Market & First Aid

After a quiet morning, we headed to market again with a goal of finding some beautiful fabrics to take to our seamstresses to make bags for fundraising at home. Market is always a unique experience and we find here that the adults love the photos and seeing their images nearly as much as the children. Prices are never set in stone, except for a few tenacious vendors, as bargaining is part of the culture here.

On the walk home, we go looking for Lydia, our angel neighbor from 2006 who gave those amazing hugs on the days we struggled, yet waved otherwise. We have always held her close at heart for the healing her love gave us. She has not returned from church yet, so we head to see our home when we were volunteers with Cross Cultural Solutions. This program is no longer in this area, and they are in the process of tearing down the additional structure that was added as this was leased. It is strange to see our old home is such a state and so empty from the life that was so teeming not all that long ago.

As we turned the corner heading back home, fate brought us Eyram. She was one of four children down the path, a one of two that came charging towards us as if we were long lost family or friends. She held me tightly in a hug for quite some time, several minutes that might have seemed awkward to some. As I looked down, we noticed that she had a big wound on her ankle that is open and oozing and her foot is swollen. We head back home to get the first aid that we have with us from MedShare International, www.medshare.org. I was just sharing this morning about the experience I had last trip with a child that approached me in a rural village with a gash in her arm. I had nothing, and watched her wrap it with a dirty cloth. I vowed never to travel without first aid again. We returned looking for her and were lead by a child through a canopy of palm, papaya and coconut trees. We approach a yard with chickens running about and in the trees, piles of rocks, and some other women and small children. We clean the wound, dress it, and discuss returning tomorrow with a nurse.

First aid… so simple and accessible at home, we forget that even these simple things are a privilege. On this day, we give thanks to the phenomenal mission that MedShare International serves and the opportunity we were given to serve this young child.