I’ve been in Gainesville for about two weeks now, and it’s been really good. Most of the people I’m surrounded by are also world race alumni and staff. That, in addition to being back in this community and environment, has brought up some stuff for me from my race. So I wanted to share a few memories and stories from the race that i’m still processing through. Hopefully you will also get a glimpse of my heart through it.
May, 2013
My team and I were serving in Rwanda this month. Two of my team mates had just finished speaking at a church service when our contact decided to bring us to a local hospital. It was unexpected, but that wasn’t unusual. We were told that we were going to pray for the sick.
The first place we stopped was an emergency room of sorts. The staff were all attending to a screaming child as his mother sat in a corner with another child. This younger sister was happily scribbling with a marker on an inflated rubber glove, oblivious to the situation. But we felt like our little group was intruding, so after some quick prayer for the mother and children, we moved on.
The next ward we went to was a large, open room that housed dozens of patients being treated for various illnesses. We were told to spread out and pray for people! A tricky thing to do without a translator. We managed to have several conversations and prayed for a few people. One woman was terrified that if the other patients found out she was HIV positive they would demand that she leave.
We finally made our way to the maternity ward – another large, open room. This time it was full of women who had recently given birth. The women were mostly smiling and laughing and were happy to show us their newborn babies. A stark contrast to the previous ward where sickness and looming diagnosis lived.
But then our contact told us to go through a door to the next room. And I don’t think anything could have quite prepared my heart for what I experienced next.
To be continued…
