Sweat and Tears

Little Maryuri arrived at 6pm in a homemade cot carried by her father and sister. She was burned by hot water at noon, and it took 6 hours for her father to fashion the makeshift cot and bring her all the way down out of the mountains. She was burned on her back and arms and a little on her legs. There was a chunky pink substance all over her back which the father said was good for burns. It looked like pepto bismol. He was so concerned and attentive, you could tell this little girl was the apple of his eye. We all had tears in our eyes as he caressed her hair and told her it would be alright. We put Maryuri to sleep with Ketamine and began the painstaking process of washing off the pink goo without breaking open any of the blisters. She began to shiver, so we turned off the fans. Pretty soon the nurse and I were drenched in sweat as we dried her off and wrapped up the burns. When I went into the hall to give the father an update, he and the sister were nearly asleep in their chairs. Their clothes were covered in sweat stains and dirt. I realized what a wimp I was to be cursing this heat in the ER with no fans for an hour, when he had just hiked for 6 hrs in the afternoon sun, up and down the mountains, carrying his crying daugter. That is love!

I am so thankful to serve a God who loves me even more than that!