The patients of CEPIMA

CEPIMA - that wonderful organization that works with so many patients. On our visit to the Beni clinic we were able to meet each patient who was receiving treatment at the clinic as in patients. We went to each room, met each patient, heard their story and we were able to spend some time with them and pray with each one. Here are some of the patients and their stories:

The boy called Prince

Prince really is his name. He is 12 years old and an in patient at the CEPIMA clinic in Beni, DRC. He is a gorgeous handsome looking boy but clearly deeply traumatized. Turns out he is here at CEPIMA because of his father. His father is a strict man and apparently was so strict and even brutal with his young boy that Prince was depressed and mentally affected by the treatment he received from his father. He had to be admitted because of the depth of his trauma. We all fell in love with Prince. Our hearts just felt so much for him. We were able to spend some time with him and a couple of our team members - Jeff and Dan prayed for him. It is no accident that his name is Prince. Prince truly is a "prince" and with the help of the people at CEPIMA, our prayers and God's intervention he will know that he is a "prince" in God's eyes, deeply loved and treasured and that even though his earthly father is brutal and strict, he is loved and valued.

The abandoned and rejected women

Here I am sitting in one of the patient's room. It had three beds in it and there were two women in the room. You can see both on the bed with me in the middle. After a while, to be truthful, the stories started to merge into one. You just hear story after story of women being rejected by their husbands or by their families for one reason or another. But typically, the bottom line ends up being the fact that these women have been sexually abused. Once a husband or family learns that their wife or daughter has been raped that's it. They reject them and throw them out of the home. The women have no where to go and literally have lost everything - their homes, their clothes, their children, their families. Some of these women can't take it, get depressed and literally become mentally ill. In such a society these women are abandoned and alone. No wonder they feel so desolate and hurt; they suffer enormously. CEPIMA is a great organization. They give these women a place to stay, a place to heal and a place to recover. They even mediate with their families to bring about reconciliation and reacceptance into the home. These two women had similar stories - abandoned after abuse. CEPIMA was not just treating these women for their psychological illnesses but also was helping them spiritually, with their children and with their families. It was my privilage to be with them, share some time with them and pray for them.

A girl called Naama
Naama is 15 years old. When she was 12 years old she was raped by five militia. After that experience she became obsessed with having sex with every man she met - she probably thought that was the only way they would have anything to do with her after her rape. In the past three years she has been abused horrifically. She still had wounds on her body from the abuse she experienced - and she was virtually catatonic. She would sit with her hands in front of her, shaking, moving back and forth and quite unable to keep track of what was going on. Last year we met another Naama at CEPIMA in the city of Butembo. She too was catatonic because she too had been raped. This year however, we got to see Naama #1 who had traveled 100 miles and trekked through 5 miles of jungle just to see us and let us know that she, after 5 months at CEPIMA, had recovered, accepted Christ, now loved her daughter who was born of the rape, and was now counseling other women who had been raped and had children and had rejected the children. Naama #1 gave us hope because was a living example of how God heals. So when we saw Naama #2, the 15 year old girl who was severely traumatized, we knew God could bring about such healing in her life too. I think God allowed us to meet Naama #1 before we saw Naama #2 - otherwise it would have been too much for us to take in and handle. I know Naama #2 will recover. I know God will heal her - He will use the people at CEPIMA and God will also speak tenderly and gently to Naama and give her strength, hope and courage to face life and the future. We spent time with Naama. We pray for her and we held her. Naama did connect with us. As Celestia (one of the team members) prayed for her, Naama held on to her and tracked what was been said in prayer. When the prayer ended Naama responded by saying "amen". Then Celestia gave her a little quilt. The photo on the right shows her grandmother wrapping the quilt around Naama. When Celestia gave Naama the quilt Naama broke out into a smile. So we know that she can be reached. There is still part of Naama that is connected. When we return next year, we are praying that this young Naama will be like the first Naama - healed and recovered and in a place where she is once again experiencing the joy of life and of being a young teenage girl. She is a beautiful young girl and my prayer is that she will know how precious and special she is a young lady created in the image of God and that there are people who love her because of who she is - a young lady called Naama. I am so thankful for her grandmother who brought her to CEPIMA and who is there by her side to help her in her healing and recovery from such horrible abuse. By the way, Naama means grace in swahili.

The privilege of being there with the patients

This photo says it all. One of the patients at CEPIMA is literally holding and clinging on to the hand of Jeff as Jeff prays for him and the other patients in this room. Jeff is standing and on his other side, a patient is also holding on to his right arm. This says it all. Being there with the patients, just spending time with them and being able to pray for them, that is what the visit was all about. We were so blessed being there and the patients seemed to love having us there. I pray that we were able to minister to them - it certainly was awesome just being able to spend time with them.

The wonderful thing about this clinic which might seem so counter inituative to us was the fact among the patients we found abuse survivors, rejected and abandoned women and children, and former rebels and soldiers. It seemed that it didn't matter that there were women who had been abused by soldiers and rebels and that the rebels were there among them as patients. The clinic workers had set up appropriate boundries but they also talked about how they worked with the patients to help them understand that they all were survivors of abuse, they were all sick and that what God sees is broken and wounded people who need help. That was how the patients viewed each other. In that there was a forgiveness for past deeds and an acceptance of the broken person trying to heal and recover. That in itself was amazing to see. It speaks of the truth of the Gospel of Jesus, really the heart of the Gospel. It was a lesson for me too. And you know what...it works. These patients do heal and recover together, they get to be in community together and they get to appreciate each other. I'm sure there are problems from time to time but what I saw were dedicated workers who loved their patients, saw and knew the hope in healing and the peace that Jesus brings and who were bold and courageous in pushing forth in their mission no matter what. I love CEPIMA, the workers and what they are all about. I am glad to know them.