Patience

There were so many touching stories from my week in Zimbabwe. However, one kid got to me more than anybody else.

We had stopped taking patients for the day and the last group was working their way through the clinic (there were different stages of the clinic, it started with temperatures and greeting outside, followed by triage, seeing a doctor and getting wounds attended to if needed, followed by prayer while prescriptions were being filled).

One of the pastors who was helping us out came up and told me that a little girl had arrived and had walked 25km to be there. As I said, we had stopped taking patients, but who could turn a kid away who had walked that far? She was with another little boy and the two of them had walked together with no adults and both were under ten years old. Needless to say, we didn't turn her away.

Patience said she had a sore ear. The doctor (Carmen) checked her out and couldn't find anything wrong, her ears weren't inflammed and there were no other signs of illness. Carmen has done a lot of these kinds of trips and said that sometimes kids just show up to get some antibiotics for when they or someone in their family need them down the track and won't have access to medical care.

For some reason Patience got to me more than anyone else the entire week. I just could've wept for this precious girl who walked further in a day than I ever have, with just another little boy. I can't imagine being in a situation when I have kids where there would ever be a need for them to do something like this. I don't even know if Patience has parents.

Patience on her own would've made the whole week worth it for me. She surmised the heartbreaking reality of the lives of a lot of Zimbabweans. I am sure there are dozens more kids we saw who walked long distances on their own but she was the one whose story I found about, so she is the one I will never forget and who left a lasting impression on my life and heart.