her kids. Now she struggles to feed and support her children. She found work washing laundry for our family. She scrubs our clothes with soapy water on a concrete block and then hangs them to dry on our clothes line. Oh, and she is nearly blind.
Actually she WAS nearly blind. Her vision was completely failing but finally we found a specialist to surgically replace her lenses. Kim and I were back in the US when we heard that the specialist was coming back to a city "nearby". We arranged transportation for her and her brother to travel back and forth for preop/surgery/ and post op appointments. We paid for her surgery. We paid for her medications.
Today, Celine can see. She can continue to work and care for her family. When we arrived back in Chad, she saw me and gave me a great big hug and offered the most sincere "thank you" that I've ever felt. And she SAW me smile back as I said "Merci Dieu!"
Celine needed help. We are thankful that we could be here for her. Would you be able to help offset the cost of helping? Someone just like your daughter/sister/mother/wife will be coming to our door tomorrow. Help us to be able to say "yes."
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-Mason
