JOY

There's so much that's happened since my last blog post, but I want to jump ahead to my shift last night and then I'll catch you up later!

Today I heard a resounding, be JOYFUL. It started with bible study in the morning where we talked about anguish morphing into joy. Not just physical anguish, but mental, emotional torment type of anguish that steals joy. It occurred to me a couple days ago, in stark contrast to the Africans I take care of, that I have very little joy. Despite having much to be joyful for, and they little, I remain incapable of expressing joy. I started my evening shift with a little anguish because it was my first day on the Plastics ward, with new translators, new patients, new coworkers, and a heavier patient load. After dinner some of the kids on the ship came down to visit the patients in the ward. We broke out into a full on worship concert. I took a step back to drink in the scene around me: Beni, one of the volunteers on the ward, guitar in hand; Jeff, a Canadian crew member, and Fred with jimbaye drums ready to start on queue; a few patients confined to their beds, wrapped in bandages that support their new faces and limbs; and the rest, mostly kids, dancing in the middle of the ward. The guitar starts, the drums follow quickly behind, and the patient's and caretakers all join in to sing worship songs to the Lord! Nurses, mom's, and patients dancing and singing with JOY. Nothing compares. There's nothing better to set your heart to JOY than singing, worshipping, and dancing with your patients! It's amazing what God can do through worship. How he aligns our heart's with His. I sang. I danced. I was filled with joy.