The first drops of rain are blessedly pin-pricking the air. Not heavy enough to splash, but enough to shade in the pre-monsoonal grey - and bring a blessed drop in the heat.
We are back in Thane after almost 3 weeks in the hills. Where did the time go? It seems like we stepped into a Narnian world and are now swooshed back against our will into in gritty Britain again.
Sheba has admitted 3 sick people into the Jeevan Sahara Kendra community care centre.
There is a man who is dying. We are not able to bring the hoped for changes in him. We have looked after him here and sent him home before. But he is not improving and is very sick. His dear wife wants him to live. We are trying to gently help her take him home for his last days. But she insists on keeping him here. And so we care. And pray. A brave woman and two quiet late-teen boys.
There is a woman who has stopped taking meds. She is sick of being sick. She is angry and upset with having to come back here. Her husband is tired. She refused care and food and medicine this morning. Our nurses lovingly talk with her. They pray. Its hard.
There was a man who has made a mess of his life. He called yesterday from a clinic saying he had low blood-pressure. We brought him in weak. He stayed the night and left today. His wife took her life some months ago after months of his openly cheating on her. Leaving behind two small children that he loves much. He has not been able to reshape his life. The other woman has moved in. She came to visit him for a while at the centre. Its hard to know how to respond when we remember our dear friend who took the extreme step.
Early next week we cross a year since we shifted into this new building. We had pretty heady dreams then. Things would expand quickly. We would be catering to so many more people.
Today doesn't quite synch with the visions we had in our mind. We are still struggling with staff. Only 2 qualified nurses are running the shift now. This week they will be doing 12 hour shifts. But how long can they do so? [side note - those of you who pray - perhaps you can pray right now for at least 2 more nurses - pronto!]
The brutal pressure that HIV illness brings with it has affected us too. We are mentally and emotionally tired as we work through the challenges of our friends' lives. Its no accident that we do not see other HIV care centres cropping up. Who has the staying power to continue? We ask that question of ourselves too.
And yet we press on. We do not - as narrator at the end of The Great Gatsby puts it - 'beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.' Rather, we look up and see our Lord who calls us to persevere. As long as He wants us to we will continue. And so will our co-workers at Jeevan Sahara of whom we are so proud of.
Every life makes a difference.
We are back in Thane after almost 3 weeks in the hills. Where did the time go? It seems like we stepped into a Narnian world and are now swooshed back against our will into in gritty Britain again.
Sheba has admitted 3 sick people into the Jeevan Sahara Kendra community care centre.
There is a man who is dying. We are not able to bring the hoped for changes in him. We have looked after him here and sent him home before. But he is not improving and is very sick. His dear wife wants him to live. We are trying to gently help her take him home for his last days. But she insists on keeping him here. And so we care. And pray. A brave woman and two quiet late-teen boys.
There is a woman who has stopped taking meds. She is sick of being sick. She is angry and upset with having to come back here. Her husband is tired. She refused care and food and medicine this morning. Our nurses lovingly talk with her. They pray. Its hard.There was a man who has made a mess of his life. He called yesterday from a clinic saying he had low blood-pressure. We brought him in weak. He stayed the night and left today. His wife took her life some months ago after months of his openly cheating on her. Leaving behind two small children that he loves much. He has not been able to reshape his life. The other woman has moved in. She came to visit him for a while at the centre. Its hard to know how to respond when we remember our dear friend who took the extreme step.
Early next week we cross a year since we shifted into this new building. We had pretty heady dreams then. Things would expand quickly. We would be catering to so many more people.
Today doesn't quite synch with the visions we had in our mind. We are still struggling with staff. Only 2 qualified nurses are running the shift now. This week they will be doing 12 hour shifts. But how long can they do so? [side note - those of you who pray - perhaps you can pray right now for at least 2 more nurses - pronto!]
The brutal pressure that HIV illness brings with it has affected us too. We are mentally and emotionally tired as we work through the challenges of our friends' lives. Its no accident that we do not see other HIV care centres cropping up. Who has the staying power to continue? We ask that question of ourselves too.
And yet we press on. We do not - as narrator at the end of The Great Gatsby puts it - 'beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.' Rather, we look up and see our Lord who calls us to persevere. As long as He wants us to we will continue. And so will our co-workers at Jeevan Sahara of whom we are so proud of.
Every life makes a difference.
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