Jima has inspired me and called me higher with the way she has handled tragedy. I am so grateful to her and to God for giving me the opportunity to have studied with Jima. Her baptism was amazing!!!
In May of 2011 Jima’s daughter Jeanne was burned by her caregiver. The caregiver placed her in boiling water until she was completely burned from the neck down. She suffered painfully for a few days and then she passed away because the burns were too much to handle. The caregiver was then taken to jail and seen by doctors but it was determined that she did it because she wanted to.
Jeanne was 13 months when she passed away. She was the youngest of four children. I did hear about the tragedy on the news and felt horrible that something like this had happened. About a month later I received a phone call from one of the sisters who lived in the same neighborhood as Jima. Jima wanted to start studying the bible. When I sat down in her first Bible study I was so convicted because she did not blame God at all. She was actually turning to him for comfort and for strength.
She blamed herself because that day she was late from work and it happened during that time. We all cried with her as she shared her pain and as she shared her need for God. Her heart was soft from the beginning. With every study she loved learning about God. She stopped studying for a bit because she needed to mourn but then she came back with no doubt that she wanted to become a disciple.
Jima became pregnant again. In December of 2011 she got baptized and was so grateful that her sins were forgiven. She was grateful to start again and for God to give her a second chance in life. At her baptism she shared that she felt like God let her tragedy happen to bring her closer to him and for that she was forever grateful. It was a very emotional baptism. Her baby boy Titus was born February 2012. She is a woman full of laughter and joy. You would never know what a year this has been for her.
(Jima is the sister in white on the right)
