From Wu to You, 2

Fellow Not-So-Small-Small-Group Members: Many, many thanks for all your prayers, encouraging words, and support! Monday I went to the clinic just down the street from the Children´s Home and met the staff there and got oriented to the building and the process of seeing patients. I learned that I´m solely playing the pediatrician here (I´m both an internist and a pediatrician) since there are enough practitioners who see adults already, which is totally fine with me since back home I don´t get to use my pediatric skills as much as I´d like). Well child checks are performed here more often than in the US because of the prevalence of malnutrition, and of course there are different infectious concerns as I had to look up treatment for Dengue fever and worm infestation. Labwork and imaging are available with nearby auxiliary services, but hardly used due to expense, so one has to rely more on clinical skill (& prayer!) After work I went back to the apartment to take a nap, enjoyed dinner with the kids, then started to feel tired with a headache and a tickle in my throat that turned into a fever overnight. I was grateful that Tuesday was a holiday (El Salvador’s Independence Day) so I didn´t miss any clinic time as I stayed in my apartment the entire day trying to rest and burn off the fever. After one last pang of fever and sweats around 2am, this morning I felt much, much better, so I ventured out with my mask and hand sanitizer. Today´s patient load was a bit lighter for some reason, so I take that as a grace from our Heavenly Father. To give you background on where I´m staying/working, Harvesting in Spanish (HIS) was founded in 1977 by American missionaries as a Christian literature ministry. HIS established the Shalom Children´s Home in 1984 for orphans of the brutal civil war (1980-1992), as well as for children with special medical/developmental needs, or those with complicated family situations (either affected by severe gang violence or the subsequent mass-lockup of gang members). The Amilat Christian School started in 1994 to educate the children at Shalom, but soon they opened their doors to the community where many parents wanted to give their children a Christian education. The Shalom Family Medical Center opened in 2015 to provide new opportunities for service and ministry in Jesus’ name in the community. What is so beautiful is that each of the workers I’ve gotten to know are very Gospel-minded folks who were captivated by God´s work here. For the remainder of my 2 weeks here, would you kindly pray for… 1. Brain plasticity (I´m learning to type my medical notes in Spanish… on keyboards that have totally different placement of punctuation keys!) 2. Complete recovery from this illness (I feel 95% better) 3. Effectiveness in ministry, both in the clinic as well as simply caring for the kids. Also, I´m giving a talk based on a Powerpoint put together by the local pediatrician for the dormitory "parents" as well as the schoolkids' parents about health that will include maintaining relationship with our Heavenly Father. 4. Softness of heart, that all of this would be done out of thankfulness to the One who rescued us. Many, many, many thanks again! Sidney PS: Kevin & Tricia: how are the grandbabies?