3 Points to Ponder
- Times will arise when an impossible decision needs to be made, and clarity is difficult to discern. How do you go about making decisions? Do you get paralyzed? Do you move too fast? What are your guides to help you move forward?
- For many people we serve in other countries, life hangs on a razor’s edge, with no margin for the emergency. How much margin is in your life for the unexpected – economically, emotionally, and spiritually?
- Peace is a gift from God, providing unexplained assurance in chaotic situations. On a scale of 1 to 10, where is your peace at right now? What could bring more peace to your life, regardless of the situation?
2 Quotes to Share
“The hardest thing to do is act when you’re not afraid.” – Amelia Earhart
“When you have to make a choice and don’t make it, that in itself is a choice.” – William James
1 Story of Impact
Driving the backroads of Haiti, we round a corner to an open field by a church and I see a bunch of kids. They are waving at us and running to where we will park, so it is more than apparent this is not Many Hands’ first time visiting. Over the last six months, our Haitian Benevolence Team has become acquainted with a 36-year-old man named Watson. A father and husband, he was on his way to work a little over two years ago when he was in a motorcycle accident, snapping his leg. At the hospital, it wasn’t set correctly and did not heal properly, leading to osteomyelitis (bone infection). That resulted in the bone being cut away and ultimately, it never healed. Two years later, his leg still dangles and moves when he is on his crutches. The kicker of it is, that this is fixable with the right treatment. But, access to the right medical treatment in Haiti is few and far between, especially with the violence in Port-au-Prince. Because of our previous work in helping other patients, we have connections with U.S. orthopedic surgeons who used to come to Haiti to perform and train Haitian doctors on these types of operations. We send the medical files to them and they assure us that this can be fixed if Watson can get to the right hospital in Haiti, through gang-controlled territory, and with the resources to pay for all the needed support. The other option is amputation. What do you do when faced with impossible decisions? How do you move forward? With much prayer and discernment, we are seeking treatment for Watson. If we can save his leg, that is the best option, no matter the difficulty to get to that point. And if insurmountable obstacles present themselves, we’ll move in a different direction. With trust in the process and the people saying yes to help, we can make the next best decision based on the information at hand to fully restore Watson’s life.
