It has been a long time since I have blogged. Too long. There are a few reasons for this, I guess. For the entire month of July we have been super busy hosting visiting teams. It seems we barely have time to breathe, let alone blog! Also, I have not felt inspired to write about anything imparticular. Until today…Today there was victory in the Kingdom! Today there was ground gained in the work of caring for orphans here in Nsoko! Today was a good day!
Eric had a meeting this morning with some of the local sugarcane farmers and other business men who help to finance and run the medical clinic that is on site at the Anchor Center; our main ministry location here in Nsoko. The clinic was started as a joint venture between AIM’s ministry here in Swaziland, to care for orphaned and vulnerable children; as well as the farmers’ way to provide local health care to many of their farm workers. Without going into too many details, let’s just say the way the clinic has been run, historically, has not been entirely beneficial to either party. This morning’s meeting wasn’t the first one of it’s kind. Eric has participated in several of these meetings, hoping to come to an agreeable solution where both sides are satisfied with how money is being spent and (most importantly) how people are being cared for! However, this morning’s meeting had an unexpected and marvelous outcome! 100 sick kids per month will be treated at no cost to them! Prior to today’s meeting, each visit to the clinic cost 100 Rand every time we needed to bring a sick or injured child. Even though this is only close to $14 (US), which to most of us seems like a real health care bargain…to an orphan it is impossible! To a single mom who has a sick baby, it is unreachable! To a 15 yr old who brings her 6 yr old sister because she has nowhere else to go and no parents to take charge…well, it might as well be $1000!
Now, because of God’s favor on this mornings’ meeting, 100 sick kids per month will be treated at a clinic that most of them can walk to. Most of these kids will be from the community directly surrounding the Anchor Center, which are the kids our family ministers to most often and have come to love as though they were our own. They are the little ones that are always on site when we pull up in the morning to gather with our ministry partners, go over the plan for the day, pray and head out to various care points. They are the little ones that are usually still there as the sun is going lower in the sky in the afternoons when we return to the Center, dusty and tired from visiting those other care points…but they still want to be picked up and swung around, or for one of us to sit down with them and hear what they have to say!
When Eric told me this awesome news I asked: “When does this go into effect?” When he told me: “Immediately!” I wasted no time! Four little girls ranging in age from 2-13, all from the same homestead, had been coughing all morning. At least two of them were running fevers. I picked up the baby, took a hand and told the girls to come with me! We marched up into the clinic and all of them were examined and given medicine. The poor nurse who works at the clinic was surprised to see me, with my four charges in tow! He had just heard the news regarding the changes, so I don’t think he was expecting us so quickly! He said something about needing a record book to keep track of who was seen, course of treatment etc… I was worried that this would delay these girls’ being treated today. Would he need some official documentation? When would such an item be available? So I just asked him: “Would a notebook serve as an adaquate record book?” He gave it some thought and answered: “Yes!” Putting the baby on his lap I told him to get started with the check ups, and I ran back down to the main building where we keep ministry supplies, found a notebook, and returned to the clinic! Problem solved, records saved! Later in the afternoon, another little girl was seen and treated for a nasty stomach flu that has been making the rounds. She was probably near dehydration. 5 precious children received the attention and medicine they so desperately needed! This would have been impossible before this morning!
We are so thankful that the Lord moved in the hearts of these business men to make the changes necessary to allow this to happen! 100 sick kids…and the Lord God knows them all!
