Just Obey

I have been asked to teach Sunday School for the children at Echoing Hills as well has teach at
camp. I always say yes without much thought. As the time approaches, however, I start to realize the
responsibility it is to teach from God’s Word. I am intimidated. Who am I that I should teach? There
must be someone who is better at this than me. James 3:1 says, “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” What if I portray the wrong impression or say the wrong thing? What if I bore the children? What will the other leaders think? The more I think about what to say, the more I realize that I don’t even know where to begin.

My first Sunday here, I taught from Exodus 3-4 (God speaking to Moses from a burning bush).
When I was preparing to teach Sunday School last week, I planned to continue with the story, but reallyfelt like I needed to help explain the holiness of God. As I studied the passage and the preceding
chapters, I became so grateful for Moses, and his many questions—I am not alone in my fear of talking in front of others!

Below is my paraphrase of God’s conversation with Moses:

    God: “Go and tell Pharaoh to let my people go and worship me.”

    Moses: “Why me? Who am I?”

    God: “It doesn’t matter who you are—I will be with you.”

    Moses: “What if they don’t believe me?”

    God: “It’s not up to you, whether they believe or listen—it’s up to me. I will show them with a
    sign.”

    Moses: “I’m not skilled enough—I can’t talk.”

    God: “Who gave you a mouth anyway? Who gives any skill after all? I will help you speak and
    teach you what to say.”

This is the message that I needed to hear. I was still super nervous, feeling the weight of sharing God’s Word. I started praying that God would do as He pleases with the lesson. If He wants me to teach, then He should give me the words that I should say, as He did with Moses.

When it came time to teach, I did not say what I had prepared. I was prepared to continue the story in
Exodus, but I felt pressed to talk about God’s holiness. “Take off your sandals for you are on holy
ground.” As one child asked a question, I realized that I must explain gospel. God is holy. I made the
comparison of pure water. As there is no dirt in pure water, so there is no sin in God. Because God is
holy, no sin can come near Him. However, I sin every single day. “How can I come near God?” I asked the children. Through a series of questions and answers, we eventually came to the conclusion that only through Jesus’ sacrifice, we can be made holy. Jesus’ blood washes away our sin and He gives us His holiness so that we can enter into God’s presence.

By talking with the children, I think a few of them actually understood. I pray that Jesus will continue to make Himself known to these kids and that they might follow Him with their lives.

What I’ve been learning through this experience is that when God gives me a message or a task, it’s not about me, me being skilled, or even if the audience believes what I say. It’s all about the Lord, my God. He will make Himself known—through me or not. But He wants to use me, so I just need to obey.

Reunited at Last!

On July 14^th, Brother Philip picked me up and took me to Echoing Hills Village, a home for people with disabilities and disadvantaged children. This is the same place where I stayed two years ago as I helped provide a camp experience for children from the slum community. Below are a few of the highlights of the past two weeks.

·         

      * It has truly been a joy to be with my friends again, especially Irene. Pastor Larry and Brother Philip did not tell anyone that I was coming, so it was such fun to surprise them all.

  

It was dark when I found Irene. She was sitting by the fire enjoying the evening with a few others. I came up beside her and because I could not see her face I said, “Is this Irene?” It was Irene!

There is something special about the friendships that are founded in Jesus Christ. It had been two years since we had seen each other, but the time didn’t matter. I thank God for my sister Irene! My two favorite lines from the surprise are, “I couldn’t have dreamed this!” and “Only men could keep it a secret for so long.”

Since that night, I have enjoyed working alongside of Irene, tramping through the rain in the market to find all of the ingredients that we needed for her graduation food, traveling with her to an Auntie’s house to get some cake decorating lessons, late night talks, visiting a sick friend, celebrating her graduation, cooking many Ghanaian dishes, and sharing life together.

·         * What a special time it is to see all the friends at Echoing Hills Village again. The children have grown! They have the same faces, but they are taller, stronger, have better English, and look much older! The kids are so excited for camp—they are ready for the team to come!!  They keep asking me if team members from past years are coming. They rejoice when I say yes, but are so sad when I have to tell them that other team members will not be coming this year.

It has been a pleasure to get an inside peek at what really happens at Echoing Hills Village by being a part of morning devotions, exercises, teaching Sunday school, cooking, cleaning, hanging out, etc. There is such love, acceptance, and patience in this place. I am amazed by the staff’s stamina, wisdom, and the grace that they freely give.  The few staff here care for and live with (day in and day out) well over 100 people with disabilities and disadvantaged children.

I can’t help but think of Jesus when I am here! He had compassion for individuals within the crowds. He stopped for those who were sick, crippled, and the children. In this place, I see Jesus’ love on display. May He continue to be glorified here!

·       *  It has been great to visit the kids who live in the slum or “street community.” There are roughly 300 kids who gather for Bible Club with Sir Philip every Sunday afternoon. In order to be chosen to attend summer camp, the children must regularly attend Bible Club. Therefore, in the weeks leading up to camp, more and more kids have been attending Bible Club and everyone wants Sir Philip to know that they are present.

      

      

These kids have grown so much since I saw them last. I don’t recognize many of them at first, but when I look again at their faces, I realize that I know them. I got to see about nine of the kids who were on my team for camp two years ago. I can’t wait for this year’s camp!

·      

   * Seven-year-old Sophia lives across the street from Echoing Hills and last time I was here, we became fast friends. This time she crawled up on my lap eager to show me the photos and letters that I had sent over the last two years. To my surprise, Sophia read almost every word that I had written. When we finished reading, Sophia ran to grab her folder from last year’s camp. Again she diligently read and sang the verses and songs from last year. She remembered almost all of the songs.

[These kids remember what they have been taught! They are learning to read and write in English, but much more importantly, they are learning of the love of Jesus. As the songs that Sophia sang to me say, His love is “reaching out to me” and “He saved us not, because of the righteous things we have done, but because of His mercy, mercy, mercy—He saved us.”]

·         In addition to seeing old friends, I have been put to work sorting through the donated supplies in the clinic, organizing it, cleaning it, and running it for the residents at Echoing Hills. I have quickly gone from being a nursing student in the United States to being called doctor here at Echoing Hills. It’s rather intimidating feeling the responsibility of caring for so many. I am incredibly grateful for the learning experiences I gained in Malawi and Togo and thankful that I brought my drug book and phone to look up what I don’t know. I am thankful that the hospital is not too far away.

So far I have been bandaging wounds, giving pain meds, testing/treating malaria, etc. Additionally, a large task is distinguishing between the kids who really have headaches and those who are tantalized by the mysterious thought of “magical medicine” from the obroni (white person).

There are only four days left until camp starts!! As we eagerly await that day, please pray for:

1.       Brother Philip- He has to make final decisions on who can come to camp and who will have to wait for another year. There are many more children who wish to come than what our accommodations allow.

2.       The children who will be a part of camp-They come from various religious backgrounds and are hungry for acceptance and love. On Sunday, I asked a few girls why they are so excited for camp. They said that they are excited because it will give them a future. Let’s pray that they will find their hope and future in Jesus Christ!

3.       The staff at Echoing Hills—for energy and an extra measure of grace.

4.       The team that is coming from Hope Community Church in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania- Pray for unity in spirit and in purpose. Pray that we at camp might behold the glory of God’s love and worship Him with our lives.

5.       Me- I need wisdom as I attempt to be a camp nurse, prepare to teach during camp, and lead my team of campers. Also I need strength. My spirit is far from weary, but my body is tired.

Thanks for your prayers and encouragement. I am very, very grateful!

In the Dressing Change Room

Some patients enter the dressing change room hobbling with crutches, others have to be pushed in a wheel chair, but some can walk for themselves. There are so many wounds. Infection eating away the flesh. Burns covering the skin. Broken bones, skin grafts, amputations, head trauma, surgeries, snake bites.

As we unwrap the dressing, the sight is startling, but the smell is worse. The combination makes me nauseous. I have to step back—and look away. This is awful and these wounds are gruesome. “I should let someone else do this. “ “I can’t handle it. I feel sick.” “Someone else can take care of these patients,” I think. I am repulsed.

But then I look at the patient’s face. I can’t help but look into their eyes. The Holy Spirit reminds me, “In the image of God He created him” (Gen 1:27).

The image of God.

That changes everything. All too often I forget who I am caring for. I have seen some very ugly cases and gone through intense situations with many patients. I forget that these people are human beings created in the image of God. There are so many sick and dying. Many of these cases are preventable or at least would never reach this degree of severity if the patient was living in a more developed country. I get overwhelmed by the masses of patients. The future for them seems so bleak to me.

But Jesus had a different perspective: “When He saw the crowds (sick and diseased) He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matt 9:36). Jesus has compassion on the crowds. He heals their sickness. He gives them hope for the future. He is the shepherd for the sheep.

In the dressing change room, I was reminded of my own repulsive wounds. Sometimes they are buried deep under my skin, other times they are covered by my clothes, other times they are out in the open for everyone to see. My sin in eating away at me.

 We are all suffering under the weight of our sin, the evil committed towards us, and because we live in a broken world.

In the dressing change room, I was convicted by the perspective that Jesus has. He does not behave as a typical human—turning away from the hurting. Jesus spent His days with the patients “in the dressing change room.” He came to make them well.

In the dressing change room, I had to confess, Jesus, uncover my wounds—especially the ones I hide so well. Wash away the dirt and debris, cut out the infection, just like we did in the dressing change room. Make me clean Jesus. Heal me. I am sick. Sin is rotting in my heart. Give me Your perspective Jesus, I need You. I can’t do this job. You have to do it through me.

Suffering is so common. Death is frequent. But Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and He is working here. He is working in me.

To Togo I Go

I arrived in Togo on June 17th. It is a stark contrast compared to Malawi—the main differences are it’s hot here (in the 90’s versus in the 60’s in Malawi), very green (it’s the rainy season here verses dry season in Malawi), and a highly concentrated Muslim community (versus a high percentage of Catholics and Christians in Malawi).

I’ve been staying with the Thompson family and working at the hospital in the village of Mango, Togo. Janelle, my friend from Cedarville, has oriented me to being a nurse’s aide in all the units in the hospital: men’s, women’s, infection, emergency, intensive care, pediatric and maternity. We work four 10 hour days or nights per week.
Some highlights from our shifts so far:

Getting to know Bomboma.

This 7-year-old boy fell out of a tree three months ago and was paralyzed from the waist down. His family did not care for him properly, so he got massive stage four pressure ulcers on this back side. He has been in the hospital for three weeks now and his wounds are slowly starting to heal. As any kid would be, Bomboma is bored out of his mind. Thankfully Janelle and I have been able to spend much of our down time with him. Bomboma loves to blow bubbles, fly paper airplanes, take selfies, color, and read Bible stories. We’ve been having lots of fun together.

Babies!

Who doesn’t love to hold them, feed them, snuggle them, and love on them? I could only stay awake through night shifts because of these little guys! Also, it has been incredible to participate in five deliveries so far. I am constantly amazed at God’s creation of new life!

Getting to know the staff.
It is great to pick the American nurses’ brains about missionary nursing and to joke around with the Togolese nurses. There is an atmosphere of continuous teamwork at the hospital. I’m grateful to be a part of it.

When we don’t work, we play:

• Read books in the enormous climbing tree
• Attempt to learn French
• Walk down to the market
• Cook lots of tasty food
• Go swimming during our midnight break from work and see multiple shooting stars
• Play with missionary kids 
• Learn to ride motorcycles (the main vehicles of transportation around here are bicycles or motorcycles)

Prayer requests:

• Our Muslim community is finishing its 40 day fast for its holiday called Ramadan. I don’t know how it is for other Muslims, but during the last 10 days of Ramadan here, the people are praying more fervently than at any other time of the year. They are staying up all night and crying out to god, hungry for him to answer their prayers—but their god is not our God. We are humbly asking our God to make Himself known to these people and that they would come to find salvation and new life in Jesus Christ.

• About half of the hospital staff are Muslim. Pray that God would give boldness to the Christians to speak with grace and truth about our faith in God.

• Pray for Bomboma. Although he is getting lots of love these last few weeks, it doesn’t sound like his family cares/has the means to take care of when he goes home. My biggest prayer for him is that he may come to know Jesus!

• Pray for the missionaries who are here—that they may be “likeminded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.” (Phil 2:3).

As I meander my way through Dzelaka Refugee Camp, I see house after house. Outside a few kids are playing with a homemade ball of plastic bags, some women are washing clothes or cooking, a few teenagers are pumping water from the well, and some men are chatting along the road.

The camp did not strike me as a busy place. Instead it is quite the opposite. Dzelaka is full of able bodied people who are willing to work. No, they long to work. They just don’t have a job. Many of these people are educated and had jobs in their home country, but because of the war, they were forced to leave their home.

Refugees are not able to work in Malawi unless they have training. Educational training is not an option.  There is a several month orientation process for refugees who are medical professionals, if they have money to pay the orientation fee. Wherever I go and whoever I talk to, they always tell me that there are just not enough jobs.

It’s hard to see all of these people who want to work, they just don’t have the opportunity and don’t know how to find an opportunity. There is Hope is an organization that is giving refugees opportunities to get out of this hopeless situation. They provide vocational training, scholarships, and help refugees with previous training get oriented into the Malawian system so that they can work again.

The problem is large, and helping takes time. But we serve a God who is not daunted by these tasks. Instead, He has always been in the business of drawing people out of their present situation and giving them a new life. May God continue this process, strengthen There is Hope staff, and build a flourishing community out of what looks like a hopeless camp of refugees.

The Days at Partners in Hope

We start off the day with a time of worship and mini sermon. [Jesus knew what He was doing when He created the church. We need each other, we learn from each other, and we are challenged by each other. I’m thankful to be a part of the Body of Christ!]

At the beginning of my time at Partner’s in Hope, I spent my shift in the day wards, gave medications, learned the process of how to refill ART medication (HIV treatment), and shadowed the nurses during their various duties. I got to observe an abdominal paracentesis, lumbar punctures, and the casting of a little girl’s arm. After a few days, I began helping the patient attendants (nurse’s aids) take vital signs, perform rapid malaria diagnostic tests, and draw blood for viral loads, CD4’s, creatinine, etc.

The staff at Partner’s in Hope is incredible. They are welcoming, love the patients, value each member of the team, and enjoy their work. They taught me a great deal about malaria, tuberculosis, HIV symptoms, diagnostics, and treatments. I’m thankful for the many memories made with my dear friends at PIH!

Berta, A Dear Friend

I met Berta a few weeks ago. She cooks for the men who are constructing an addition onto a building at There Is Hope Center. “Jambo,” she said with a wide grin. When we met again, we tried to talk. Berta speaks Swahili, but through a translator I discovered that Berta is Congolese and lives in Dzelaka Refugee Camp.

For several days, we spent our time teaching each other our own languages. By pointing at objects and saying the word in our respective languages, we learned to names of many things. We scratched the words into the red dust, wiped the words away, and tried to write the words from memory. Together we came up with a list of about 20 words. Day after day we quizzed each other.

One day Berta invited me to her house. When her work was finished, we meandered our way through the camp to where she stays. Berta has lives with her husband, Asumani, and their four children. She has two daughters and two sons: Salia, Nonbe, Sofia, and Alonda. They range in age from 2 to 10. They have lived in Dzelaka for five years. Before they fled to Malawi, both Berta and her husband were students. Berta was a community leader in Congo, but now she and her husband do not have jobs, because there are very few employment options available.

Although their situation is bleak, Berta is a beacon of light. A smile radiates from her face, and she is always thinking of others. Berta loves to spend time with people and just chat…which becomes challenging when we don’t speak the same language. Thankfully Berta has some neighbors who enjoying chatting and want to practice their English.

An example of Berta’s kindness is her gift generous gift of a live chicken. Though the language barrier, I eventually convinced Berta to keep the chicken for me so that she could teach me how she cooks it! A few days later we deep fried to chicken, made ugali, and an African version of fried spaghetti. We had quite the feast!

Every day with Berta is a pleasure—whether we walked to the market, waited for hours at the clinic, cooked, practiced languages, or played with her kids. She is an eager learner, generous giver, and joyful friend. I can’t wait for the day when we are reunited!