Our clinic will have a kitchen. Phebian has a vision to feed the people who come to the clinic especially the ones who stay overnight after delivering a baby or being too ill to go home. She is talking to various churches here to help her prepare the food. Usually when patients are admitted to the hospital here the family is required to go out and buy the medications, provide food and even clean the beds. This decision to build into our clinic a kitchen reflects our desire to be more holistic in the care provided and will give the local church a way to be involved in this clinic and directly be the hands and feet of Jesus as He commanded us to be in Matthew 25. Feeding the hungry in addition to treating their illness.
Our first day here in Kangama I took care of an 11 yr old boy who literally had abscesses over much of his body. The first day I drained 7 of them. We then transported he and his parents to Koidu to be with friends so that we could check him every day. We have had him on strong antibiotics and continued to drain abscesses. Today he is much better and returning to village. It was a real privilege to see him go from being terribly sick to smiling and happy again. Just seeing him smile made this whole trip worth it for me.
We concluded our 6th and final mobile medical clinic today in Koidu and again at the Blind School. Our team saw more than 85 pts today. Many of the patients we saw today were children (could have really used you today Paul) and the most common diagnoses were acute malaria, worm infestation, malnutrition and anemia. We made a difference today but it is clear that so much more needs to be done on many different fronts so that these children can be assured of a chance to grow up healthy. Probably the most heartbreaking case I saw today were 3 young children who came in with their blind father (rather they led him in) and I had to listen as they told me their mother had died earlier this year unexpectedly. Treating their malaria was the easy part. Imagining a life for these 3 little children was much harder.
The construction site continues to be filled with much activity. I visit every day and it is fun to see the steady progress. The roof is ready to have the zinc sheets nailed into place and the construction team really wants to get this started before we leave. However this is Sierra Leone and so things happen. This time the truck bringing the zinc roofing material from Freetown has supposedly broke down on the way. The myriad challenges of building this clinic by hand and far away from Freetown continue to amaze me. My guess is it will take 3-6 months yet to finally complete the construction and get us fully operational. I have no doubt that once operational we will be seeing 30-45 patients per day and delivering lots of babies.
Tomorrow we will visit the local medical and political leaders. There is also the possibility that a group from the US Embassy in Freetown will be visiting our site. In addition I am hoping to be able to actually help on the construction site (maybe lay some blocks or nail down some zinc- if the truck comes in time).
Our team continues to do well. Yesterday we rested and part of the time was spent with Phebian and Joshua worshipping together and just talking and praying about the work. I asked them to list some prayer requests they have and this is what they shared:
1. Pray for faithful partners to help them do the work here. They know this work is more than they can carry on their own.
2. Pray for wisdom to make this work be a reflection of Jesus. To truly bring physical, emotional and spiritual healing and restoration.
3. Pray for God to continue to supply the financial resources needed to do this work.
4. Pray for their families. Phebian's husband (Braima and 3 children-Martha, Ruth and Emmanuel-who are in Buffalo) and Pastor Joshua whose wife and 18 month old son are in Freetown.
5. Prayer for courage to face any new challenges that may arise in the future.
So my challenge to each of you who read this email tonight is to pray for Phebian and Joshua on a daily basis and for this work.
Also keep our team in your prayers.
Myron
No comments:
Post a Comment