I Miss My Friend

Have you ever met someone that completely challenges you to be a better person?  Someone who completely serves as the hands and feet of Jesus, and serves as an example for you?  Someone who considers it a BLESSING to give up everything important in order to serve the least of these, and along the way, finds out that it is SHE who is being BLESSED?  Someone who truly is LOVE?

I have....and her name was Amanda de Lange.  We met "in person" in 2008 when I first went to China on a mission trip, and our friendship grew from there.  Amanda ran the Starfish Foster Home in China for special needs orphans (www.chinesestarfish.blogspot.com  and www.thestarfishfosterhome.org ).  She sought out the babies who were LEAST LIKELY to survive, and knew that she would give them everything she could in order to save their lives.  Her goal was to protect, provide, and defend her babies, obtain their much needed surgeries, and then let them be adopted.  She also knew that if God had different plans for a baby, she would give that baby love, food, warmth, and DIGNITY until God called him home.  She did this for 7 years, with full intention of continuing many more years.

God had a different plan for Amanda, however, and in January, 2012 at the ripe young age of  50, Amanda was diagnosed with Stage 4 uterine cancer.  Based on her humanitarian work, she was invited to the US to be treated at the Sarah Cannon Cancer Center.  Amanda arrived here on March 7, and first lived with my family for 3 weeks.  We laughed, we cried, we made some difficult decisions.  She attacked the cancer head on, with the hope of returning to her beloved babies in China as her goal.

Amanda never once asked, "why me?  What did I do to deserve this??"  She was at peace the entire time.  She had full faith that God had plans for her, and trusted that His plans would help the babies somehow.

We found out at the end of June that Amanda's cancer had progressed despite chemotherapy.  After a long talk, she decided to enter hospice.  10 days later, on July 14, God called her home.  I was with her at the time of her passing, along with a circle of friends. We sang to her, massaged her, and prayed with her.  It was one of the holiest experiences of my life.  I will be forever grateful for Amanda's last blessing to me, and it served to further increase my faith and my ability to love earnestly.

Her memorial and celebration are coming up August 4 in Nashville.  I have been working on her video and rereading all of her writings, looking over all her pictures, and seeing again what drew me in to Amanda years ago.  Did you know that Amanda means "worthy of love?"  Did you know that she always said, "My life may be the only Bible some people will read?"  She lived in a country where she could not openly discuss her love for Jesus, or the fact that what got her out of bed everyday to do the impossible was her FAITH and HOPE in God.  She acted as Jesus did....not by shouting out bible verses, but by unconditionally loving those who crossed her path.  She served as an example to her nannies, her babies, her adoptive families, her volunteers.....all by love.

I have to tell you.  I miss my friend.  I miss her calling to check in. I miss the way she said my name in her South African accent.  I miss her telling Florie to sit on her tiny little hiney.  I miss thinking of creative ways to get her to eat kale and not to go shoe shopping.  I miss driving to Centennial and trying Indian food restaurants.  I miss the blog posts that she would send  me from China to mail out. I miss the late night Skype calls from China, and I miss so desperately one of my greatest mentors.

Right now the tears are flowing.  It was such a privilege to know Amanda.  But, I also know she would kick my %$* if the tears kept going.  SO, I am going to put my big girl panties on, and focus on what I KNOW. I know HOW MUCH GOD LOVES US, and HOW GREAT OUR GOD IS. I know that one day I will see Amanda again.  I know I will hear her voice, and get one of those big hugs, and hear her laugh that there is no kale in HER heaven :)  What can I do till then?

I can LOVE EARNESTLY.  I can be LOVE to those around me....family, friends, and the least of these.  I pray that my heart be led by mercy, and that love is who I am.

Amanda....dear love.  Thank you for being you.  Thank you for being love.  I miss you, and love you dearly.  Save a seat for me, ok???

Love,
Eve