It’s been nice to have the P Squad out here for a month. They’ve gotten heavily involved with each ministry opportunity that has come up and they’re rounding out on their last week here in Malaybalay. While the month has been one of celebration, to say that these guys have been attacked physically is an understatement. Sickness has come constantly out here, and these guys have had to learn how to fight it. Sara is one of the team leaders and has been hit with some of the worst of it. Before getting sick, she was a team leader and was leading her team well. Now she’s fighting sickness that won’t seem to go away.
I wanted to share this blog with you so that you would pray for Sara and the squad but also so you can see how these guys respond to sickness. Sara and the team are leaving the Philippines in a little over a week, so health would be a good thing to have on the plane. Being admitted to the hospital can also be an extension to ministry. To follow her blog, click here. This is her blog, Admitted….
Pain. PAIN. And then…I’m not so present anymore. I’m hot and sticky, slouched in a van, and my eyesight is coming and going through little slits in my face. I can’t distinguish if the liquid running down my neck and chest soaking my white blouse is sweat or tears. At this point, I don’t so much care. God has placed me in a warm, fuzzy bubble where I don’t have much of an idea of what’s going on, how I got here so quickly, but I know I am heading straight to Bethel Baptist Hospital in Malaybalay.
Each breath, well – each attempted breath is bringing excruciating stabbing pains though my torso, lungs and ribs. I can’t get a full breath of air and I’m just crying, because I really don’t know what else to do. I decide at this point it is probably time in my Race to sacrifice my “I’m fine, I’ve got this under control” exterior and give in. To the pain, and the fact that I’m about to face many lessons from God. Oh Jesus…I could practically hear you saying, ‘This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you.’
I’ve never been admitted to a hospital, had an IV, etc. Why not start in a third world country? After an EKG I’m told it’s not my heart (by the way I was reacting to the pain in my chest the nurses told me it’s possible I have a severe heart condition I did not know about), but probably an infection in my lungs and ribs from spending time with the sick babies in the orphanage I’ve been serving in for almost three weeks. Fevers and more snot than I thought was humanly possible for babies to produce have just been part of the daily schedule of us working nursery duty.
I spend Friday night in the hospital with Stacey by my side, prayer warring it up. Many of the 31 P Sqauders serving at the orphanage have at least one sickness they have been/are experiencing and we are sick of watching our brothers and sisters fall to infirmities. We had some Holy Spirit experiences praying for the orphanage that night. Saturday morning the blood tests come back – no sign of infection. I spend most of the morning trying hard not to be frustrated. I was sold on the lung/rib infection story. Pump me full of some antibiotics and BAM!, get me back to the those cute babies I miss and love! So why then was I still in so much pain? Why did I not sleep at all from so much discomfort after two different pain killers (nothing…), and why could I not put any pressure on my chest or right side?
I was soon taken for a chest X-ray, much to the amusement of the Filipino nursing staff. Comments such as, “Oooohhh…you so big!!” became the typical undercurrent as I was weighed, given dosages of medicine, etc. Just what a girl wants to hear. I was at the understanding though that this was something very exciting for them. Most all of the Americans here are twice the size of the locals, and I was told it was an honor for these very young nurses to be taking care of an American. I tried to play along – you give me that pretty little pill I’ve been waiting for and I’ll give you a story about America or traveling.
A few hours later, the internist who had been treating me returned with my X-ray. Somehow a large, white cloud has taken up residence in my right lung. Proof of an infection, though no signs in my blood. Diagnosis: acute, localized pneumonia. Huh. I had pneumonia when I was a senior in high school and I would not wish it on my worst enemy. The painful, hacking cough, sore throat, fevers, nausea, diarrhea and every square inch of my body hurting was something I would never want anyone to go through. The nurses are baffled that the inside of my body shows pneumonia, but that the pain is staying localized and the only affects I am displaying are fever and sensitivity to touch. I was told having the sickness more than once can make your body more susceptible, and a lowered immune system coupled with the illness that has been rampant at the orphanage are the likely causes.
I am praising God and marveling at the way he has protected my body. Thank you Jesus that I may have this sickness going on inside of me, but the pain and side affects are not what they once were. Since being discharged on Sunday afternoon, I have been in the amazing care of two American missionaries who just moved to Malaybalay in December. Mark and Ellie Hymes have been my stand-in parents since Friday, and they have blessed me tremendously by opening up the guestroom in their flat as a sterile environment for me to recover.
Those lessons God is teaching me? Coming to terms with letting go of leadership and my team for the period he calls me to. This is hard, but he is continuing to bring enlightenment and comfort to me as I am nothing but horizontal on my back talking to him to pass the days. I know several of my teammates are sick, I am not there to check on them and meet their needs, the most I can do is walk up and down a flight of stairs from the CR (restroom) to my bed, and God’s poking me in the ribs saying…’Let go and let me take care of them.’ Not easy.
Admittedly, I need to learn more and more how to relinquish control to Him. At the beginning of this month God gave me the word, Restoration. I’m finding it more amusing and ironic that when I get a word from Him, it may not just apply to my team or the squad, but to me.
He has me meditating on John 15:
‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.’
Pruning season? Looks like it.
‘You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.’
Please continue to prayer for P Squad’s health. I am waiting on my doctor to return to our city for more X-rays and check ups tomorrow as I’m still battling fevers and fatigue. The rest of the teams staying at the orphanage are battling their own sets of illnesses keeping them out of ministry. Thank you for covering us in prayer!
