Mistaken Assumptions

A few weeks ago I had very interesting dream.   In that dream I saw a Masai girl – Salepo (a name I have given her) who goes to school and leaves her mother at home.  In my dream, it seemed like a world of two Salepo and the mother.  

The school that Salepo went to appeared to be a boarding school because I didn’t see her coming back home – ever.  When the mother (a typical Masai woman) misses her, she looks for non-traditional clothes to wear to go and visit Salepo.  Since she would normally wear her traditional outfit, her good non-traditional clothes were not good enough.  Even as I write this, I can still picture her clothes in my mind.  But the sad part is, when she got to school, Salepo refused to see her mother.

The mother, heartbroken, went back home cursing, assuming that the fact that she could not afford better clothes or didn’t know how to dress well was the reason for her daughter’s rejection.

She felt sad for a few days but when she overcame all that due to the love she had for her daughter, she decided to go and see her again. She appeared to be wearing the same clothes she had the first time she went visiting, but without the blue chiffon clothe she had covered her skirt with.  I then realized the reason she covered the skirt the first time.  For beneath that chiffon, there was an all torn skirt, and one could see the black lining off the pinkish burgundy skirt.  

When she got to school, she received the same treatment from her daughter Salepo.  Salepo didn’t want to see her and because she gave her no reason, her mother thought it was because of the clothes.  She left the school which she had to walk a long distance to get to and went back to her manyatta (her traditional house).  This time around she took some time before going to see Salepo.  When she went to see her the third time, Salepo still would not budge and did not say why.  

This time around I was really heartbroken and as a silent observer (I think that’s what I was) in the dream, I decided to ask Salepo why she refuses to see her mother who loves her so much.  Salepo said she does not want to see her mother because her mother wants to take her out of school to give her away in marriage (or that’s what she thought).   I explained to Salepo that her mother does not want to give her away in marriage and furthermore when they want to give away a Masai girl in marriage, it is the men who come to take her away – not the mother.  

Salepo felt bad and regretted how she mistakenly treated her mother but by this time her mother had already left and vowed never to come back to the school.  Her mother became very demoralized and the next time I saw her was when Salepo was finishing her primary school education where she had grown even taller than her mother.  It is a sad re-union for me to witness because the mother had not only lost her sparkle but also her drive to live.  

Salepo told her that she was going to High School and she got some money out and gave it to her.  When Salepo asked her what she has been up to these days, she pointed to a hill at a nearby distance and Salepo seemed to understand that her mother was involved in some shady dealings because I heard her say “shame on you”.  

I saw them hold hands and left towards the hill together but as soon as they started walking up the hill, I had some huge rocks trampling down towards them and that’s when I woke up crying and I really cried and prayed for Salepo and her mother (or what they represent).

My heart ached and bled for what the two represent.  Talk of mistaken assumptions; think they don’t happen in real life?  Think again.  It is a reality in our families, schools, work places and even in our churches and ministries.   There is so much pain and brokenness that has been caused by mistaken assumptions.  

But one thing is clear – it is a tactic of the enemy.  Let us not allow mistaken assumptions rob us of something beautiful like the love of a beloved or even the love of God.  Even if you have been wronged, let it go.  Psalm 130:3 says, If you, Lord kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand?  

Think about that and pray!

A Call to Prayer for those in the Healthcare

Today I went to Kenyatta National Hospital for routine clinic.  I popped into the Matron's (Senior Nurse) office in Clinic 66 to say hello.  She smiled when she saw me but you could see and sense the frustration on face.  I sat down and waited for her to put the phone down.  She told me she is trying to look for a doctor to come and review the post operation patients and she can't find any.  

When I went to the clinic, the nurses there were also frustrated and they told me that one of the doctors, a registrar, that was assigned to the clinic did not show up and had even turned his phone off.  I could not believe I was hearing that with my own ears. I thought things like that only happen in Sierra Leone.  The nurses finally had relief when they called a consultant doctor who was assigned to the labor ward.

Brethren, what am I trying to say?  I am just saddened by such doctors who could neglect their call of duty without even being apologetic about it.  On the other hand, I am encouraged by the likes of this consultant doctor who showed and is passionate about what he does.

On the same note, another patient came in for review.  She had her surgery last week but sadly enough her wound was infected.  Her brother who was with her expressed concern that she was infected in the ward and that the nurses there are not doing a good job.  Whether that is true, I don't know.  But from my knowledge, wounds get infected when patients go home, not when they are at the hospital.  Now, that is just very very sad.

My sisters and brothers in the Lord, please help me pray for our healthcare workers and practitioners (especially in Africa).   

• Pray that they will have a passion and be dedicated in what they do.  Pray that they will value the lives of those they are called to serve.  
• Pray for their protection especially for those in West Africa that are helping battle ebola.  
• Pray that those who are not called in the healthcare should find their purpose in life.
• Thank God for the ones who are dedicated and pray that they will not grow weary of doing good.
• Pray that those who do not know the Lord will come to the saving knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Let them acknowledge the Great Physician and involving Him in the healing business.  After all, that's why He came.
• Pray that God will give them wisdom and understanding to handle every case with compassion, sensitivity and care it deserves.
• Pray that God will bring healing to the healthcare system in most of the nations in Africa.  My heart bleeds and cries for the nation of Sierra Leone where ebola is shaking an already broken system.  Pray, pray, pray.  Let lack of facilities and medical equipments and supplies be a thing of the past.

The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:16b

Skin Deep! Fresh Cut!

Last Tuesday, I went to Kenyatta National Hospital to be introduced to the staff that work with fistula patients since I will be working in the Fistula Department.  While I was there, I had the opportunity to go to the theatre to observe a fistula surgery.  The patient was suffering from a 4^th degree perineal tear.  When the Surgeon started operating, I saw him cut the patient further before commencing suturing.  Well, being a curious observer, I asked why he had to cut first.  He said he had to make a fresh cut so that the old wound could heal properly.  You see, the tear was old and it had already healed.    

That made me start to think of the scripture in Hosea 6:1 which says “Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up”.  It also reminded me of the process of refining gold in the fire.  Gold has to go through the fire to remove the impurities.  As Christians, we must often go through trials of many kinds which are meant to grow and strengthen us.  There are things we go through and we often wonder why we are going through them, but they are for our strengthening.  

When we go through trials, they are meant to make us die to self.  We have to grow through the process of dying otherwise our “wounds” won’t heal properly.    

The trials are like a fresh cut .

They are also meant to show us that we don’t know it all; that we are not an end in ourselves but God is the beginning and the end of all things.  Many a times when I share the gospel with people, there are many who are usually so stuck in their own philosophies, religious doctrines and traditions of men.  Their ideas and religious philosophies are usually so deeply ingrained in them that it has become part of them just like the woman with a healed tear.   

Was the patient alright when she had the healed tear?  Far from it.  Those individuals are usually closed to the gospel of Jesus Christ that I often wonder whether they need to undergo a deep skin fresh cut experience in order to let go of their ideologies.    

Remember what happened to Jonah?