Part of the appeal of the World Race is the opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We are able and willing and this year provides us with an almost overwhelming number of chances to put that into practice.
A large portion of my personal ministry this month has been in the clinic on the property of the orphanage. It is a fully stocked clinic with medical supplies but is consistently lacking the medical personnel needed to operate it. The day we arrived our ministry contact said to me, “I know it was God who sent you here because you are a qualified, knowledgeable nurse and the entire community will be blessed by your presence.” This statement blew me away. An entire community would be blessed by me? A young nurse with a small resume could be used to bless so many of these people in such great need?
It was decided that I would run the clinic twice a week and an announcement was made Sunday at church. That Tuesday I arrived eager and excited to see what would unfold. Unfortunately, the first day we were open just so happened to be in the middle of a three-day rainstorm. When I say rainstorm, I mean a SERIOUS rainstorm. Not one person came and I was discouraged thinking, “Lord, maybe this isn’t how you plan to use me here?”
After that day, God answered and said, “Yes, I will use you in these ways…
The rainstorm led to us cleaning the entire clinic, which turned into my ministry on the days the clinic was not open. We cleaned, organized, unpacked, rearranged and sorted through everything there so that it may be at a functional level when we leave. It was a dusty, dirty job that was not always fun or even noticed, but the staff of the orphanage would never have the time to commit to such an undertaking, and we wanted to bless them through this.
We saw about 50 men, women, and children total over the course of three weeks!
We prayed for God’s healing power to touch each patient before they left the clinic.
One woman came in with diabetic neuropathy, for which I had no adequate medicine, but we prayed for healing and later that day she came to us and said that her pain was completely gone!
Another woman walked four miles on a day that the clinic was not open. Someone came and got me and asked if I would look at her baby. I went to her and she said, “I see Jesus in your eyes. I walked so far and was certain I would be turned away, but you came to me when you didn’t have to.”
We saw one of the little girls go from being lethargic, runny nose/eyes, and febrile to a vibrant, smiling, ball of energy!
I was privileged to literally be the hands of Jesus. Everything was here, they just needed an able bodied person to put it into motion.
I feel so rejuvenated by being in the clinic and a medical environment. I’ve read all sorts of nursing books that are there, and while my teammates say I’m crazy, I love soaking up as much medical knowledge as I can. It does my heart good!
This month I’ve begun to recognize how often I doubt God’s desire to use me in big ways. I often doubt his plan for our future. Do our dreams align with his dreams for us? Through the clinic, though, I’ve heard His gentle reminder that He has called me and He has called us. He has called us according to His purpose and He desires to use us in ways I cannot fathom. As cliché as it sounds, Jeremiah 29:11 has been placed on my heart because I have been able to see tangible evidence that he longs to use me to do great things. It is no coincidence that I was placed here at this specific ministry, and it excites me to think about all of the awesome things He plans to do with our future! It’s up to us to allow ourselves to be used by Him.
Swaziland has truly remained the land of plenty, overflowing with God’s abundance. We are healthy, energized, and hear the Lord speaking over us in so many ways.
Praying that God would heal this mother and son!
