Lament

      I have been thinking a lot recently about the place of grief for for the people of God. Or perhaps lament is a better word for it. I love sharing the positive things happening at MOHI, especially in the clinic. I love sharing the victories and the times when hope takes me by surprise. These stories are fun, and remind people (me) of many of the reasons I came down here in the first place. There are many sweet moments spent giggling with the kids, or getting the chance to lavish a new mom with praises about all of the wonderful choices she is making for her newborn daughter.Those thing are only part of the story though.
       Most days are also full of things that demand to be lamented. My friends come to church exhausted because it was pouring down rain last night and their homes leak. A proud father who I have watched play with, sing to and love his toddler daughter all morning has to gather his dignity around himself and tell me that while he knows she would do better if she ate more often, he does not have the money. A woman in the mountains is in full blown heart failure. Another virus is plaguing bodies and magnifying suffering. Severe malnutrition (starvation) is a thing that even student nurses can recognize at a glance.
       I struggle writing this post. I wrestle with how to word what I am thinking and feeling. The last thing I want to do is be another foreigner who, in my ignorance or willful misunderstanding of the dignity and nuance of the people I love, devalues them. That being said, I am also coming to believe that part of the role of the people of God is to perceive the brokenness around us. To see suffering and lament it. I believe in the ultimate healing and putting right of all things as they are under the Lordship of Christ, but we are not there. Right now is the time of the "not yet." It is the time of starving babies and fevered joints. It is the time of limited healthcare options becoming even more so as funding dries up and organizations pull out. It is the time of sweat and tears. It is the time of a brokenly whispered "come Lord Jesus" and a desperate hope the He will. Soon.