The Little Things

Last night I was tired.  When I reached my comfy bed, I was ready.  But the sleep didn’t come as fast as I would have liked.  I couldn’t get the images out of my head from yesterday.  One of those nights when your body is tired, but your mind won’t stop.  Yesterday was a bit crazy.  I couldn’t bring my medical bag because we had to bring other bags with us.  It felt pretty weird to be separate from that backpack, we have been attached (literally) since I got here.  The boys were supposed to bring it before I had to go to the slums, but since a monster rainstorm hit back at the house; they were unable to meet up with us.  I felt pretty unarmed as we walked into the little school house where I always see the worst wounds and fevers.

We were there for about 10 minutes when I heard “nurse, we need you.”  Sometimes that phrase is scary, I’m not gonna lie.  A small boy had just walked in carrying his little sister.  She was probably around 4 or 5 and weighed a fragile 20-25 lbs.   Of course all of this is guessing seeing as how she didn’t know how old she was, I had no scale, and she was very quiet.  Her brother was giving me info about what happened, but it didn’t register until I looked down at her little foot.  Her right foot had been severely burned by a boiling pot of water that spilt on her 2 days before.  It covered the whole surface of the top side of her foot, it was black in some areas, while pink and exposed in others.  I asked her name, and told her mine.  Her name is Mikaleta.

I don’t have a lot of experience with burns, but I knew that it had to be cleaned because the last thing her body could take was infection.  There is no running water or sources near where we work in the slums of Kisenyi, so I took one of our water bottles and began to pour it over her foot, trying to get the dirt off around the burn before I loosely wrapped it .  I felt very useless with my supplies and technique that’s for sure.  I looked up and the brother was watching my every move and he just said- “you are a good nurse.”  I laughed and told him I wished I was better, and then I asked for his name.  He replied- “you don’t remember me?”  My heart sank as it usually does when these kids realize I can’t remember their names.  Then he showed me his healed finger that I had stitched up about 3 weeks ago, and I remembered very quickly.  “Nicholas!”   I was excited to actually see a healed wound and to see that his face was in much less pain this time. 

I asked more about their story from the translator, and he told me about how the mother of the little girl was a street child herself and she wouldn’t come around here due to embarrassment.  I’m not even sure if Nicholas was related to the little girl.  If a girl is homeless a few things can happen- she will get raped on the street, or she will resort to selling her body to survive.  I can’t be sure of this story, but those are some of the common ones I have heard. 

Once I was done dressing it I told Nicholas that it was his job to make sure this dressing stayed clean until Friday afternoon when I could make it back to Kisenyi slums again.  He was delighted to take part in this little one’s treatment, he shook my hand, and I said “I’m counting on you Dr. Nick.”  The smile he gave me washed away the pain in the pit of my stomach.  He turned around, Mikaleta hopped on his back, and they were off. 

I prayed over her foot, I asked God to heal it completely whether it be through the motions he gives my hands or by some other miracle.   I walked away yesterday thinking about how the small things are what really counts.  I thought about that smile Nicholas has, I thought about the smile Mikaleta had as she was being carried away on Dr. Nick’s back, I thought about how maybe when her young mother saw the dressing her heart may be put at some ease. 

God does big things, but I can’t help but think about all the small beautiful things He works out that stick out in my mind.  Sometimes I get caught up in thinking about all the BIG things God has planned for my life here- like starting an NGO with homes for street children, free medical care, counseling, the whole sha-bang.  While all those big dreams rock, and I pray in faith that God will provide, it was the little things that got me today. 

My prayer for you as you read this is not that you walk away and feel helpless.  My prayer is that you feel that much more equipped.  That God reminds you that the smallest acts of kindness can change the course of a life.  That you may not be able to change the world, but you can change a world, and in the end, that’s everything isn’t it? 

Pray for Nick, Pray for Mikaleta, pray for the world.  Pray for the thousands of children that are losing hope in the streets, pray for those being restored in loving homes, pray for your next-door neighbor.  Pray for those little moments that God is working out in your life today.  It all counts. 

Thank you for your prayers.  I can feel them, our team can feel them, and so can these kids.