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Nicola is a one of a kind guy. He
has lived here for only two years, but his playful tricks and great smile have
helped him to adjust quickly to his new home in the House of Hope.
He has fit right in to his role in our family—since the other young men
and the staff here are also loving and fun, we all get along just great.
Unfortunately, the beginning of Nicola’s story isn’t as beautiful as the place
he is in now. The entire tale is
wonderful because anyone can see God’s goodness through the situation and
because His name is glorified, but life has been difficult for Nicola.
At 31, Nicola is mentally disabled and epileptic (suffering from random
seizures). His heart is good and
his love for Christ is clear but his family has rejected him.
When Nicola’s parents passed away, none of his four siblings were willing to
care for him. His handicapped
sister passed away and Nicola’s heart is broken from rejection. Sometimes he
sees his sister on the streets of our city, but she doesn’t stop to say hello
and it is clear that it hurts Nicola.
He knows his brothers and house father love him, and more importantly,
that his Heavenly Father is watching, but it is still obviously difficult.
Despite his lonely past, Nicola loves to make others smile.
He often picks flowers for our office staff and brings them one at a time
to brighten our days. Nicola is
learning writing and other subjects from Miss Violet and loves his lessons.
He loves girls but is extremely shy and doesn’t speak to most of them
(when he speaks to anyone, it’s normally in a whisper).
During his favorite song, “Zaala Zaal” (“Rolled away”) at nightly devotions,
Nicola comes alive and performs the hand motions with a huge smile and hope
pouring out of his heart. He can
not hold it in. He just LOVES to
sing Zaala Zaal.
Nicola is our trickster and joker, telling Sami often that he’ll sell him for
five shekels. The relationship the
men have is a brotherhood of believers living together in a blessed, safe
environment. We are pleased to see
Nicola serving God and smiling again.
Please pray for Nicola’s family, and for God’s love to reign in his heart
when the other students go home on weekends and he remains at the House of Hope.
God is a healer of the brokenhearted and is more than enough. |
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Send mail to
qlaith@hotmail.com (
Laith Qumsiyeh
) with any questions or comments about this web site.
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