Judit

Our daughter Joanna first met Judit when she came to Mozambique in 2006. They immediately hit it off in spite of the language barriers and became friends. We slowly came to know parts of Judit’s story.

Judit was orphaned at a young age and her extended family declined to take her in. She lived with some nuns for awhile and this is where she learned to cook. Now it is her passion and she does a good job of it!

In 2000 Judit was in a very bad vehicle accident. She was in a “chapa” which is a van that is used for public transportation here. The chapa and a semi were in a head-on collision and the chapa ended up under the truck. Ten people died and of the survivors Judit was the most critical. She had injuries to her back, stomach, hip, and abdomen.

She spent one full year at the Central Hospital in Maputo. The surgeries and physical suffering she endured would be enough for anyone but she also suffered a lot from the lack of care that we take for granted in a U.S. hospital. Having a bed pan or a bath requires an extra tip to the nurse and if you have nothing, you are just stuck. Having friends or family to come assist you also requires extra money. I can only imagine what Judit went through that year. She came out of the hospital with a severe limp and has had numerous therapies and procedures since then. She was able to get a corrective shoe with a large platform to help her walk. However, during the explosions of the bomb arsenal in 2007 she had to run for her life and left her shoes behind. Thieves came into the house where she was staying and among other things, took her special shoes.

She was a cook in a home for awhile until others in the household became jealous of her and accused her of stealing. She felt she could no longer stay there and moved back to Maputo.

She has been living with a woman that she met in the hospital. This woman is willing to have her, but asks that she help with household expenses. This is impossible for Judit until she finds a job. This past week a job opportunity came up and Judit spent a couple of days with us while she pursued it. It was to work as a cook at a bakery that also sells hamburgers, chicken, fries, etc. She would be the only cook and dish washer. She would not be allowed to sit all day or take any breaks. The owner also required that she work for 7 days without pay and at the end of that time she would be notified whether she would be hired or not and what her salary would be. It could be as low as $40 a month or a bit higher. The owner does not trust any of the employees and tends to fly off the handle and scream at them. Judit went to work for a day and did her best. Her feet started to swell and she could no longer wear her flip flops so she went barefoot. At the end of the day she was exhausted but willing to try it again. But as we processed it together, she decided that this would not work for her. Although she is willing in her spirit to give it a try because it is a job that she desperately needs, her body just can’t take the stress.

It looks like she will go to Beira again to finish high school. She will live with some relatives who don’t really want her there and barely feed her. Last year the local priest helped her out by buying food for her when he saw how thin she had become. Judit is an optimist in spite of all the struggles and willing to suffer whatever it takes to finish school.

I am impressed with Judit’s generous spirit. Whenever she comes to visit, she brings mangoes, or other food. When Joanna came this year, she brought her a capulana (a meter of cloth used as a wrap around skirt and many other things). She never comes empty handed even though she has so little.

Please pray for Judit. When I shared Jer. 29:11 one day when she was discouraged she was touched to think that God does have a future and a hope for her. Judit is one of the thousands of people in Mozambique who have had very hard lives and who sometimes find it difficult to go on. I believe God brought her into our lives for a reason. It is easy to let these sad stories burden me too much. But I believe my part is to encourage in different ways, to pray for and believe God to intervene and really fulfill His promises of a future and hope for Judit.

Trying on the earrings Joanna made. She loved them!





Sitting on our kitchen floor mixing up cookies because it hurt to stand and for some reason she didn't want a chair. She baked them on a 100 degree day too.