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People standing and looking at a dead body on the sidewalk as I look out the bus window on the way to clinic
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Throngs of people everywhere breathing the horrible exhaust fumes from taxis and buses (no emission standards here!)
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A woman sitting outside an Orthodox Church with her head in her hands—the picture of dejection. Heartbreaking. The church should be the last place on earth where anyone should feel dejected and alone
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Beggars, the blind, and crippled begging for alms outside a church gate. I immediately thought of the blind beggar outside the Beautiful Gate of Jerusalem. Peter’s words rang in my ear, “Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, I give to you. In the Name of Jesus, arise and walk!” What miracles does this day hold in store?
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Bamboo rods, tall as a 2-story building, bundled and stacked along the way
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Fresh fruit stacked in rows to form a colorful rainbow—anathema to us who cannot partake
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Tin shacks without electricity; people living in squalor and literal darkness—yet perched above are street signs and billboards inviting them to beautify and entertain themselves. The two-dimensional beautiful people looking down on the squalor-filled poverty of the poor and calling them to a life they aren’t likely to enjoy
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Simone tells me that the belief in ancient Hebrew times was that those who sat at the gate stayed there day and night. The literal translation of the name for such beggars denoted their condition as one of no expectation of a different future. They would remain…crippled…at the gate…always…
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I was astounded when Simone said that God impressed on her that one reason we have come here is to help these people lift up their eyes to see the future that God would have them to see…to somehow help bring them the opportunity to “rise up and walk” toward the better destiny God planned for them from the beginning
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I read an incredible account of Saint Francis of Assisi, a wealthy, spoiled young man who became a prisoner of war during The Crusades. He asked God what was the true purpose of his life, and he began to turn from a selfish lifestyle and seek ways to identify with the poor. Outside a cathedral one day he encountered a beggar who asked him for money. Francis replied that he had none, but asked the beggar to exchange clothes with him. The beggar agreed and walked away appearing to be a rich young man, while Francis began to live the life of the beggar. He experienced the personal rejection the poor feel at the hands of the world—what it’s like to have people literally turn their eyes away in disgust. He begged for food and gave away all that he had at every opportunity.
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I looked at the dirty, filthy, poor and rejected outside the gates of the temple today, and heard God ask me, “Would you be willing to step off this bus and exchange your clothes and lifestyle so that one of these might be saved?” I cried, because I knew in my comfortable heart that I could not. How can I sing with any veracity now, “Lord, whatever it takes”? I am humbled and repentant. I don’t know that my Father will ask this of me, but am I able to answer that call should it come? Kyrie Elyson. Lord, have mercy.
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Honest-to-goodness miracles are occurring and each day brings new challenges. At the clinic, we see many come to relationship with Yeshua!
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11:00 PM and it’s been a long, hard day. I see Ethiopians dancing and twirling in the Counseling Room upon receiving Yeshua. It’s nothing like the party in Heaven at their decision, I’m sure, but I think even Heaven stopped dancing to stand still and rejoice in their joy. Many, many came to faith. Many miracles! Many men and women received medical attention, dental and eye surgery. Everyone is being stretched to their limits, yet somehow finding the capacity to love and give and wait and struggle and continue to say, “Yes, Lord!”
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Many new people on this trip. I talk and listen to them a lot. For several it is their first medical mission EVER! How wonderful to be initiated this way. A few unusual cases today: A little boy with mitral valve insufficiency; a girl with a large hemangiona on her lip; a young girl with a head so full of lice that we could see them moving in her hair. My interpreter nearly yanked me away from her as I moved to inspect her infected ear (he had noticed the lice before I did). Later, we saw a child with untreated hydrocephalus, with a head circumference that measured 28 inches!
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As this day comes to a close, I think of these beautiful Ethiopian children with their bright smiles and incredible hugs. They keep us going! One elderly grandfather brought in his grandson for treatment. When I was finished, he bent down and kissed my knees. It is an accepted form of gratitude here that remains disconcerting. It’s an act that leaves me speechless and humbled.
Tess
