Life in a Cave

Kaleb couldn’t have been more difficult this morning. I would have thought after 14 hours of sleep, he would have woken up refreshed and ready for a new day, but it was just the opposite. He was sour, defiant and downright disgusting. It sure made it hard for getting to church on time since he wouldn’t cooperate with a single thing. He wouldn’t get dressed, he wouldn’t eat breakfast. It was one of the worst mornings we’ve had with him and I nearly lost my mind in the process. It’s not the kind of experience that prepares one for worshipping God. Kaleb sat out in the car for the first half hour of church, with Kory calmly talking to him about who knows what. Finally Kory gave up and came in just as the singing was over. He asked Andreas, a young guy at church that Kaleb really likes, to go out and talk to him, which he did, so Kaleb came in a few minutes later like nothing had gone on all morning. I want what Andreas has.




After attending Agape Church we rushed over to a summer kid festival being held at Philadelphia Church so Kaleb could do some fun stuff with other kids. I was pushed for time so I left Kory and Kaleb there while I headed into the city to pick up My Pal Vestina. We’d planned to go explore a cave today that I’ve been wanting to see for over ten years. It’s on an outer island and I thought it was quite a walk to get to the entrance, but as it turned out, it takes only about fifteen minutes, so I had more time than I thought. They have done many archeological digs in that cave and it’s well known in all of Norway as being the oldest establishment in the country (that they know about, anyway.) It’s a real ‘cave man’ kind of place as people have been living there since the ice age. My Pal Vestina brought along her boyfriend, so they were disappointed Kory and Kaleb didn’t join us (see photo of Vestina’s boyfriend doing the Hallelujah pose at the mouth of the cave).



Kory decided to invite some people over for dinner tonight so he stayed at church a while chatting with all kinds of folks. I was back home in plenty of time to make another batch of that yummy seafood chowder (it’s quick to assemble) and we invited Odd and Turid over, along with Helge, a guy that Kory used to play with as a kid here in Norway. I guess their parents were good friends and he remembers Kory well. Last year Helge gave us fairly new (but used) tires for our van before we took our road trip. (He owns a mechanic shop.) I’ve been wanting to payback that favor for over a year so I’m glad he loved the chowder.



Kory also invited Charlie, an artist from England, who went deaf twenty years ago when he was eighteen from a bout with meningitis. He was married to a Norwegian woman and has a daughter here, so he doesn’t want to leave Norway, even though he doesn’t see her often. He loves children so he’s always drawing sketches of them and befriending them quickly, but as we found out tonight, his life is terribly lonely. He can’t hear a thing in a crowd and while he can read lips, he can only read them if someone is speaking English. He longs to hear a sermon, but can’t. He comes to church every Sunday just to be in the house of God, alongside other Christians. He’s not been included in a whole lot of things because he’s so difficult to communicate with. Oh, how I ached for him. He has hearing implants but he turns them off unless he is in a quiet room with just one person speaking at a time because otherwise it’s all too amplified and he can’t understand anything. His Norwegian is difficult to understand, but his English is perfect. The sad part is, he’s like the woman mentioned in the Bible that “suffered at the hands of the physicians.” (Kory thought it was more like A Series of Unfortunate Events.) After he got the implants, he developed epilepsy from the surgery. They gave him medicine to control the epilepsy and that caused him to have a heart attack (he’s only 38), and now he can’t taste or smell because of all the drugs he must take. Because of his epilepsy he can’t share custody of his daughter anymore. He’s on one heck of a downward spiral.



It was very sad to hear we are the only people who have ever invited him to dinner in the twelve years he’s been attending church. We prayed for him tonight as he was nearly in tears talking about how desperately lonely he is and how he just craves some kind of meaningful fellowship with other Christians. I so wanted God to give him back his hearing right on the spot, and I have enough faith to believe it could happen, but God has His own plan in His own time.



My problems are nothing compared to Charlie’s problems, but I’m glad we have a God big enough for both of them. And whether God chooses to heal the things in our body that don’t work properly or not, He can change our heart so it’s easier to accept. I’ll be continuing to pray for Charlie.