What a whirlwind!

Let me warn you... this is going to be a long post :)
I'm going to talk about my exciting, crazy, adventurous, scary, filled week since arriving at GSF.

First, let me tell you what a wonderful place Good Shepherd's Fold is! It is a orphanage that houses 83 children at this time from birth to 18. There are 6 houses for all the children, split by ages and gender. There are also house moms in each house that take care of the children. on GSF property there is a primary (preschool-7th grade) school as well that children come to from the local villages. That means that GSF is very busy during the week! I only have one picture from GSF right now since I have been gone most of the time since arriving there (I will explain below!). I will do a later blog about each house and what my living situation looks like! I live in a house with Dayna and two other missionaries. They are all wonderful!

View of my house (right) and the GSF kitchen (left)

So Dayna and I arrived at GSF on Wednesday night/Thursday morning at 230 am. The orphanage is about 2 hours from Kampala. Thursday was a wonderful learning day with orientation at GSF and a trip into Jinja, a large town about 30 min from GSF. Later that night, Corinne, another missionary at GSF, updated me on two little boys health conditions. One boy, Elijah, has had problems with constipation and rectal prolapse. He had a surgery done in Jinja to put a stitch in his rectum to help with the prolapse. However, this caused him not to be able to pass stool and he was is a lot of pain! The second boy, Richard, has sickle cell. He had been in and out of different clinics in Jinja and Kampala for almost 3 weeks, never getting the right treatment. Corinne and I decided that both boys really needed to go into Kampala to SAS clinic, where there is the best medical care.

Richard, almost 3, on the was to SAS clinic 

So Friday morning, we load up the van with the two boys and get dropped off two hours away at the SAS clinic. On the way there Richard was quiet but didn't seem in much pain. However, I believe God was closely watching over us and gave us the perfect timing for helping this poor. Just during the two hour ride he began to show a little bit of pain, and by the time we made it to the clinic he was crying and screaming in pain. Let me explain if you don't know much about sickle cell: the go into crisis sometimes that causes severe severe pain, breathing problems, heart problems, stomach problems, kidney problems, and more. We were seen quickly at the clinic and Richard was given a shot for pain. Blood was drawn and an IV started with fluids. We quickly got results back showing that Richard needed a blood transfusion and we would need to stay the night in-patient at the clinic. Richard has relief from his pain medicine, but still looked very very ill. We were not prepared at all to stay the night, but knew we had no other choice! So here I am during my first week in Uganda, in charge of Richard not only for his medical care, but playing mom as well for what ended up being 3 (!!!!) nights at a clinic. I am SO thankful that Corinne, who knows the healthcare system and culture in Uganda much better was there as well. I want to share some differences I have learned about staying in-patient here that I different than the states:
-The do not provide food or drinks for the patient or the family
- As far as I saw, the idea of something being an emergency did not exist at this clinic
- The family members/care takers provide a lot more care to the patient than required in the states

Things I am thankful for that happened while staying in the hospital:
- We met a wonderful nurse named Finoa who only took care of us the first day, but checked on us every day! We prayed together and laughed a lot when we could. We talked about differences in culture and truly made a Ugandan friend.
- Most doctors that saw Richard would talk about how they were praying for him, how he was covered in the blood of Jesus, or such. It was very uplifting!

So this is the story...
Friday:
We got admitted and went to our room. It was almost 5 o'clock and we needed food, supplies, etc for the night. Elijah still needed to be seen by the surgeon who was running late. Corinne stayed at SAS, and I ventured out for the first time by myself in Uganda! I caught 3 different bodas all by myself, went to two different places to buy food and supplies like soap (which is not provided!) and such. God was totally watching over me! That doctors that night said Richard was going into failure... He looked like death... I don't know another way to describe it. He grunted when he breathed and he screamed in pain a lot. Corinne and I cried a lot that night praying that God would heal and protect Richard. I am use to being a nurse, I am use to taking care of very sick kids...however I am not use to being their main caretakers, their mom, the one who holds them when they cry... That night we tried to sleep a little, myself in bed with Richard and Corinne on a bed/chair with Elijah.

In-patient at SAS clinic

View from Corinne's "bed" in the in-patient room to show the door to our bathroom

Saturday:
After his transfusion and pain medicine he seemed only slight better. I was happy he made it through the night. I read Psalm 27 to him and myself a few times...
"I believe that I shall look upon fthe goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!
Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!"
His kidneys were failing, his breathing was horrible,  and his abdomen continues to grow in size. Again, we prayed and prayed and prayed... 
Finally after medicine for his kidneys, abdomen, a blood transfusion, and LOTS of IV fluids, Richard began to improve. 

Sunday:
Richard smiled!! He laughed! He wasn't great but he was getting better! We were so thankful! Corinne and I continued to learn to navigate Kampala, taking turns to go to church, go eat, go escape for a little bit. I was able to go to Watoto Centeal and LOVED the worship. I was an amazing reminder of God's greatness throughout EVERY nation... I worshiped with hundreds of Ugandans excitedly praising God's goodness. Again, Corinne and I both really this boost! The preacher also said something that stuck with me
"As Christians, when we go through the fire we will not get burned, we will only get refined."
What a wonderful reminder, one that I really needed through this time! 

Richard and I when he was finally able to sit up!

Monday:
We finally we able to go back to GSF!! After many more boca rides throughout Kampala looking for many types of medicine that Richard will need to stay on, some forever, I feel like I have become a boda expert :)  

During this time Corinne and I survived on two pairs of clothes, which we slept in a washed in the bathroom sick with a bar of soap. We had someone from GSF bring us some supplies on Saturday but had no idea we would be there 3 nights! We made friends with Nelson, who worked in a local restaurant and helped bring us drinks and food. I am learning that people are so much more relational here. He checked on Richard every day, as did many others. I feel like people take time out of their lives here to really stop and care for others... even though we were just customers or patients. 

God taught me many things during this time... I had to trust in His goodness despite the circumstances. I became better at turning to him with my worries, frustration, praises, and everything really! I became dependent because I had nothing else to depend on! Because Corinne and I had to be mom over these 4 days, I also learned about my selfish desires! When I became responsible for feeding and taking care of these children every second of the day I realized how much sometimes I just wanted to sleep instead of play, or didn't want to get up at 4 am to give medicine... However with MUCH prayer God provided me with continued patience, grace, and peace. Parents- I have a new respect for you!! Hahaha

Please contine to pray:
- Richard's health. It will be a battle for his entire life to stay in good health. He must now be on many daily medicines to prevent such a severe crisis again. Richard could use another sponsor to help pay for life saving medicine, so if you feel it on your heart that you would like to help please email me and I will connect you with the sponsorship program! JulieMatthews8@yahoo.com
- Rest for Corinne and myself as we catch up from 4 days away from GSF
-Elijah's health as he has another small operation to help correct his bowel problems 
- The aunties at the toddler house- that they would be able to provide the much needed care to these two boys 

Closing note, which of course I read this morning in my devotional... God has amazing timing :)

"Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and  hope does not put us to shame, because God's love ihas been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."
Romans 5: 3-5

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