* Counting Down

For this post I wanted to share a small story from our trip last year. We pack trunks full of medication to be distributed to the 1000 people we see during our 4 day clinic. Each trunk has to stay within the allotted weight - which is difficult due to the amount of meds we take and their combined weight. There are some very talented packers who balance the bulky light items with the smaller heavier things. From what I understand we do not always know exactly what mes will be shipped to us although we have requests - sometimes the manufacturer or other donating body will send meds we did not request.

Last year a large bottle of essentially seizure meds was included in one of our shipments. There was discussion of not taking it at all. It was heavy, liquid being much heavier than pills! It was also nearly impossible to dispense in a controlled dose to more than one patient at the clinic. Room was available and the bottle made the trip anyway. It sat in our stock for four days without anyone thinking about it much.

On a separate note - one of the houses on site is the home to a special needs child that had been found abandoned in the bush. Her story is truly heart wrenching and her house parents awesome. They must pay for her seizure medication out of their house budget, a budget that must care for the 24 children in their home - do you see the ending to the story?

On our last full day the house parents happened to mention to one of our doctors that they were not able to buy her the needed medication at this time, due to lack of funding. A casual question from the doctor revealed that Christy needed the exact medication we had sitting alone in our stock. And she needed liquid form due to swallowing issues.

A medication we had not ordered traveled to Africa to meet a need we did not know existed. I feel sorry for those who do not see God in that. They must live in a terribly small world. My world is a bit bigger. It has a God that sees needs before they arise, that sees the bigger picture, that works things out in His Way in His Time. I look forward to the small stories in the upcoming days....1....