interruptions

Ever have those days when He interrupts your plans and you are so thankful? I just got off the phone with my dear friend and she asked me to share stories, write more, and write about what a day looks like here. So often life gets busy and I don't take the time to sit down and reflect on my day. So Emily, this one's for you :). Thank you for the challenge and I hope I can do this more often.

My days normally begin at 8 am with staff prayer. On Wednesdays, I teach health class in the morning and spend the afternoon in a village with teenage girls. This morning I slept through my alarm and woke up in a panic at 9 am. I was teaching a health class at 9:30. I quickly threw on some clothes, grabbed a breakfast bar, and quickly walked to the pregnancy center. I usually have a morning routine that includes coffee, so I was extremely tired this morning and hoping it was an easy day. The ladies begin arriving with their babies and, unfortunately, most all the babies were sick today. We begin taking temperatures and sent a mom with a febrile baby to the clinic immediately to be tested for malaria. She came back an hour later. The baby was positive for malaria and started on medication. 

I am currently following five pregnant mothers closely. Two of these five are in the Wednesday morning class. I sit down with them and spend time teaching them about pregnancy related issues. Today, both of them were having problems. One had a urinary tract infection and "labor pains". I spent most of my time with her trying to figure out if she was having contractions as she is only 24 weeks pregnant. She was not :).

I was stopped by a few other moms who had questions about their babies being sick. I finally made my way over to Sumaya, the other pregnant mother who was having headaches. As I was taking her blood pressure, I was looking at her one year old baby. The baby looked absolutely terrible. He was dehydrated and malnourished to the point of his skin sloughing off and breaking down. This baby has a cleft palate and has recently started having a lot trouble eating. Since Monday, Sumaya said she couldn't get him to eat anything and he barely would drink. At one years old, he weighs 10 pounds with clothes on. I tried to get the baby to eat or drink something. He was lethargic and wouldn't take anything.

We headed to the clinic for IV fluids and a malaria test. Another positive and the baby was started on treatment. Then, a long talk with the doctor about the baby's nutritional status. I admire this doctor a lot. He and I both felt that the baby would need some intense treatment for malnutrition. He consulted a malnutrition rehabilitation program who was able to admit the baby. 

We drove out to Serving His Children where the baby will be admitted for a minimum of 2 to 3 weeks. Sumaya was worried and I could see the fear in her face. We made arrangements for her to stay there with the baby, and then it came time to leave. I asked if I could pray with her and the baby before I left. So,we had a sweet time of prayer before I headed back to the center. 

Back at the center, we all agreed that today was a "divide and conquer" kind of day.  One of the staff members said, "God changed our plans today". Each day we pray and ask Him to show us who we need to minister to that day. One of the most valuable things I have learned here is that there is ministry in availability. Each day, we commit to being available to help people in times of need and to allowing Him to "interrupt" the plans we had for the day. Today, I missed teaching my girls in the village, but He had different plans. I'm thankful for His interruption of what I thought today would look like. And at the end of a busy day, I'm rejoicing in His faithfulness and provision.