May 2003

Dear Friends,

Shortly after I returned from the United States we got word at the school that a boy from Busunju (the next big town down the road) was injured in a taxi accident. He was a nickel short of the fare so they threw him out on his head. The boy, Emmanuel, known as “Emma,” was in a coma, not breathing on his own. He probably wouldn’t live. He was a brother to several of our students. Two of them, Wamandu and Kutosi, were removed from school (no money). I went with a third brother, Juuko, to visit Emma in the hospital.

When we visited, things did not look good. He was curled up and there was no expression on his face. The nurse came while we were there and pinched Emma and he smiled and turned toward her a bit. It was the first time he had smiled since the two surgeries done to reduce swelling in his brain.

I was glad Juuko was there for that smile, but Emma’s situation was obviously serious. He couldn't see or hear or move. Emma has improved in several ways, but the family has no experience with therapy and they have heavy debts. In the past, I didn’t know exactly what that meant for a family. Here’s what it means: choose between two days worth of the medicine that might restore Emma’s brain capacity or a term of school for Wamandu. Five thousand dollars of debt is a lot to shrug off when your yearly income is under $1000.

Blessings come from this situation too. One of my favorites has been taking Juuko and his friend, Andrew, to visit Emma since they moved to a one-room house near our school. I was surprised that Andrew continued to come with us after the first time. He was disgusted by the smell of urine and didn’t like missing Tuesday afternoon debate, but he persisted. I play games with Emma to stimulate brain activity, but both boys were wary of interacting with Emma. The second time we went, I left for a minute and came back to see tough, self-protective Andrew playing with Emma. There was God working in Andrew’s life through Emma’s difficulty on the floor of a mud hut in Uganda. And Andrew was smiling the smile of a person who is blessed by helping somebody else.

And this! Two weeks ago, Emma was trying to make sounds, but nothing was coming. Last week, we had exams at school and couldn’t visit. This week, before walking into the house, I said loudly from outside, “How is Emma?” Imagine my surprise when Emma said, “I am not fine!” (He has malaria.) In two weeks he had gone from no sounds to responding in a complete sentence in English (his third language). I thought Emma might not ever talk again, but clearly God has plans for him. I know this because Emma told me himself.

Life is an adventure on God’s behalf. And it’s not just in Uganda, though I can highly recommend it. Do you want that too? I’d love to hear what God is calling you to do. Write me about it.

Peace in Christ’s name,

Ruth

The 2003 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 44