The Spiritual Doctor

This morning I went to a girl's house with a physical therapist and a nurse. The girl's legs were basically nothing but bones due to lack of use. She is in a lot of pain when she tries to stand up or move her feet. The therapist showed her and her mother some exerices that she needs to do everyday in order to regain muscle mass. She has nerve damage in her legs, which could be a side effect from an ARV drug. We do not know. I read from sections of 2 Corinthians 1 where Paul emphasizes the comforting nature of God. "who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." The women don't know why they are in this state, but some recognize the opportunity to comfort each other, which is one reason we do support groups.

This afternoon I saw two more women. The first named Elsa. She has similar problems with her legs in that there is pain that is hard to control. I shared with her from Hebrews 2:17-18 where the author gives a reason for the incarnation of Christ. Since he became flesh, he can sympathize with our suffering and understands. We can talk to him about it. He loves us, as he showed by entering our suffering and ultimately dying for us. Our Ethiopian nurse, Alamu, introduced me as a spiritual doctor, which I thought was interesting.

The last woman was the toughest. She has congestive heart failure and we basically had to explain to her that there was nothing else that could be done medically. She cried a lot while we were there. She hurts for her sister and children who have to watch her suffer each night. She prays that she would just die for their sake and doesn't think about living. One of our nurses shared many passages from John about how we want her to have a relationship with Jesus so she can live in eternity free from pain with Him. I think she was somewhat encouraged. We're not sure how much longer she will be with us, but I hope to go to her funeral.

While I was in this last woman's house, I was struck by the smell of smoke and then human waste. These are common combinations in the communities. People burn their trash since there is obviously no trashmen, and the waste often is poured out by the houses along trenches. Alamu emphasized the me not to carry my Bible in my hand. This is because many here are Ethiopian Orthodox and when we visit people they suspect we are Protestants who are witnessing. Seeing the Bible confirms this, and our patients will be socially ostracized for believing something that is backwards and not orthodox.

Grace is also very hard for the orthodox to accept. Works is simply engrained into the tradition. Even when someone dies the relatives try to do things to help the soul. I'm still trying to understand how deep the works doctrine goes and will get back to you on that. What a day.