The first week so far

It's amazing how God puts things in perspective for you. The first week in Rwanda has been uplifting, humbling, exhilarating, sobering, and everything in between. There is such a dearth of medical care here, yet the patients and the staff are, almost without fail, content with the position they're in. Part of this is due to the cultural belief that you shouldn't try and rise above your station, but a large part of it is the fact that the people of Rwanda look forward to heaven with such expectancy. These people, because they realize how short their temporal loves are, cling desperately to God's promise of an eternity in paradise. This mind set is so drastically different from the American "rat race" where we act like the goal is to accumulate and attain as much as possible during the seventy or so years we have on this earth. The flip side to their looking toward heaven so fervently is the fact that they have become rather fatalistic: if something bad happens to you, you can't (and they many times don't) do anything about it. As health practitioners from a country where we throw everything and the kitchen sink at a malady to try and cure it, we're often at odds with this mentality.
The patients here often present with problems that we rarely see in the states: massive tumors, traumatic injuries several weeks out from the incident, and diseases we've long since relegated to the tomes of ancient medicine due to the relative eradication in the states. This, while great medical training, poses thought-provoking difficulties regarding the management of the maladies. Tomorrow, Dr. Albertson will surgically address a young boy's elbow which, he thinks, had been previously broken and had healed incorrectly, keeping him from flexing his elbow. Without a CT scan, it's nearly impossible to tell what exactly is happening with the boy's elbow, but if the boy is left as he is, he will probably never be able to use that elbow. It will be a great learning experience for me as a future orthopedist, and I pray that God guides Dr. Albertson's hands as he works to try and heal this boy.
We went on "spiritual rounds" today at the hospital, a tour of the patients with their faith as the main focus as opposed to their bodies. We were able to connect with and pray for almost every patient in the surgical wards. Most of the patients profess the Christian faith, and we hope that this is sincere. The language barrier is most often the challenge, with staff at the hospital more accustomed to medical rather than spiritual English terminology. Please pray that God would transcend the cultural and linguistic differences and touch these peoples' hearts, drawing them closer to Him.
We've been studying Philippians during the mission, and I'd like to leave you with a verse or two from this epistle. In the fourth chapter, verses six and seven, Paul writes "Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." I hope this is as encouraging to you as it was to me.
- Daniel