There is a beggar in our village who lost his leg as a teenager in a tribal raid on Rendille cattle. He walks around town with the aid of some metal crutches that are mismatched and uncomfortable. We tried to even them out a bit with the welder. When we first met him, he was miserable and a grouch. We listened to his story and also advised him to say “Thank you” when he received help from us. He always says Thank you now, which is nice to see. He has been to church a few times.
Several years ago he told us that he was looking for a wife. He went all over to village after village and finally got one. He now has 2 children. His older child, around 2 years old, threw a rock and it hit the baby in the eye. Apparently the baby can no longer see out of that eye. This beggar lives by getting hand-outs from anyone whose willing to give. He’s not really a “nice” person but his life is really tough.
First, pray that he can know Jesus as his Savior and Lord. Secondly, pray that there could be some kind of change in his circumstances to make his life a bit better- though I don’t know what that could be – but God could figure out something if He wanted to! Thirdly, pray for our attitude towards him. We do not enjoy our transactions with him as they are so burdensome. He’s always so full of overwhelming problems. We can’t possibly fulfill all he needs, so it’s difficult facing him regularly. We need to see him as Jesus sees him and have wisdom in our interactions and conversations with him.
