Language and Love

You know, language is a funny thing.  Last night, I went to a baby "shower" being given by an American, for an Indian doctor who is soon to have her second child.  The husband of the American was sent to the husband of the Indian, just to make sure his wife was coming to "Ladies Night" since there would be this surprise "shower" for her.  The Indian husband understood that the ladies were all going to wash his wife.  So, as she went out the door, he said to his wife, "Don't be embarrassed; it will be all women there."  The wife had no idea what he was talking about.  But after we surprised her and then explained what a "baby shower" is, there was much laughing, and much fun was had by all.

Toward the end of this baby shower, we all prayed together for the 10-year-old boy in the ICU with tetanus.  Alexa and I planned to walk home with a nurse who had gone to check on him.  While Alexa was still helping with clean-up, I went over to the ICU to see the boy.  When I arrived, along with the hospital director/doctor, the boy's oxygen level was dropping, and his heart rate was increasing and becoming erratic.  Everyone in the room jumped in to help this boy, and after about 30-45 minutes, he was quietly resting with a good oxygen level and a good steady heartbeat.  All this activity was not even noticed by the boy's brother who was sleeping at the side of the bed, on the cold concrete floor.

Watching these foreign nurses and doctors fight for this child's life (they must be on-call 24-hours per day, as this boy's level of care is more complex than the local staff's training level) looks like pure love to me.  And every one of them serves Christ with all they've got, seeking not monetary compensation but only to love the Nepali people, than some might be saved.  Tansen Mission Hospital's motto is: We serve; Jesus heals.  Please ask Jesus if He will choose to heal this boy.  I too have a 10-year-old boy, and my heart yearns for this boy's recovery.  This is something that my children will not face; immunizations are truly life-saving.

Well, when this excitement was all over, the nurse and I went to get Alexa for the walk home.  But alas, it was past 10pm now, and the gate between the hospital (where we were) and the nursing campus (where she was) was locked for the night.  Alexa was locked in.  It was only about 20 minutes before somebody came along who could open the gate, and it just adds to Alexa's foreign adventure.  She is doing so well, taking it all in stride.

Some final thoughts about love...it is a beautiful thing, it is a hard thing, full of sacrifice, it is like a treasure that grows in value over time.  I have recently seen some very painful consequences of something that may look like love for a while, and may even end up in marriage, but it is not true love, and whatever it is, it leaves multitudes of women here battered, bruised, abandoned and in emotional pain.  If you have a spouse who is truly loving you, I encourage you to go to him or her now, wrap your arms around that gift, confirm your commitment to true love and thank that person for his or her wonderful love.  That is what I did last night.  You know, the ways of Christ are GOOD beyond our understanding.

:-) Kimberly, a sojourner in Nepal