“I sought the Lord and, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears” Psalm 34:4
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Isaiah 29:11-13.
I want to share with you how good God is and how the body of Christ works in such an amazing and interconnected way. When I received the SMS message from Jim "hematuria, pneumaturia..." I was four hours away from Lusaka Airport in the town of Nyimba at the first CHE, Community Health Evangelism, training of trainers program for the CCAP, our PCUSA partner church here in Zambia. The CCAP picked a very ecumenical group to be trained, representing at least 6 different churches and denominations from Nyimba and Pitauke. Half of those being trained were women and half were men. I was staying in a locally owned guesthouse with meals cooked over a fire out back and bathes in a bucket of water heated over the fire. As soon as I got his text I realised I need to leave right away or miss the flight to Johannesburg. Before I left the group training, I was surrounded by a chorus of prayers and support in multiple tongues, only two of which I understood. It took me four hours to drive to Nyimba in the Eastern Province, but only 3 hours and 15 minutes to return to the airport in Lusaka, slowing down only for the skid marks on the winding road.This morning we moved from the lovely Lizas Cottage, run by Gert and Alida, a retired Dutch Reformed pastor and his wife, as a ministry to families with loved ones receiving care in the Urological Hospital to The Crane's Nest. Those who know me will suspect that I had this secretly planned since it faces the Austin-Roberts bird sanctuary but as it turns out it is the closest accomodations I could find only three blocks from the CDC headquarters in Pretoria where Jim can work until the foley is removed and he can travel safely back to Zambia. We had a lovely lunch at the Blue Crane Restaurant on the pond in the middle of the sanctuary. While Jim ate soup and I had vegetable quiche, three blue cranes kept begging Jim for food through the fence posts on the veranda. It is very peaceful here. Jim is sleeping again after walking back the 500 meters to our B&B. I just happened to have my new South African bird book, a gift from Dr. Boyer and binoculars in the village so I am all set.
In the airport, waiting for the flight with Jim, Caryl Weinberg called me to join the weekly international Tumekutana steering committee conference call to discuss the summary document report from our October 2011 conference "Women as agents of peace, healing and reconciliation". I explained the situation and immediately women from partner churches in Ghana, Nigeria, Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, and the US began lifting up prayers. Within hours of arrival, we were visited by two pastors from a partner church in South Africa thanks to mission co-worker Janet Guyer who was on that phone call. The St. Columbas church secretary even began looking for housing for me.
When it was clear I would not be able to travel to Houston for the Medical Benevolence Foundation board meeting this weekend, I emailed the MBF President-Elect Shelley and our new Executive Director Andy Mayo and then the board went into action too. Jerry Veldman contacted former MBF trustee Tom Logan who had been a patient in South Africa some years ago. We contacted his former doctor and were given the name of a first class GI surgeon, Dr. van Niekerk, who we have since discovered used to work at Nkhoma Hospital where I served in February. Our experience has been a demonstration of how amazingly the universal (worldwide) Church can function to support, encourage, care for and build up the hurting body of Christ.
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