The bigger picture – Day 7

Once you have been very sick, you understand how valuable your health is. If you are suffering from leprosy, you understand this so much better. Leprosy is an illness that, in general, does not occur that often. However, this illness is far-reaching when someone is suffering thereof.

Funda is a rural village north of Luanda, Angola. A colony of leprous people live there. This is also a safe haven for the people who have been affected and have been stigmatised by the rest of the community. The residents at this care unit have lived there for different periods of time. Some of the people were taken in during the mid-seventies.

I had the opportunity to visit these people and to listen to their stories. I took pictures in between and it was only later that evening when I realised what I had captured on my camera. I photographed people living normal lives within their secluded area. People laughing, crying and dreaming their dreams. I captured families with children, even though mom and dad might have had a few amputations.

When we prayed, I took a photograph of a woman holding her hands together with so much respect. She did not have all her fingers. The ones that were left were full of knobs. However, it did not stop her from holding them together when praying.

After we left, I was deeply influenced by what these people were experiencing and what they were dreaming about. Health was high up on the list of priorities, but I also experienced something different. I experienced people who were healed in their relationship with Jesus Christ. Spiritually, they are healthy and at peace with themselves. They were fulfilled in Christ and satisfied that his grace will be enough every day, and always.

If you are longing to be healed, may you find it in your relationship with Jesus Christ. May his grace be enough for you every single day. Maybe your illness will not disappear, but you might heal spiritually.