Because He Said Go: Grief and Joy

I wanted to share some moments of rejoicing with you along with some moments of grief.

This past week was a very tough and very eye opening week. A few months ago our administrator noticed a girl that went to school at GSF who seemed very malnourished. Alice was 12 years old, but very thin and had large swollen like cheeks that indicate malnutrition. Immediately when I saw her I agree, and urged our social worker to help the family get medical and nutritional help. Everyone at GSF agreed and sought help for her and her family.... Fast forward a few months to this past Tuesday. It was 5 pm, and near the end of the working day. I get told that our administrator is going to take a school girl into Rippon Clinic (our clinic of choice in Jinja). Alice and her mom show up at the offices and I immediately recognize this poor thin girl from before. However, today she can barely walk, her hands and feet are swollen (more indications of malnutrition) and she has a severe cough. She looks frightened and in pain. I ask what has been happening?! She got help from GSF to be admitted to the local hospital a couple of weeks ago and no one from GSF has heard anything since. They has assumed she has been helped and returned to school. Today, however, leaders were informed that she had never come back to school and word was that she was doing very poorly. We asked the mother what happened at the local hospital but she has no papers and did not know what had been done for her child. Sadly that is very common... healthcare workers don't explain very well and culturally families do not ask questions about the care being given.

So with no medical information we take her to Rippon and luckily get xrays and blood work done... which required some begging because it was the end of the day. Our main doctor we associate with was there and took quick action to evaluate her. It was soon thought that Alice has severe TB and malnutrition- two problems that only make each other worse. She was admitted and I was assured that she would be in good hands. The doctors view was that with treatment she "would be just fine". Since Alice's mom was there and she was not under the direct care of GSF I tried not to butt in too much... I was not her nurse, she did not need me to play mom/nurse...her mom was there and she was in the care of the best facility we have found in Jinja. Basically, I tried not to step over boundaries that I could only because I am mzungu (white/foreigner)... I tried to trust the system.

I called on Wednesday for an update and was informed more tests were being done but she was doing ok. I thanked the doctor for his care and said I would check the next day. Sadly, I never got the chance. I was informed through a text from the doctor only a few hours late that Alice had died. Poor sweet Alice had not made it to another night. Due to a violent (yet treatable) illness, lack of food (when is the last time you have actually had a lack of food?), and lack of adequate healthcare (I have more to say on this, but have chosen not to do it online!), this 12 year old girl did not get the chance to grow up.

Please pray for her mom and siblings. I know they are grieving greatly during this time. Please pray for our trust in God when we feel out of control with the medical care here...it is a daily battle we fight. Please pray for wisdom, compassion, and dedication for all the health care workers in Uganda who are providing medical care to children just like Alice.

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.

Revelations 21:4

Now for two stories of JOY!

A couple of posts back I talked about a little boy named Innocent who stayed briefly at our babies home. His mom return after being gone for over a month and promised to take care of her children again. We helped return Innocent and his brother Charlie to their home. GSF helped provided spiritual and marriage counseling for the husband and wife.

Well, good news!! They are doing wonderfully! The family is part of our weekly feeding program and attend the local village church so we are often able to see the boys. Both are doing so well! They are growing nice and fat :) Here is a before and now picture of Innocent. The one of the left is on his first day at GSF, and left is just last week! He is a happy boy in a loving family again!

Mark, age 26, is a tailor at GSF. Ten years ago Mark was in a car accident and lost both his legs above just right above his keens. Mark has used a wheelchair for those 10 years. He use to get himself to work everyday down a long dirt road with hills... it took him about 30-40 min each morning. Prosthetics are not common in counties like Uganda due to their high cost. However, one generous person donated money to help mark get two prosthetic legs! For two months Mark stayed at CoRSU, a rehab hospital about 2 hours from Jinja. It was a very long process but now he has legs!!! He is still using two crutches to help him walk, but they have confidence what with time he will go to one and then none! When Mark returned to his home in the village most people did not believe it was him... he was standing!!! It was so amazing to watch this process. Mark is a very strong man of God and will definitely use this opportunity to help spread God's love!