From Death To Life

“When he heard this, Jesus said,” This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” John 11: 4

This year I set out on a journey to find Jesus. At first I wasn’t quite sure where to find him. There seemed to be a lot of churches and religious people who claimed to know him and I am sure many of them do, but being a deeply relational person, I wanted to know him deep inside my own soul. I wanted to sit with him alone in a secluded spot where we could focus only on each other and talk about intimate things. I wanted to understand how he could love me so deeply and forgive me so easily. I wanted to know why he loves the least and the left out among us. I wanted to get better at loving him. I wanted to know where he spends his time. I wanted to know what makes him smile and what makes him cry.

So, I left my comfortable place and went to the least among us to find him. Surprisingly, he was there-out in the open-easy to spot. There he was in all his glory sitting among the widows and the orphans. He looked at me as if to say, “Finally, what took you so long? I told you I can be found by anyone who looks for me. I am not hiding. Didn’t I say that I would be with the poor? Now let me show you my favorite thing to do.”

I spent time with Jesus this week learning about his “favorite thing to do” at the home of Rosemary the widow. Rosemary’s simple wooden 3-room structure is an unlikely place to meet the God of the universe, yet he’s there and he was full of life and laughter. He was with his bride. Just as he promised, he had become the husband to the widow. Like any loving wife, Rosemary leaned forward and began to tell me the story of how they met.

Rosemary is from Northern Uganda where war has been a part of daily life for the last twenty years. She knows what its like to run from stray bullets sheltering your children as best you can. She knows what its like to see your neighbors killed while you hide in terror. Life was so hard for so long that Rosemary became numb to it all. She drank alcohol and a lot of it just to help get through the day. Then came the final blow. Her husband fell sick—very sick, very fast. She knew this disease all too well. She had seen other neighbors die of slim’s disease. Finally, in 1998 her husband died of AIDS. Then shortly after her co wife died of AIDS. She didn’t need to get tested to know the truth of her grim situation, but she did. Sure enough she was HIV positive. This put a strain on her emotions that she just couldn’t bear. It drove her deep into depression and alcoholism. She then watched as her youngest two children wasted away from AIDS. She buried them and in some respects buried part of herself. She was barely coping, but she still had five children to feed.

One day she was riding on the back of a pick up truck taking her cassava to market, hoping to sell enough to feed her children, when the tire blew causing the truck to loose control. Her only thought was of her 5 children. She remembers screaming out, “God help my children.” When she regained consciousness she realized that she was laying on the roadside with blood running down her body. Her collarbone was broken and protruding through her skin. Her back was broken as well as several ribs, but she was alive. She was taken to the hospital where it took one year for her to heal. She tried to get word about her children, but was not successful. When she returned to Lira, she found them split up among several different homes of “good Samaritans.” She collected her children and made the decision to move out of the war zone. She moved everyone to Kampala, the capital city.

Upon arriving, life was extremely difficult for her. She did not have enough money to send her children to school or to feed them regularly. Her CD4 count was worsening and HIV was now turning to full-blown AIDS. She was just bones and skin. She spent the little money she had on alcohol just to numb the physical and emotional pain. The community she lived in rejected her and shamed her. She learned not to walk out in the open, but through the back passage ways and only at night. Many people in the community thought she was mentally disturbed and wouldn’t come near her.

One day she went to the clinic to get her CD4 count taken and they were not hopeful she would last another week. They told her to go home and prepare for death. Rosemary then lost all hope. That same week, she went to a prayer service to make peace with God before she died. At that prayer service she heard the pastor say that Jesus loved her and wanted to be in a relationship with her. She couldn’t believe it. No one wanted to talk to her or be with her. She was an emotional mess. She was an alcoholic. She was going to die. She was a bad mother. There was nothing about her that drew others to her, yet this pastor continued to tell her that Jesus wanted to love her. With nothing to lose she moved forward to the front of the church and asked the pastor to help her know Jesus. As she prayed she felt an enormous burden lift from her shoulders and a sense of health she hadn’t felt in years. She walked away from that church and for the first time in a long time she didn’t feel like drinking. She went straight home and told her children about this Jesus who wants to love widows and orphans.

The next day she went back to the clinic to get her CD4 count taken again. This time the nurse took it twice. “This is impossible,” she said. “What is impossible?” Rosemary asked. “Your CD4 count is normal.” The nurse then gave her an AIDS test where Rosemary tested negative. The clinic was so shaken by this bizarre result that they sent her to another clinic and then to the main hospital in Kampala. However the result never changed. From that point on she always tested HIV negative. It was then that Rosemary realized that God had healed her emotionally and physically. She was supposed to have been AIDS next victim. Now she was God’s great beauty.

Over the next few weeks, a new Rosemary was born. She gained her strength back and began to work hard at selling things in the market. She fed her children and they all gained weight. She even raised enough money to send her children to school. The community was shocked and had a hard time believing that this was the same woman who was only bones and skin a few months ago. She had been drunk all the time and close to death. How could someone go from certain death to life in such a short amount of time? Instead of walking the back alleyways, she walked down the main street and told anyone who would listen about Jesus-the one who loves deeply, forgives completely and heals absolutely. Then in her slum area, she raised enough money to build a small church where all the broken people could come and meet Jesus. She has also taken in 7 other orphans because she knows that Jesus loves orphans. She still leads this small congregation of once broken people with the savior she loves.

Today, Rosemary laughs as she tells the story of how Jesus found her, loved her and healed her. There is a deep intimate connection between her and Jesus. They are in love and it shows. It was then that Jesus looked at me and said, “I just love to bring the dead back to life. It is my favorite thing to do.” I looked at him and all I could see was his radiant glory.

Update on the widows:

I spent a very intense day with the widows. I visited about 10 widows and heard their stories. Each story is heartbreaking and the conditions in which their living is appalling. One woman I visited lives in a one-room shack with 6 children, yet she continues to tell me how much Jesus loves her and provides for her. It is hard to get my mind around that. Midway through our day, we stopped at Rosemary’s church where several of the widows were gathered including the Muslim widow who became a Christian after I talked to her about Jesus. This former Muslim widow had prepared food for me. She ran up to me, bear hugged me and kept calling me “mama.” Ruth explained that I was her spiritual mother and she wanted to bless me, so she collected money from all the widows to buy food. Then she cooked all day to make this feast of rice, greens, beef and potatoes. Then she sent people to buy me my now favorite drink here-Orange Fanta. It was a gift of epic proportions, especially since I know some of these widows celebrating with me have great trouble feeding their families. As I move through the community of widows now, I am greeted as “my daughter”, hugged and kissed. It is a feast of love every time I am there. I go to love them and they love me more. I also saw Jane Francis on the path. Jane has TB and AIDS. She is skin and bones. She was barely moving. I ran to her held her and asked where she was going. She said that she had just come from the clinic and that she has mucus in her lungs. They prescribed some medicine, but she had no money to buy it. I asked her how much it was. She said 5,000 shillings (about $3). I quickly reached into my purse and asked another widow standing near us to take her prescription and the money and go get it for her. Then we took her to her home to lie down and rest. Amidst all the stories of loss and disease, I find myself buying medicine for those who are dying and then having lunch in a church built on the healing of an AIDS infected widow. I am not sure how I am making it from morning to evening, but God is carrying me like he is carrying them. It is intense and I cry often, but God brings people back to life, so I have hope.


I loved meeting Rosemary. Her story moved me in ways I can’t even put into words, but one thing I know for sure is that I saw Jesus and I fell more in love with him than I thought possible. Rosemary is one of the widows whose house has been sold (she was renting) and will now have to leave that slum. She does not know where she will go as of yet. About 100 widows are being kicked out of their homes this fall. I first mentioned this in my blog and God has now begun to create a way to help these women. Many of you have graciously offered to help support buying a piece of land where they can live permanently. That plan is now quickly becoming a reality!

We are moving ahead on the land for relocation. I spoke with the widows this week about two possibilities. Things are moving and I just know that Jesus will provide a place for his beloved brides! As soon as I have a fixed amount for the land I will let you all know.

Thank you to those of you who have stepped forward to support this project financially. You are making an incredible investment into the Kingdom of God! All of the money will go directly to helping these widows. If you have not helped and would like to, please contact Lisa Tschetter at lisatschetterr@comcast.net She is handling everything for me in the US.

We are funding this project through Cornerstone Development in Uganda. Cornerstone has a greater ministry to widows country wide. They hope to create a Widows Center which will provide temporary living accommodations, food, training and economic opportunity for adults, and spiritual support. In the future, it is possible that the Center would offer schooling for children and medical assistance for the residents. The center will comprise of the dormitories, Dinning hall, main hall, chapel and kitchen. It is my hope that when we complete this project for the Dorcas Widows that we can help other widows throughout Uganda.

Update on my life:

I had a fantastic week last week. I was able visit my family’s sponsored children as well as my own and it was pure joy! The lives of these families have been transformed! They are now becoming more self-sufficient and it is beautiful to behold! I only have a month left here and I get so sad every time I think about it. How can I leave these ladies? I am so happy here and so alive. One thing is certain; I know I will be back.

Much love,
Kari