Ten years ago, a naïve and passionate duo, Dara and Rabeca, started asking questions and imagining what it would be like to start a project working with people who desperately needed love and care at the end of life.
Rabeca, a young Mozambican was already, out of the goodness of her own heart, visiting those that were most vulnerable and suffering in her village.
Dara, after seeing too many people at the end of life or with a chronic illness not receiving comfort measures for their symptoms, started to realize there were interventions that could make significant differences in people’s lives.
It seems the Lord smiled down on these hearts and paved the way for Mvura Ya Upenhu (Living Water in CheTewe) Palliative Care to start caring for people who can’t get to the hospital, have been and are still not comfortable, or those whose families aren’t able to care well for them.
After a short time, Mariana joined the team, and the strength of these three became a strong force. It didn’t take long for people to start stopping us on the road and asking us to visit or assist their loved ones. 10 years have now passed. We’ve added another Rabeca and Dorca to our force, and together, this team has cared for a total of 200 patients. Though many have died, some are still living, and many were discharged because somehow, through love, care, and education, they were able to return to a functional level of quality of life.
SIX THINGS MAKE THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE
In addition to providing basic palliative care medications and interventions, it’s become increasingly more clear to their team over the years that dignity, tender loving care, loyalty, consistency, lollipops, and an Audio Bible (pictured, on the grass mat!) are the interventions that make the biggest difference. The team is eager to give hygiene products, blankets, art projects, songs, dance, Bible stories, and nutritional supplements. However, the relationships, prayers, and time the team offers each of these 200 patients seems like the real balm to the soul—being noticed and known—the longing of every human heart. “This is what the Compassionate Care team thrives in,” Dara observes, “knowing and loving each and every one of the patients that the Lord brings to us. For the past 10 years, these 200 people have known they are loved, cared for, and prayed for by us… what a privilege.”
Thank you for your prayer and support, so everyone can hear the hope of the Gospel and experience the love of Jesus, even those facing chronic illness or difficult end-of-life situations in rural Mozambique.
Read a memorial of Roda, a beloved patient they recently lost: www.audioscripture.org/tribute-to-roda
