We will miss you, Asha!

Today, March 1st, 2009, our beloved Asha Mabruko passed away. Asha was the grandmother to Mohamud. She and her orphan grandson are from Somalia, and the tribe of the Bantu. I first met Asha almost 5 years ago. She was a living piece of tapestry in the middle of Vickery. This very elderly woman wearing frail dresses, flip flops and carrying various sizes of babies strapped across her back, always caught my eye. Asha would be hunched over from her osteoporosis, but she loved those babies and would continue to carry them and made her way across the busy streets of Pineland or Holly Hill.

I thought to myself, I want to know her, what an incredible woman, what a living legend. Her life must be amazing, she has fled for her life and lived in refugee camps for over a decade. Asha had seemingly almost been plucked up and until Dallas never had running water or electricity. Thinking to myself, I thought how will she acculturate? Dallas is such a fast complex technological society? What must she think?

I remember one time my mother was visiting and tried to teach Asha not to cook something on red hot high. My mom would turn it down to medium boil and Asha would then go back and turn it right back to red hot! We just looked at each other. We then tried to have Mohamud explain that it didn't need to be on that high. Yet Asha was used to cooking with a fire, so I don't think we made much progress. She was a very determined woman! She also treasured and loved her grandson, Mohamud, very deeply.

My life has been deeply enriched by knowing Ms Asha. One of my greatest rewards in my life was in Asha's final days. Sometimes I would find her in inexplicable conditions. This was not due to her family. (There were other circumstances involved.) I never knew if I could rise to the occasion for that kind of job, but the Lord filled me to see that no one should ever be left to lie like that.. I would bathe her because He calls us too. Asha would look so relieved and refreshed.

See, Jesus truly calls us to love and value all, no matter where they come from or whatever position they hold as the world may deem. For Jesus sees differently and so should we. If you live your life as He calls us too, you will see the rewards are far greater than you could ever imagine. Though Asha and I could never speak the same language, when she died, my heart ached so deeply.

When Asha was no longer eating or drinking, I thought how can I serve her? What can I do to ease her pain and comfort her during this time. So I bought her some lotion. She loved the lotion and started rubbing it all over her feet..so I knew just what to do. I would massage her hands, her arms, her legs, then her feet, and her feet again. A story came to mind and I was the one that was most blessed.