March Madness

Life in Burkina Faso has taught me in general to slow down...until this past week. 

Just when I was getting used to the slower pace of life, last week happened. 

It could have possibly been the busiest week of my life. It reminded me of my fast paced life in college, where every hour of every day had an event or activity, except to complicate matters, every activity and event was in French. 

I had six medical cases in Ouagadougou, and I spent every waking moment taking care of them. Figuring out directions to new clinics, arranging appointment times, explaining medical cases, planning care, learning how the health care system works, and paying bills. I wish you could see a map of my route - going in circles all around Ouagadougou as I visited medical clinics, hospitals, pharmacies, and diagnostic testing centers. 

When I wasn't handling medical stuff, I dropped in to the International Co-op of Ouagadougou (ICO) to teach missionary kids about the story of Jonah through daily devotionals and to help paint their set for the Jonah musical that they performed at the end of the week. Never a dull moment! 

At the end of one day that started at 6:30 am and finished at 9:00 pm, I realized that I had only breaked for ten minutes to eat a bite of lunch. I crashed at the feet of Jesus, and offered him my exhausted sigh as the only thing I had left to give. 

In the madness of it all, God gave me moments of pure joy: 

Getting to bring village people to the big city of Ouagadougou and show them around was like taking a kid to Disney World that's never been before. 

A lab tech complimented my French. "You've only been here a year? Most people at that stage don't speak as well as you do." 

One evening, I went to visit three patients in the same hospital, and I brought cokes and fantas for everyone. The room lit up when I walked in smiling, and we spent a good long while chatting and praying together. A nurse had to come up and tell us to be quiet because we were laughing too loud.

At the end of the week, I made one final visit to a patient, and when I picked up my bag to leave he said, "You can't leave without praying! You always pray with us before you leave." 

Another guy, Mathieu, couldn't stop saying, "Thank you, God."  Whenever we finished a consultation, he would say, "Thank you, God." Whenever we got a new prescription, "Thank you, God." Whenever we bought a new medicine, "Thank you, God." Whenever we arrived anywhere - the clinic, the hospital, or the place where he slept - he would say "Thank you, God" for arriving well. This led to many spontaneous prayers to thank God for doctors, clinics, medical care, medicine, safety, protection, money to pay, food and water, basic needs met, and just...everything. It made me think - I should be more like that. Maybe that's what praying without ceasing is like. 

Yes, God gave me pure moments of joy and helped me realize how he has been answering my big three prayers for this month:

1) Language and the ability to be myself in French. He enabled me to accomplish what I never would have been able to do at this time a year ago. Plus, he empowered me to bring joy and laughter in French, which is a breakthrough for me personally. 

2) Deeping relationships. I got to spend a significant amount of time with the six patients and their church leaders that accompanied them. In addition, we had Bombakebe and Francoise (an orphan in our young scholars program) spend the week with us, and I got to establish deeper relationships with them through spending time with them...and sharing a room with them! 

3) Discovering what ministry looks like for me and how I can truly be a change agent for the kingdom of God. With the many opportunities to pray, share Scripture, encourage, and serve by giving rides or paying bills, I began to see what a medical ministry looks like here. No, it's not what I expected, but God can use the unexpected to surprise us and blow us away. In times of uncertainty and fear related to illness and poverty combined, I got to walk alongside patients and families and bring hope through the gospel. 

At the end of the week, after 4 successful operations, 1 X-ray, 3 CT scans, 2 biopsies, 1 ultrasound, 2 bills payed, 5 consultations, about $5000 spent plus a tank of gas, and too many prayers to count...everyone was taken care of. Me included. God took care of each of them, and he took care of me during my crazy week of what I call my March madness. 

Thank you, God. For every patient, thank you. For every safe bus trip to Ouaga, thank you. For every soda and every smile, thank you. For every trip to a clinic, hospital, or pharmacy, thank you. For every successful surgery and good test result, thank you. Thank you for helping me with every phone call, every appointment, and every set of directions to find a new place all in French. Thank you for each opportunity to speak a prayer or truth from your Word. For sharing a room with Bombakebe and Francoise, thank you. For every early morning start and every late night finish, thank you. For answering every prayer, even the smallest ones, thank you. 

You are worthy of my every effort on my busy days, and you are worthy of my stillness on the quiet ones. I can't stop saying thank you. 

Every once in a while, I have to stop and ask myself, "why am I writing this?" Who cares that I spent my week running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to manage six medical cases in Ouagadougou? Really, you shouldn't. What you should care about is that life is full of teachable moments, and we miss them if we don't intentionally look for them. That's what "see something more" is all about - looking past the common place and finding a deeper meaning even in the mundane. Whether our lives are quiet and dull or crazy and hectic, everything that happens has something hidden within, something that God wants to teach us if we will give him a moment and listen. 

So I write this because sometimes You just have to tell somebody about your crazy week. I write this to share with you how God is already answering my top three prayers. I write this to encourage you to find the moments of pure joy even in your wild schedule. I write this because I know somebody is reading who has days that go way beyond 6:30am to 9:00pm and they just need a break; and they need to realize that God is present and teaching them something even in those hard days. And I write this to encourage you to be like Mathieu, who just couldn't stop giving thanks.