You can't help spending time down on deck 3 (the part of the
ship that houses the hospital) and not be changed. The minute the black stairs turn into the
green hospital floor, life changes. Lives change. God is at work in this place and if we are
too busy thinking about ourselves we miss it.
But then we take the time to step back and watch miracles unfold in the
lives of people and we are, once again, amazed at the work Our Great Physician
is doing on this ship of HOPE.
The week after we arrived back on the ship we met
Natache. This woman came to the ship
with guarded hope. Eight years ago she
found herself pregnant out of wedlock and then lost the baby due to a prolonged
labor. As a result she was left childless, alone and broken. AKA: rock bottom. She
had suffered a horrific tragedy and all that she was left with was a condition
called vesico-vaginal fistula (VVF) due to the prolonged labor. She now had a small hole between her
bladder and her vagina which caused her to be constantly incontinent. The women who suffer from this illness are
shunned and ashamed. They are outcasts and pushed aside. They see themselves as
no longer being a "true woman". She has spent the last 8 years feeling this way.
From March 14th until yesterday we went as a family to visit
Natache and the other VVF ladies in the ward. We tried to go at least 4-5
nights a week. The girls begged to go
down and hand out stickers. The women LOVED seeing the kids, especially
Jack. They passed him around and talked
to each other about what a fat baby he is.
You could see their eyes light up when we came. Not because John and I
are any fun, but because they were meant to be mommies and many of them had
been robbed of that chance and now they got to be surrogate mommies to our
children, if only for an hour a day.
Yesterday we had to say goodbye to Natache as she has been FULLY healed after 7 weeks and 2 surgeries! What a bittersweet day. On the one hand, we are rejoicing with her that she has come to the ship and found the hope and healing she was longing for! And yet, our hearts break a little to know that we will likely not see her again this side of eternity. She touched us. She reminded us of why we are here. She was an example to us of what the Lord can do in the lives of the broken and broken hearted. She came feeling rejected and shunned and is leaving with a new hope!
Our last few nights with her were precious. We printed off some of the pictures we had with her and our family. Almost as an afterthought I put stickers on the back of them with verses from the Bible. You would have thought we'd given her diamond rings! She had the translator read the verses to her and she choked up at the realization that she was loved. Not just by us but by the God of the universe. She said she wanted to live her life by the truth of those verses. When was the last time I choked up reading God's promises to me? What lessons we have learned by watching God take the broken and draw them to himself. The story of these women is an amazing window into the heart of God. We got to take a peek and we were blown away.
As I sat on the dock with her yesterday waiting for her ride we talked about what life would look like for her now. She will live with her sister and her mother. She plans on going back to braiding hair to earn money. She hopes to marry someday but doesn't want to settle for someone who will not love her with the love she now knows she deserves. She says that her time here has showed her God's love and she plans on reading her Bible and learning more about Him. I'm not sure where she was spiritually when she came to the ship but I know that she is leaving KNOWING that Jesus loves her and has a plan for her life. She started crying when we talked about how God has given her a second chance. She says she will not waste it and I believe her. What a mighty God we serve and what a privilege to be a part of the work he is doing here. Thank you, Natache, for touching our lives and pulling back the curtain for a peek through the window of God's heart. We will miss you.
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| Playing with a baby on the Ward |
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| Stickers for the Ladies. |
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| Dancing with Natache |
After the dress ceremony.
We are not allowed to take video or pictures ourselves on the Ward for patient privacy but I was able to record this audio of the singing at Natache's dress ceremony! It was quite the party!
