Chantal

Have been meaning to write this one for a while now but everytime I have thought of how to put it all into words have struggled. I don't fully understand God's plan for her or why everything which has happened over the time we have been here has come into pass. I do know however that we trust a God who holds everything in his hands and who has ways that are far above ours, achieving an eternal purpose.

Chantal...there's so much to say, she was one of our burn contracture patients who came to us in Togo 2010 for surgery. We operated, releasing the contracture which held our right arm flexed into her body. She met us at screening this time, with her right arm and shoulder covered in a blanket and a stench coming from the wound which had broken down shortly after we had left. Over the past 2 and a half months we have treated her with many courses of antibiotics, daily dressing changes and physiotherapy, tube feeding and she has returned to theatre multiple times, in an attempt to cover the gaping wound with skin grafts and flaps to allow healing.

She has had so many ups and downs throughout her stay with us and at many points we could see no way forward but God provided. We found out that she was HIV positive and that threw up many problems as we cannot provide free anti retovirals for patients. Within a few weeks her Uncle was bringing a montly supply of tablets and a local HIV doctor was involved within her care.

However, as if often the case, God has reminded me through her that his ways are far above ours and his plans are eternity focused. Man looks on the outside but God looks upon the heart. Though when we first admitted her my plan was to allow her to walk from here back to her 4 year old daughter and family in Ghana fully healed, I have been struggling to come to terms with the fact that this may not be God's will for her. She came to us, not knowing Jesus, in fact where she had been staying with her uncle is a voodo stronghold in Togo. A few weeks ago we found out that she prayed with a day worker, asking Jesus to be her Lord and Saviour!

Last weekend things with her took a turn for the worse and we found she was not responding to the last antibiotics her infection had been shown to be sensitive to. She subsequently has developed a pneumonia and the difficult decision was made to shift direction with her care and to palliate symptoms.

I have been struggling with questioning God over what has happened with her but was reminded by someone here that what better outcome could she have had spiritually; her eternal destiny has been changed! May God give us his love as we seek to care for her and may he give her a peace that surpasses all understanding and a real knowledge of his tangible presence with her. May we all know that we serve a God who is sovereign, loving and ever merciful and may her testimony continue to witness to him and his glory.