More sickness and observing suffering and death.

Hey everyone.

I guess we have still had a sick household here at YSU over the last few weeks.
Since I wrote my last blog I talked about how Aggie's back was in a bad shape, and how I had malaria and tonsillitis.

A few weeks back we ended up taking Ethan to the hospital at about 8 pm because he had a very high temperature and he was clearly distressed.
The nurses really struggled to find a vein to take blood from Ethan, so they actually got the Turkish manager of the hospital to come and get the blood (he seemed to be the one who knew how to get blood from a baby the best)
It was a bit of an uncomfortable experience, as it took about 10 minutes of getting enough blood from Ethan (they took it from his foot) and as he was screaming and kicking, I had to pin him down and hold him still .. Which Ethan hates.
Ethan ended up having the same infection in his throat that I had, and so he was put on lots of medicine in syrup form.

After a week or so of recovery I actually ended up getting an incredible amount of pain in my right chest and back.
I could tell the pain was deep inside, and it felt like my lung. So last Wednesday I ended up going back to the hospital (my second home by now ... all the doctors know us by name)
The lining of my lung was inflamed, and so whenever I breathed in or twisted my body, the lung was pushing against this inflammation and causing a lot of pain.
So back on strong med's and told to rest.

That night I was awoken around 2 am to banging on my door from Beatrice (Farouk and Beatrice live in the same house as us with their children).
I could hear her crying, and also Farouk asking for my help. In my medded up state I was quite confused and got dressed and ran to their room to find Meshach having a seizure in Farouk's arms.

So here is another reason why the new car, which people back in Australia bought for us, has come in handy.
We were able to race Meshach to the emergency section of the hospital in town in the middle of the night.
His temperature was at 40 which caused the seizure, and so he had a suppository put in him straight away to bring the temp down.
They tried many times to get blood from him, but the night duty nurse was really struggling and they could not get any blood from his veins.
He ended up getting pierced with a needle about five times ... and this is Meshach's worse nightmare.
In the car he had been completely out of it and his eyes had been rolling in the back of his head. But by the time they had brought the fever down and tried to take his blood, it took three of us men to pin him down to give him an injection of antibiotics in the bum! The boy certainly knows how to resist a needle.

Meshach ended up spending two nights in the hospital because he had a very strong infection. That infection caused the high fever which in turn caused the convulsions.
It was quite a scary ordeal, and if we had not taken him to the hospital during the night, the sickness could of killed him.
Meshach is such a small boy as well, only 12 kilos at 3 years, so he seems to really get knocked down when he gets sick.

Farouk and I were actually meditating on how God works. Before I got sick with my lung problem, Farouk and I had been organizing to go away camping for that Wednesday night (the night Meshach got sick)
But due to my sickness I had to cancel those plans. As a result Farouk and I were around to rush Meshach to the hospital.
It could of been a lot worse if we were not around when it had happened.
Some people may simply choose to see that as coincidence, or maybe luck. We choose to see it as God's hand.

There has actually been a number of stories and experiences I have had over the last few days that still bring the reality of death and suffering close to my mind.

While in the hospital the next day to check on Meshach, an old pastor was rushed into the hospital in a critical condition.
We were actually in the next room and we could hear the doctors frantically working on him, and the sound of the heart monitor.  We heard the heart beat stop on the monitor, and then the wailing of a woman in grief echoed down the hospital corridors.
It is interesting to note the difference in the culture here. While the sick man was being worked on, the hospital filled up with family, friends and people from the pastors church. They were all waiting around seeing what would be the result.
After the man passed away, the hospital was full of almost 100 people, wailing and grieving and praying.
It was a sombering experience to sit there and watch it all.
Farouk I discussed how there is no escaping death in the end.

In the end all of us will face death.
The only thing we can really do is prepare our soul to meet it's maker. Have you?

In church yesterday a poor young widow who is a member of the church, pleaded with the congregation for help.
She had recently had her arm amputated due to cancer, but the doctors were now saying they needed to take off more of the arm because the cancer had not been fully removed.
The government hospital here said they were refusing to work on her because she did not have the 50,000 that they were demanding (about $20)
The woman had absolutely no money, so she had sold her only bed for about 20,000 ($8) to try and raise some, but she was still 30,000 short.

What a desperate condition to be in.

I was then moved by this woman, when during the offering for the church she was the first one up to place a small amount of money in the offering basket.
It reminded me of the story in the bible of the poor widow who gives a small amount of money (all that she owns) in the form of a single coin.

Let that be a lesson to us in wealthy nations.

Of course, everything in me wanted to get up and reassure the woman and give her some money and help her out and let it be done.
But I actually felt moved to wait, I wanted to see the church body come around and support her. It could be easy for me to just give the money and let it be done with, but I may be stepping in the way of a God given chance for the church to be a blessing to this woman, and in turn be blessed back by God.

Sure enough our pastor got up and called for the church to do whatever they could for the woman. And so people got up and placed the small amounts of money that they had, in a basket to help her.
Aggie and I knew that we would help top the bill (we are in fact the wealthiest people in that church) but it was moving to see the people in the church, who are also very poor, coming together to help each other.
In the end the remaining 30,000 was collected by the members of the church, and this woman will now be able to get her operation.

Aggie and I did make a decision that we will get her a new bed, since she had to sell her old one.

It was a beautiful reminder that the poor do not always have to rely on the rich from wealthy nations. That they are not totally helpless, and that the body of Christ can always come together to help each other, even if that particular body is very poor.

The desperation that people feel, and the reality of their situation still hits you though.
And another reminder of the pain people go through was about to come.

Near the end of the service another woman from the church who we know, came rushing to talk to the pastor. She had left her baby, who is only a few months old, in the government children's hospital, to ask for help from the congregation.
The child is in a critical condition and needs to be placed on oxygen.
It can be so frustrating here in Uganda, in a government hospital were things are meant to be free, they were still refusing to treat the baby until some money had been paid.

When we inquired what was wrong with the baby, they couldn't say. Another aspect of government hospitals here is that they just treat you without giving you a diagnosis, or I should say the doctors know what is wrong with you, but they don't have the time to explain that to you ... only to treat you.
Often the dignity of the patient is not thought of, there is no thought to explain their condition to them, or to even explain the treatment they will be getting.

Aggie and I were able to contribute something to help the situation because everyone in the church had just used up their money to help the woman with the amputated arm. Our pastor told us this morning that as soon as they reached the hospital and were able to pay for treatment, the doctors started working on the child.
There is still a high chance that the baby will die.

All of these events and stories just help to remind me of the fragility of life. Suffering and death is real.
We may try to paint a picture of living happy adventurous lives on social media, but the reality is we will all go through suffering, we will all see people we love die, and we will all die ourselves. It is not just the poor in other countries, but all of us.
And so I reflect on my life and all that is given to me. Yes the Lord gives and he takes away, but through it all we can praise Him because of the great promises of hope He gives us. And because He Himself entered into our suffering and chose to identify with us.

I am thankful and grateful of so many things. Things that I recognize are not my right! but purely grace.
I am thankful to have access to money and a support system in Australia who would always help my family and I if we were in need. I am grateful for educated human minds who create modern medicine to treat diseases that would of killed us a few hundred years ago.
If I was living a hundred years ago I am sure my family and I would be dead 10 x over.
What right of it was mine to be born into an era of sophisticated modern medicine?
I am grateful for access to that modern medicine and that my family and I are supported enough to get good medical treatment.
I am grateful for a car, so if there is an emergency late in the night I can easily rush to the hospital.
I am grateful for my life, for my health and for my families health.
I am grateful for the local church here, who can come around a sick woman and help raise money for her treatment.
I am grateful for getting sick, so that I was around to help drive Meshach to the hospital on Wednesday night.
I am grateful for the poor, who continue to inspire me with their tremendous acts of faith, courage and love.
I am grateful for a sovereign God, who works all things for the good of those who love Him, even if we cannot understand what He is exactly doing during our moments of pain.
And I am grateful for salvation, that purchases for us access to God and His kingdom. For the hope of the new heavens and a new earth, where every tear will be wiped away in the presence of God.




YSU:
I know I have not given much of an update on YSU, so here is a short one. We are doing well with our tailoring girls, they continue to be committed and love learning. Our house is always full of young men who we are discipling (especially with the holidays on) and we love sharing our lives with these young men.
We are preparing for an empower trauma rehabilitation program with the tailoring girls next week, so please pray for that.
Ethan will also be going for his dependent visa this month, so we also pray for smooth interactions with the immigration officers who will make the call.
Thanks everyone and God bless.

Sickness

So we are a month in to our time back in Uganda and our house hold has been whacked with a serious case of sickness.

Agnes has done some damage to her back, she has a compressed spine, where her vertebrae are compressed against each other pinching the nerves. This has caused her serious pain, often her back will lock up and then she is totally immobile.
The doctor is a bit concerned about it because if it gets any worse she may need surgery on her back.
So we have gotten a new orthopedic mattress for Aggie to sleep on, anything to try and help the situation.

Last Saturday night I started experiencing a strong fever and headache, so after a sleepless night I went to the hospital and got tested positive for malaria.
It has really knocked me around a lot, especially because I had a bad case of the flu to go along with it.

We have been pretty miserable actually, and it has been a struggle to take care of each other and also to take care of Ethan.

Aggie cannot lift Ethan up out of his bed to feed him during the night, so I have had to be doing it. But this is happening while I am shivering and sweating and almost passing out from an incredibly strong fever.

It has been a few days now, and although my fever has reduced and the headaches are gone, my throat has been so sore. It has gotten to the point where I can't eat or even drink water because it is too painful to swallow.
So back to the hospital this morning, and sure enough I have a strong infection in my tonsils/throat.
So more medication and more rest. But at least the malaria is gone.

Please pray for us as we are struggling to do our work here at the moment, we both feel totally immobile at times.
Thankfully Agnes' brother and our maid Zaina have been helping to take care of Ethan, which has relieved us a bit.

Otherwise we are just waiting for our strength to come back to us so we can continue our work.
We continue to run devotions and classes, as well as discipleship for the young people here.

We have started taking youth (mainly from the Village of Hope) in pairs of two's, to come and share dinner with us every week.
We often do all our work through programs and set classes, but I have always been convicted of the idea of bringing the young people into our house, to share a meal with us so they can see how Aggie, myself and Ethan operate as a family.
We feel like this is an important aspect of discipleship. And the Christian virtue of hospitality is something not to be missed and forgotten.
We hope we can also be an example to the young people on how a family can love each other and sit together around the dinner table and share a meal and pray together and read the scriptures together (you would be surprised how much this is lacking in families and marriages here)
I think inviting young people into our homes, to help them grow, and to try our best to be a good example for them, will hopefully have a positive impact on them.

We have also been enjoying our car, as I said in my last post, it certainly makes life much easier here (especially when we are sick and need so many doctors visits)

There is not too much more to write about for now, and I feel my medication kicking in which means I will need to lie down soon.

Please keep us in your prayers.

God bless