Day 9

Today we had a more relaxed day. A Compassion Fatigue presentation was given to the Thrive Africa interns with small groups afterwards and we went to a hospital in Harrismith. The time with the interns was short but we were given an opportunity to help them process some of the experiences they have had during their time here and encourage them to take care of themselves and one another as they finish their last two weeks of internship.

The hospital we visited had around 20 patients but this gave us many varied experiences. We broke up into three groups due to only having three interpreters and went to different wards. The group who went to the maternity ward visited with women who had just had their babies and also with two women who were having difficult pregnancies. Another team went into a ward that was designated the tuberculosis ward and talked with the women there. Two men in the team helped one woman get up so she could use the bathroom then helped her back to bed. They prayed with some of the women and reported that their countenances were raised and they seemed to be given hope even while being so close to death.

Another team went into the men's ward and talked with a man who reported having AIDS and tuberculosis. He was angry and bitter over having these diseases and refused to be prayed for. The women's ward provided opportunity to provide not only words and prayer but just presence to individuals who had not had visitors. The children's ward had a one-year-old boy who had tuberculosis and had been in the hospital for a couple of months and was expected to spend several more. His mother was with him but they had not had visitors in some time.

The contrasts in the patients were great as the teams moved through the wards and saw new life and then life that is being ravaged by disease. The one thing seen in all the wards in some of the patients was hope even though many of them were nearing death. Again the team was given a new look at life and what God is doing in this country and this area. It should be noted here that this is a country that has a 25 percent AIDS rate with many having already died and others nearing death due to this disease.