Prayer-FULL days...

After my shift on Thursday, I just heard the LORD saying to me, "Come spend time with me". I still had a little over two hours until my dinner was going to be ready, and it was such a beautiful day, so I decided to go get my journal and my Bible, and go sit on the swings in the little kid playground. I love to swing! Obviously, I am still a little kid at heart! I was the only one there, so I just swang and watched. Just like my mom, I am SUCH a people watcher! I prayed for people as they walked by, and I was just relaxing, talking to God. I think He knew that I was needing some time to just sit back and be filled up again! After swinging for a while, I decided sitting on the ant-infested benches would not be the best idea, so I got up and walked around the grounds of the hospital. I ran into Jincy (the nurse I had followed one day in the Private Ward) and Mark (my driver from the airport to the guest House). He told me he was looking forward to our drive together on Weds., since he is going to be the one to take me to the airport! After walking a while, I sat down at an empty table at the canteen (a place where staff and families can come and eat). I just read some Psalms and wrote in my journal, then headed back to my guest house, being refreshed by some much needed time with the LORD.

Yesterday (Friday...it is getting harder and harder to keep track of days here!), I was supposed to start prayer rounds with Ating, one of the pastoral care members, at 9, but they ended up having to sit in on a presentation, so I went back to the library until 10:00. I met her at the chapel, we got our tracks, prayed for our day, and then headed out. We went all over the hospital, because apparently, she had certain assigned patients. We started off in the Dialysis unit with a man named something I could not pronounce. He got a laugh out of my attempts, but realized I couldn't say it right, so he let me call him Armin for short. After hearing that he had been on dialysis for 1 yr. 3 mos, and that he had two sons, Ating said to me, "Okay, you pray for him." Then, bowed her head. She had me pray for the next patient too, and THEN she looked at me and said, "It's okay that I'm asking you to pray, right?" I just laughed and told her of course. The next patient we visited awas a young girl named Rajma. She had been hit by a car, and a patient I had seen sparingly on the first day I was in the private ward, so she and her family recognized me (Also I forget, it doesn't take much to recognize me here, even if you have only seen me once! Haha!). Ating asked her about her relationship with God and she said she prayed and went to church. I have found that the majority of people I have talked to in India are Catholic and very "spiritual". They go to church and pray a lot, but it is so sad to see in their hearts that they have no idea WHO it is they are truly praying to. It is an empty religious life they are leading. The tracks that Ating had given me were not even about the gospel. They were about seeking God when you are sick, but I luckily had some left from contacts with Cru in my purse, so I decided to give her one to read after we had prayed for her. The next few patients were the same, Catholic, but no true relationship with God.

The next room we hit was that of the sweet family I had been able to pray for in the PICU (Jikku, Gladia, Gladvin, and Jose). They were delighted to see me, because they had just been told that there was an infection in Gladia's blood, so they would have to stay a little longer until they found out what it was and how to treat it! I was so sad to hear that, but I was able to offer encouragement and pray for them once more. Afterward, Jose said to me, "You and your prayers are like a river of life. You are going to be such a sweet blessing to your husband one day!" I thought that was so sweet, so I thanked him, but reminded him, that I am just a vessel, through whom Jesus lets flow His living water. They have been so kind to me, though! I just pray they get to go home soon!

Next, we went to the endoscopy/scanning waiting room and sat by a woman named Jiffee. She said she was there because she had found a clavicular node about 5 years ago, but never had it checked out, because it had not given her problems. But, just recently it started to pain her, so she decided to get it checked out. She asked me why I was there (like all of the patients had! :)), and I told her a little about me, but then she was called back for her scan. At this point, Ating and I got to talk a little. She got a little giddy at one point, just wanting to know about me and my family. I thought it was sweet that so quickly a friendship was growing between us. I told her about me, then got to hear a little about her. She is 26 and has 5 siblings. Her family lives in NE India, where she is from, and she has not seen them in 1 1/2 YEARS!! She said it was because it took her 4-5 DAYS on the train to get to her city, and then a WHOLE NIGHT on a bus to get to her house. She could not afford plane trips. I was utterly shocked. People in America complain about having to drive for 10 hours to get home, but they don't have to be on a hot dirty train for 4-5 days, and THEN take a bus to get home! The more I visit other countries, the more I realize how vain our complaining is. We have no idea how good we have it in America, sometimes. I then got to tell her all about my boyfriend, Steven, and encourage her that waiting is worth it! She was very thankful for my the short version of our story that I shared, and said it was good to be reminded that God is in control!

Jiffee, then came out again, and started to ask more about us. Then, I got to the point where I asked her about what she thought of God. She told me that she was not like many other people. She did not go to church, but she believes in God and knows that He is the One who has been getting her through her hard times in life. It was difficult to gauge with this short conversation her true beliefs, because she was kinda all over the place, but still, a very confident person when she speaks. She mentioned something about Campus Crusade in Bangalore, though, and I got really excited. I pulled out the last track I had(I thought. I found another this morning)and gave it to her, saying I had gotten it from Cru. She had to leave, but before she did, we prayed for her.

We ended up getting to pray for about 6 other patients, and then we called it a day. Ating and I talked a little longer and exchanged emails. I made sure that she knew I was going to be in the PICU and that she could come and say hi, whenever, and I would try and drop by the chapel too. She looked so sad to part ways. So, I asked if I could pray for her, before I left, and she was very thankful.

Today (Saturday), I was in the PICU again, and not too much happend, I am asserting myself in confidence more, though, and the nurses are becoming more comfortable in me helping out. I did catch a glimpse of some miscommunication between staff (and how it was affecting, very much, the health of a child)and a lack of professionalism in dealing with the matter. It was a little difficult to watch, but it is one more thing I am taking notes on that need to be taught when starting such a facility.

So much keeps happening here, and I know that God is not through using me yet, here in Bangalore, because I AM STILL HERE for 3 more days! Please pray for perseverance and strength, and PLEASE keep Gladia and her family in your prayers!