Clinic--SUCCESS!!!

Dear Friends,

This is Pastor Kristina writing one more entry. Josh will add one, too.

Let's talk about this idea of "Clinic". It's amazing really. Let's just remember how this miracle came about.

We had this idea months ago. Maybe we could bring some medicines with us. Maybe we could distribute some of them. Lets see what we can do. It was an outlandish idea, really. I mean, we were going to build a school building. How could we run a clinic? Who would run the clinic? They need to be someone with a license, you know. No one in Awombrew would have one of those! And where would we get those medicines from?

Suddenly, we find ourselves gifted by Heidi Riedie's company (forgive me, my memory is failing as to the name) with $1000 worth of medicines. Hmmm...I think we'll put those in the suitcases and see what happens.

Then Joseph Ewoodzie makes a phone call. I need to explain to you what happens when Joseph Ewoodzie makes a phone call: things begin to happen. The universe loosens up a bit and God stuff starts to flow. Enter, Archibald the pharmascist. Archibald is my hero today! One call when we got here brought Archibald to our door--I think it was the next day. The next thing we know we have a clinic date of Saturday--one week from that meeting. Can the chief get the word out? Yes, he can!

So today, with "nurse" Barbara at the ready taking blood pressures and pulses as fast as people sat down, and Fahti, Uncle Abu's niece helping Archibald dispense medications, and me taking down the blood pressure and pulse info and regulating the line, and a number of others doing crowd control, upwards of 300 people (100 adults, 200 children) were seen and given medications. Three hundred plus...!!!

I know that I will process this day for a long time. It was terribly hard to leave at the end of the day because it was the end of the day when all have not yet been seen. But the need never ends. When you look at the number 300, realize that represents almost half of the village.

Which gets me to thinking: all these people we see each day--most of them with smiles and kindness and many with outright joy to share--yet they also have problems ranging from rashes to serious infections to arthritis to fevers. And I wonder, how do we approach our days when we are struggling? Do we still see the grace of God in it?

There is a way of answering the question, "How are you?" here. You answer, "By the grace of God, I'm fine." By the grace of God, I hope that you, too, are fine this day. Blessings on you all. Thank you for your prayers. You have sustained us even as we weary!

See you all soon--by the grace of God.

Blessings on this journey, PK