What do you do if you have to spend hours on end at the hospital because one family member or another is always sick? You start a hospital ministry!

For over a month now, all of the ladies living in our compound have been sick. First I got sick, then our STM Bruna, then a German volunteer who is living with Bruna and now another German volunteer who is visiting. Toussaint is the only one who has not gotten sick so far, and he is faithfully shuttling us patients to the hospital. While he waits for us to be received by the doctor and get all the tests done (which can take all morning), he walks from room to room. He prays for the sick, makes the children smile and carries crying babies around to give their mothers a break. Sometimes he hands out cookies or peanuts to the kids and brochures to the adults. He is well known and received by the staff. They jokingly say they will hire him. His favorite ward is definitely the pediatric ward, and parents and staff are always amazed how quickly kids calm down when he talks to them.

People come from all the surrounding villages to this hospital. Toussaint will likely never see most of these patients again. But we are confident that, through his ministry, some dark hours will become a little brighter and some hearts will be touched.

• Twitter