Another day...

This Friday morning I awoke and made plans for the day. By now I know
that plans are rarely carried out exactly as designed, and this day was
no different.

Darren is sick with malaria, so is unavailable to help with work today.

The old lady with crutches came wanting a new shirt because the
under-arms were worn out from the crutches. She also wanted her crutches
repaired. Melody got her a shirt and I repaired her crutches. Several
other people wanted this or that. Once they were dealt with, I welded a
few things.

My plan was to go out to the nutrition center property to repair some
windows. The design is bad and they leak terribly in the rain.

Then I got a call. One of the malnourished babies has died. The family
is digging the grave already and wants me to come say a few words before
the burial. I hop on our moto, but the chain is loose. The "mechanics"
didn't do such a great job. I tighten the chain and then Melody and I
meet up with Bronwyn at the parents' house.

There is only a small crowd there. The women are seated on a couple mats
surrounding the mother. A relative is holding the dead baby there on the
mat. We great the sobbing mother and the others who have come to
sympathize with her. The men are standing around the small fresh hole,
which is only about eight inches square and about two feet deep.

I talk briefly with the dad who says that they are just waiting for me
to arrive. He said a few words. Then I shared a few words, perhaps for
only five minutes. I reminded them of the resurrection. I reminded them
that although this life is sometimes harsh, heaven will be a place of
peace. Their baby may play with lions. They, if faithful, will get to
see their baby grow up in heaven. Then we prayed.

"You take the baby," they say. So I kneel down next to the mother and as
I reach out my hands her sobbing increases. I take the baby in my arms
and carry it to the hole. The hole is lined with some cardboard and we
put the body in feet first. After packing the hole with dirt and
covering it with bricks, the job is done. The whole process took maybe
fifteen minutes.

I join the men sitting under a tree and we talk about this and that.
After a while one man says, "You Adventists do not believe in Jesus,
right?" A bit confused, I reply, "Jesus is foundational to what we
believe." He explains his question more and so we launched into a good
discussion about what the Bible teaches about several topics he had
questions about. I believe that God used this opportunity to bring me
and some village men together to talk about some things and to challenge
some long-held beliefs of theirs.

Next, Melody and I go to the market to get some salt and matches and
peanuts.

Upon returning home after 1pm, Melody starts preparing lunch. Roland and
I go out to pump water at the nutrition center. This involves hooking up
the generator trailer, adding some diesel fuel, driving it out to the
center and running the pump for about 40 minutes.

We just got the pump running when Melody calls me. "There's a man here
with a snakebite..." I drop everything, hop on the motorbike, and race
back to our compound. The man is sitting on a bench. I ask a few
questions and find out that the small black snake bit him three hours
ago while he was working in his rice field 12km from here. He got here
as fast as he could. The pain was mostly near the groin area. His toe,
the bite site, was mildly swollen. Melody and I gave him charcoal
internally and externally, and I gave him the moto-shock treatment. Then
his friend took him via moto to the hospital. I do not know the rest of
the story.

By now the time is close to 3pm. Sabbath is coming and there is a lot
left to do.

Gary arrives from his trip around 3:30pm and I help arrange to park the
plane. I still have to fuel the motorbike, lock containers, pump and
haul water for Darren and Joanne, pay one of my mason's for his work,
bathe, and do whatever else needs to be done before sundown.

By sundown, everything was squared away and we peacefully began the
Sabbath. My plans never materialized. The windows are not fixed. All day
I was busy doing other things.

But sometimes that is what happen when we commit our plans and goals to
God every morning. God gives help to keep from getting frustrated when
our plans fail. But if God's plans are accomplished, the day is a success.