Friday was quite the red-letter day, what with my niece’s birth, and hearing the news while I was in lie at Shop Rite, squealing and attracting a lot of attention.
Exciting and memorable as that was, it wasn’t the only thing that happened on Friday. I had nothing to do (read: was pretty bored), and Mary Jane mentioned she had to go into Kampala, so I asked if I could tag along. One of her errands was to go to the supermarket, which I also wanted to do but couldn’t, as Amos had the car to at the hospital for his daughter’s birth.
Mary Jane seems to be my Kampala Yoda, taking me to new parts of town and explaining how they connect. I doubt I’ll remember much, but it is still good to connect the dots. Her older daughter had had a friend spend the night, so she had to take her home, go to the supermarket, and visit Mugisha in the hospital.
Mugisha Timothy is the son of one of Mary Jane’s helpers, and he is in the late stages of leukemia. I’ve listed him in the prayer request section of my newsletter for a couple months, and honestly, I’m happily surprised that he’s still alive. Things are not going well, however. Please keep him and his family (especially his mother, Beatrice) in your prayers.
I’ve heard of the International Hospital in Kampala (IHK) with varying reports of its value, but had never been there. Friday marked my first pastoral visit, as Mary Jane also wanted to visit Mugisha, and I was happy to go.
Obviously, hospitals in Uganda will bear little resemblance to hospitals in the US in terms of technology and snazziness. IHK is fairly large, and like most buildings in Uganda, has lots of open areas (no air conditioning) and outside seating. We met Beatrice outside, and she told us where to find Mugisha’s bed.
We walked upstairs, and there was a gentleman with a Muslim cap sitting outside the door to the ward; I suppose he was supposed to stop and track visitors. I told him we were looking for bed 25, and he directed us inside. As we walked in, a man was telling him, “if you just give your life to Jesus…” For some reason he didn’t ask us to sign in; perhaps the evangelism distracted him?
We walked past several private rooms, and came to the semi-private area, which means that there are four beds to a large alcove, each separated with a curtain. There is a television for the alcove, and there was a small balcony, as well as a tiny restroom. We found Mugisha and talked with him a for a while and prayed with him. He was hoping to be released before his birthday on Monday, which didn’t happen. I don’t know whether he was released that day at all, though I certainly hope so. Monday was his fifteenth birthday.
As we walked out, I saw a sign that listed visiting hours (which began at 6:00 am!!), and we were not within those hours. The man at the door didn’t challenge us, nor did any of the staff we met in the hallway. I’m grateful for that. I’m grateful we were able to visit for a little bit and pray with him; he’s such a sweet boy/young man who is bearing this all with much grace.
Leave a Reply