As the time approached for their long-hoped-for baby to arrive, we offered to drive Madu (our neighbor whom I call Tractor Man) and his wife Asli to the clinic when needed. When the baby arrived, we enjoyed the pictures they sent from the delivery room.
Next to have a baby was our neighbor Safia from across the street. Although this was their third child, she and her husband became scared when their tiny baby girl had diarrhea and a fever when she was a few weeks old. With Safia’s first two babies, Grandma had been living with them and took care of everything. Now Stephanie had the opportunity to use a few natural remedies we learned from having our own children. She showed them how to take the baby’s temperature and how to know when it was a light fever or something urgent. She showed them how to burp the baby and hold it more upright when taking a bottle. Stephanie also encouraged them to feed her more often; the baby needed more liquids. The tiny girl was noticeably happier by morning.
Safia had been aloof before and one of the worst for nosy, shallow talk. Safia is a friend now. Stephanie has seen her at her worst in the middle of the night, just trying to figure out being a mom. But they also have fun together, like trips to town to shop for clothes for the new baby. While Safia’s husband used to avoid us, he now smiles and waves whenever he sees us.
We are not doctors. We cannot legally give out medicine. But God can use our skills. We can help them try baby burping, a practice unknown here. We can help them drink more water. The people are in a constant state of dehydration. Some say, “We thought that drinking water makes us fat!” Once, a neighbor lady asked if we had headache medicine, yet we couldn’t get her to drink water. Josh offered her five dollars if her headache didn’t go away after drinking half a liter of water and the rest ten minutes later. Immediately, her pores opened up, she started sweating, and a rush of energy swept over her. Note, the daughter of Ibu, Asli’s older sister, once got a concussion. Stephanie monitored her, and even after giving her IVs for severe dehydration, she went 27 hours without urinating. Sometimes we feel like broken records telling people to drink water.
Helping people avoid sugar is another big need. The nurse for twelve hundred girls at the large Muslim school in our town was once feeding her son chocolates while he had a cold and a runny nose. “It is his favorite food,” she said. “It doesn’t matter because I rely on my medicines to make him better.” If we tell them to avoid sugar, they only know to avoid white sugar. They have no concept of equating sweet drinks and snacks with sugar or of reading ingredient labels.
Stephanie also experiments with using natural remedies for skin problems. Scabies, boils, rashes, and mystery itches are common in this climate. She has found that Neem leaf and coconut oil work wonders. Ibu’s niece, Nata, was limping from painful sores on her feet. After applying the Neem, she is perfectly normal again, except for some dark spots and scarring. Our relationship with her started with an act of service and compassion. Nata is now a regular and welcome visitor to our home, sharing her warm personality with us. She needed a friend, too, as she is usually at home alone with her small daughter while her husband works out of the country for long periods of time. Coming to our house is quite an adventure for the little girl as the pile of toys she has is just an assortment of empty bottles, plastic beads and a few broken toy parts of unknown origin.
The government health centers don’t often get to root causes—whether skin conditions or anything else. Patients are given a cream or medicine that reduces symptoms while they use it, but as soon as it runs out, the rashes flare up again. They are given unlabeled medicine in tiny plastic bags. If they ask questions, they are treated roughly or told not to act more intelligent than the doctor. Medical staff do not share diagnoses with patients, leaving them mystified. It reminds me of Jesus’ words, “They are like sheep without a shepherd.”
Pray for Manu, Asli, Ibu, Nata, Safia and the others. Thanks to God’s direct answers to prayer, they no longer relate to us as foreign banks. We are in their social systems, part of their families. Pray that we will be in tune with the Holy Spirit when He is providing the opportunity to share Jesus with them.
