This would be the summation of my first week here. Surrender is a key virtue demanded of a missionary here. Rarely do things unfold the way one plans but God in His infinite goodness always takes note of a heart that has surrendered to His will. What seems lost is found somewhere else often where least expected. Some of the high points of my weeks here have always been working with the Sisters in their wound clinic. I am a nurse by trade a healer by vocation. But this is an experience sought by many of the missionaries here from various organizations. Such was the case this week. I could only send 4 people with the Sisters. Fr. Daniel went in my place with the 3 missionaries in medical studies. It was a hard sacrifice for me. I always meet our suffering Lord in the faces of those I care for there. It’s not about the “doing” there for me but about the “who” I encounter.
We went to the village outside Port Au Prince where we are helping to rebuild a church. It is an incredibly poor area. It is here that I found one of the many hidden gifts of this mission. A young boy of about 6 had a foot wrapped with torn sheets. It was obvious his makeshift bandage was blood stained and filthy. Removing the bandage I found a deep wound that had been packed with a type of mud to stop the bleeding. With the courage of his buddies who patted his shoulders and a sucker for a reward, I worked on his wound removing the mud and dead tissue, cleaned it well and redressed it with gauze treated with antibacterial ointment. He never cried. It took great strength on his part for I know I hurt him. I could not see his face as I cared for him but I could feel him watching mine. When I finished, he and his buddies thanked me. I hugged them all for their courage and sent our Lord an internal thank you acknowledging the gift He sent hidden from the eyes of others but a gentle reminder to me He is never far away.
