To Him Who is Able

Nothing ever really goes the way we plan it, but not necessarily in a bad way. Today was a big unknown and still tonight we don't know if we really had any impact, but it was a day that began with prayer and asking that we see the best way to minister at the hospital.

Evan and Micah hopped on a boda boda aiming for the 15 minute ride to Chayah house. They ended up in the opposite direction, Evan said he was nervous, but Micah prayed and eventually they exited some jungle and ended up in the right spot. Their plan for the day was to build a chicken coop, that Janet had requested. Apparently raising chickens makes you vulnerable to bandits who would scale an 8 ft wall if they thought they could get away with it. So chickens fly free during the day light, but have to have a padlocked pen for the nights. The older boys, especially John really have an interest in anything involving tools and do a really good job of taking whatever is there and creating something fun.

Kristen and I set out for the children's hospital, visited a few beds and were asked for our papers...?? We had already spent time praying with the children with HIV who were treated in a separate ward. But now we were instructed to go down the road to the main hospital and hand over a letter for the head administrator to approve, stamp and then we could return in the afternoon. In the hours in between we asked Sharon what she thought we could do for the patients. She warned us that giving money for medication etc... directly to the hospital should be considered in light of corruption and that we could probably best be helpful by bringing laundry soap and sugar for each patient's family. The children who are admitted are given papaya juice with sugar added, and bed sheets and clothing are washed right there on the grounds outside, all by their parents. Many bring the children there not knowing ahead of time that they will be admitted, so are unprepared.

We bought 50kg of sugar and 5 boxes of long bars of soap. Headed back to the hotel to make 2 cup baggies of the sugar and cut the soap into 250 bars. I think we had about 200 lbs of blessing packed into two suitcases and rolled our way around the wards giving to each family and praying for them. Ward are rooms about 25' by 25', 35 crib sized beds make up rows with barely enough room in between to walk; each bed holding 2 sometimes 3 children at a time. So imagine 70 or so patients, at least one family member, the treatment table and several staff members all crammed into that space.

We had been misinformed about the children's cancer ward. Cancer can only be treated in the capitol city of Kampala. Palliative care is available locally, but these children are not admitted. One small room was considered ICU I think, though it is called the "emergency room". We prayed earnestly over one small child in a coma while a couple passed by us carrying their child who had just lost his fight for life here on this planet. A mother's tear stained face and a father's arms filled with the bundle... as if in slow motion, the moment replays in our minds tonight.

Sugar, soap, a smile and prayer is all we had to offer today. God will do the rest and for his glory he'll determine the healing. Its always a challenge to understand the very few days some children are given. Accepting that it is God alone who knows and his will is always right and good, causes a wrestling match in us that is magnified by the grief we witnessed today. But ours is not a circumstantial faith... it is a hope in things not seen and a decision to believe the truth that it makes sense in God's sovereign plan, and His is the only one that matters.

I don't know if sugar or soap made one bit of difference today, but I do know that God is still good and loving and in His mercy He has given us one more day that we do not deserve, vision that is not as the world sees and love that is beyond what we ever imagined. If one ounce of that kind of God landed on even one tiny child or one suffering mother, we are grateful and humbled to be allowed the few moments we had together with them. Thank you for praying us through today, we needed it so.