Today was incredibly difficult. Not only did our team put in another 10 hour day helping provide medical care to over 100 Tanzanians, but we experienced a terribly tragedy. A young boy came to the hospital terribly ill. He had been sick for some time and his parents brought him into the hospital after taking him to witch doctors for healing. He was having seizures, was running a dangerously high fever, and was largely non-responsive. As the doctors and nurses rushed to care for him, some members of our team were able to come into the room to observe. They watched as the doctors worked to stabilize the little boy while they waited for the ambulance, which was an hour away. While they waited, they consulted with doctors in the clinic, as well as in the U.S. The hospital where we were holding our clinic had very little resources. As is Masai custom, once the boy was this sick, parents kept their distance and the mother was not permitted to come. Several of our students stayed by this young boys side, comforting him, praying over him, every minute until he went to be with Jesus. Even then, they stayed by him, mourning his loss. Our students, and the nurses, were family to him. One of our students helped prepare this child for burial and we all observed as they escorted him outside, shielding him from the rest of the clinic with a screen. This was a tremendously difficult situation to walk through and our team had to take some time to recover The sustaining power of the Holy Spirit through this is was tangible, but it was a lot to process.
Later in the day, we learned of God's plan to use this tragedy for his glory. After the the boy passed, while our team was still in the room, the father of the boy came to see him and confirm his death. He stayed for no more than 3-4 minutes. We learned later from our Pastor here, that this father was so impacted by the love and care our team showed to his dying son, that he accepted Jesus, was saved, and was planning to bring his whole family to church on Sunday! While this did not alleviate the pain we felt for the young boy, it was an incredible display of God's power in the midst of terrible darkness! We are so grateful to know this boy is with Jesus now, no longer in pain, and will be reunited with his family some day!
Later in the day, we learned of God's plan to use this tragedy for his glory. After the the boy passed, while our team was still in the room, the father of the boy came to see him and confirm his death. He stayed for no more than 3-4 minutes. We learned later from our Pastor here, that this father was so impacted by the love and care our team showed to his dying son, that he accepted Jesus, was saved, and was planning to bring his whole family to church on Sunday! While this did not alleviate the pain we felt for the young boy, it was an incredible display of God's power in the midst of terrible darkness! We are so grateful to know this boy is with Jesus now, no longer in pain, and will be reunited with his family some day!