I apologize for the delay in placing new posts and images on the blog, but it got a little busy later in the week and everyone was exhausted, including this author.
God certainly showed His love and grace to the team as we continued to work in the clinic, deepening our appreciation for the people of Realengo. We tended not only to broken, failing bodies but also to broken souls as we ministered to our patients and one another.
God has an amazing propensity for placing the right people together on these trips as members made new friends and deepened existing friendships. We often find that the person sitting next to us on the bus has spiritual and emotional needs that are simmering beneath our calm surfaces and the physical and emotional stress of being on the mission field brings those wounds to the surface. I think that this is part of God’s plan since it makes us admit that we aren’t immune to the forces around us and that there are kind-hearted people willing to help if we ask for it. It’s very easy to become a bit frazzled by Thursday given the pace of our work and often times caring for sick people.
There were several members who began to become a little “under the weather” while we were on the trip. There were a lot of sniffles and coughing as some members developed cold symptoms due to cool mornings and tiredness. The Lord was gracious enough to spare us any major illnesses as we continued working the rest of the week.
Despite our weariness, God allowed us some humor within our week. For instance, Jim Waltman shared a story of a woman who came to the eye clinic who had some serious issues with her eyes and did not own a pair of glasses. As she was trying on some glasses, she went outside to test her distance vision. She commented, “Mountains!” as though she never knew that there were mountains just a few miles from the neighborhood she has lived in all of her life. Jim then had her try a pair with a different magnification, resulting in the comment, “Mountains! Closer!” from the woman, who then left, quite appreciative for the new pair of glasses and a better idea of what was around her.
There were also some heartbreaking experiences that the team shared, including the story of a woman who brought her three month old baby to the clinic. The baby was showing severe signs of distress with poor color and responsiveness-which are signs of poor clinical condition and can indicate a serious condition requiring aggresive treatment not available in our clinic. The doctors and nurses urged the mother to take the baby to a hospital as soon as possible in order for the child to be treated. The mother resignedly stated that she would take the baby to the hospital when she had time and left with no apparent concern for the child’s welfare. Broken hearted, the medical team asked God to move the mother to act for the benefit of her ailing baby.
