This Moment

Palm trees cast lengthening shadows across the airstrip, yet heat still radiated from the red gravel path. With no breeze to cool the evening, I felt like I was jogging through a sauna. Murram crunched beneath my feet as I ran the length, then returned again, back and forth. Routine. My mind was not on the jog, but on dinner in the charcoal oven, on the evening duties. The airstrip was a treadmill of red dust that stretched to the distant trees. Bored and sweaty, I flipped through my music player and found "Don't Miss Now" by Downhere. My feet beat out a rhythmic "crunch, crunch" as they carried me another length of the airstrip; my conscious mind became lost in the lyrics...

The life you chose -
There's never a list for it
Of cons and pros
You find what you love, and you commit

And you're looking so far down
The road so well
That you could forget your crown
Isn't just somewhere else

You get bumped and bruised and worse
For choosing the road less traveled
You know the reward is rich
If you persist through the darkest battles

Open your eyes,
Your prize is right before you, somehow
Whatever you do, just don't miss now

All that you're working for
Could blind you to the treasures all around you
So don't miss these moments, please
The joy before the crown you seek

The song faded and the next cycled into my earpiece, but my mind was still processing. I suddenly felt more alive, more conscious of the presence of God as I enjoyed the peaceful jog and the magenta sunset that played upon the canvas of clouds. Every second brought about a new brush-stroke, a spectacular hue, as the equatorial sun sought the horizon. I could not have anticipated the beauty of the evening when I set out on my sweaty venture, but I was pleased to have received such a gift. I thought that likewise, I cannot see what the God's plan is, but I can be assured that it is better than what I could expect. Indeed, He has a way of taking my breath away; the past few weeks have been especially meaningful...

There are approximately thirty leprosy patients that come to the hospital for follow up, and in order to treat them, we had to have the ok from the govt to get the meds. Just this week, the doctors who specialize in leprosy treatment came to establish our program. God provided the leprosy medications that we've been needing for two years! Its thrilling to see the dear people get the treatment that they've been waiting for!

I was on call this past weekend, and a 7-year-old boy was carried by donkey-cart to the clinic. He had suffered for a month with a severe ear infection that resulted in meningitis. A pus pocket bulged from the side of his face, and his swollen meninges rendered him temporarily lame. He showed quick improvement on antibiotics, but I remained concerned about the lump on his head. Thankfully, the leprosy docs were on hand this week and performed a small surgery to drain pus from an abscess on his head. If the boy or the docs had come at a different time, Simon wouldn't have healed properly because I couldn't have done facial surgery to drain pus. God also provided a full-time Sudanese pastor (named Bolus, or Paul), and he has been a wonderful asset in counseling patients and sharing the gospel with the crowds that wait for treatment.

I most enjoy developing relationships with the families of inpatients as they reside at the clinic. This month, we've had a tiny infant boy named after our physician, "Dr Rob". The baby became infected at birth, most likely when the umbilical cord was cut with dirty scissors. After several weeks of treating the infant with antibiotics and IVs, the mom and grandmother still trust God's perfect outcome. They sit day after day in the back of the clinic, waiting in the heat, waiting for life or death for their adorable boy. Week after week, day in and day out, I check his temperature, redress the wound that ever seeks to claim the tiny abdomen.

Saphina watched me as I assessed her only child, her first baby. Knowing my ministrations are meager, I smile, pray with her, and offer a simple Mabaan phrase of encouragement. I have confidence that God can work a miracle and reverse the infection if He chooses. Sometimes the difficult journey can become a blessing because of friendships that are forged along the way. Saphina and I were sitting together at the clinic chewing gum and laughing over my Mabaan pronunciations, when she paused and thanked me for the care that the nurses were providing. Then she said that she wanted to name her next child "Julia". I suddenly realized the significance of a smile.

Julia, a local Mabaan teenager, has been close to my heart since I arrived in Doro. A few weeks ago, I had a GI bug and was feeling lousy in the middle of a scorching Saturday. I remember debating whether I should drag my drenched self from bed to answer the knock at the tukul door. I'm so glad that Phil 2:20-21 and Romans 12:1-2 came to mind and God gave me the strength I needed. Julia came for a surprise visit and presented me with a gift... a wide beaded bracelet that is usually worn by Mabaan women for celebrations. I was very touched by her gesture, especially when she gave me a hug (uncharacteristic), and said "I love you" in English.

Life is lived in routine. However, each grain of sand makes a difference in an hour-glass, each training session affects the outcome in a race, and every mundane moment that I live to worship Jesus, I live for eternity.

I'm on my last lap down the airstrip, and after these reflections, I am grinning. I'm suddenly aware of a presence at my side; some Mabaan ladies are running with me. This is life.