Seeing with New Eyes & Trip to Adi

July 12, 2020

Looking in on Dad

This is how we roll

Seeing

Do you ever feel like some days life is more in focus than others?  Or perhaps you didn’t even realize that you weren’t seeing well until suddenly things looked clearer with a new pair of glasses?  I recently saw the video of a colorblind man who is suddenly able to see color for the first time, and it was immediately shocking and brought tears to his eyes.   Similarly there are experiences in life that cause us to pause and truly “see”, as if for the first time.  

Many things about working as a doctor in the hospital become routine.  It even becomes routine to walk by a still bundle in a bed that is a child who died from malaria overnight, acknowledge the sadness of it all, and then see the patient two beds over.  These are things we see here every day and I am used to it, even hard things.

I had an experience a couple of weeks back that brought into focus the preciousness of every person to God. I had been visiting a young man named Alpha who was suffering from complications of surgery done at an outside hospital.  I brought him therapeutic milk almost daily at noon and established a routine of greeting his family.  He was getting weaker and weaker due to our inability to feed him with intravenous nutrition (not available in this part of the world). One day his grandmother told me that he was sleeping almost all the time and shared her sadness with me.  The father asked if I could come for a visit when we has awake “tomorrow.”  I sensed that this was important and I promised to see him tomorrow.  The next day I went to visit him with two of the other doctors.  A few ICU nurses joined us.  It is hard to know what to say to someone who is dying and I asked the Lord to give me a few words for him.  I felt like it was important to acknowledge the meaning of his name, Alpha.  I told him that his heavenly Father knew him before he was even born and knew his name: Alpha.  I told him that God has had a plan for his life and that he was deeply loved by God.  I told him that God himself referred to Himself as the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.  I told him that life would never end for those who know God and have confessed their sins before him.  His eyes opened and closed as he drifted in and out of sleep.  He nodded that he believed this.

One of the nurses said that they had been talking about eternal life.  Then we asked if there was something that he still desired to do or for us to do for him.  At this point he affirmed that he wanted to be baptized and named people that he wanted to be there.  It was a beautiful moment that he was able to express this desire.  We affirmed this desire.  We weren’t sure that we would have enough time to pursue, but we took his request to the pastoral staff.  We all experienced a sense of peace just being together and hearing him speak.  

I was so blessed to have this time together with Alpha’s family.  I wasn’t sure what would happen next.  The next morning I walked into the ICU to learn that he had just taken his last breath and passed into eternity.  He had already passed through the deep waters.  I believe that God heard his desire to be baptized.  Who knows?  Maybe that happens in heaven.  I don’t see Warren cry much, but cases like this touch him deeply.  It is so hard for him to watch people die that he would like so much to help.  Sometimes God has other plans and he holds all of our days in His hands.  Alpha reminded me of the beauty and importance that each of us has to God.  We are known and deeply loved.  I am thankful to God for bringing his life into focus at the end and giving him peace. Each individual life is fragile and beautiful, and heaven will be so beautiful because it is made up of people like Alpha.  

A Trip to Adi

This past week we had the opportunity to travel north to the Sudanese/Ugandan border to a place called Adi Hospital.  Adi was an old stomping ground for Warren, and it had been many years since he had last visited.  It was my first visit.  We were invited by our German friends Matthias and Sabine Holmer and traveled with one of our nurses, Ayiko, and our friend Maike. We had an encouraging week together with the staff of Adi Hospital.  Warren was able to help them to get an electrocautery working that hadn’t been used in years. He gave a little workshop on cautery that involved operating on an avocado.  He is a gifted teacher and

can make things practical.  He helped them out with a few cases and used ultrasound on rounds and for decision making.  It was funny to walk in the old operating theater with him and hear about the many hours he had spent there…or sit in an old chair he spent many hours in. He has many fond memories of his friend Congolese friend Akuma, who he trained in surgery in the 2000s.  Akuma died back in 2011 and Warren hadn’t been back to the area.  It was good to visit his gravesite on the hospital grounds. 

I rounded on pediatrics with Dr. Matthias and we discussed what to do with all the complicated malaria cases, and dreaded complication of blackwater fever or “coca-cola urine.”  I learned a lot as we sought help to these clinical questions together.  I was able to reflect on our pediatric practice at Nyankunde and considered some changes I want to make.   It is good for people to be stimulated to think in different ways.  We were then able to reflect on our own team of doctors and the learning environment that exists at Nyankunde.  

It was fun to watch Emmanuel make friends so easily!  He has an endearing phrase:  “Bodubodu” that he uses to greet people.  It sounds silly and makes everyone laugh.  It sounds a bit like the local greeting in Kakwa “Aloboo aloboo.”  He became known as the white, blond-haired “bodubodu” kid.  They taught him all the local games (even a version of duck duck, goose and tug-o-war without a rope)!  He was able to communicate with them in French and gestures.  I hope that he will always make friends this easily!

 

This trip to Adi reminded me of the importance of encouragement in all of our lives.  We hope to be able to return sometime soon.

Continuing On

We continue to provide medical care at Nyankunde Hospital during challenging times.  The security situation in Ituri Province continues to be poor.  There are more internally displaced peoples in our province than anywhere else in the world at present.  The borders to surrounding countries remain closed.  We continue to pray that God will use our witness in these days to turn hearts back to Him.  There is spiritual oppression around us…Covid seems like something quite far away actually. I am reminded that God holds the solutions and sometimes sends drought and plagues to get our attention.  

2 Chronicles 7: 13-16 says “ When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.  Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.  I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever.  My eyes and my heart will always be there.”

Pray for security of our village and area and the work of Nyankunde Hospital.

Pray that we would represent Christ in word and deed.

Pray that Covid-19 would not reach the many displaced peoples.

Pray that borders would open soon and we can get the break we need, and be reunited with family.

Lindsey for the Cooper Family

Evening fun drives with our friends