Hospital Ministry

This past week on Wednesday afternoon I had the opportunity to visit Manapo Hospital in Qwa Qwa. Normally Thrive takes mission teams here but we got to go for the first time this week. It was so good I wanted to write about it.

First we went to the children's ward. The basic idea is you find a kid to talk to, introduce yourself and pray with them. I went up to a girl named Gladys (English Name) or Dimikatso (Sotho Name). While she had a very soft voice she spoke perfect English. She blew me away with her kindness. She got a kick out of my Sotho name, which is Tshepo (it means hope). We talked some and I prayed over her for healing and protection. Then I was able to give her a beanie baby (we had one for every kid). She loved it and I told her she should give it a name. She thought a minute and asked, "What is your sotho name again?" I told her and instantly she said "Yes, Tshepo, that's his name." She was a great little girl and it was a total pleasure to meet her.

After this me and the other men visited the men's ward. I met a man with a collapsed lung named Lazarus. He spoke great English as well. We had a great conversation about life and family and I was able to read some scripture and pray for him too. He was a cool guy and I think he was happy to have some company though he was definitely in some pain.

This whole year I have been amazed at the kindness of the Basotho people but Gladys totally blew me away. Hospital ministry lasted barely an hour but I left the building on a total high. Too often Christians talk about numbers at the expense of relationships. I know I only had a few minutes with two people but they were not idly spent. It was a total blessing to meet Gladys and Lazarus and my prayer is that God completely heals them and blesses them. I feel much more committed now to work at building relationships with my LaunchPad students because I only have so many more days here. God truly works through relationships more than probably anything else I feel.