2/17/08 (Sunday)
7:00 AM. I finished my book last night wearing a headlight to read while tucked in bed inside the mosquito netting. The power has stayed on continuously since Saturday morning so the fan running was a good sleep aide. Today is the Lord’s Day. We will soon be rounding on our two patients and sending at least one of them home this morning. The lady with the high fever we would like to watch for awhile. Jane and I talked last night about her. We both felt we would like to see some improvement with the malaria medicine before sending her out. If she is running a high fever today, I would like to examine her to make sure we are not dealing with a post-op pelvic abcess. It is a little early for something like that to develop but it could happen. She certainly did not show signs of infection when I saw her on Friday. Her bladder symptoms had almost completely cleared by Saturday afternoon. This was in the face of a 104 fever.
After rounds, we will then head to church. Since Damarys has Jane’s car, we will walk. Jane said the walk would take about a half hour. Church starts at 8:30 so we plan to leave about 7:45 or so to give us plenty of time.
Lord, Thank You for the good night’s sleep and the refreshing new day. Thank You for the sounds of the night produced by the various creatures you created. All the sounds are so interesting. Then this morning the birds are singing and there are new noises. Lord, You created them all. Thank You for allowing me to hear them and enjoy their praise to You. Father, I pray for our patients in the albergue. I pray for Your presence with them and Your healing touch upon them. Especially, I pray for wisdom as Jane and I evaluate the lady with a high fever. Please give us clarity of diagnosis so we can properly treat her. I pray for the other lady who will probably go home this morning. Protect her as she continues to heal from her surgery. Lord, please keep Your hand upon all the other patients who had surgery this past week. Thank You for Your protection and Your love for them. Father, I pray for the church we will attend this morning. I pray for the pastor as he leads the congregation. Fill him with Your spirit so he can speak the truth to his flock. I pray for those attending that their hearts will be open to Your message and be filled with joy and hope as they place their faith in You. Lord, I pray for protection for Linzy, Jane and me as we walk to and from church. Help Linzy and I to translate in our minds so we can hear and understand the message You have given the pastor to speak. Thank You, Lord, for this opportunity to worship You in San Lorenzo. May Your name and Your name only be praised! Amen.
We walked to church, which happened to be downtown, taking us a little over a half hour. Jane thinks the distance could be a couple kilometers. With the recent rain we had to walk around many mud puddles getting there. The church service was very interesting and encouraging. We were greeted warmly and introduced to the congregation. There were possibly 50 people there. The pastor preached from 1 Corinthians 10:23—11:1. His choice of Scripture aligned totally with our week here. He talked about the freedom we have in Christ. And he finished with verse 31: So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. That is exactly what we did this past week in surgery. It was all for the glory of God. I found this sermon and Scripture passage validating to our contribution to the ministry here in San Lorenzo. Of course, it was all in Spanish. I was able to pick up a word here and there and with my Bible before me I could follow the Scripture and more or less understand what he was saying. We sang several songs before the sermon, all of which were familiar worship songs but in Spanish. It was a joy to worship our Lord here in a church in San Lorenzo. Angelita and Maria Luisa both attend this church and they were surprised to see us there. After church, we walked back through San Lorenzo taking a different route through several neighborhoods. This allowed us the opportunity to see homes and families. The living conditions are so poor making life hard for these people. Yet, they seem happy and content.
Once we returned to the clinic the little boy, Gary, came in for a dressing change. He was the last surgery of our week with the drainage of a large abcess of his left hip. Jane and I removed the packing in the abcess cavity with Gary protesting very loudly. We then redressed the area. The inflammation is receding nicely and he will come in early in the morning to do this again so Angelita can observe. Angelita will be changing the dressing daily while Jane is in Quito with us.
Our lady with the fever stated she began having a lot of foul smelling drainage from the vagina. This was our clue that she indeed had an infection in the surgical site. This is a little early for a vaginal cuff abcess but it would fit for her post-op fever. We brought her to the clinic exam room and with sterile instruments, I was able to open the vaginal cuff and finish draining the abcess. We then put in a drain and will re-examine her again in the morning. She wants to return home today because her house is empty and she is afraid she will be robbed. She will come back in the morning so I can recheck her and possibly remove the drain. We put her on a second antibiotic for the next 7 days. Jane feels we can stop her malaria medicine.
1:00 PM. Linzy is busy fixing lunch for Gonzalo’s family and us. She and Nancy went grocery shopping while Jane and I were in the clinic. She has several vegetables cleaned, cut and ready and will be cooking chicken as well. I appreciate Linzy for offering to do this for Nancy. I know Nancy is very thankful for Linzy offering to cook for her. This probably rarely happens and is a gift that Nancy really appreciates.
4:00 PM. We just finished lunch. Linzy created an Indiana meal – fried chicken, fried wedge potatoes and a mixture of carrots and beets. The meal was very tasty and Gonzalo and Nancy and the kids enjoyed it immensely.
7:30 PM. Damarys arrived from Quito. She said Barb, Linda and Annette flew out on time. I suspect they will eventually arrive in Fort Wayne late this evening. She said they were talking about their experiences in San Lorenzo and how much they enjoyed coming to participate in Jane’s work. We then had some popcorn, tuna salad, deviled eggs for our supper. Our evening will consist of more reading and then to bed. We have two patients to see in the morning, the same two we looked at today. Then we will load the car and leave for Otavalo and on to Quito.
Father, today was a good day. We were able to worship You in a local church here. I enjoyed the service and especially the message right out of Your Holy Scripture. Thank You for that privilege. I pray for our patient who has the high fever and also for Gary with the draining abcess in his hip. Please protect them and touch them with Your healing touch. Lord, I lean totally on You for guidance in managing them. I pray for a good night’s sleep and safe travel in the morning. Thank You, Father, for walking to this place and bring us along with You. Thank You for allowing us to be an extension of Your healing power. Thank You, Lord! Amen.
Medical Missions 
Marv: I so much appreciate your daily entries, warming my heart, making me smile, broadening my understanding, and then knowing where to concentrate my prayers. You and your team are truly a blessing and example of God’s love. As you finish up your tasks, we are praying for your safe return home!
Lee Ann (Linzy’s mom)