Hope Reborn...and a dress ceremony to celebrate!

Today was an unusual day.  There was an excitement and joy buzzing around the air from the moment the ladies woke up.  I don't know if they sensed that something exciting was happening today, or if it was just by chance, but they were unusually cheery.   I love to see how God brings light to the darkness.  It's amazing the transformation that has happened since last week.  I had to look at a calendar to make sure that only a week and a few days had passed since Dr. Lauri left because it has felt like an eternity has passed!  The dark mood that was inhabiting the ward has lifted, and left in it's place is laughter, fun, and dancing!   It's almost as if we have an entirely different ward of ladies.

After 4.5 llloonnnggg weeks of emotional ups and downs, joys and sorrows, tears and laughter, wet and dry, we FINALLY had a dress ceremony! The dress ceremony is the symbol of Hope Reborn.  It's a celebration not only of their physical healing, but also their emotional healing.  A new dress is a symbol of a new life, a new hope, a new beginning.

"I delight greatly in the Lord;

my soul rejoices in my God. 

For He has clothed me with garments 

of salvation 

and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness." Isaiah 61:10

 So today we witnessed great delight and rejoicing with testimonies of healing; songs of hope and thankfulness; and tears of gladness.  The pounding of the drums, the sweet melody of their voices, and the tears of joy falling from their faces still reverberate in my mind....it's a joyful noise to the Lord all the earth.

You've done a good work

The past few weeks of VVF have been intense, to say the least. It has been one complication after another, with many of the women with failed surgeries. The mood on the ward has been somber, and without hope.  That is until the first two ladies had their catheters removed, and remained dry! That marked a turn around on the ward, for the patients and nurses alike.  The women started cheering and smiling for the first time in a while. 

On a random Tuesday one of the women decided to go for a walk down the hall. I stopped her at the door and told her she had to take some more women with her if she wanted to go for a walk. You see, the women have gotten lazy- demanding the nurses to get their water for them, while it is just an arms reach away! Along with that behavior they developed a dislike of getting out of bed.

Practically every patient that could get out of bed did! They proceeded to walk up and down the halls singing praises! It was so loud that many people came down from two floors above and thought they were missing a dress ceremony!! (more on that later...) When they came back into the ward, they all huddled by the door and were singing the same song over and over.  The song goes as such:

"Doctor you've done a good work

You don't what good you've done

So I'm gonna tell you"

and also...

"You've given us meat

You've given us rice

You've given us water

We're strong now

So can we go?"

Who says you have to be a professional song-writer to sing good songs! Love them so much!