**disclaimer - I am on strong pain medication. Please give my grammar and spelling a break**
Well, not even a week in and I get behind on posting. I do have an excuse though. My unexpected surgery for the removal of my 2 lower wisdom teeth went well. The night after was rough but I am definitely over the hump and doing better. Naturally, because of my condition I have been thinking a lot about health care. I think of all the health problems our family has had in the past week (Cora flu, me flu, my wisdom teeth, & Jessica eye infection) and I think "man, this has been a tough week". Then I think about what if this same scenario happened to a Congolese family. Now, I don't know much about the health care system in the DRC. I don't know the availability of hospitals, doctors, or walk-in clinics, but I can assume some things. If the capital city in the DRC (Kinshasa) struggles with at least 2 black outs per week because electricity is so unstable. If most of the country doesn't even have electricity. And if the average life expectancy for Congolese people are 46yrs for men and 49 years for women. The health care can not be good. In our problems last week, our family saw a pediatrician, a family doctor, an allergist, a dentist, and an oral surgeon. If we were a Congolese family, seeing this many medical specialists may not happen in a lifetime. Some of them may have died from our ailments. Things so easily treatable here are life threatening in countries like the DRC and other third world countries. We are so blessed not just have health care so readily available, but the best in the world.
I want to step back and focus on the living conditions in the DRC. What would it be like to wonder if every time your child coughed if this was life threatening. We truly do not realize just how blessed we are even when we are having a "bad week". Do we really even know what a bad week is? Being blessed as we are comes with responsibility. I know not everyone is called to adopt internationally but I believe we are all called to do something. I hope those of you who are following this blog at least become inspired to help the lives of the poor and orphaned in some way.
James 1:27
27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
God, thank you for the everyday blessings we take so often for granted and forgive us of the shortcomings that we have in taking care of those less fortunate than ourselves as You have asked us to do. We ask that those who have felt the calling You have on their lives, respond to the call and help the widow and orphan in the way you have them to do so. We ask that every dollar donated or every hour volunteered be fruitful and multiplied. We pray for health in the DRC and the rest of the world. We praise you for all that you do. Amen.
Maybe educating yourself about the country you are planning to adopt from would be a good idea.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
ReplyDeleteI am not sure what you are referring to as far as "educating yourself", but we are trying to learn what we can. The only fact I stated about life expectancy was taken from the World Health Organization's website. The "power outage" statements have been gathered from several sources. (I can point you in those directions if you need me too) All other comments I made are assumptions, but I would think are very valid. The tone of your comment has come across very negatively to me. I hope this is a matter of miscommunication. If you feel I am misinformed please let me know or let me know where I can find accurate information.