However, I’ve always prayed that
God would keep my heart soft and protect me from becoming jaded – that He would
break my heart for specific people so that my spirit would always remain
tender. When God brought me to a woman
named Grace and to her family, I knew I would never grow hard-hearted in their
presence.
Before meeting Grace, I was
introduced to four blind women – an elderly woman probably in her eighties, her
middle-aged daughter (Stella Rose), and Stella’s two young daughters. I was horrified when I saw their living
conditions and even more horrified when I found out that Stella’s brothers had
completely shunned her and offered no help to her, the elderly mother, or the
young girls. They were treated almost
like lepers, and no one seemed to find any value in them. Their story was unlike any other I’d heard in
Africa, and after my first visit to their compound, I left with tears in my
eyes. Their reality was absolutely
unfathomable.
Pastor Robert, my Ugandan
ministry partner, searched and searched until he could find someone – anyone –
who was involved in helping Stella Rose and the others. After doing his homework, he found the
treasure we’d been waiting for – Grace.
Grace was the sister of Stella Rose (and the daughter of the elderly
woman/the aunt of the two blind girls).
She lived in a different village than her blind relatives and went to
great lengths to travel between her home and her blind relatives’ home. Though a widow herself and a mother of four,
Grace did everything in her power to care for her mom, sister, and nieces. Despite barely being able to keep her
immediate family afloat, she made every sacrifice she could to support Stella Rose
and the others.
When I met Grace, two things were
utterly clear. First, she was absolutely
genuine. Grace loved God, and Grace loved
people. She had the purest of hearts and
wanted nothing more than to care for her family. Second, Grace was an unsung hero. She sometimes walked for hours to move
between her home and Stella’s home when she didn’t have enough money for transport. Grace knew the cost of caring but never
questioned if it was worth it. She
simply loved – tirelessly, fearlessly, gracefully. Everything about her was beautiful.
I remember the first day I met
Grace, and I remember her face when she heard my name. Since people in Uganda often struggle to
pronounce Caitlin, I usually introduce myself as Katy, a far easier name to
pronounce in the local dialect. Ketty is
the Ugandan version of Katy, so that’s become the name I am known by. When I told Grace my name, her face lit up
and she told me that her daughter was also named Ketty. From that moment on, she called me “my
daughter” and greeted me as such for the rest of her days.
Over time, I got to know Grace
better, got to see more of her heart and love for her blind relatives, her
children, and really everyone she interacted with. I got to visit her home many times as well as
see her at Stella Rose’s home. Grace
loved to spoil my friends and me with delicious food she prepared, despite
having so little herself. She travelled
to my village numerous times, including a visit for the best Christmas celebration
I’ve ever experienced. I got to know the
real Ketty, Grace’s adorable daughter, and my friend Connie fell in love with
Grace’s youngest son, Daniel. We saw how
much Grace loved her kids and enjoyed getting to know such a precious family.
Despite our good times together,
I could see the toll life was taking on Grace.
After losing her husband, struggling to provide for her children, and
taking on the burden of caring for her four blind relatives, the emotional drain
was evident. Even when Grace smiled, I
could see that she felt like the weight of the world was on her shoulders. Sometimes, she would make an escape from reality by daydreaming
about my African wedding. We would laugh as we planned my one-day
wedding in the village. Though I had no
prospects when these daydreams began, we had so much fun laughing about what my
dress would look like, how many goats my husband would have to pay for my dowry,
and what types of food we would prepare for my wedding feast. Even though the image of a white girl getting
married in the bush was quite amusing, I was serious about having an African
wedding. For years, I dreamed that one
day Grace would help me design my dress and that we would get to celebrate in
my village together.
A couple of years ago, Pastor
Robert, my friend Natalie, and I introduced a microloan program to a few select
individuals, and we immediately invited Grace to be a part of it. People were given loans of 200,000 shillings to
start a business (or grow an existing business) and had to pay back 20,000 each
month. Instead of paying interest, the
loan receivers had to pay their own transport to attend a monthly meeting where
everyone who’d received a loan was to share business ideas with one
another. Unfortunately, most of the
people who received loans skipped the meetings and did not make timely
payments. One person even took the loan
money, ran off with it, and never spoke to us again. But there was ONE person who came to every
meeting and paid back her loan every month on time. Can you guess who that was? And can you guess who had the furthest and
most expensive commute to the village where we held the meetings? Do you know who did whatever it took to keep
her word and honor her commitment to the loan program? Our dear friend Grace.
Because of Grace’s faithfulness
to us, the program, and her word, we decided to give her extra money to boost
her business. We surprised her one day
at her home and gave her enough money to buy a bale of clothes in Kampala to
help grow her secondhand clothes business.
With not an ounce of entitlement, Grace took the money, got on her
knees, and asked us to pray for the money.
Her desire for business growth was motivated by one thing – wanting to
provide for her family.
I don’t know many people who have
the integrity, honesty, and sacrificial love this woman had. In a country where people are poor, desperate,
and tempted to steal, it can be difficult to find such a pure heart. Yet, for some reason, the Lord gave me the
privilege and honor of being a friend to this treasure.
* * * * *
When I arrived in Uganda for a
visit about a month ago, I couldn’t wait to see Grace. I’d heard that she had fallen sick and was
staying in Mulago Hospital, the biggest hospital in Uganda. Mulago is located in the capital city about
eight hours from the district where Grace lived (and where I used to live and
now visit each year). I knew something
was really wrong if she’d travelled all the way to Mulago for treatment. When I found Grace there, I was struck by how
thin she’d become and how desperate she looked.
After visiting her in Mulago, Pastor
Robert, my boyfriend Tim, and I made the long trek to my former home, Soroti District. We were relieved that shortly after, Grace was
transferred back to Soroti and placed in a hospital there. With papers from Mulago in hand, she lay in
the Soroti hospital, unsure of what the medical papers meant and even more
unsure of what to do next. We couldn’t
find a single doctor in the hospital to answer questions, so I took a photo of the
Mulago paperwork and left to do some research.
Pastor Robert drove with Tim and me to speak with a doctor at a better
hospital who confirmed that Grace had cervical cancer. He let us know that there was only one
radiation machine in all of Uganda – and it was broken. Then he gave me advice that broke my
heart: “Make her as comfortable as you
can until she dies.” And there it
was. A terminal diagnosis. A void of hope. A death sentence. I cried the whole car ride home, knowing my
time with Grace was quickly running short.
I couldn’t wrap my mind around
Grace dying. It simply did not make
sense. What about Stella Rose and her
girls? What about Grace’s four children
who had already lost their father? What
kind of reward was this for all of her hard work and love? It hardly seemed fair.
Days later, my friend Connie
arrived in Uganda with a team from her church that was eager to meet Grace and
pray for her. On our final day in
Soroti, we found out that Grace had returned to her home since the hospital staff
wasn’t really doing anything to treat her.
Pastor Robert, Tim, Connie, the team, and I spent our last morning in
Soroti traveling to Grace’s home. I
asked the team to wait outside while Robert, Connie, Tim, and I went inside
Grace’s one-room home to greet her. When
Grace saw us walk in, she immediately started crying. It is rare to see a Ugandan adult cry, so
right away I knew things were bad – really bad.
It was evident that Grace was in pain and had lost hope of overcoming
her sickness. Yet, despite her pain, she
still welcomed us with the same love as always.
“My daughter,” she greeted me, “Come sit on my bed next to me.” I cozied up close to Grace on her mattress
while we chatted and asked her how her body felt that day. She was in terrible pain and continuously shifted
around in an attempt to alleviate the discomfort. Tim and Robert briefly stepped out of the
room, and Connie and I had a moment alone with her. She looked at us, her adopted girls, and said
to us with such genuine affection, “You people really love me.” We smiled and told her that we did very
much. After having so many Ugandans
confuse handouts and money with love, I was once again refreshed by Grace’s
understanding. Love didn’t mean receiving
stuff. Grace knew we loved her simply
because we were with her – because we sat with her and held her hand and prayed
for her. We had nothing we could give
that would fix anything. All we had was
love, and she knew it.
We eventually asked Grace if
Connie’s team of friends could pray for her, and she only had one hesitation –
she didn’t have anything to serve them.
Even in her dying days, she was worried that she had nothing to cook and
serve for her visitors. In her most
vulnerable and ill state, Grace was still thinking about how she should be
taking care of other people. We assured
her that she didn’t need to provide anything, just to accept the prayer of
friends. Gratefully, she allowed them to
enter, and they prayed for her. They
stepped out of the room afterwards, and Connie and I said our goodbyes.
I’ll never forget my final moment
with Grace. She looked so frail and
hopeless, and I knew there was a good chance I would never see her again. I kissed her on the cheek and told her I
loved her. And I really meant it. I got in our car, and as we drove away, tears
poured out of my eyes. I hoped Grace would
miraculously be healed, but I guess deep down I knew that would be the last
time I would see Grace.
We drove to the capital city the
next day, and shortly after, I flew back to America. After being in California for ten days, I received
a message from Pastor Robert that Grace had passed away. I read the words I’d been dreading. Grace was gone.
Worries flooded me. What
would happen to Stella Rose and her girls?
What would happen to Grace’s children who had now become total
orphans? How would life go on after
Grace?
Maybe it’s selfish, but I also
started thinking about my dreams of one day picking out a wedding dress with
Grace and realized that would never happen.
I thought about other dreams we’d dreamed together and tried to digest
the fact that none of them would ever come to pass.
Nothing can lessen the pain of
losing Grace. No one can take her
place. And nothing will be able to
prepare my heart for the void of her presence the next time I step foot in
Uganda. When I think about going back
and her not being there, I feel like I’m crumbling. However, the loss of Grace does not mean a
loss of her memory or a loss of the affect she’s had on my life and on the
lives of so many others. She has served
as such an inspiration of what it means to truly love. Grace was a shining example of her name. She lived it out so well, and I am forever
grateful for the grace and love she showed me and so many of my friends. I will miss her voice greeting me “my
daughter,” but I will remember the Ugandan mama who loved me so well. I will remember the times she cooked for me,
made me laugh, dreamt with me, and encouraged me. I will remember the sacrifices she made to
take care of her family. I will remember
her smile and her warmth, her fiery tenacity, and her deep love for God.
Looking back now, I wish I would have
served Grace more. I wish I would have
done more to help her carry the burden of taking care of her relatives. But it’s not too late to serve Grace. Even though she has passed away, her family is
still here. Their needs are great, and
there’s nothing Grace would desire more than to see them fully taken care
of. We don’t know how to tackle this long-term,
but we know we have to start somewhere.
Grace’s family needs our help.
Her blind relatives and her four children are in serious trouble if
someone doesn’t step in. So, we are
beginning with an online fundraiser to raise money for Grace’s family. Donations will go towards the needs of those
she left behind. This is not because we
are trying to be heroes or carry a burden that is not ours to carry. It is because helping each other out is what
family does.
If you are moved to give, that is wonderful. If you aren’t able to give, it’s free to say a prayer for Grace’s family. They certainly need it. I do too. My heart is grieving. So is Connie’s and Pastor Robert’s and so many other peoples’…
So, to a mother, sister, daughter, and friend who has loved so well, we honor you. Grace, we are moved by your life, your heart, your love. Thank you for showing love until your final day with us. You will be greatly missed.
To give to Grace's family, click here: https://www.youcaring.com/graceadeo-872926
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| When Grace was healthy and full of smiles |
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| Connie and my last visit with Grace <3 |
