A Message of Hope
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| A beautiful afternoon in the highlands |
It's been a hard five months back here. They have been filled with struggle, sorrow, grief, pain, failure, frustration and spiritual assault. I would be lying if I said I've always handled it with grace and godliness (as much as I'd love to be able to tell you that). There have been times I have wanted to give up, to go home, to throw in the towel in defeat. I've seen ministry and work go through the roller coaster from mediocre to incredible to awful and back again. I have had to remind myself -- and have others remind me -- that I must hope in God and remember that I will see His goodness in the land of the living. And yet, God has not ceased to show his goodness. In fact, there are ways I've seen His goodness so manifestly that it has brought me to tears.
Early this month He showed me one such example of His goodness. I was working in the Papua New Guinean side of the clinic right after lunch break. Everyone was just getting back from lunch when a man came to the door clutching the limp form of his child. The worry was evident on his face and his wife stood grimly silent beside him. I beckoned them inside and caught the attention of a more experienced Papua New Guinean nurse to come and take charge. The boy was unresponsive and unable to sit or stand. His oxygen saturation was dangerously low. He was in serious trouble. We sprung into action hooking him up to oxygen, starting tests to rule out low blood sugar and low blood pressure and a myriad of other life threatening causes for his unresponsive state. Soon we had ruled most things out and called in reinforcements from others on our team.
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| An x-ray showing what advanced TB looks like in a child |
Several blood tests and an X-Ray later we arrived at grim results. The boy had been being treated for tuberculosis (TB) but the X-ray and tests we took revealed that the TB had infiltrated almost every part of his body and was now eating away at his spine and internal organs. He was beyond our help and we suspected he was beyond all help no matter where we would send him. The reality of the situation settled like a pall on our tiny group as we huddled together in one of the doctor's offices. This boy was going to die and there was nothing we could do about it. We prayed and then two of us went to deliver the terrible news to the boy's parents. Our hearts were broken. As health care professionals and especially as missionaries we do our job with a desire to save lives and it weighs heavy on us when we are unable to bring relief and healing. The next few days we grieved, believing that the boy would most likely die within the week.
The case of this little boy was still on my mind as I went about my work, seeing patients in the government side of the clinic several days later. About half way through the morning I bumped into a coworker and she stopped me in my tracks. "Megan, you won't believe who's here. It's that little boy. He is awake and talking and his parents said that he has been playing with his friends and even went to the river to bathe." I reeled in shock, "What?!" I said, hardly believing what I just heard. I started to laugh and tears streamed down my face. "Praise God! Praise God!" He had been healed. It was impossible. He should be dead and yet here he was, right before us walking and talking. I saw the hand of my gracious God and I couldn't wipe the joy off my face or from my heart.
Yes, I may see difficult times and endure many things that are painful or seem like they are beyond my ability to bear. However, I have seen and I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Because of that I can rejoice and will gladly share the message of Hope that God has sent me here to share with the incredible people of Papua New Guinea.
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