Hospitals...

The last two weeks have been crazy!
Early last week a friend of mine (Emmanuel - aka Emma), who lives with Francis and his brothers, got into a motorcycle accident and wound up in the hospital. Someone came to my house first thing in the morning, asking me to try to get some money to help him and to come down to the clinic as soon as possible. I went down unsure of what i would find.
It turns out that Emma was riding the motorbike and a huge swarm of bees starting stinging him on the head, under his shirt, everywhere! He would have moved away but a car was coming towards him in the opposite lane and he ended up getting a little mixed up and flying off as the bike hit a post.

He got to the clinic before 8am with Francis and I arrived shortly thereafter. As a good friend, it was so hard to see Emma in so much pain. The bone doctor who works in Jinja happened to be in Kampala at the time (which is usually a couple hours drive away with traffic) and so little was done for Emma until that doctor could come in to see him. We waited and waited and waited as I picked bee stingers out of Emma's back and arms that still remained. Finally, after some X-Rays, and the doctor's arrival we found out that Emma had broken his leg (just below his knee in the front), and his big toe, and the gash in the back of his leg was so deep it almost reached the bone. Emma was stitched up and put in a cast and we were told that he would have to stay for at least 5 days as the wound would have to be attended to. The first two days were the worst for Emma, as the cast was even over top of the wound. After 2 days time they cut a hole in the cast to try to attend to the wound from that time forward. Emma's mom came to stay with him in the clinic and many friends came by to see him. I spent a lot of time running up and down, bringing meals and tea and just spending time visiting (and playing scrabble) with both Emma and his dear sweet mom.

Emma was just this Monday evening released from the clinic and went to stay with his mom until his leg is recovered as she can give him the best attention and care at this time. Please pray for Emma that his leg and toe heal well and that he can be back on his feet once again. We all thanked God that Emma survived the accident with relatively minor injuries (though I'm sure not minor pain).

I think the whole situation really made me think again about true community and how precious it truly is to serve one another in love. It also made me appreciate, once again, the free health care that we enjoy in Canada. I truthfully don't know how people ever survive financially when things like this happen here. I always wonder how people survive, in general, with the cost of things in this country and the minimal jobs, but this situation, even more, made me really consider the harshness and reality of just barely scraping by, the way most Ugandans live day-to-day. I suppose that is why their faith in God is so confident and strong, because they truly see God provide time and time and time again when things seem utterly impossible.

I also have learned something about sacrificial giving... God brings challenges our way at times to see how we will respond I suppose and if we'll be willing to let go, even when it hurts, and trust him. I thank Him for such challenges that stretch my faith.

On another note, I have also made three trips to Kampala in the last week as well. I had to renew my visa once again, and the Lord provided someone to help me run around Kampala on the very day that I needed to get the process started. Taking public transport around Kampala is NOT a simple task so to have someone help out with a car was a HUGE blessing.

I also took a baby from Sonrise Babies Home in to a clinic in Kampala on Monday to get the results from her HIV test that was done a couple weeks before. She came back NEGATIVE, Praise the Lord, however we had her tested for TB that day and just today had to take her in for the results. Well, we found out that she does in fact have it. This poor little girl, less than a year old, with TB! The crazy thing is that she had been to a few doctors before but no one could figure out what was wrong with her, but this doctor, after looking at her X-rays from previous months suspected right away that this little girl had TB. She will have to be on medication for the next 6 months. Please pray for her healing, her name is Brenda. I enjoyed so much just being with this little girl this week though... it reminded me once again of how much I hope to adopt some little ones one day. That desire has always been in me, to take in a couple little orphans as my own. I pray that in time God would allow that to happen. The nurse at the clinic told me that I looked like the mommy to little Brenda, I guess I couldn't help but love her. How can you do anything but love a little one who doesn't have parents?! That is our job as decent human beings, and even more so, as Christians!!! True religion is to take care of orphans and widows in their distress, the book of James talks about, how can we not?

One other blessing from this week is this... I met a muzungu (white) friend who happens to be from Canada. I think even just knowing one white person will be good for me... for those moments when I need a little piece of home, and someone to understand where I come from. I love my many Ugandan friends, but thank God for my one new Canadian friend too.

Well, that is enough of my thoughts for tonight...

Thanks for reading, and staying interested in my life here in Uganda.

Love you all!

Karen