Day 9

Our goal today is to report on soul care as much as health care. Our team is concerned about the whole person. Each doctor and nurse operates within a mindset of compassion that recognizes that each patient they see may have multiple levels of wounding and pain that needs attention and care. So, throughout the day they may pause and ask permission to pray with a mother and her child, or direct someone to Martha – our grief counselor. People have opened up with some of the agony that they are experiencing in the aftermath of the tsunami, and we have done our best to listen with great empathy and encourage each one with hope and counsel, and to offer genuine friendship in the moments we have together with them.

Today, the village chief was cared for by our clinic, and as we talked he expressed to us his sincere thanks that we had come to help. He said that he believed “that it was the grace of God that brought us to Indonesia to help them”. I agreed, and I expressed to him that it was us who was honored to be together with them in bringing healing and comfort to the people of Aceh. I said that the people of my “village” were profoundly moved by the news of the tsunami and began to pray for this area immediately, and that they were in prayer even now for Aceh.

He was moved by the knowledge that Americans half way around the world would actually act on their behalf in such a way. Through moist eyes, he wanted me to know that his village was a safe place, and I assured him that we found it not only safe, but that we felt as welcome as if we were among extended family. About 15 young men were listening in on the conversation, and everyone, including the Chief, vigorously agreed. We made an authentic personal connection. It is a connection that will last long after we leave. We have been impacted, too.