(Praying for an orphaned family after the volunteers bathed the children in the nearby river)


Before I left to come here a close friend/mentor told me boldly, "Dara, be prepared and available for the Lord to use you however He wills. It may look different than you're expecting. Just be willing to do whatever He asks of you." At the time I thought, "Of course, I am open for anything." Now I see what that meant. I have been gone about 6 months now and things are very different than I imagined they would be. We are still waiting on our nursing licenses to be recognized. This means we are still unable to treat patients. That's where these important words have encouraged me. God has asked me to do different things that I thought I would be doing. We still have hope that our nursing licenses will get cleared "any day now." In the meantime were educating the local volunteers and writing proposals to help Rubatano expand and strengthen the work they are already doing. One of the biggest things that I would like to see happen is for us to find a local Mozambican nurse to start working with the home care volunteers. If this were to happen that nurse could carry the work that Laura and I are meant to be doing. The whole heart of Hands at Work is sustainability. We want to support and encourage the local church and community to take care of their own people. This is so much more effective. We learn this more and more each week. Coming in as an outsider is very challenging. We not only look different and speak different but we don't understand how these people think. One day as we walked through the bush we crossed a small, dirty pool of water. We asked the volunteer we were with if that was the water that the people drink from. "Yes, of course." "Oh, great," I thought, an educational opportunity. So, being the nurses we are, Laura and I started in on the importance of boiling the water (in a clean pot of course)at a rapid boil for at least 2 full minutes. Our volunteer kindly, respectfully listened and then truthfully said, "Okay, good. Right. Yes, but the patients won't listen. They have been drinking this water their whole lives. They aren't going to change now."
"Oh, of course," I thought. Why would they change suddenly when the white girls show up and tell them that the way they are living is all wrong! So, the challenges continue.

Another funny thing is that this is the same volunteer who the other week saw me drinking water on a "cool" African winter morning and said, "You drink water when it is this cold?" (I am sure it was like 65 degrees). I said, "Yes of course! You don't?" He responded, "Sometimes I go one week without drinking water." Ah ha! That explains the headaches! :)
So, with that, please keep praying. Some days are long, some are discouraging, most are overwhelming but thankfully I know a friend who says this..."Come to me, all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light." (Matt. 11:28) Thank you Jesus for this promise. I will wake tomorrow and face another day.