THIS IS THE BLOG I NEVER HAD TIME TO WRITE:
i know it’s a lot of words but i promise you it is worth reading!
It was our very last day in Kijabe Kenya before returning home and I ran down to the hospital to say some last goodbyes to my favorite chaplains. I took one of my teammates Jenna, my video camera, and a ton of excitement in hopes of capturing a great last word from Pastor John for the team to watch later.
As we sat in his small office, it started to down pour outside. After all, we were in the middle of the rainy season, but this was rain like i’ve never seen before (Yes, I acknowledge the fact that I live in San Diego). Anyways, like usual, Pastor John finished up his super encouraging word for the team and Jenna and I were anxious to get back up to home base, pack up our stuff and leave for final debrief. Neither of us had hospital patient visits on our mind, but God certainly did.
We stood up to leave and Pastor John told us that he wouldn’t let us walk back up the mountain in this rain. So we sat and waited and waited… oh and we waited. THE RAIN WOULD NOT STOP! So, what good were we just sitting in the office? Pastor John looks at both Jenna and I and asked if we would like to visit one last patient. To be honest I was a little hesitant. I had already said all my goodbyes, worked hard on cutting my ties, and felt like I had a good grasp on my emotions. The last thing I wanted to do was to make another connection that broke my heart again. So reluctantly I found myself slowly following Pastor John into the women’s ward of the hospital.
Suddenly I was at the side of a cot crammed into a room of 8 patients, all in horrible condition, being introduced to Gloria. Gloria had been in a horrific car accident that left everyone dead but her and her sister. She had been in and out of the I.C.U. and no one thought she would make it. Her limbs hung from all sides of the bed in slings, casts and through metal bars. She had burns up and down her entire body, was missing every single one of her teeth, and on top of that had thousands of stitches holding together loose skin and deep cuts. She was torn up by this accident, only on the outside though…
Through uttered words, and a very painful speech Gloria was able to tell us a little bit about herself. She has been working in ministry since she could even remember. A volunteer in the children’s ministry at her church and a follower of Christ, I could tell Gloria lived her life spurring each individual that crossed her path to doing good deeds. She was strong. Though tears streamed down her face, she continued to firmly stand on her foundation of the Lord as she passionately shared her story with us.
Inspiring enough, I could of left then and never forgot about Gloria and her strength. But God took it another step forward as Pastor John asked both Jenna and I to give her a few words of encouragement. Jenna went first as I stood in silence and held her hand. As I stared at Gloria who was destroyed outwardly beyond belief, a few things crossed my mind and broke me down. First was the image of Christ on the cross as talked about in Isaiah 52:14,
“But many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man.” (NLT)
JESUS, the Son of God, was in worse condition than Gloria who laid in front of me. I could barely recognize her, yet this scripture speaks of Jesus being so marred that no one could recognize Him. He did that for me, He did that for you.
The second thing that crossed my mind was, what do I even say? Where do I even begin? Before I knew it, my hand in Gloria’s, I was speaking out boldly, “You are beautiful, you are a beautiful daughter of our Most High King!” ….wait WHAT? Did those words really just come out of my mouth?
Shortly after she reached out to all three of us, had us gather closer, and with tears streaming down her face asked us one final question.
“CAN I PRAY FOR YOU All?” We all smiled and said sure as she followed with one of the most powerful, spirit-filled prayers I have ever heard in my life. Every single line began with, “Thank you God for… Thank you Jesus for… Thank you my King for… Thank you Almighty One for… Thank you Thank You Thank You”
I was left speechless, Jenna and Pastor John were too. We walked out of the ward and Pastor John looked and both Jenna and I and said, “I have been here for 4 years. I have prayed with thousands of patients that have come in and out of this hospital. But she is the first one who has ever reached out and prayed for me. Now that is something isn’t it?”
My very last day in Kijabe wasn’t any ordinary day, yet the Lord wanted to teach me that ministry is every minute of every day no matter where you are. Continue to expect Him to show up. Continue to expect Him to move. Continue to expect Him to do GREAT things. This was the perfect lesson and challenge for me before I headed home. Ministry is everywhere at every single moment, DON’T MISS OUT!
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