CURA

I miss my brother's and sister's in Brasil. They have brought me such joy and warmth in my heart! I have reconnected with many through Facebook and what a blessing! Just yesterday found out that Brandon, one of the ACU students who volunteered with us was the son of fellow Kermit classmates...His mom and I were in flag corp together and his dad lived down the street from my family's home. What a small world. I went all the way to Brasil to meet him! Funny how God brings us little surprises in our lives!

So, CURA: Compassion, Respect and Love...that is what it's all about. We were called to literally be the hands and feet of Christ in Brasil. He called us to show compassion to the 1004 patients that attended through our medical care. He asked us to love them with His love and to respect them individually. We were called to treat them as He would have done. It was easy to love these people. They were receptive to our care, our love and our respect. They were so thankful and grateful for the simple things that we did for them. They called us "angels" from America. I've never felt so appreciated in all of my life! I fell in love with the people of Brasil. They are so loving and affectionate. Not one of the patients left our care without hugging and kissing our cheeks and most crying as they thanked us for coming to their town to bring this much needed medical care. The poor are neglected. They are treated with no respect. They are just shuffled through the system with sometimes no attention to their needs. They suffer unnecessarily for long periods of time because the health care system of Brasil is so far behind and under-funded. Simple problems that are neglected become severe whereas they could have been prevented.

One young woman came to the clinic complaining of a few minor problems. Come to find out she was 15 years old and had been raped. She broke down in tears as she shared this horrifying story. We gave her medical care and asked her to talk to some of our counselors. She and her mother left the exam room with smiles, thankful hearts and hugs and kisses for us Americans!

My most heartfelt patient came to us on the third day of clinic. She was a fifty-something year old who was concerned because her husband had been unfaithful many times and she was worried about what she may have been exposed to. When she came into the room, she was stoic and seemed to be really tough. I asked her a few simple questions and she began to tell me that she was the mother of 15 children. WOW!!!! I gave her a high-5 and told her that she was the first woman I had ever met that had delivered 15 babies. I told her that she was my "hero". She smiled, still seeming to have this tough outer shell. Then, for some reason, Jami (the medical student) and Bea (translator) both had to leave the room. I found myself sitting there with this woman and she began to speak Portuguese to me even though I explained in English that I was sorry but I couldn't understand her languag, she continued to share. She then began to use body language to express her words. She pointed to her bottom teeth where many in the front were missing. She hit her fist in the palm of her other hand and began to point to her forehead where I noticed a scar. It began to become clear to me that she was trying to tell me that someone had beaten her. Was she telling me that her husband beat her? She began to cry and of course, I became very emotional as well. Here we were sitting alone in this room with no understanding of each other's language but sharing each other's pain. I too, had a history of domestic violence in my marriage. I was beaten and abused many times. I began to have a heart of compassion for this woman. I felt her pain. As Jami and Bea both entered the room, I asked Bea to have the patient tell her what she had been telling me while we were alone just so that I would be clear about what I thought she had been trying to communicate. Bea began to tell me that she had told me that her husband had knocked her teeth out and had given her the scar on her forehead. I stopped Bea then and asked her to ask the patient if we could pray. Of course, the patient agreed to let us pray for her. I began to pray for her that God would provide protection for her and her children. I asked God to change her husband's heart and that she would have hope and peace in her life. I prayed for God to help her find some way out of this situation. I pleaded with God to cover her with His arms of love and comfort. Jami, Bea, the patient and I were all crying at this point. After we prayed, the patient asked Bea to have me write my name on a piece of paper for her. I did, but wondered why she would want it. Bea told me that the patients daughter was going to deliver her baby soon and that she wanted to name her grand baby after me....Oh, my!!! I was so deeply touched. Here is a total stranger whom I just met, asking to name her grandchild after me??? I mean, my own family hasn't even ever offered to name their child after me! What a GOD moment. I have never been so greatly touched in my soul! Just to think that a child is going to have my name running around in Brasil makes me smile! God orchestrated this moment in time. For such a time as this! He knew that she and I were going to cross paths and have a bond that only the two of us coul share. This moment had already been ordained in His plan so long ago. He blows my mind all the time. We connected in our hearts without any understanding of each other's language but so deeply that I will continually pray for her every day for the rest of my life. I told her that too as we hugged and cried together. She is constantly on my mind and in my prayers. As Bea led the patient out of our room, Jami and I lost all control of our emotions. We wept with such sorrow and burden for this woman. We felt so helpless. Our hearts were broken for her. How could we send her back home and into the dangerous situation that she lived in. She is in an abusive marriage with a man who has no respect for her. She is basically just his property. He has many other women as she said "all around the town". The culture there is so excepting of women being treated as property and slaves to their husbands. There aren't any battered women's shelter's there in Cidada Nova for her to go to. She just has to survive in this horrific environment. That's when I had to give her to God. To ask Him for His protection and safety for her. I have to trust her into His hands.
As if this wasn't sad enough, the following day, the patients lab results came back and we found out that she was HIV positive. As if she didn't have enough obstacles in her life, now she has a terminal illness that she has probably exposed her children to. We were unable to give the patient the lab results since there were still some pending labs. It was one of the hardest things that I have ever had to try to understand. How can this woman have any hope in her life? The church there in Itu got her name and information to follow up with her and through the love and care of Christ's family, my prayer is that she will feel God's love and come into a relationship with Him. I am praying that she is there when we return next year and that I will be able to hug her neck and pray with her again. My prayer is that God will sustain her and give her strength to endure. That she will be hungry for God and find a deep appreciation for Him in her life. My sister, I will lift you up every day until I see you again. Whether it is in Brasil or in Heaven, we will meet again.

more to come.......