Just got back from Kenya this past week. Spent a couple weeks over there doing medical clinics with a group of helath care workers from my church. While there, we partnered with a local organization called Serve International that is based out of a church whose purpose is to provide hope and love to it's community, in this case we participated in the organizations weeklong medical clinic.
Let me say that it was a bit overwhelming to confront first hand the enormous need that existed in the small Kenyan town of Kakamega. (Not even to mention the rest of the world!!!)
Some cases were perfect for our clinic: one lady came in with an ear wax impaction in her right ear that kept her from hearing out of that ear. I spent a whole half hour digging into her ear with every tool that I could find in order to pull out an inch worth of wax. When she realized she could hear again out of her right ear she began to cry. Amazing. (btw, if you haven't seen the youtube video of people as they get to hear for the first time with cochlear implanted hearing aids, it's a must-see, it will make you cry)
Other cases were quite helpless and hopeless from our clinic's perspective: Anohter lady walked up the next day and sat in front of me. She had come in for fevers and feeling ill. She also smelt bad, really bad. Then she took of the cloth that was covering her head to reveal 2 grapefruit-size cauliflower-like rotting flesh wounds on her head. The flies were all over her head. No wonder she smelt so badly. It turns out she had a form of scalp skin cancer and there was nothing to do. Well I guess almost nothing. I did take her to a more private area to provide wound care by soaking her infected wounds with iodine and trying to clean her up as best as I could. As I cleaned her wounds, I muttered "God help me" under my breath as I knew I could not do much. I also gave her antibiotics. We gave her the rest of our iodine and two trash bags full of sterile gauze she could use to provide wound care for about 2 months. The iodine would keep her skin cancer without infection (and hopefully with less smell and flies). I gave her name to the head of the local ministry so they could keep tabs on her and help her out. Before she left I told her that God sees her and loves her very much, that he has not forgotten about her. I saw that we could not cure
There are some things in life that I don't fully understand why God allows them. Take for instance: rape, cancer, birth deformities, tragic accidents, devastating natural disasters.
In this lady's life, I'm sure she was isolated and ostracized as a member of society because of her illness: something that could naturally happen to anyone.
It's easy to say, but I felt that in this and many other cases I saw in Kenya, I had to resign my thoughts and instead thank God for his faithfulness. Let me explain myself: even though from my limited perspective this was "unjust" and perhaps even cruel for God to allow this to happen to one of his children, I can rest in the fact that God sees and knows everything, and He would not allow anything to happen unless He knew that good would come from it.
And sometimes its easy to talk about someone else's life and how much they must suffer for whatever is going on to them, but it's important to also think about areas in our own life where we are still asking God: "why me?"
Be encouraged that God is called El-Roi, "the God who sees." He sees your life and my life and keeps track that no pain goes unaccounted for. He has a plan for each one of us that is for good and not for evil, a plan for a hope and a future. He sees this lady and all my other patients that I got to meet in Kenya in the past weeks. He sees those areas of your life that are too painful to speak about.
The good thing is that we don't even have to try to rationalize our painful experiences of past or present to make things make sense or add up. (it may never add up until we are face to face with our creator when we can then get a glimpse of the whole picture) Therefore we can just rest in faith knowing that God has not made a mistake or a divine oops in your life. God loves you too much.
Also sometimes it is tempting to think that God is limited to our strength for self-help or to what you can do for someone else who is suffering, but let me tell you that God is way bigger and powerful than our wildest thinking. No problem or suffering is bigger than his love for us.
I leave Kenya in complete peace of mind. I know I don't have to worry, because He was there long before I got there and will be there long after I leave. I am just humbled to be able to be used by him to be small part of these people's stories of how God loves them. A very small part, and God didn't even need me in the first place, but he chose to use me there. I am honored.
Let me say that it was a bit overwhelming to confront first hand the enormous need that existed in the small Kenyan town of Kakamega. (Not even to mention the rest of the world!!!)
Some cases were perfect for our clinic: one lady came in with an ear wax impaction in her right ear that kept her from hearing out of that ear. I spent a whole half hour digging into her ear with every tool that I could find in order to pull out an inch worth of wax. When she realized she could hear again out of her right ear she began to cry. Amazing. (btw, if you haven't seen the youtube video of people as they get to hear for the first time with cochlear implanted hearing aids, it's a must-see, it will make you cry)
Other cases were quite helpless and hopeless from our clinic's perspective: Anohter lady walked up the next day and sat in front of me. She had come in for fevers and feeling ill. She also smelt bad, really bad. Then she took of the cloth that was covering her head to reveal 2 grapefruit-size cauliflower-like rotting flesh wounds on her head. The flies were all over her head. No wonder she smelt so badly. It turns out she had a form of scalp skin cancer and there was nothing to do. Well I guess almost nothing. I did take her to a more private area to provide wound care by soaking her infected wounds with iodine and trying to clean her up as best as I could. As I cleaned her wounds, I muttered "God help me" under my breath as I knew I could not do much. I also gave her antibiotics. We gave her the rest of our iodine and two trash bags full of sterile gauze she could use to provide wound care for about 2 months. The iodine would keep her skin cancer without infection (and hopefully with less smell and flies). I gave her name to the head of the local ministry so they could keep tabs on her and help her out. Before she left I told her that God sees her and loves her very much, that he has not forgotten about her. I saw that we could not cure
There are some things in life that I don't fully understand why God allows them. Take for instance: rape, cancer, birth deformities, tragic accidents, devastating natural disasters.
In this lady's life, I'm sure she was isolated and ostracized as a member of society because of her illness: something that could naturally happen to anyone.
It's easy to say, but I felt that in this and many other cases I saw in Kenya, I had to resign my thoughts and instead thank God for his faithfulness. Let me explain myself: even though from my limited perspective this was "unjust" and perhaps even cruel for God to allow this to happen to one of his children, I can rest in the fact that God sees and knows everything, and He would not allow anything to happen unless He knew that good would come from it.
And sometimes its easy to talk about someone else's life and how much they must suffer for whatever is going on to them, but it's important to also think about areas in our own life where we are still asking God: "why me?"
Be encouraged that God is called El-Roi, "the God who sees." He sees your life and my life and keeps track that no pain goes unaccounted for. He has a plan for each one of us that is for good and not for evil, a plan for a hope and a future. He sees this lady and all my other patients that I got to meet in Kenya in the past weeks. He sees those areas of your life that are too painful to speak about.
The good thing is that we don't even have to try to rationalize our painful experiences of past or present to make things make sense or add up. (it may never add up until we are face to face with our creator when we can then get a glimpse of the whole picture) Therefore we can just rest in faith knowing that God has not made a mistake or a divine oops in your life. God loves you too much.
Also sometimes it is tempting to think that God is limited to our strength for self-help or to what you can do for someone else who is suffering, but let me tell you that God is way bigger and powerful than our wildest thinking. No problem or suffering is bigger than his love for us.
I leave Kenya in complete peace of mind. I know I don't have to worry, because He was there long before I got there and will be there long after I leave. I am just humbled to be able to be used by him to be small part of these people's stories of how God loves them. A very small part, and God didn't even need me in the first place, but he chose to use me there. I am honored.
But you, O Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. - Psalmist David in Psalm 86
