Night Shift

Today was one of those days I woke up and was not excited about going to work. Just feeling tired I guess and didn't want to work night shift. I wanted to sleep at night. I was hoping maybe they wouldn't need me, but they did. Now its after midnight, and I see why.

I had a really great talk with a patient tonight. I only have 5 patients tonight. Only one had surgery tonight, so its been rather uneventful so far. I spoke with a patient who's been here maybe a month and a half and has had really extensive surgery. He is still getting regular dressing changes and has been back to the OR a few times. He is a young adult. Tonight he started telling me about his experiences during the war in Liberia. He saw his father killed by the rebels when he was 9 years old, and then his mother hid him and his sister in the bush, where they grew some rice. The rebels burned their pineapple farm, and they had to replant after the war. This patient cannot read or write, because of his physical deformity, he could not attend school. Now he has hopes that he can attend a driving school to learn to drive a truck so he can find a steady job. Please pray that his wound will heal well, as its complicated, and God really needs to intervene and help the healing process along, since the ship will be leaving in 3 weeks. We had the opportunity to talk a little about forgiveness, and God's love because last night we had a man on the ship who shared the testimony about how he used to be a rebel (bad guy) in the war and how he had done terrible things. But during the worst of it, God spoke to him in a vision and he turned around and began to serve God and left his old ways behind. The patients all heard his testimony. So that brought up some good conversation. How can a man with human blood on his hands, who committed hateful acts go to heaven? But according to the bible, the word of God, it says the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was enough to wash away the sins of all who believe in Him. "If you confess your sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9
Its hard sometimes, because we question God's judgements. We wonder why God would have compassion on murders. But if we are honest and look at our own lives, we are not perfect and we have sin in us, too. By God's standards, "The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus" Romans 6:23. Not just other peoples sins, but my own sins, too, deserve death. The reason I am justified before God is that Jesus took the punishment for my sins on Himself. He took that Rebel's sin on himself. It is enough to make any sinner clean. Even a high preist of a tribe in Africa who leads child soldiers into battle, and who makes human sacrifices to the spirits. I wonder if anyone will read this blog who has something in their own life they wonder if God could really forgive? He will.

I would not have chosen a night of sleep over that converstion. :)