A Day at the Mercy Center

Tuesday morning, we went to the Mercy Center and helped Nurse Rebecca. Today, the orphans who are sick came to see her, so we were able to help her give them medicine and clean their wounds. This was a special morning for Barb. Once again, she was able to use her amazing nursing skills! Nurse Rebecca even had an extra white coat that Barb could wear.

While the children waited to see Nurse Rebecca, Zac and I taught them “Rock, Paper, Scissors” and “the hand-slap game”. They caught on pretty quickly and really seemed to like the games. Since Zac and I don’t fluently speak Sango, playing these games was a great way for us to interact with the children.

Zac also spent time playing basketball with the boys there who weren’t receiving medical care. He was playing so hard, that he fell and needed Nurse Mom to clean his wounds. She did a great job!

I’m sure you’re wondering why I’ve included a picture of a girl’s hands holding lip gloss. She was one of the orphans sitting on the bench, waiting to see Nurse Rebecca. I let her sit on my lap, and I rubbed her back. I remember when I was a kid, I liked having my mom do that for me. Even though I couldn’t speak to her, I wanted her to know I cared for her. She held that lip gloss for at least 2 hours. She didn’t even put it in her pocket. Looking at her lip gloss, I thought of how cheap it is in America, and that most women have many different kinds and colors. But to this little girl, her one bottle of lip gloss was her prized possession. She took that lip gloss with her, because she didn’t want anything to happen to it while she as at the medical center. To her, that lip gloss was just as important as seeing the Nurse. I will never look at lip gloss the same after I return to America.

After spending time there, we returned to ICDI for lunch. Following lunch, we each spent time relaxing and refueling for the rest of the trip. Zac and Jeana spent a couple of hours with a missionary family they met on a previous trip. Zac especially enjoyed playing with the children, and Jeana had a great time giving support and encouragement to her friend, Judith.

Barb spent the afternoon teaching Carol how to crochet. Carol’s husband, Andre, works for ICDI as the chef (we definitely enjoy his cooking!), so Barb wanted to be able to show her appreciation for Andre, by helping his wife. Carol caught on very quickly and got a lot accomplished. I spent the afternoon holding Audrey (Carol & Andre’s baby) and reading a book.

We ended the evening by playing Dutch Blitz. It was a great way for us to do something as a team and have fun! Unfortunately for the team, I was just as competitive as I am in the States, so I had to throw in some “trash-talk”. But, we didn’t keep score, so we don’t actually know who won. They’re lucky I wasn’t keeping track in my head :)

Thanks for your comments! They have been a great encouragement.

Heidi - on behalf of the team