Smiles, sickness, and service

I am so grateful to be serving in Ghana. On one hand, I've had full days of serving, working, sweating, laughing, smiling, hugging, and socializing, but I've also had plenty of long car rides filled with deep conversations and avid reading. I have read about 10 books in the past couple of weeks (I might've stayed up a little too late as well), and it pains me to know that I lack the ability and skills to convey what I'm experiencing like some of the authors I read. I wish I was better at writing, and I also wish that each one of you could be here with me! We haven't had any internet connection for the past few days, so I'll have to leave a lot of things out, but I'll try to share a few of the most recent stories.

This week was probably one of the best so far because of the diverse areas we visited, funny experiences, and tender mercies. On Wednesday, we drove a couple hours to a beautiful chapel in the middle of nowhere. Almost every time we have an outreach, we hold it at a chapel, but most of the time, they're unfinished and just bare, unpainted cement on the inside. This chapel was painted, it had wooden pews, and the people were just glowing. A fun part of the outreaches happens after one of the staff members gives a short introduction and instructional speech. He finishes by calling us up and letting us introduce ourselves. I always say, "Yeh fre meh, Kwabenah." Everybody always claps and laughs because Kwabenah is my name in Twi, and it's just fun to hear all their giggles and see their smiles. On Wednesday, after I said my name, I felt like that was the last time I was understood all day. I spent the next few hours trying to speak slowly, speak in Twi, use a translator, show things with my hands, and just straight up guess at what people were trying to communicate. For whatever reason, the language barrier was terrible there! It was a humbling experience, and I'm grateful for moments like those that remind me I've only been here a few weeks, and I've got a looooong way to go. As we were finishing, there was a 60+ year-old man wearing a t-shirt with military pins and medals all over. I walked up to him, and he took off his hat and put it on my head. He took a few minutes to tell me how much he learned as a soldier, and I couldn't help but feel gratitude for the millions of people who have sacrificed in any way for me to be where I am today. Wednesday was a wonderful day.

Thursday and Friday were another couple of days for the record books. On Thursday, after a three hour drive, I stepped out of the van, a bit groggy and sleepy, and opened my eyes in the bright sunlight. As my eyes started to adjust,  I began to perceive my surroundings and found myself face to face with a 50+ year-old woman without a shirt on waving a bundle of sticks in my face while shouting in a language I didn't understand at all. I didn't know if she was asking for money or just telling me off for doing something I shouldn’t have, but my response was just laughter. Sometimes a few laughs are all I can muster in awkward situations.

On Friday, we drove a few hours along the most beautiful road. At times, we were surrounded by massive, magnificent trees that were hundreds of feet tall. At other times, miles and miles of grassy plains speckled with a few trees extended as far as my eyes could see. The outreach site was completely packed, but it was one of those types of busy that make the time go faster and make you feel important/needed. By now, I know how much all the medicines cost, and I know what each of them do. It's a lot easier to look at somebody's prescription and understand a little bit of what they're going through now that I know what the drugs are for. It's something small like this-understanding that Texanol helps relieve pressure in the eye (probably because of Glaucoma) compared to Sodicrom that is used to treat allergies-that has made all of the difference. When I first asked what each drug was used for, where it came from, how they ordered them, etc. I was simply being curious. That curiosity brought forth information so that I could have a way to genuinely connect with others and better understand what they were going through.

Another tender mercy came as we saw our last twenty patients. I asked Ernest if I could shadow him for a few minutes, and he patiently treated each person as an important, trusted, and loved individual. It was in complete contrast to other optometrists who were a little slow, sometimes condescending, worn-out, and impatient. Ernest was fast, yet he never seemed rushed. He also spared a few minutes to teach me a little bit about how to use the ophthalmoscope and what to look for inside the eye. When I first looked inside somebody's eye and saw all of the little blood vessels leading towards the optic nerve, it was like a whole new world. It was incredible! I yearn for the day when I'll actually be able to make sense of all the different veins, nerves, cupping, and so many others things I've never heard of in order to help others. In just twenty minutes with Ernest, I learned more about healthcare, optometry, how to treat a patient, and how to see people as Christ would than I have this whole entire trip.

We finished the day with some rice, avocados, and chicken that must've been made with extra love because it was delicious (even after five weeks straight of chicken rice). To sweeten the deal, we stopped on the side of the road at a small ice cream stand in the middle of nowhere, and I had the best ice cream in my whole entire life. THE BEST! Better than Nielsen's Frozen Custard or Rockwell's in Provo. It was pure coconut milk, mango, and passion fruit that all added up to absolute goodness. Friday was just one of those days where everything falls into place, a smile never left my face, and gratitude filled my heart.

Saturday morning. 1:00 A.M. Disaster struck. The next eighteen hours were spent using the bathroom and vomiting too many times to count. Somewhere in the middle of feeling too sick to sit up in bed, I literally laughed out loud reflecting on Saturday's perfection compared to Saturday's misery. Gotta love it.

To wrap up the best week ever, I had the chance to teach the lesson during Sunday School in church, and the focus was on friendship. On Saturday, one of the staff members helped me clean everything up despite the disgusting situation and my whiny, pitiful attitude. He helped me without any expectation of gaining anything in return, and he helped me without any grumbling or hidden motives. In 1 Samuel 18:1-3, we read, "And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father’s house. Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul." I have no idea how to love someone as my own soul, but I know that it starts with service, and I know that it requires love without any expectation of receiving something in return. Love is never wasted, and I know that how we treat others is a reflection of how we view the Lord.

I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be surrounded by some of the most incredible people on this planet. I'm so grateful to be a part of the healing process for so many people, and I know that I'm the one who has been healed the most here. I'm so grateful for the small moments each and every day that point me to the Lord and help me better understand what's most important in life.