Wild Awakening by Greg J. Matthews

Author:Greg J. Matthews
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Howard Books

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OUT OF AFRICA

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.

—PSALM 127:3 ESV

Rhea and I sat in her Volkswagen Jetta. We looked at each other for a moment, then I put my arms around her and we both began to cry. We were in the parking lot of an Everett medical clinic, where Rhea had just undergone a procedure to remove the remaining tissue from the miscarriage. Any trace of our baby might now be gone, but the hurt was only just beginning.

Adding to the stress of this heartbreak was the fact that we were scheduled to fly to Africa in two days. A pastor at our church had invited me to join a missionary medical team that would teach home health practices to village leaders in Uganda for two and a half weeks. Rhea had also signed on. I would be the team EMT and Rhea would be responsible for bookkeeping and logistics.

When Rhea and I arrived home from the clinic, I went into protect mode. “We don’t have to go to Africa,” I said. “I’ll call the airline. Maybe we can get some of our money back.”

Rhea stared at me. “So you’re saying that if things get hard we’re not supposed to remain faithful?” At that moment, I realized that my wife’s strength and faith were greater and deeper than I’d imagined. We talked further. We both believed that God had called us to make this trip. Even though it would be difficult emotionally, we decided we needed to go.

Though we were both mourning, it helped to be in new surroundings, and in a place where we might be able to make a difference. Once we arrived in Uganda, however, I’d quickly realized that I had little to do. My primary responsibility was to simply wait and be ready to treat anyone on the medical team who might get injured. Patiently sitting and waiting were not among my gifts.

After three days of watching the rest of the team conduct training sessions, I approached Margaret Nelson, the nurse who was in charge of the program. “Is there anything I can teach?” I asked. She agreed to let me offer a session on first aid, provided I used only indigenous materials. It wouldn’t do any good to show the villagers how to apply the splints and bandages I’d brought with me if they wouldn’t have those supplies once I left. Fortunately, during two days of searching in the jungle with some of the local children, I located reasonable substitutes: T-shirts and moisture-absorbent moss to use as dressings, banana fibers to serve as bandages to secure the dressings, and branches cut from trees for splints.

The next morning, six adults and an interpreter showed up for my first training session. I taught them about the heart and the circulatory system. I traced the path a drop of blood travels through the body. Then, with Rhea acting out the part of an injured patient, I

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