June 17: Move Our Hearts to Hear a Single Beat.
I awoke at 6:00am again, for our final clinic day. My heart began to grow heavy and there was a pit in my stomach, realizing it was my last day in the clinic. It has been an unbelievable joy serving these people, loving them, and learning so much more from them than I ever fathomed. Praise you, Jesus.
At the clinic Lindsey and I paired up in assessing/giving patient care, since we only had one translator (Christine) between the two of us. I began loving this idea because the quality of our patient care dramatically increased, since we were able to bounce ideas off one another as we worked together. Our first patient was a small, petite, quite woman. She began explaining (via Christine) that she'd had four abortions, and one late-term abortion. She'd had one performed at home and the remaining three performed at the hospital. My heart broke as Christine was translating this story to us. She explained the signs, symptoms, and complications she'd had since her operations. Her reason for coming to the clinic was advice on how to get pregnant now, because she wanted to have a baby. My heart strings were tugging in a million directions. My heart ached for the sense of brokenness, shame, guilt, and fear this woman must have harbored. I could sense it in the way she spoke, and how she carried herself. Both Lindsey and I explained to her that most likely (based on her specific signs & symptoms she explained...which I will refrain from stating ;) ), there had been extensive damage to her uterus with these abortions. We continued by saying, it would be highly unlikely for her to become pregnant in the future. At that moment, all there was left to do was to pray for her. The three of us (Christine included), laid hands on her, and prayed over her frail body. We prayed for holistic healing over her, in the name of Jesus. When we finished, she opened her eyes, boldy smiled, and held and squeezed our hands as she said, "Asante Sana" (Thank you). Jesus, it's nothing in us, but you through us. Praise be to you, that you use your children to love other children. It blows me away.
Lindsey and I continued working/assessing patients, along with the other doctors and nurses, until around 5:00pm. These patients stories continued to blow me away: one had a broken arm for four years, another a broken foot for two. We ended up seeing a total of 227 patients that day. We even were able to have a local eye doctor come and prescribe eye glasses which had been donated to the clinic. It was unreal, to see these people have eye exams and given glasses, for the first time in their lives. Their joy was indescribable, beautiful, and refreshing. You truly are redeeming your people.
They are your servants and your people, whom You redeemed by your great strength and mighty hand. -Nehemiah 1:10
We finished at 5:00, and I wasn't exhausted. My heart was full. I'd been working all day, yet it was a joy. It was just a beautiful thing to lose myself in the interest of others, in His children, to begin to understand the meaning of dying to self. As we closed the clinic, I was thankful: thankful for all He is revealing to me, and to others. I loved working alongside this medical team. Although we didn't work all together in one room, our hearts were for one purpose: to be used by Him for His healing/redemption for His people.
Currently Playing: Gratitude - Nichole Nordeman
June 16: All Creatures of Our God and King.
I got a somewhat unexpected late start to the morning, due to lack of setting my cell phone alarm. Note to self: always ensure I double check AM/PM when setting the alarm ;). I, along with some other running late friends, grabbed a super quick breakfast at the lodge. It was a spectacular morning: eating freshly made steaming pancakes, complete with mango juice, overlooking Ngorongoro Crater. My heart was eager at seeing the landscape that lay before us, to make our way down into the crater. Our group was loaded up and ready to begin our second safari day by 7:00.
Our jeep (with the same people plus another best friend: Whitney), descended into the crater. The cool wind swept over my face and brushed through my hair. It was truly an amazing feeling: to know you are deeply loved and valued by the same God who created this crater, created the vast myriad of animal species, and lush landscape before your eyes. On that ride, I could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit powerfully in my heart. The morning clouds lay over the rim of the crater like fingers curling over an armrest. It was a beautiful view in the valley, as beams of sunlight shown through the clouds.
I've never seen so may herds of different species in one landscape, in my life: lions and their cubs, wildebeest, cape buffalo, kudu, eland, elephants, zebras, flamingos, hippos, hyenas, rhinos, and my favorite: the cheetah. The Lord's blessing was definitely on our safari. People who'd been on the same trip previously explained they'd never before seen this many animals at one time. All I could think of was how loving our God was: He didn't have to bless us by seeing this many animals in such a beautiful landscape, but because of His great love, He did. How amazing. I pray I never forget that. The landscape was so diverse: open plains met a large lake which was lined with flamingos, which met a lush jungle filled with tall acacia trees and monkeys. God blessed me with such an amazing morning of complete worship and joy. It's truly an amazing experience to be most satisfied in Him, for His glory. At one point, David Crowder's "All Creatures of our God and King" came on my iPod, followed by Balmorhea's "Settler". I instantly jumped up, stuck my head out of the roof, raised my hands to the sky, and worshipped Abba. What an amazing moment I will treasure and reflect upon when I'm back in the states. What a gem of a memory.
Later, after our amazing day in the crater was complete, we headed back to Arusha, TZ. I was listening to a song I'd downloaded years before by Paul Colman Trio, "Africa". There has always been a part in the song which I've never quite understood what the exact words were, so like many, I've "hummed" my way through that line. As the familiar part of the song played, for the first time ever, I finally understood the words (thanks to learning a little Swahili since I'd been in Africa). The line is: "mimi naku penda", which translates into English: "I love you." The band was saying in their song, "I love you," in Swahili. It was so amazing, to have heard this song for years, but now for the first time God opened my mind to hear it fully, when I was in the exact location my heart had longed to be for years. What a humbling and beautiful moment. Later at dinner, I shared that story with Whitney. She simply replied, "God was saying to you, 'I love you.'" My eyes filled with tears (again ;) ), in awe of His mighty love for us.
Naku penda, Abba.
Currently Playing: Settler - Balmorhea
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