Today is Thursday February 9 and our hearts and minds continue to be challenged and enriched by this compassionate ministry of care. We were blessed first thing as we spent about an hour at the Nkoaranga Lutheran Hospital orphanage with the children and the volunteers and staff caring for them. Above you can see Esther in a cap donated by the GBMC Oncology Support Group. She is being held by a volunteer from Australia.
Vesalli Matuso shown above has asthma and his wife suffers with stomach cancer. This elderly couple struggle to survive on virtually no income. When we discussed what kind of medicine might be best for each of them Mama Swai thought for moment and replied simply, "food is best".
After a few more miles through banana forests at the base of Mt. Meru we visited with this man, Latiaeli Usaka, who has head and neck cancer. He is shown in the photo with volunteer Itiki Saeli. The tumor has been with him for about 10 years and he has recently been experiencing breathlessness. While discussing symptom management with Mama Swai and Devotha we realized that the Nkoaranga team did not know that morphine can be administered on an as needed basis. We explained this and now he will soon receive morphine with instruction to use before bedtime if needed and at other times when he may feel out of breath.
Above is a picture of several members of the team as we visited with Goodluck Guspasa whose parents died of AIDS and related complications. Note that this is not the same Goodluck visited by our first team. You can see Mama Swai in the foreground. She stands next to the volunteer who visits with Goodluck. Social worker Devotha, GHC nurse Marilyn Graves and Karen Hohne, RN, appear in the photo as well. We ended our day breaking bread at Devotha's home as she graciously invited the team over for dinner.
The need here is great but compassion and support is at work in this place through the hearts and minds of these staff and volunteers as they serve out of their faith. I thank God for our new friends with their huge hearts and capable minds both of which they offer in service to those that they care for.
Muungu awabariki (God Bless you all), Chaplain Don
I knew when I started reading this post that this was you, Don. You are good with words! I like that everyone gets a chance to blog. Hope everyone is well! Thanks for sharing this experience with everyone.
ReplyDeleteYour experiences overwhelm me, and I am reading them second-hand from thousands of miles away, so I can only imagine the impact they have on each of you. Praying that God will continue to bless you as you not only physically work though each experience, but as you process it emotionally. I love reading (and re-reading) each post and look forward to the next day's - thanks for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteImagine what a difference you made simply by letting the team know about administering morphine as needed. That will improve the quality of life for countless people yet to come. Bless you all.
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