The last installment from Nigeria... Friday, August 8 Dear family, friends, and supporters We finished our week well. Today we served 578 patients. All together we served 6,561 people over two weeks. This is the highest number we have ever done in the six years we have been in the three-way partnership (Trinity Church Tariffville, Faithcare, and Kaduna Diocese). Included in that figure were 1,000 people who received care for their eyesight. And among these, 671 received eyeglasses. We could have done more, but we ran out of glasses. We were blessed with the services of two dedicated young women, one an ophthalmologist and the other an optometrist. Together with their team, they cared for nearly 1 out of every 6 patients. We have never been able to help so many eye patients as we did on this mission. (I should also say that there were other eye doctors who served several days on the first week but whose names I did not retain). The bottom line is that we were able to help many people achieve better eyesight. The eye patients ranged from very small kids to very old people. Speaking of kids, its the kids that always win your heart - and break your heart. The one thing that really hurts me to look at is kids with terrible skin rashes. We finished today at 5:30pm and then had a party during which every person was given a certificate and a gift of traditional Nigerian clothing. There were a few mercifully brief speeches and food, music, and a personal recognition of every person, from ambulance drivers to custodians to cooks to clergy to medical professionals. About 200 people helped in one way or another over the two weeks. Some helped for a couple of days and some for the entire two weeks. Then there were lots of hugs, tears, exchanging of emails and, of course, snaps with every possible combination of people. These medical missions are all about sharing the love of God with others. And the whole two weeks was shot through with love. This was in ample evidence tonight. Despite all of the problems of this troubled society, there is an abundance of love all around. Every time I come to Nigeria, I fall in love with the people all over again. And this trip was no exception. One of our hopes and prayers for this mission was that we would be a reconciling presence in the midst of the violent Muslim-Christian animosity. This prayer was answered in abundance. After a very slow start, we had an ever-growing number of Muslim men, women and children every day. And for the second year in a row, we had one Muslim dentist who served the entire two weeks with us. And we had a Muslim doctor who served for three days along with his two medical student daughters. Our prayer was to present an alternative religious narrative. Christians and Muslims can respect and even love each other. It is possible. We saw ample evidence of it during these two weeks. At our celebration party tonight, the longest and loudest ovation came when the Muslim dentist came forward to receive his recognition and gift. Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the sons and daughters of God. So said the Son of God. Sincerely yours in His Name, Fr Tom and the Faithcare team
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 00:42:02 +0000
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