Tuesday started off as another day in Roma, Lesotho. We made ourselves toast, eggs, and instant coffee, and I sat on the front porch in the sunshine while I ate and read my bible. Around 9 o’clock we had a meeting with our hosts about what ministry will look like, and after that Hunter, Luke, and I wandered around town searching for a store selling Vodacom data. After lunch we watched Big Hero 6 and the girls decided to go for a run. The landscape is beautiful here. The whole country is mountains, making for stunning views at every angle. Kids were getting out of school, shepherds were herding their cattle, and NUL students were walking about. Roma was alive in the sunshine.
Since the neighborhood we live in is carved out of the side of a mountain, the roads are rocky and steep at some points. As we ran down a hill towards a group of kids, Kendra tripped on a rock and immediately fell to the ground in a crippled state. Shea is a much faster runner than Kendra and I, so she was a ways ahead and didn’t see the action. Kendra was in so much pain and shock she moved to the side of the road in case she threw up. I was torn. We travel in 3s so no one is left alone, but I had to try and get Shea. I sprinted as fast as I could up hill after her, but I’m not fast, and recovering from a cold, so I returned to Kendra. Meanwhile, we had gathered quite a crowd of people watching the struggling white girls in shorts, scandalous! Right as Kendra and I decided to hobble back home, we saw two boys running down the hill with Shea. We knew we needed to go to the hospital.
Luke called our host immediately and we hopped in his car 5 minutes later. An hour at the public hospital did not improve Kendra’s situation, so Pieter suggested we drive 45 minutes into Maseru to try a private hospital called Wilie’s. Once we arrived at Wilie’s I had so much more hope in getting decent care. Before we even entered the building I could see they decorated with potted plants, and had painted the walls lavender. Casey and I waited in the lobby while Kendra walked right into a consulting office, and during our hour long wait we listened to the same Don Williams song on repeat, It’s Good to See You. The hospital staff must have thought it to be a relaxing and comforting song, either that or the radio was broken. Kendra walked out of the hospital with a boot, but unfortunately the x-ray machine was broken so we had to return to the public hospital the next morning and repeat the process. Poor Kendra did get her x-rays (her ankle is not broken!!), but it involved another trip to a different private hospital making it 3 hospitals in 24 hours.
Life is not always easy in developing countries, but it is always interesting, and keeps us on our toes! I never expected to have so many stories to tell about a day spent in a hospital waiting room. Dire situations are handled differently here than we would like. Sometimes not all the wheels on the gurney will spin, other will patients cut you in line, but if you are lucky, you will be moved ahead due to the fact that the hospital has just received a large donation from America. Traveling has taught me to leave your expectations at the door, and be blown away by where God takes you.
