Here's my second reflection paper that I wanted to share with all of you who have been keeping up with my journey. This paper focuses on one person--Shelly Grivette. Shelly is one of the directors at Christopher House. She has spent five years in Uganda, and our friendship began when I first came to Uganda in 2005. This summer Shelly has served as my supervisor, and I decided to spend some time reflecting on her work and ministry. I wrote this paper at the end of July.
It doesn’t take long to see Shelly’s strength. She’s just tough. For the three years I have known her, it is her strength that has always amazed me. But when she least expects it, Shelly shares glimpses of the richest compassion and the most beautiful pieces of her life’s pain. It’s always the highest honor to see these parts of her life as a woman in ministry. In the last few years Shelly has been a dear friend, a guide in this strange country, a voice of wisdom, a person with which to exchange dreams and ideas, but this summer she has been my field education supervisor. And as I watch her work and minister here, I see a model of ministry that inspires me.
This past week when I returned from a few days of rest in Zanzibar, I found Shelly at the airport with a bright grin. “We have a small visitor,” she said as she unlocked the van and lifted my suitcase into the back seat. For several months Shelly has been taking baby formula to malnourished babies in the neighborhood, but when one of the babies was abandoned by his parents, and too sick to be cared for by his extended family, Shelly offered to take him for the week and make sure he got to the clinic. And when I got back to the apartment, there was Moses, our small visitor sleeping soundly. By the end of the week, the baby who was barely able to keep his eyes open began laughing and crawling and making the sweetest baby noises. Returning him to his family on Sunday was not an easy task for Shelly, but she never hesitated to stop her plans or put the demands of her work on hold for a few days for the care of this child. Whatever the cost—medical fees, gas money, baby clothes, and the pain of letting him go—she spared nothing to lavish love on him. And when giving Moses back to his family brought up the painful memories of the loss of her own son, Christopher, she began to cry. And in her tears I saw love, a kind of love that is pure and yes, sometimes painful. It’s the kind of love I hope to have for people I minister to and with.
When a house fire took the life of a toddler in our neighborhood and burned most of the clothes and personal belongings of nine of our kids at Christopher House, Shelly was the first to talk solutions. “What can we do? How can we surround this family with support? Let’s do something.” She brought the kids over to the center to lie down after an exhausting day of grief. And for a few hours they rested. She made them sandwiches and juice. She held them as they cried, prayed over them, and cried with them. Then, she gathered her money, went out and bought them some clothes. Shelly is quick to respond to the needs of others. She knew she could not bring that child back. She was limited in what she could offer this family, but that didn’t hinder her efforts to do what she could to help. It is this beautiful balance of care and awareness of her limitations as a minister that I hope to model. Things will sometimes be too broken to fix, but offering presence, prayer and comfort is sometimes the most powerful gift to those in pain.
In Shelly’s life and work I don’t see perfection, but I do see a person open and willing to be used by God in powerful ways to lavish love and care on people in this broken and confusing world. It’s that openness that I pray for as I prepare my own life for ministry. May I always be willing to sacrifice for the call Christ has made on my life. May I always be willing to reveal my own struggles, pain, and humanity before others as I strive to love people the way Christ first loved us.
For all your love, prayers and support, THANK YOU!
This is Alisha on Location (for a few more days at least)
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