March 28, 2012
Saigon, Viet Nam
We were up this morning at O’dark thirty. Breakfast at 6:00, and on the bus at 6:40 to travel to a deaf school. The traffic was already bad. When is it not in Saigon? Because of the early start, we had devotions on the bus. Matthew 7:1-5 and the challenge of not judging one another.
We had the clinic up and flying by 9 AM. The Catholic nuns who run the deaf school are amazing. Everything was orderly, even if it was overwhelming. We served 294 patients today between 9 am and 5:30 PM. It took us 30 minutes to break things down and pack the truck and get on the bus. Rush hour. We were back at 7:15 PM and completely exhausted. My roommate Mike settled for the fruit in our room. I went with Raina, Binh, PM, and two of our dentists to a pho restaurant in an alley about 4 blocks from the hotel. The noodles were excellent!
We have our last clinic tomorrow at the youth shelter. These are teenagers picked up for prostitution, pimping, etc., who have been given into the care of the state for their own protection. They don’t choose this lifestyle--they are used by adults. We will see perhaps 150 of them? Christ have mercy!
Please pray for our team’s stamina and cohesion.
Thanks for praying,
James
March 29, 2012
Saigon, Viet Nam
Sold-at-Three
Brace yourself. This is going to be difficult.
We were up at 5:45, and showered and ready for devotions at 6:15: The Golden Rule. By 7:15, we were on our way to the Youth Shelter. It changes every day, but this morning, there were 210 kids in the shelter, ages 5-19. In this photo, Bethany is helping a 9 year old I’m calling “Sold-at-Three.” Raina is in the background, looking back at this precious little girl. If it were a crystal clear photo, you would see the tears in Raina’s eyes. Bethany cried as soon as the girl turned away. Why?
Little Sold-at-Three’s parents died when she was two. Her grandmother kept her for a year, and then sold her to a pimp. She was abused as a “prostitute” for 5 years. She is now nine. She has been in the shelter for a year. She still won’t make eye contact with men. An 8-year old boy wouldn’t make eye contact either. I asked about him. His step-father sold him to a pimp when he was 5. He was chained to a bed as a “prostitute” for two years before someone reported the abuse. He has also been in the shelter for about a year. We served 194 of the children today. Every one of them broke our hearts. I have never prayed, “Christ have mercy” so many times in one day!
Today I served as the toothbrush man. Pastor Jeff understands this, because he was the toothbrush man last year. I was only able to do it today. It gives you time to pray for each child.
After the clinic we walked across the street to the orphanage. This was a small one, with only about 100 children. Some of them have incredible challenges. Most are not true orphans, but were abandoned by their parents when their “birth defect” became obvious. We toured the rooms and some of us wept inconsolably. I took no pictures.
We got home after 8 PM. This was our most difficult day. Some of what I saw will never be forgotten.
Tomorrow we will visit the Good Shepherd orphanage and the HIV clinic. Christ have mercy!
Stunned in Saigon,
James
No comments:
Post a Comment