Have you ever been blessed with an experience that will forever be molded into the best day of your life? Birth of a Child? Your wedding maybe? Well, for me my day came in mid-February this year. This experience is, hands down, the best experience I’ve ever had the privilege of being apart of. This was the day that we took Radia home and her family was going to see her for the first time without her tumor. The drive was long but it was so worth the experience. When we arrived, our land rover was surrounded by people coming to see Radia. As she climbed out of the back of the vehicle, she tried to quickly get to her home. She was overwhelmed with those that came to see her. People were crying everywhere. Tears of pure joy. Tears of unbelief that this was the same girl that left their home two weeks prior. We walked up to Radia’s home and were instantly surrounded by even more people. Radia’s great aunt grabbed my arm and pulled me to the center. She gave me a chair and forced me to sit down. She then went into a speech telling everyone in the community how I visited Radia every day. She told them that I went down to paint her finger nails and always make sure that they had everything they needed. Then she talked about Radia’s surgery and what the ship had given her. Then there was a parade of people all coming up to Radia and then coming to me. They would kneel at my feet and bow singing praises to God for giving me to them. Praising God for Mercy Ships. Then they would grab my hand and shout praises even more. The entire time Radia sat very close to me, always close enough to touch me. The entire experience was so overwhelming for her (and me) as she was use to hiding and didn’t really know these people.
So the day was very overwhelming and I couldn’t believe that God had blessed me with such an amazing experience. I’ve attached the pictures to this blog as proof of this life changing event.
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| Radia leaving the ship for the last time |
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| Radia getting her final check - she's excited to go home! |
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| This was Radia's first trip home - Me and my team drove her home |
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| It was emotional for distant family and neighbors to see the difference in Radia's face. |
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| Meeting neighbors |
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| Radia starts crying as everyone around her is also in tears |
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| Radia looks sad - she really misses her father - who died 1 month before surgery. He won't see her new face. |
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| We just told her we had to go - it breaks the heart to see her disappointment! |
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| We kept trying to get a "family picture" and they kept pulling me in the shot |
Just to add a note on Radia's appearance - like the extra skin after a mother has given birth...Radia's skin was stretch from her large tumor. So, until her skin shrinks up - it's appearance is darker than the rest of her skin. One things start to tighten, her face will be looking closer and closer to perfectly normal!
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