It ain't right

First things first. The medical clinic (or camp as they call it here even though no one was camping) was a major success. 506 people were seen by the medical people and dental technicians (250 more than ever before) and 3 people came to Christ, including a woman with whom James talked (I will let him tell the details about that.) Team members were all involved in exciting and draining work. It was a great way to end our time at Beacon of Hope as we saw relationships continue to grow as we partnered with our new friends.

But in the midst of the medical clinic there was about a 20 minute span where the realities of life in Kenya hit hard.

First, James and a Kenyan woman were seeing a patient. The room we were in has an open door to the outside meaning any manner of creature could enter to check out the "goings ons" inside. So enter Mr. Chicken, a pround rooster that I can only assume had a sense of ownership for the entire building since he strutted around like the boss man. It is a surreal experience to see all these medical people not bat an eye as a rooster walks through their examining space. Isn't there some kind of chicken flu or something? Oh well, I guess it hasn't made it to Kenya.

Then, I walked into the examining area where James was working with a young child and mother. James says she was 4, but she sure looked like an 18 month toddler to me. I was carrying my tripod with attatched camcorder. When I entered, the child immediatly began screaming so I walked around behind the child thinking, "out of sight, out of mind." THe child followed me closely, her cries intensifying. So I exited the room to wait for a better time to film. As the patient exited, she told me that the child thought I was carrying a gun. What time do we live in when small children fear guns? What had this child experienced that made the hint of gun a terifying prospect. I could only wonder.

FInally, as I waited for a new patient to enter the examing room, I was standing amongst other patients. A small boy, about 10 years old was holding his young toddler brother. For ten minutes he stood holding his young sibling waiting for the nurse. He never cringed, never set his brother down, never complained. Rather he stood there quietly and affectionately caring for his brother. It turns out his parents don't care enough to take their child to the clinic so this 10 year old is forced to do the job. His love and compassion was a marvel, but that said, he should be out playing with friends and getting into trouble, not fulfilling the role of an adult.

We have encountered so many of these moments when the only reaction is, "It ain't right." This has forced us to the only action that seems reasonable - prayer. We haven't quite known what to pray except to ask God to intervene in ways that are unimaginable. We also trust that the Holy Spirit is intervening on our behalf, which is a strong encouragement since without that, we would be lost.