9-18-2010 (Saturday)

Last evening Jane was telling me that during the early afternoon when she was doing a surgery and I was busy on something else, Angelita was assisting Jane. Angelita is usually the one who checks on the post-op patients during the day, changes IV solutions, and other care needs. At that time when Angelita was busy Jane asked Maria Luisa if she would go change an IV solution. Maria Luisa has such a heart for the Lord and is bold enough to approach people and introduce them to Christ. While she was visiting the patients she talked with the Chachi lady, her friend and the lady with cancer about their relationship with Christ. In the process she led all three to the Lord yesterday afternoon. When I went over to check the Chachi and reinsert her catheter, Damarys and I took three Bibles with us to give to these three ladies. I didn’t realize that when someone accepts Christ at the clinic, a Bible is given to that person. It is a thrill to be part of a ministry that not only brings physical healing but also spiritual healing as well. Thanks to Maria Luisa several people now know Christ.

About 2 am I awoke with shaking chills again. My temperature registered at 38.1 C. which translates to 100.6 F. Then the power went out and the generator for the clinic building kicked on automatically. The house, albergue and water pump are on a separate circuit and that generator needs to be started by hand. The new generator for the clinic building makes noise but not nearly like the one for the house. The new generator ran about 3 hours before Jane came down and shut it off. I awoke about 6 and still felt warm. My temperature was 38 (100.4 F) so I took some Tylenol to bring it down. I used a little drinking water to wash my face and that felt better. It is amazing how just washing one’s face improves how you feel. I am meeting Jane at 7 to round on the post-op patients.

Father, help me to feel better. This fever is sapping my energy and strength. Lord, help me. I pray for our patients, Lord. Please protect them, especially the lady with cancer. She has a horrible disease and we can do no more. Lord, I rejoice that she placed her faith in You. You are all wise and have a plan for her. Help me to trust You with my limited wisdom. Lord, help the Chachi lady to heal and not redevelop her prolapse. Please protect here as well. Lord, You are the God of the universe, creator and sustainer of all things. Nothing is impossible to You, Lord. I rest in that truth. Amen.

I finished reading the book of Jeremiah, a man who knew God and followed Him giving his life to bring a message of warning to his people. He spoke words of doom and destruction and I am sure it was hard for him to confront his people daily. They had offended God greatly. This grieved Jeremiah for he knew God and knew how God felt about Israel’s rebellion. The more one knows God, the easier it is to recognize and avoid what offends Him. And by living a life of honoring and obeying Him, you bring Him glory. The more you know Him, the more you love Him and experience His love.

Thank You, Father, for Jeremiah and what he teaches me through his life and his obedience to You. He knew You, Lord, and He loved You. His love translated into complete obedience even when You gave him the task that was unpleasant. His message to his people was hard to deliver in the face of their rejection of You and him. Your words fell on deaf ears and this grieved Jeremiah greatly. It would have been easy to not follow through, to no obey You, Lord. But Jeremiah would not even go that direction because he knew You and loved You more than anything else in his life. Thank You for this great example for me. Thank You for Your unfailing love for me, Lord. Amen.

We rounded on the post-op patients. Upon arrival all were dressed and ready to travel. The couple and the Chachi Indian were heading to Borbon to get in a boat and head upriver to Zapallo Grande and beyond. The Chachi will be staying with this couple for awhile and they will look after her. We told them to remove the Foley catheter in 2 weeks and if she has trouble urinating then to go to the clinic in Zapallo Grande to have a catheter reinserted. We sent a catheter and drainage bag along with them. The lady with the cancer was gathered with her family. We took them all aside to the waiting area on the clinic porch to talk more about her cancer. Jane informed her that the cancer was not all gone and it had spread beyond what we could remove. She told them that radiation therapy is needed and it seemed that she would follow this advice and return to the cancer hospital to get this done. It was a depressing time and hard to give someone bad news. While Jane was talking with this family I noticed the couple and the Chachi were walking down the sidewalk to get in a taxi. The Chachi was barefoot, which is her normal attire. Another lady who was visiting with our fourth patient came running out to the Chachi and gave her a pair of flip-flops to wear on her feet. I thought this might be the only pair of shoes this Chachi has ever had. She left with the flip-flops on and got in the taxi to head on to Borbon.

At 8 am the power was still out. Jane turned on the generator so I could have water and could bathe. She also turned on the generator to the clinic building where she has an apartment for the same reasons. The generator is so noisy and it drowns out all other sound. In a little while we will shut off the generators as we won’t need the power on for most of the day. The shower felt good. My temperature must be coming down as I am sweating a lot now.

The power finally came on and we now have the generators off. What a relief! Jane was telling me that she checked the cistern last evening and it was fairly full. She said the new pump is not working and the old well didn’t come on last week. We had the surgery week supported by the cistern only and by city water. City water has been sporadic at best but this past week it was enough to keep the cistern full and allow us to have plenty of water. Again, God provides!

I have spent the morning packing and getting ready to travel tomorrow. This afternoon Jane and I will spend some time talking about developing obstetrical care at the clinic. We went into town for lunch and came across an interesting scene. It seems this guy had a tire problem so he stopped right in the middle of the highway and had his car jacked up and was working on the rear wheel while cars were whipping around him on both sides coming within inches of him and his car.

Would you be comfortable doing this?

We ate lunch at a restaurant that was part of a hotel. The owner of the hotel is a patient of Jane’s and she came over and talked to Jane and me about her problem. While there Jane scheduled her for a hysterectomy next month. Then she brought over one of her workers, a young lady, who is having bleeding problems. So lunch was also a consultation time for two patients. Once we came back to the house Jane and I spent a couple hours going over what obstetrical care would involve. The obstetrical patient has some unique situations the doctor and nurse need to think about and be ready to handle and also there are some unique pieces of equipment needed. Jane has been talking with a married couple who are family practice residents in Quito and have expressed an interest in coming to San Lorenzo to work here. They both are interested in doing obstetrics as well. This could open the door for an expansion of services here at the clinic. A lot of thought and planning must go in to this before starting the program. The big snag in this is the lack of consistent anesthesia availability.

7:30 pm. My fever is up again at 38.4. I just took some medication to help bring it down. I started to ache all over again and am hot. I didn’t have the chills as before. It is strange in that I just have the fever and achiness but no other symptoms or changes.

Jane and I fixed some popcorn and cut some watermelon and played a board game called Ticket to Ride. We have played that this week with Loida, Damarys, Viviana, Jane and me. It is a fun game and requires some thinking and strategy as you build train routes that crisscross the country. In the process I bumped my glass of Coke sending it to the floor and spilling coke on my computer and all over the floor. We had to stop and clean all that up. Fortunately, nothing happened to my computer.

It is now 9:30 and time to hit the sack. We are leaving about 8 or so in the morning to head back to Quito. The drive is about 5 hours on curvy mountain roads. About midway there we pass a city called Otovalo where there is a market with lots of shopping opportunities. We plan to stop and browse. Then we will move on to Quito for the night.

Father, this has been a restful day. I have enjoyed the down time to read Your Word and to not have any schedule pressing me on. I haven’t felt the best and my fever keeps bumping up and down. Lord, I pray for the patients who went home today. Please touch them and bring healing to their bodies. Lord, please comfort the lady with cancer and help her. Wrap Your arms of love around her and give her peace. Thank You, Father, for allowing me, inviting me, to come to San Lorenzo to help these people. Thank You for the opportunities You place before me to allow me to watch Your grace and mercy in action. Thank You for stretching me so I will lean more on You and learn from You. Thank You, Lord, for giving me insight into knowing You more. Lord, I praise You tonight. Thank You!! Amen.