Since the Unilla trip, life has been moving at a pretty fast pace. Saturday and Sunday we had our weekly clinics in Canilla and San Andres. We requested that only emergencies and chronic patients come to the Canilla clinic in hopes of getting out in time to get to the Pastor's meeting in the park. We made it over in the afternoon. I think about 500 people came (and maybe more for lunch), and it was a really good time of celebrating what God is doing. People came together to glorify Him, not as individual churches, but as a body of believers.
Sunday was a little rougher for clinic. There comes a time when our resources just don't seem like enough, and we're in need of something more (very much like in the case of Reuben from Unilla). Our morning started out with Paulita coming in. She has very uncontrolled diabetes, living with a blood glucose level of 500 mg/dL (100 is normal). Recently she has developed what we think is acute glaucoma, resulting in blindness. She has three children, no income, little food, and her husband just left her. Malachi and I stayed the afternoon to give her IV fluids and to monitor her sugar as we gave her insulin.
Another lady came named Candelaria. She and her kids come every so often. Leslie buys her food, gives her children milk, and we pray. Her husband left her for another woman, so she has no income and no food. She has no hope if God doesn't come through for her, so we pray, and she cries, and we pray for her husband to know Christ. We sent her home with about 50 pounds of corn, rice, beans and milk. This time I helped her carry it to the bus, and that extra time with patients like her kind of make the "real-lifeness" of her situation sink in.
On a little lighter note, I did get to break away from clinic for a while and have lunch with Joel and his wife. It was good to talk with him about what God is doing in each of our lives, and not only talk about church stuff. He's becoming a good friend. Later Malachi and I went to church there after taking out Paulita's IV. It's good to spend time with him too. He is probably one of the most intelligent people I've met, and his heart and attitude is just so real and good. I'll miss him when he leaves. After all, a night in the jungle listening to roosters together and lots of clinic kind of make you close!
Today I kind of got a break and had a chance to catch up on some school work and wash by bike. In the afternoon we went to pray in San Andres and try some new eye drops on Paulita. Leslie and Katie were there with Malachi to see Paulita, so I stayed on the street after prayer and ate some atol with some "hermanos y hermanas" from the church. Next time I'll try it without lemon.
So I sense that God is inviting me to pray more and seek him more. Reuben, Paulita, and Candelaria's situations remind me that we are all in need of something. I need God, so I know they need God. And I know that He has the ability to not only change their hearts, but to bring them hope and healing. (Paulita and her son who won't leave her side even at the house.)
No comments:
Post a Comment