Words to Live By

“Don’t move in your bed or it will be even more insufferably hot.  Be still.”  This was a conversation between my room and the room across the hall as we were going to sleep the other night.  It does not cool down at nights so we are normally drenched in sweat by the morning. 

Our conversation then went along the lines of this:

“It’s a sauna in here” --> “I just want to put an ice cube down my shirt” --> “Air-conditioning how I miss you” --> “Don’t judge me if I strip down and lay on the cold tile” --> “I’m going to draw a cold bath and sleep there tonight” --> “I see a mirage of snow”

I like quotes.  I like writing down funny things friends have said so I can later laugh at those memories.  I love reading inspiring quotes and pinning them to a pinterest board but a few days ago, my roommate Hannah shared with me this excerpt from a blog.

“Martin Luther King doesn’t want to be quoted, the saints of the church don’t want to be quoted, Jesus doesn’t want to be quoted, the Buddha doesn’t want to be quoted. They all want us to work. They all want us to make enlightened and self-sacrifical choices that make ourselves and those around us better people. Here is an exercise: Quote only those words that you are willing to do today. If we can’t act on what we quote, what is the actual value of it? Expecting others to do it and not ourselves is just arrogance and self-centeredness. Find a struggle and persist in it. Then be willing to change. Wouldn’t you like these words to have meaning for generations after us? I would. So let’s not hollow them out with our laziness.”   Hhmmmm…. Something to think about.

Okay, so here is the quote that has been on my mind lately as I go from ministry to ministry over the weeks.  It is one of my all-time favorites. 

“At least I will not laugh at your pain.  I will not try to fix your problems.  I will not ignore your suffering or condemn you with my piety.  I will simply lie here next to you in the cold as we breathe our smoky prayers to God.” Raeben Nolan.

What this quote means to me is that God’s love is shown through actions.  By laughing, ignoring, condemning or fixing, I am acting as though I am superior or all knowing to the person in need.  I am not superior for with a snap of a finger our life situations could have been reversed.  God wants us to live in relationship with one another, to support and love one another, to sit and console those who are mourning.  As my friend Christa would say, “Be furniture in someone’s life”, meaning share life with those around you and be ready to support them when in need.  It is definitely not easy, but I am trying to live this quote out.  Below are some of the moments throughout this week that have reminded me of it.

Thursdays are now full ministry days.  Each Thursday, all the teams rotate through various outreach programs throughout Kampala.  This Thursday, my team started the day off at Akiva(SP*), a home for children with cancer (kind of like a Ronald Mcdonald house).  Upon arrival, we began washing the walls and windows and dusting around the home.  Then two little boys around the age of two came over to play the drums that were left out.  I sat them on my knee as they hit at the drums.  As I was playing with them, one of the workers came up to me to tell me a bit about the boys.  Peter is a little brother of one of the girls there that has cancer and Ronnie is suffering from Leukemia and also is HIV+.  Now that is a blow to the heart.  I wouldn’t have known any different.  While the children were on their break from school, I began to play soccer and volleyball with two little boys, one of which with a large tumor on his neck.  I then had my hair done by a beautiful and warm little girl named Patience, who hugged and kissed me many times throughout the day.  You wouldn’t know any of these children were sick by looking at them or talking to them.  Feeling sorry and showing pity on these children is not going to do anything for them.  At the time, the best possible thing I thought I could do to pour love onto these kids was to just play with them and have some fun, and man, did we ever have fun!  I am looking forward to spending more time there.

That afternoon, our team went to Mulago Hospital, the largest hospital in all of Uganda.  We had heard many stories from teams that had previously gone there and were preparing ourselves for difficult sights.  Let me tell you for those of you who complain about healthcare in Canada, we are extremely blessed.  If you want good care from the doctors or even a bed, you better be able to pay for it.  A lot of the time patients suffer from worse things or take even longer to heal because of delayed and/or improper treatment.  We found, people lying on beds out in the main hall upon entering the ward. 

We were brought to the ward where many people had broken limbs, and amputations due to accidents.  We split off into pairs, myself with my friend Lillian, to go from hospital bed to hospital bed talking to, encouraging, and praying for the patients.  As we moved from patient to patient, I saw bloody bandages wrapped around wounds, visitors of patients lying on mats on the floor, metal things sticking out of those whose legs were badly broken and smelled rotting flesh from poorly treated broken limbs.  Helpless, may be an understatement of how I felt when I was there.  My friend Lillian did an incredible job facing her fears of hospitals, warmly chatting with the patients in Luganda, and then translating the conversations to me.  We would generally ask the patient what had happened, how long they have been in the hospital for, and if they would like us to pray for them.   It was so painful to leave after the hour we were assigned as we had people begging for us to pray for each and every patient in the ward.  I did not want to ignore the suffering of any one of those patients.  They are all worth it.  Now although this ministry has been the toughest to do so far, it was an incredible day being some sort of encouragement and beacon of hope for people by pushing past my fears and insecurities.  One woman said to Lillian and I, after we prayed for her son to be healed of his broken leg and arm, that she had faith in our prayers and presence there to restore her son back to health.  Those are the places that need the most love poured into them.

I may sound a bit preachy in this post but all I can say is building rapport with people and showing love through actions is incredibly powerful as it brings dignity and worth to those that have been beaten down the most.   Although, I am striving to live out those words of Raeban Nolan, I am not perfect.  Believe me there are times when I don’t give people the time of day and need to have some sense knocked into me.  I am exceptionally thankful for the life that I have and the blessings that have been gifted to me.
 

I ask for you to pray for the children at Akiva to win the fight against cancer and for the hospital of Mulago to have better treatments, resources, and financial aid to restore their patients back to life. 

Peace and love