It is Monday morning and my first patient
is Maria: a fifty year old woman who has a diabetic ulcer on her foot. She was told by the local hospital that her
case was hopeless, and that she required an amputation of her foot. The first time she came to me she was fearful
and tearful. She was terrified of losing
her foot and distressed that there appeared to be no alternative. She needed to be able to walk again, to be
able to work again, to be able to provide for her family.
Today she is smiling. As we take off the dressings we can see the
beautiful red skin growing over and closing the wound. It is wonderful to be able to help patients
like Maria, here in a forgotten village in Ecuador; to show them God´s love by
caring for them in a practical manner, and to restore their hope.
Later in the week I visit Señora
Chuba. She is an eighty year old woman
dying of cancer. Sent home from the
hospital with no medicines and no follow up or support, she and her daughter
are immensely grateful for our visit.
The nurse and I attend to her physical needs, and then she asks us to
read the Bible to her. We share Psalm
23, pray and sing a hymn together. Such
moments are amongst the most precious in my life. They are real instants of heaven touching
earth. When her daughter phones me the
following day to ask for the death certificate I know that Señora Chuba was
ready for her final journey.
The next week sees me organising a
remarkable celebratory meal. As well as
running the village health centre I also run a sponsorship scheme for local
children to be able to afford to go to school.
It is the end of the school year and seven girls are graduating from
secondary school. This is an amazing
achievement for each and every one of them, and they have each dedicated
themselves to their studies in a truly admirable way. Angela is one of five sisters whose father
abandoned them many years ago. Their
mother has worked washing clothes by hand for the neighbours every hour
possible to put food on the table.
Sometimes the girls have gone to bed hungry. They have walked half an hour to get to
school in tropical rain storms and blazing hot sun. Their mother never had the opportunity to
study more than primary school. Angela
now has the chance to find a job as a bookkeeper in a local store in the day
and to pursue a University course in the evenings. She can become a professional. Her life has been transformed by the support
of her sponsor.
Tania has funded her secondary education by
participating in our village sewing group.
This afternoon she has brought me her final offering of some intricately
embroidered bags. The money I pay her
for them will cover the cost of her graduation.
I am sure these will be a popular item when they find their way on to
church stalls in the UK. Martha has also
come with some aprons she has made. She
is deaf and dumb and has not had any education, but she knows how to use a
sewing machine really well. The income
from the sewing project enables her to feed and clothe her two young
daughters.
The month ends with my father-in-law´s
birthday meal. He is happily barbequing
his favourite meat, guinea pig, while my daughters play and laugh at his
side. The whole family enjoys the
special meal and the chance to spend time together.
This article was published in Life and Work Magazine April 2013
No comments:
Post a Comment