I hate hospitals. The way they smell. The way sickness makes a person not themselves. The unsure-ness, if you have no medical training, about what a doctor is saying. I found out it is not only hospitals at home that I don't like but in Ghana too.My mom, auntie, and sister are nurses. I say good-for-you-you-are-amazing. As much as I love people I do not have much compassion (I know, and I am a missionary! Gasp!!) and don't want to clean up after people. I feel like growing up on a farm I had my share of poop and I really don't need to deal with any more. I also don't do needles very well. I cry. Even if I see other people get an injection, I cry. Weird.So, my lively, always gregarious, Pastor Andrew (PA), got sick on Friday. He called me and was barely able to tell me he was in the hospital. I tried calling him back but he didn't answer. I knew this couldn't be good. I called his brother Simon, who was with him, and got the information to which hospital they were at. It was a small, private clinic. I arrived around 10 am and saw a nurse giving him and injection and yep, I had to turn away! (Groan.) We sat outside while the nurse attended to him but I saw him curled up in a ball. I felt so bad. (OOO would that be compassion? :))
When the nurse left we went in. There were 2 other guys in the room not feeling well too. He was so not the guy I normally see. He could barely put a sentence together because the pain was so great. We prayed for him and let him rest. They put him on a drip and gave him pain medicine. He was very sleepy.His chart was a little notebook. I read that he had blood tests (he was negative for Malaria), complained of stomach pains, had a fever and was vomiting. They diagnosed him with Gastroenteritis. I was thankful because I had scary thoughts that he had Appendicitis or something wild and would need surgery.
I stayed at the hospital until afternoon with Simone and another brother, Augustine. Augustine brought food for him. There are no cafeterias here. If you need food you better hope someone will you bring you some. He ate in the later afternoon. The pain was gone but of course he was still weak. He stayed over night just to be sure the pains wouldn't come back.One way people speak love to me is quality time. In Ghana spending time with people is very important. I don't know if it would be everyone's love language here but I know it shows people that you care. I always see people sitting together in the shade or walking together. Yes, I could have left and went to practice language. He was sleeping, he wouldn't have known. I could have just called. But how hard is it to sit and wait? Or pray? I really felt with all the things PA and Jemima do for me, staying was the best way I could show love to them.PA called me on Saturday and said he was being discharged. He told me that the other 2 guys in the room with him were Muslims and were so impressed that I stayed. They told PA how I prayed for him while he was sleeping. Maybe seeds were planted? Only God knows.One of the first things I learned in Ghana was that everything takes time. 11 (almost 12) years later, though this time is not necessarily about taking time, it is still about TIME.Love you. Thanks for praying!
I stayed at the hospital until afternoon with Simone and another brother, Augustine. Augustine brought food for him. There are no cafeterias here. If you need food you better hope someone will you bring you some. He ate in the later afternoon. The pain was gone but of course he was still weak. He stayed over night just to be sure the pains wouldn't come back.One way people speak love to me is quality time. In Ghana spending time with people is very important. I don't know if it would be everyone's love language here but I know it shows people that you care. I always see people sitting together in the shade or walking together. Yes, I could have left and went to practice language. He was sleeping, he wouldn't have known. I could have just called. But how hard is it to sit and wait? Or pray? I really felt with all the things PA and Jemima do for me, staying was the best way I could show love to them.PA called me on Saturday and said he was being discharged. He told me that the other 2 guys in the room with him were Muslims and were so impressed that I stayed. They told PA how I prayed for him while he was sleeping. Maybe seeds were planted? Only God knows.One of the first things I learned in Ghana was that everything takes time. 11 (almost 12) years later, though this time is not necessarily about taking time, it is still about TIME.Love you. Thanks for praying!