Some days welcome encouragement like rain in a time of drought. Jason and I had been going through a time of frustration as it didn’t seem ministry was progressing as quickly as we had hoped. Energy was running low and the little resources we had were shrinking quickly. Not to mention, things just happen very slowly in Zimbabwe.
We have been working for the last 6 weeks to set up a home based care program. Right now, our organization has few funds for this ministry, but we are seeing answers to prayer in that direction and trusting God to provide the lack. We need fuel, basic medical supplies, food and medicines in order to fully meet some basic physical needs of bedridden patients. We are trusting God for those things and believing in His provision.
We found 3 incredible local volunteers who will be running this program after we leave. They all live in the same area and will be visiting patients several times a week. Tuesday, we went to visit one of our patients. Honestly, Jason and I were blown away by this man’s progress in only a week, because truly, we didn’t give him the necessary physical supplies he desperately needed. We offered what we could, which was a donated wheelchair, so that maybe eventually he could attend church.
Last week, this patient could do nothing but lie in bed, and barely sit in a chair. His bed: blankets spread out on a hard cement floor. He had nausea, thrush, back and hip pain. He couldn’t bear weight on either of his feet as he was suffering severe neuropathic pain. He also is legally blind. We managed to transport him to a local clinic, where he received only the little assistance the clinic could offer; which was an antinausea med (that actually causes diarrhea), and some Tylenol.
After taking him home, I did some basic teaching on mouth care, muscle strengthening, and nausea management. We also encouraged the family to boil their water, as they had not been previously doing this. Jason, I, and our three wonderful, almost trained volunteers, did a bible study and prayed with him. We knew God could certainly meet this man’s needs. We knew God could bring healing and strength back to this man. He knew and believed it too. He has a great faith.
When we arrived on Tuesday, our patient was sitting in a chair, smiling and bright. He and his family informed us that he actually had been up walking. He denied any further back, hip and foot pain. His nausea was gone and he was eating fairly well. I call this a miracle. God is beyond amazing. He is able to meet needs when our human strength and resources run out.
I believe for both Jason and I, this was yet again, another reminder, that God does not need supplies to meet needs. His power is limitless and “all things are possible for those who believe.” Mark 9:23.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
The end of ourselves ...
We're at that point in the trip when enthusiasm has waned, when frustrations are piled on top of frustrations and it seems like nothing good is really happening. I have to be honest, we've talked about quitting a number of times. Usually after a particularly difficult day when we've been stranded at the house because transport is tied up elsewhere. Or after someone dies and we can only sit with the widow unable to really help with the grief and a very uncertain future. Things just don't work the way we want them to around here. We've been waiting for a phone line to be put in at the house since we arrived here. Still nothing. The need still seems so very, very big. But yesterday I felt God was telling me to stop striving so hard to see something change, but to rather trust that He is working in the midst of the chaos to produce change. It's bigger than me. Bigger than Ann, but not bigger than Him. We can push so hard, try with all our strength to impact the people around us that we actually end up pushing them away. We can become overly critical and discouraged, when we are the ones who aren't seeing what is really going on. And we've missed the real purpose we're here for. I have to trust that God will fill the gap between the end of my strength and abilities and the fulfillment of a need. So we'll persevere through boring weekends stuck at the house, through deaths and illness, hunger and despair. Because God was here before us, and will be here when we are gone. Always working, always comforting, always faithful.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
To remember a child
There have been several stories over the last few weeks that have gripped my heart; stories of life and stories of death; stories of successes and stories of failures; stories that leave the soul at peace and stories that haunt the soul forever. The following story will never leave my heart or mind. I cannot erase the images even if I wanted to, for this little one's life is too precious to be a forgotten one.
Last Wednesday, Jason and I spent the day at a nursing home visiting patients. Now, this home is primarily a nursing home for very ill adults. That day we learned a 9 year old boy was going to be admitted. He was HIV positive and his condition was listed as "failure to thrive secondary to severe malnutrition". Jason and I were busy attending to other patients as the nurses were busy admitting him. I caught a brief glimse of him. Small, scared, and almost lifeless. I also saw his family who had come to leave him and something unsettled in my spirit began to weigh on me. I had to look away, as my throat was tight from fighting back my instant reaction to cry.
After his admission, Jason and I got a chance to talk with the nurses and obtain his story. The little boy's name, I will call Tom (I feel it best to keep his name private). The family who had dropped him off was his aunt and uncle. Both of Tom's parents had died of AIDS. The reason Tom was brought to the care facility, was that he was too sick to care for at home and his aunt and uncle were working all day. He had a fever, thrush and nausea and he simply would not and could not eat. There was also no sufficient supplies to give him IV hydration, nutrition or antibiotics.
Tom was sitting in a wheelchair. He looked as if he was about 5 years old instead of 9. He could hardly support the weight of his small, emaciated body. He sat, staring at the floor and wore no expression on his face. A fly was buzzing around a small sore at the side of his mouth and he was too weak to notice or care. Jason and I went over and started talking to him. His eyes were on us, but they looked past any type of possible warmth or love we could offer. His stare was dead and hopeless. The nurse got him up to take him back to bed, and the grimace of suffering he displayed on his face, I will never forget. My throat was tight with pain. Jason and I followed the nurse to Tom's bed.
He lay there with his eyes closed; his body so small for such a large bed. We both held his hand and prayed. We prayed hard. I finally stopped fighting with my tears and just let them come. I didn't know what to do or how to pray or what to say. All I remember saying was, "please God, just help him, please". My words were stuck and my soul was wrestling and I felt like I couldn't breathe. Jason kept praying. After a few more minutes, Jason and I went outside, and I just sobbed. The pain and the suffering and the hopelessness that such a little person was enduring was absolutely wrong. All that seemed right was to see him living like a normal, happy little boy, who could go to school and run, play ball, eat ice cream, have campouts with his friends and family and grow up with health and strength and a beautiful future. Everything wrong and ugly held his life. It made me almost enraged.
Today, we went back. We hadn't been back for a week due to my own sickness and some other problems. My heart had been heavy for him all week. Today, we had brought some things for him and were eager to see if he had made any progress and if a miracle had happened. We sat in the office and got reports of patients who had died and ones who had gotten stronger and had been discharged. Nothing was mentioned of Tom. I almost hated to ask because I feared the answer would not be an easy one. I did, though. And, yes, the answer was far from easy and I felt like the wind was taken from me. Tom had died last Thursday, only 1 day after we had seen him. The nurses were able to obtain a little more information of his home life and by all appearances severe neglect was more or less the cause of his suffering. Little food was ever fed to him (in this case,not because it wasn't available) and he was watched on and off by a maid. Aunt and uncle were hardly involved as they both worked all day. Zimbabwe doesn't have adaquate social services to follow up on the case.
Sickening and unjust are the only two words that come to mind. The choices of adults determined the ruin of a life. This little boy was a victim of so much more than poor economics and lack of food. He was a victim of human selfishness to its ugly core. And, he was a victim of a preventable disease.
I wish I could give this story a happy ending. Unfortunately, Tom's is the story of others as well and an example of the grim reality of life and death. It is the reality that the choices we humans make effect far more than just ourselves. If it weren't for God in my life, I could easily make many of the same choices that so many do. I pray the choices I do make only serve to bring life to the innocent and helpless and not death and destruction.
Last Wednesday, Jason and I spent the day at a nursing home visiting patients. Now, this home is primarily a nursing home for very ill adults. That day we learned a 9 year old boy was going to be admitted. He was HIV positive and his condition was listed as "failure to thrive secondary to severe malnutrition". Jason and I were busy attending to other patients as the nurses were busy admitting him. I caught a brief glimse of him. Small, scared, and almost lifeless. I also saw his family who had come to leave him and something unsettled in my spirit began to weigh on me. I had to look away, as my throat was tight from fighting back my instant reaction to cry.
After his admission, Jason and I got a chance to talk with the nurses and obtain his story. The little boy's name, I will call Tom (I feel it best to keep his name private). The family who had dropped him off was his aunt and uncle. Both of Tom's parents had died of AIDS. The reason Tom was brought to the care facility, was that he was too sick to care for at home and his aunt and uncle were working all day. He had a fever, thrush and nausea and he simply would not and could not eat. There was also no sufficient supplies to give him IV hydration, nutrition or antibiotics.
Tom was sitting in a wheelchair. He looked as if he was about 5 years old instead of 9. He could hardly support the weight of his small, emaciated body. He sat, staring at the floor and wore no expression on his face. A fly was buzzing around a small sore at the side of his mouth and he was too weak to notice or care. Jason and I went over and started talking to him. His eyes were on us, but they looked past any type of possible warmth or love we could offer. His stare was dead and hopeless. The nurse got him up to take him back to bed, and the grimace of suffering he displayed on his face, I will never forget. My throat was tight with pain. Jason and I followed the nurse to Tom's bed.
He lay there with his eyes closed; his body so small for such a large bed. We both held his hand and prayed. We prayed hard. I finally stopped fighting with my tears and just let them come. I didn't know what to do or how to pray or what to say. All I remember saying was, "please God, just help him, please". My words were stuck and my soul was wrestling and I felt like I couldn't breathe. Jason kept praying. After a few more minutes, Jason and I went outside, and I just sobbed. The pain and the suffering and the hopelessness that such a little person was enduring was absolutely wrong. All that seemed right was to see him living like a normal, happy little boy, who could go to school and run, play ball, eat ice cream, have campouts with his friends and family and grow up with health and strength and a beautiful future. Everything wrong and ugly held his life. It made me almost enraged.
Today, we went back. We hadn't been back for a week due to my own sickness and some other problems. My heart had been heavy for him all week. Today, we had brought some things for him and were eager to see if he had made any progress and if a miracle had happened. We sat in the office and got reports of patients who had died and ones who had gotten stronger and had been discharged. Nothing was mentioned of Tom. I almost hated to ask because I feared the answer would not be an easy one. I did, though. And, yes, the answer was far from easy and I felt like the wind was taken from me. Tom had died last Thursday, only 1 day after we had seen him. The nurses were able to obtain a little more information of his home life and by all appearances severe neglect was more or less the cause of his suffering. Little food was ever fed to him (in this case,not because it wasn't available) and he was watched on and off by a maid. Aunt and uncle were hardly involved as they both worked all day. Zimbabwe doesn't have adaquate social services to follow up on the case.
Sickening and unjust are the only two words that come to mind. The choices of adults determined the ruin of a life. This little boy was a victim of so much more than poor economics and lack of food. He was a victim of human selfishness to its ugly core. And, he was a victim of a preventable disease.
I wish I could give this story a happy ending. Unfortunately, Tom's is the story of others as well and an example of the grim reality of life and death. It is the reality that the choices we humans make effect far more than just ourselves. If it weren't for God in my life, I could easily make many of the same choices that so many do. I pray the choices I do make only serve to bring life to the innocent and helpless and not death and destruction.
Monday, October 20, 2008
prayer request
This post is more of a prayer request than anything. It has been a rough week to say the least. Ministry has been extremely challenging for a dozen reasons. We have seen some truly heart-wrenching things that leave one almost speechless. I hope to write more on those things later.
Jason’s grandpa passed away yesterday, so as you can imagine, it is extremely difficult being so far away. Please be praying for strength and encouragement for us and for the family back home. We know God is good and faithful and He proves that to us every day.
I have also been pretty sick as well, but hopefully I am on the mend. This has been just as challenging emotionally for me as it has been physically, as we have so much left to complete in only a few short weeks. God knows. None of the circumstances we have faced come as a surprise to Him, and He continues to provide and prove faithful through each day.
There is so much to tell and so much yet to process. Hopefully, I’ll be able to post more later.
Blessings to you all. Thank you so much for all the encouragement.
Jason’s grandpa passed away yesterday, so as you can imagine, it is extremely difficult being so far away. Please be praying for strength and encouragement for us and for the family back home. We know God is good and faithful and He proves that to us every day.
I have also been pretty sick as well, but hopefully I am on the mend. This has been just as challenging emotionally for me as it has been physically, as we have so much left to complete in only a few short weeks. God knows. None of the circumstances we have faced come as a surprise to Him, and He continues to provide and prove faithful through each day.
There is so much to tell and so much yet to process. Hopefully, I’ll be able to post more later.
Blessings to you all. Thank you so much for all the encouragement.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Peace
I think as Christians/humans, we can really mistake a lack of peace in our hearts for something not being God's will. I think it is a good thing to really evaluate where that lack of peace comes from. Many times, I know for myself, I have related it more to my own fears and emotions. For example, I know God brought us here to Africa. Have I always felt excited and peaceful about it? Absolutely not. In fact, there are a lot of really rough days; days where I could easily get on a plane back home. But, I know that would be following how I feel for the day. Rather, I have to go against my feelings and stick it out because this was a door God opened for us and He made the way for us to walk through.
Doing something God has called you to, more often than not, is a battle and difficult and really hard. Sometimes a calling is simply an open door that God has put before you. He will give you the courage to walk through it despite the human emotions that are often contrary to the call. I think too, there is a difference between the peace of God and human peace. Human peace often rests on circumstances being good and lining up the way we like them. Human peace=a feeling of happiness, which is a state of being in relation to one's circumstances or happenings. Human peace is often merely a happy emotional state, when everything around a person is well. God's peace is a peace deep within the soul. It is a rest in midst of chaos. It isn't dependant on everything being good or happy. Honestly, emotionally, especially today, I don't feel peaceful. My circumstances are extremely frustrating and difficult. So, even though I am not humanly at peace, my soul is at rest and I have God's peace. I know despite my emotions, I am right where God wants me. It is really hard to explain. I hope you can follow me. I truly believe this is an important distinction God has clarified for me.
Doing something God has called you to, more often than not, is a battle and difficult and really hard. Sometimes a calling is simply an open door that God has put before you. He will give you the courage to walk through it despite the human emotions that are often contrary to the call. I think too, there is a difference between the peace of God and human peace. Human peace often rests on circumstances being good and lining up the way we like them. Human peace=a feeling of happiness, which is a state of being in relation to one's circumstances or happenings. Human peace is often merely a happy emotional state, when everything around a person is well. God's peace is a peace deep within the soul. It is a rest in midst of chaos. It isn't dependant on everything being good or happy. Honestly, emotionally, especially today, I don't feel peaceful. My circumstances are extremely frustrating and difficult. So, even though I am not humanly at peace, my soul is at rest and I have God's peace. I know despite my emotions, I am right where God wants me. It is really hard to explain. I hope you can follow me. I truly believe this is an important distinction God has clarified for me.
Life lessons
The lessons life teaches are quite amazing things and the way they are taught never quite come as imagined.
Before I left for Zimbabwe, one thing I had asked God to do in my life was to empty me of myself and to truly rid me of all that stood in the way of God being fully able to work. Now, don't misunderstand me here; God is fully capable of working with or without my cooperation, but there is much to be said for being "poured out like a drink offering" 2 Tim. 3:6. Ponder that for a brief moment. When water or fluid flows out, it has no control as to where it goes. Offering myself in such a way that I am yielding completely to the power and flow of God in my life, what can be accomplished is beyond the imagination.
What I have come to realize is that all of my skills and abilities, especially as a nurse, have been ripped out from under me. For the first time in my life, all that I have been trained to do and am capable of doing, I have literally, totally and completely been unable to perform. Why? One would have to come here and see to understand. It is almost beyond the point of explanation. I can assess and know what someone needs, but there is no way, at this point to meet that need. No money, little transport, no fuel, no food, no meds, no supplies. Nothing. I can't even write a check to churches we have been to visit. I can't repay the hospitality given to us by so many. I can do nothing in myself. I have nothing to offer people or God except myself and my prayers. I feel like a broken vessel, humanly incapable of doing anything and I feel stripped of myself and left bleeding. But, it doesn't stop there.
Jason read this to me this morning. He found it randomly in a book. It is by Alice Gray. It seemed perfectly fitting. "Mother Theresa attended a gathering with kings, and presidents, and statesmen from all over the world. They were there in their crowns and jewels and silks and Mother Theresa wore her sari held together by a safety pin. One of the nobleman spoke to her of her work with the poorest of the poor in Calcutta. He asked her if she didn't become discouraged because she saw so few successes in her ministry. Mother Theresa answered, 'No, I do not become discouraged. You see, God has not called me to a ministry of success. He has called me to a ministry of mercy' ".
God has been speaking this to my heart: "It is not about you or what you can offer people; it's about Me, what I can do, and the life and miracles I can offer. You think you trust me and think I do the work, but all along, it has been you that you are relying on. You asked for me to empty you. That's why I brought you to a place where nothing is humanly possible. So, start trusting Me and allowing Me to truly work. I will fill you with Me and not more of you". Hard and humbling and my prayer has certainly been answered, but not in the way I had anticipated.
So, what am I learning to do with this? Pray constantly. Trust in the God of miracles and that He is fully capable of multiplying the little that is here. I am realizing that sometimes all I can offer is compassion and mercy. God can do something beautiful with that and when it is all I have, it can be more than enough.
I will share a story I hope will bless you as much as it did me. We went to a home the other day to visit a young woman who is HIV positive. She has two young children. One of the children was a little girl about 2 years old. She didn't smile at all and it appeared that she was not feeling well. Apparently, she had a fever that day. They did not have money to take her to a clinic. I did not have children's tylenol to give them to help reduce the fever. All we could offer was prayer and that the power of the mighty God would touch her. When we went back to visit her the next day, the little girl came running out, smiling. The grandmother informed us that after we prayed, the little girl's fever was gone. Totally gone. She is well and happy. God didn't need children's tylenol. Who was I to think He did. Mercy and prayer was all we needed and a belief that God is true to His Word.
"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us" Ephesians 3:20.
Before I left for Zimbabwe, one thing I had asked God to do in my life was to empty me of myself and to truly rid me of all that stood in the way of God being fully able to work. Now, don't misunderstand me here; God is fully capable of working with or without my cooperation, but there is much to be said for being "poured out like a drink offering" 2 Tim. 3:6. Ponder that for a brief moment. When water or fluid flows out, it has no control as to where it goes. Offering myself in such a way that I am yielding completely to the power and flow of God in my life, what can be accomplished is beyond the imagination.
What I have come to realize is that all of my skills and abilities, especially as a nurse, have been ripped out from under me. For the first time in my life, all that I have been trained to do and am capable of doing, I have literally, totally and completely been unable to perform. Why? One would have to come here and see to understand. It is almost beyond the point of explanation. I can assess and know what someone needs, but there is no way, at this point to meet that need. No money, little transport, no fuel, no food, no meds, no supplies. Nothing. I can't even write a check to churches we have been to visit. I can't repay the hospitality given to us by so many. I can do nothing in myself. I have nothing to offer people or God except myself and my prayers. I feel like a broken vessel, humanly incapable of doing anything and I feel stripped of myself and left bleeding. But, it doesn't stop there.
Jason read this to me this morning. He found it randomly in a book. It is by Alice Gray. It seemed perfectly fitting. "Mother Theresa attended a gathering with kings, and presidents, and statesmen from all over the world. They were there in their crowns and jewels and silks and Mother Theresa wore her sari held together by a safety pin. One of the nobleman spoke to her of her work with the poorest of the poor in Calcutta. He asked her if she didn't become discouraged because she saw so few successes in her ministry. Mother Theresa answered, 'No, I do not become discouraged. You see, God has not called me to a ministry of success. He has called me to a ministry of mercy' ".
God has been speaking this to my heart: "It is not about you or what you can offer people; it's about Me, what I can do, and the life and miracles I can offer. You think you trust me and think I do the work, but all along, it has been you that you are relying on. You asked for me to empty you. That's why I brought you to a place where nothing is humanly possible. So, start trusting Me and allowing Me to truly work. I will fill you with Me and not more of you". Hard and humbling and my prayer has certainly been answered, but not in the way I had anticipated.
So, what am I learning to do with this? Pray constantly. Trust in the God of miracles and that He is fully capable of multiplying the little that is here. I am realizing that sometimes all I can offer is compassion and mercy. God can do something beautiful with that and when it is all I have, it can be more than enough.
I will share a story I hope will bless you as much as it did me. We went to a home the other day to visit a young woman who is HIV positive. She has two young children. One of the children was a little girl about 2 years old. She didn't smile at all and it appeared that she was not feeling well. Apparently, she had a fever that day. They did not have money to take her to a clinic. I did not have children's tylenol to give them to help reduce the fever. All we could offer was prayer and that the power of the mighty God would touch her. When we went back to visit her the next day, the little girl came running out, smiling. The grandmother informed us that after we prayed, the little girl's fever was gone. Totally gone. She is well and happy. God didn't need children's tylenol. Who was I to think He did. Mercy and prayer was all we needed and a belief that God is true to His Word.
"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us" Ephesians 3:20.
One small step at a time
Temba just received the first bill this month (there are 2 payments/month) for the internet. It was a whopping 15 million. That's probably around 200USD ... I don't know the exchange right now. That is not even for past usage. It's payment simply for the priviledge to use their snail-paced, wonky service. Gotta love it ;)
Public transport, on some very dodgy, probly-shouldn't-be-driven minibuses, has jumped from 200ZD when we arrived to 3000ZD per person one way. They only leave when they are full, and by full I mean jammed in like sardines and then left out in the sun for awhile. It's most likely that you will have someone sitting partly on your lap along with all their blankets, groceries and the occassional chicken. All this combined with the distinctive scents of BO, woodsmoke and gasoline intermingle to make sure you have a pleasant,somewhat heady experience before being dumped on the side of the road to walk the rest of the way to your destination. It's fun, you really should try it sometime.
As you may have gathered by this point in our exciting tales of Zim life, it is extremely difficult to do ANYTHING here. For example, in order to make a phone call one must purchase airtime for one's cell phone. In order to purchase airtime, one must travel into town on foot, bicycle, public transport or catch a lift with a gracious host/passerby. Next one must locate a certain individual on the streets who has airtime cards for sale, and hope that one has enough cash to make the purchase. Should one find oneself short on cash (Zim Dollars) one must locate another person (usually a woman standing looking suspicious with a bag over her shoulder) and exchange foreign currency for ZD's. Then one is free to return to streetside entrepeneur number one to complete the airtime purchase. All the while hoping that a) the rates don't go up in the interim and b) that one does not get scammed by said individuals. Fortunately, for Ann and I, our dear friend Temba is usually the one who goes through the hassle on our behalf.
And if this sounds like I am complaining, I assure you I'm not! I wouldn't trade this time for anything. The lessons we are learning, the friends we have met and the amazing answers to prayer we have received more than make up for the minor inconveniences we have experienced. God is good, and He is working in Zimbabwe in ways that I cannot even begin to write about. Simply know that God cares about every little part of your life, and He is always paying attention and actively working in it.
One small step at a time
Ann and I made it to a location or township yesterday (Wednesday) called Nkhulamani. We have a couple of local volunteers out there who are helping us with the Care & Compassion ministry. One of the volunteers, Gertrude, is a counsellor at the hospital near us and has an amazing story herself. She is a mother of three, struggling to feed her family on a small income and is 'living positively' (she is HIV+). When she got sick she decided to help others going through the same thing, instead of 'feeling sorry for herself and giving up on life'. She encourages so many people both at the hospital and in her community - she is an inspiration to us as well.
We visited 4 families yesterday in their tiny little homes. None of the patients were bed-ridden, but all had similar stories of how hard it is to find food, medications and work. It will be a challenge to meet even the simplest of their needs, but God is good and he will come through for them. We plan on returning Friday to give what we have and visit with them some more. I tell you it's a pedestrian life over here. We walked from house to house with a backpack and some water in about 98 degree weather. But the only way to get to know a city is to walk it. We miss so much of what is true and real about the people and buildings and life of a place when we blow by it in a car. At least that is what I keep telling myself as we plod along.
It has been an awesome experience so far, even with all the challenges we have faced. Thank you all for the prayers, emails and words of encouragment.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Jason's post
Sometimes in all the heartbreaking stories there is one that ends happily, and shows the power of a church that cares enough to get involved in the life of a stranger.
Bonani Hadebe, a local pastor, told us the story of a 14 year old boy who found himself in a Bulawayo government hospital with 'prostate issues'. Both of his parents had passed away, and he lived with his sister in the rural areas near Kariba. He had gone to a clinic in Kariba to seek treatment, but had been loaded into an ambulance and sent to a hospital in Gweru. When they couldn't help they sent him to Bulawayo. The poor guy had no idea where he was, because he had never left his home area before. His sister didn't know what had happened to him either. The hospital refused to treat, feed or even clothe him, because he couldn't pay the hospital bill and he had no one to feed or bathe him. He was simply lying there in pain, neglected and far from home.
The church decided to cover the costs of the treatment, they clothed him and prepared meals for him. A couple of ladies from the church would come daily and care for him. They prayed for him and whatever was causing him to be unable to urinate was healed. But now the doctors refused to discharge him and wanted to proceed with surgery anyway. Eventually they conceded that there was no need and they discharged him with a clean bill of health. The church bought him a bus ticket so he could go up to Kariba where he could find his way back to his sister's home.
Sorry that reads like a news bulletin, but it's still a good story. Thank God for churches who don't just talk about doing good, they do it.
Bonani Hadebe, a local pastor, told us the story of a 14 year old boy who found himself in a Bulawayo government hospital with 'prostate issues'. Both of his parents had passed away, and he lived with his sister in the rural areas near Kariba. He had gone to a clinic in Kariba to seek treatment, but had been loaded into an ambulance and sent to a hospital in Gweru. When they couldn't help they sent him to Bulawayo. The poor guy had no idea where he was, because he had never left his home area before. His sister didn't know what had happened to him either. The hospital refused to treat, feed or even clothe him, because he couldn't pay the hospital bill and he had no one to feed or bathe him. He was simply lying there in pain, neglected and far from home.
The church decided to cover the costs of the treatment, they clothed him and prepared meals for him. A couple of ladies from the church would come daily and care for him. They prayed for him and whatever was causing him to be unable to urinate was healed. But now the doctors refused to discharge him and wanted to proceed with surgery anyway. Eventually they conceded that there was no need and they discharged him with a clean bill of health. The church bought him a bus ticket so he could go up to Kariba where he could find his way back to his sister's home.
Sorry that reads like a news bulletin, but it's still a good story. Thank God for churches who don't just talk about doing good, they do it.
what I'm thankful for
What I'm thankful for:
Since coming to Zimbabwe, I have started realize how blessed I am. I don't say this casually, not in the least. I am blessed with conveniences and luxuries, not necessities, although I am abundantly blessed with those as well. As I was sitting outside tonight, looking at the stars, it all started to come to me; not just a realization, but a humbling awakening. I pray the sting of reality will never leave my eyes, my heart, my soul or my mind. I pray I will never, ever view my blessings as something I am entitled to, but something that has been graciously granted to me. The humbling part; why me? Why not every one of these precious lives, whose hopes and dreams are much like mine? I don't have the answers to those questions. The knowledge of them is far too complex and deep to be answered or understood. What I do know is that I can never view my life at home the same. Never again.
I am thankful that I have and know my grandparents and knew two of my great-grandparents. Most children here will hardly know their own parents. Mom and dad will have died of AIDS.
I'm thankful that most of my family live in the same town. We could be scattered all over the world, but we are fortunate enough to live near each other. I know my uncles, aunt and cousins. I know my nieces and nephews. None of them have AIDS.
I'm thankful for my reliable car. I'm thankful every gas station in town has fuel; all the time; anytime. I'm thankful I don't have to travel to a neighboring country to buy fuel for my vehicle. I'm thankful that when my car breaks down, all the parts needed to repair it are available and I don't have to go and fetch a mechanic to come to my house to repair my vehicle. I'm thankful that when I need a new car, I can find one that is used and is affordable. I'm thankful that banks give loans for cars.
I'm thankful that I don't have to get up at 4am, walk to the bank and stand in line for hours every day of the week and only receive enough money to buy a few basic items; porridge, tomatoes, cabbage. I'm thankful that when I get a paycheck from work, I don't have to wait 7 days for the check to clear to even get a small amount of money from that check; all the while my family and I go hungry. I'm thankful I can withdraw 100% of the money in my bank account whenever I need it. I'm thankful that$1 today is worth $1 tomorrow. I'm thankful a loaf of bread doesn't equate to 500 US dollars and the next day cost $1000. I'm thankful I can keep my job, because it doesn't cost me more in transport to and from my job than what I am actually being paid. I'm thankful I can pay my bills by mail and not worry about the post office raiding the mail and stealing the money. I'm thankful I can pay bills on the internet if I want to, because the internet is reliable.
I'm thankful that electricity is available 99.9% of the time and I don't have to plan my life around when the power is available. I'm thankful I have clean drinking water, straight out of the tap.
I'm thankful that if and when I need a doctor, there is always one available. I'm thankful that when those I love are in the hospital, I don't actually have to bring food and supplies in for them. I'm thankful they will be cared for and not left naked and hungry. I'm thankful I can go to the pharmacy and what I need will be available. I'm thankful that as a nurse, I can actually help my patients instead of just watch them suffer. I'm thankful that in the U.S., generally the dying don't die in agony; they die with medication to make them comfortable.
I'm thankful that the store shelves are full. I'm thankful that if I enjoy a meal out with family or friends, I will still be able to eat the rest of the month. I'm thankful that I know what hunger is and it is not the feeling you get in between breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner or dinner and bedtime. Hunger is when there is no food in your house and little in the stores. If there is food in the stores, the prices are far too high and if you aren't among the more fortunate to travel to Botswana or South Africa for food, you probably will starve. Hunger is when you finish your one and only meal for the day, and your stomach still aches for more. This is the same meal you have had night after night after night. Hunger is when you have a little food in your home, but your dare not indulge today, because you may not eat tomorrow. Hunger is when you set out on a journey to find food and leave your 3 little ones at home who are too weak to travel with you, only to return 5 days later to find that each of your children have died from starvation. Now, both your stomach and soul are empty. (This is a true story, folks.)
I'm thankful my eyes have seen the difficult and tragic reality of life here in Zimbabwe. I'm thankful I have truly been awakened to the fact, like I said, that most of what I have are not necessities, but convienences and luxuries. I only pray that God will show me what to do with the sights I have seen and how best to respond to the needs of the world. I pray that compassion and sensitivity for this country are forever etched in my soul and that I will not go home and become complacent and calloused. I pray that whenever I begin to become frustrated with circumstances I face at home, that I will quickly remember, I am blessed. I pray I will remember the faces and stories of those who, as Temba says, are "living miracle lives". People are truly, truly amazing here. They have so little and face the obstacles and hardships of daily life with joy, vitality and a faith in God that would bring most of us to our knees. I was awakened today to another humbling truth; I came here to encourage and teach, yet that is what I have received by each and every person I have met. I am humbled.
Dear readers, may you remember today that you are blessed. Take time this moment to thank our almighty God for the life He has given you and pray He will show you how to bless the world He loves, in return.
Since coming to Zimbabwe, I have started realize how blessed I am. I don't say this casually, not in the least. I am blessed with conveniences and luxuries, not necessities, although I am abundantly blessed with those as well. As I was sitting outside tonight, looking at the stars, it all started to come to me; not just a realization, but a humbling awakening. I pray the sting of reality will never leave my eyes, my heart, my soul or my mind. I pray I will never, ever view my blessings as something I am entitled to, but something that has been graciously granted to me. The humbling part; why me? Why not every one of these precious lives, whose hopes and dreams are much like mine? I don't have the answers to those questions. The knowledge of them is far too complex and deep to be answered or understood. What I do know is that I can never view my life at home the same. Never again.
I am thankful that I have and know my grandparents and knew two of my great-grandparents. Most children here will hardly know their own parents. Mom and dad will have died of AIDS.
I'm thankful that most of my family live in the same town. We could be scattered all over the world, but we are fortunate enough to live near each other. I know my uncles, aunt and cousins. I know my nieces and nephews. None of them have AIDS.
I'm thankful for my reliable car. I'm thankful every gas station in town has fuel; all the time; anytime. I'm thankful I don't have to travel to a neighboring country to buy fuel for my vehicle. I'm thankful that when my car breaks down, all the parts needed to repair it are available and I don't have to go and fetch a mechanic to come to my house to repair my vehicle. I'm thankful that when I need a new car, I can find one that is used and is affordable. I'm thankful that banks give loans for cars.
I'm thankful that I don't have to get up at 4am, walk to the bank and stand in line for hours every day of the week and only receive enough money to buy a few basic items; porridge, tomatoes, cabbage. I'm thankful that when I get a paycheck from work, I don't have to wait 7 days for the check to clear to even get a small amount of money from that check; all the while my family and I go hungry. I'm thankful I can withdraw 100% of the money in my bank account whenever I need it. I'm thankful that$1 today is worth $1 tomorrow. I'm thankful a loaf of bread doesn't equate to 500 US dollars and the next day cost $1000. I'm thankful I can keep my job, because it doesn't cost me more in transport to and from my job than what I am actually being paid. I'm thankful I can pay my bills by mail and not worry about the post office raiding the mail and stealing the money. I'm thankful I can pay bills on the internet if I want to, because the internet is reliable.
I'm thankful that electricity is available 99.9% of the time and I don't have to plan my life around when the power is available. I'm thankful I have clean drinking water, straight out of the tap.
I'm thankful that if and when I need a doctor, there is always one available. I'm thankful that when those I love are in the hospital, I don't actually have to bring food and supplies in for them. I'm thankful they will be cared for and not left naked and hungry. I'm thankful I can go to the pharmacy and what I need will be available. I'm thankful that as a nurse, I can actually help my patients instead of just watch them suffer. I'm thankful that in the U.S., generally the dying don't die in agony; they die with medication to make them comfortable.
I'm thankful that the store shelves are full. I'm thankful that if I enjoy a meal out with family or friends, I will still be able to eat the rest of the month. I'm thankful that I know what hunger is and it is not the feeling you get in between breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner or dinner and bedtime. Hunger is when there is no food in your house and little in the stores. If there is food in the stores, the prices are far too high and if you aren't among the more fortunate to travel to Botswana or South Africa for food, you probably will starve. Hunger is when you finish your one and only meal for the day, and your stomach still aches for more. This is the same meal you have had night after night after night. Hunger is when you have a little food in your home, but your dare not indulge today, because you may not eat tomorrow. Hunger is when you set out on a journey to find food and leave your 3 little ones at home who are too weak to travel with you, only to return 5 days later to find that each of your children have died from starvation. Now, both your stomach and soul are empty. (This is a true story, folks.)
I'm thankful my eyes have seen the difficult and tragic reality of life here in Zimbabwe. I'm thankful I have truly been awakened to the fact, like I said, that most of what I have are not necessities, but convienences and luxuries. I only pray that God will show me what to do with the sights I have seen and how best to respond to the needs of the world. I pray that compassion and sensitivity for this country are forever etched in my soul and that I will not go home and become complacent and calloused. I pray that whenever I begin to become frustrated with circumstances I face at home, that I will quickly remember, I am blessed. I pray I will remember the faces and stories of those who, as Temba says, are "living miracle lives". People are truly, truly amazing here. They have so little and face the obstacles and hardships of daily life with joy, vitality and a faith in God that would bring most of us to our knees. I was awakened today to another humbling truth; I came here to encourage and teach, yet that is what I have received by each and every person I have met. I am humbled.
Dear readers, may you remember today that you are blessed. Take time this moment to thank our almighty God for the life He has given you and pray He will show you how to bless the world He loves, in return.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
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