Who You Say I Am (A Jai Courtney Fanfic)

Chapter 46-Jai

Leeland—'Follow You'

Jai

We rise early on Tuesday.  I enjoy a beaut of a brekky from the locals before we're off doing donations.  Ben rented another bus and the load is divided between the two vehicles—so are the people so there's plenty of room and no driving for me. 
We're standing outside gathering. Some of the locals from the church here are joining us to help out.  We split up into teams.  Megan insisted that we work together.  She said she didn't want any problems for me.  She thinks they'll have me pray and I easily agreed to join her—not that I wouldn't have wanted to anyway. Sisters Ini and Abigay are with Megan and me.  Pastor Ben and Khenan are leading a prayer, "...As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.  May our faith continue to grow as we do your work today.  May the hearts of those we come across be receptive and open to your word.  May we meet the simple needs of food and clothing along with the deep spiritual need that everyone has for you, Lord God.  May our coming be a comfort for those who need it and may we demonstrate your love to all we come across.  In Jesus's mighty name we pray, Amen."
We mount the bus and Megan picks a seat up front. I sit beside her. We drive a path into the bush... then proceed further than even the school was. I watch as we cross from bitumen to dirt roads. It's a bit bumpy but Megan seems stoked. I'm curious as to what we're really doing here—who we're taking food and clothing to.
We approach a village and I see ankle biters running around with no shoes, half clothed and it hits me like a brick wall. These people are genuinely poor. The bus parks and we step out. Megan walks around to the back of the bus. She takes a box of food from Ben and I remove it from her hands. She thanks me and gets some bags of clothing—a variety by the looks of it. The bags were all different colors—blue for blokes, red for sheilas, then orange and green for the ankle biters. She encourages me to follow her and we're the first to approach a door to what I'd call a shack... but it's someone's home. I feel an aching in my chest at this. A woman opens the door and Megan tells her we have a gift from God. The young lady is in tears and she hugs Megan. She tells her that it's just her with two children. She invites us in and Megan gives her the clothes—everything except the bloke's bag. I set the box on what I assume is her kitchen table. The space is dark and worn down but somewhat clean, even though the metal walls are rusty. Megan gives me the blue bag and asks if I would bring another box of food. I nod and step out trading the bag for a box. I come back and enter the door. I see Megan with the two church ladies praying for the woman and her family. Sister Ini gives her a Bible and the woman holds it to her chest like a lifeline. They hug her and give her information about the church. They invite her to come and even offer to pick people from the village up on Sunday mornings. The woman hugs me, too, and I'm moved by her tears. She prays a blessing over us and we thank her leaving.
As we step out, I see everyone around us doing the same things. We're told which houses have been visited and we get ready for the next one. This one has a family of three—a mother, father, and a little boy with a baby on the way. We do the same thing. Megan gives me the girls clothes and asks me to get the yellow bag. I hadn't seen those. I walk up to the bus and pass back the orange bag and ask for a yellow one. Pastor Khenan smiles at me and nods. He hands me the bag and I take it peeking inside to see baby clothes, formula, bottles, dummies, nappies, soaps, and other things. I sigh shakily. Yeah, I've never done anything like this before.
"A baby, huh?" Pastor Ben smiles.
"Yeah," I nod. He pats me on the back and joins us. We step in and Sister Abigay is speaking to the young woman with her hands on her belly.
"She's prophesying," he tells me. "I know she's hard to understand. She had a stroke, you know. But God has blessed her with his words."
I nod in understanding and I feel like I get it. She's speaking words over the little one. Megan looks to me and I pass her the bag. She gives it to the woman and they smile gratefully, thanking us.
We take a midday break and have some sangers. There's a variety of bottles of fizzy drinks and I try one.  It's pretty good.  I've got the ginger beer and Megan picked the pineapple one. 
"That any good?" I ask her.  She offers it to me and I accept taking a swig.  It's interesting.  I don't think I've ever had a pineapple soft drink before and I tell her that. 
"We have a somewhat local brand that makes something like this," she tells me. 
"What's it called?" I ask sipping my ginger beer. 
"Faygo," she tells me. 
"That's a strange name," I tell her.  She agrees.  "Where is it from?"
"Detroit, I think," she says.  She laughs a little.  "There was a secular band that used to shake them up and soak everyone with them at concerts," she tells me. 
I laugh.  "What band?" I ask. 
"ICP," she says.  "The Insane Clown Posse."
"Never heard of them," I tell her. 
"I wasn't a fan.  Some people in my school liked them," she says.  "Acquired taste."
I nod in understanding.  I'm not a big fan of clowns.  It's probably a freaky horror band. 
We finish up and get back to it.  We go through all the homes in the village. On the very last house, an elderly woman opens the door. I bring the box of food in. It's quite unkempt and mostly empty. I set the box on the unfinished wooden table and Megan requests another box of food. She gives me the remaining bags and I take them back. I get the food and Pastor Khenan asks me if it's an older woman that's alone. I nod. He sets another bag of clothes on top of the box. I walk back to the house. I see Megan speaking to the older lady and putting the food into her cabinets.  The older woman sees me and begins to cry.  I set the box down and she hugs me.  I realize how thin she actually is.  I comfort her as Megan fills her pantry.  She prays with the woman and Sister Ini arrives with a Bible in hand, offering to take her to church again.  The woman agrees saying that she promised God if he provided for her that she would come.  The ladies speak with her a bit and I stay out of the way. 
We head back to the bus close to time for tea.  I'm stuffed and ready to turn in.  I climb into the bus and take the same seat as before. Megan sits with me. As we drive off, she leans her head against my shoulder. I wrap my arm around her and she sighs.
"Can I ask you a question?" I say.
"Sure," she replies looking up at me.
"Why give the little old lady two boxes?" I inquire.
"Because her husband is gone and she has no way to support herself," she explains and I frown. "It's the same with the first woman with the two children."
I nod in understanding. Unlike where we're from, maybe it's hard for ladies to find work. I look to Megan and remember she's the kind that wants to stay home with a family. I see that she's already asleep. I kiss her forehead and watch her. She's so lovely—inside and out. I can't get over it. I know I'm falling hard.