Yesterday we joined with some of the Scott students and spread out among the town to participate in various ministries. Some participated in church services, some went to high schools, and others to hospitals. I was in the hospital group. Catherine, Margaux, and myself joined 3 Scott students (Amach, Elizabeth, & Gideon) and headed to Machakos General Hospital. It was about a 45-minute walk from campus. I told Amach how Elizabeth had mentioned that the hospital was “just a short walk” from campus. I remarked that to Americans, a short walk would be maybe a 5-minute walk! I didn’t mind the extra 40 minutes. I’m enjoying walking and any other exercise I can get, especially when the weather is pleasant. It was a little chilly but definitely tolerable. The hospital was not one big building as in the U.S., but was more a campus of buildings joined together by walkways and such. We headed for the back of campus towards the small chapel. As we approached we could hear singing. There was a handful of other students and two chaplains already worshiping God. These other students were from a nearby Bible college. They regularly join the Scott students for this ministry. Before making their rounds visiting the patients, they have a mini-service with singing and some preaching from the Word. Some of the tunes I recognized, others were easy to pick up, while the rest were in Swahili and I just listened and praised God in my heart. The message was on Romans 12—our bodies and service to God being offered as living sacrifices.

We split up into 5 teams. I headed towards Amach since I had gotten to know him on our walk to the hospital. He was soft spoken but passionate about his calling. He is 7th in his family of 12 children. All are Christians—his father receiving Christ just last year. Amach got saved in 2000 and God put the desire in his heart for Christian education. Through faith he set out to raise funds for college. Support raising for him was similar to that in the States—writing letters, inviting people (especially important/wealthy people) to hear what he set out to do in hopes they will contribute.

Our team included myself, Amach, and a Bible college student named Esther. Each group was divided among most of the wards. We were assigned to the eye ward and Ward 1. The hospital is rather all-inclusive. It has about 13 wards including wards for accidents, pediatrics, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, psychiatric, maternity, OBGYN, and so on. The eye ward was obviously for patients suffering from eye injuries or diseases. Ward 1 was for male patients who had been in an accident or were awaiting (and probably also recovering from) surgery. As we were walking towards these wards I prayed to myself that God would strengthen me for what I was about to experience. I obviously had never been to an African hospital and I didn’t know quite what to expect. I suppose I assumed it would be a bit more intense than what I was used to during casual visits to American hospitals. The two wards I visited actually were not that… how should I say… dramatically intense? Yes, we found people suffering from quite painful injuries, but nothing exceptionally different from anything I’d seen in the States. I believe Margaux saw one of the most difficult sights in the ward for female accident patients. This woman was orphaned as a child. Now an adult she had a baby of her own. The woman had serious burns that put her in the hospital months ago. After operations she got a bad infection that led to an amputation. Back in the hospital, she has no family and virtually no funds. Eventually the hospital will have to “take her home” (she doesn’t really have one). As Margaux was leaving her bedside, the Scott student remarked, “She and her baby will die.” Margaux wrestled with how to encourage someone like that. Only through Christ can we offer any hope at all.

We met several people (mostly men) during our rounds. Amach usually greeted them first by telling them we were there to encourage them. Then we took turns encouraging them with our words and finally a prayer. Amach did a great job leading the time, and called on Esther and myself equally throughout to make sure that we participated. Esther could speak the local language, which helped in communication. Sometimes Amach would begin talking to the patient in Swahili, but then ask me also to encourage the patient. It was an odd thing to not operate out of confidence that the patient understood what I was saying. It is a change from me wanting to have a bit more knowledge of the situation. I suppose maybe I wanted Amach to say, “they can understand some English” or “they will not understand what you are saying but encourage them anyway”. It was humbling because I wasn’t sure if the patient could understand me, but Esther and Amach could understand me so I felt like a bumbling idiot sometimes. Nonetheless, I did enjoy the time and I hope that we were encouragement to the patients through the love of Christ. Three times I heard Amach or Esther praying with a patient and the patient would repeat the same words out loud. I assumed correctly that they were reciting the sinner’s prayer. First it was a shy little boy. Was he reciting it to appease the authority figures in front of him? After we left he was giggling to his mom who had come back in from outside. The second time it was a young man named Joseph. He told us that he had accepted Christ years before but had backslidden. The third young man was named Francis and he prayed to receive Christ for the first time. I praise God for the work He is doing through the students ministering in the hospital on a regular basis. It is a government hospital and Amach remarked that sometimes they have been faced with opposition from certain nurses who would not let them come inside the ward. He said that God has blessed them lately though by giving them favor in the eyes of the nurses. One nurse greeted us kindly and wanted to know where we were from and where I was going to serve.

I was most impressed by Amach’s knowledge of the Bible. He shared 2-3 passages of Scripture with each patient. He would instantly thumb through his Bible to find verses of hope, verses urging us not to worry, verses speaking of God’s sovereign care. It challenged me to know my Bible well and to be able to quickly pinpoint Scripture needed for any situation. As Christians we need to be ready to share God’s truths with those we wish to encourage. Knowing one or two verses is not enough. We should intimately know God’s Word and where to locate Scriptures of encouragement. As you continue to pray for my time in Africa, pray that my time in God’s Word will be rich and fruitful for my ministry here and always.