Joan
God works in such amazing ways. Seeing God move and work in the lives of the people of Chibolya is just awe inspiring. He connects, networks, and causes divine circumstances for the sake of the poor, oppressed, and the lost. His heart is also our heart, and we know, your heart as well. This story is just one of many in the past months and while it is long, please take the time to read it.
As Mallory, our public health intern, now Public Health Ministry Developer was walking our community with her public health eyes, gathering information, a father implored us to come pray for his adult daughter who was sick. We gladly said yes. We met “Joan” and quickly realized how bad things were. Her legs were very swollen and she could not walk. The TB and HIV were taking a toll. After sitting down and having a bit of a conversation, Blessings, a friend of ours, and nurse, who lives in the community, said to us that she had known Joan for a long time and was so shocked that she was sick and also surprised that she had no idea.
After praying, we all decided that Joan needed another opinion and some better care. Blessings, Mallory, and, I, Kristin, took Joan into Lusaka to a private hospital. After an initial visit, x-rays, bloodwork, and an ultrasound (across town), we met back with the Dr. and it was told to us that Joan had a large blood clot in her leg. The Dr. we had was so thorough and caring, which, was an answer to our prayers driving in. When we walked into the hospital Blessings saw an old colleague walk by! He only helps out at this hospital one or two days a week and that day happened to be one of his days.
He knew the swollen legs and pain were a side effect of the TB drugs, but he also knew something else was up, hence the ultrasound on the leg. His concern for a woman from the “village” who has TB and HIV along with Blessings connection with him, was just the divine circumstance everyone needed to see to know God was with us. Had we not taken Joan in, she would have continued to get worse and could have died if the blood clot dislodged. Blessings told us that had we even went to a government hospital in Lusaka, Joan would not have been properly cared for and the swollen legs and pain would have been brushed off and an ultrasound would have never been done. It was one really long day, especially for Joan, but God was with us and it was so worth it.
And all of this is happening because a college student from South Carolina decided to come to Zambia and intern for us. We would not have been walking around that day where we were had she not been doing an observation assessment. A wife and mother of four is going to live now because of the generosity of Mallory’s supporters and you, our supporters! The bill for this was quite extensive as the shots for the blood clot are very expensive (which Blessings is going to give to Joan twice a day😊). Blessings, our friend, almost fell over when she saw the bill! Thank you to everyone who gives and prays for us! Stories like this remind us it is the one that counts.
