This is Africa!!!
We ride around in the back of an open pickup truck. Church
is a 10-minute walk away. We visited a town called Motosiet that had never been
visited by “muzungus” (white people) before. I don’t know what I expected when
I signed up to go to Africa, but I imagine this was it. The pastor and his wife
that we worked for yesterday in Motosiet said that we were really a blessing
because the view of muzungus is that they are special and cannot work. That
thought was blown out of the water as they saw our guys work non-stop for
several hours helping them to cement the inside walls of the church. Also, we
found out that the children that we girls played with all day were actually
afraid of us when we arrived and didn’t know if it was even okay to shake our
hands! By the end of the day they were hanging all over us, playing with our
hair, holding our hands for prayer and games, and just being kids. I am so
blessed to be here and living this adventure with Christ.
We also got to visit a hospital this week and went to the
children’s and maternity wards. We prayed over every patient and also gave them
a small gift of fruit, and milk for the kids. The people that stood out to me
the most were a brother and sister (I think) who were sharing a bed and just
playing around like any healthy kids would. I don’t know for sure, but they
were probably there for malaria treatment. Most of the children had malaria,
pneumonia, or a combination of the two.
I was also very touched by an interaction I had a little
later with a young mom holding a little boy named Abraham. There was another
woman there and another child in the bed that I just assumed were another baby
patient and her mother. I prayed for the first woman and their family and then
realized as I was talking to her that the boy was a twin and that his sister
was actually the one sick. That’s when I realized that both of the kids there
were hers and that it wasn’t just because the patients were sharing a bed.
Jamal, a baby girl only a few months old, had pneumonia. I laid my hand on her
chest and could feel how she struggled for each breath. Monica, my WR sister,
and I prayed over her, and then I talked with both women for a few minutes. The
other woman was the mother’s neighbor and I’m guessing that she had brought
Abraham for visiting hours since the mother could not leave Jamal. The contrast
in the condition of the twins was stark. Abraham was sitting in his mother’s
arms, smiling at me and very alert. Jamal was laying on the bed struggling for
each breath and very listless even when her eyes were open. I am still praying
for complete healing over Jamal as I realize that even though this is all these
people know and this is the best hospital in the area, God is the Healer and He
can give life even when it seems that all hope is lost.
We were not allowed to take pictures in the hospital, but I
don’t think they’re necessary for you to picture the pain and fear of a young
mom who is facing the fact that one of her children is very ill and she doesn’t
really know if the baby will get better. Please keep Jamal, Abraham, and their
parents in your prayers. Thank you.
