Three Days
Three Days
On Feb. 3rd, the children of the village began the new school year. This is a very important year for Sanctuary of Grace Christian Academy because we are beginning our P7 class. This will make us a full Primary school and we will also be registered this month with the Government as an official Private Christian school.
The day began with the pleasant baritone ring of the brass school bell at 6:30 am after being silent for the two months of holiday. Soon the compound was teeming with activity. There were children of all ages and sizes with fathers, mothers, grandparents and aunties, who had come to register their children.
The missionaries were in the midst of all this working with the teachers to make sense of all the organized chaos. All in all it was a delightful day. The children were all clean, dressed smartly and happy to be back.
Just as all the children had left at the end of the day and were on their way home a strange phenomenon occurred. Dark clouds rolled in bringing a dust storm as the wind kicked up to a staggering force. We all stood and watched, as the clouds got darker and closer. Suddenly they broke and a downpour soaked the ground and settled the dust. Yet… this is the middle of the dry season!! It was to usher in a devastating accident.
As soon as the rain cleared our guard at the compound gate came to our house and said there was a man at the gate who is saying that his child who goes to our school has been badly burned in a bush fire. During dry season, it is customary to burn the dead brush and grass in preparation for when the rains come and planting season starts. Because of the winds in the daytime, most of the burning takes place at night. Sometimes it appears that the compound is surrounded by fire for miles!! It is very un-nerving.
Keith grabbed his keys and I, my purse and ran out the door to get the child. We discovered that the man at the gate was in fact her uncle and her father was in town selling rice to get the money for his children’s school fees. The children’s sponsors pay the bulk of the school fees, but the parents are required to pay a small amount.
About 2 miles down the road we branched off onto a footpath and dodged a few stumps and logs, passed through a few compounds of the neighbors. I had grabbed a sheet and a basin full of water to wrap over the burn area if needed. I Jumped out of the car and ran to the hut as they were carrying the child out, and my heart broke and tears sprang to my eyes when I saw her. Her face was so burned she was not recognizable. I ask what her name was. It is Apiyo Prossy, from the P4 class. Her aunt carried her into the car and the smell was overwhelming. We raced to the Gulu Independent Hospital. It is the best hospital in the northern region of the country. It is private and very expensive but the Lord always provides and we always move by faith. It is also the only hospital that has emergency care.
Upon arrival, I ran in ahead and announced an emergency and a doctor met the family outside the door of the hospital. They rushed her into the emergency area and immediately put her on oxygen and removed the cloths that were wrapped around her. We had to leave the room because it was too much for us to witness. She was literally burned over 100% of her body…3rd degree. She was conscious and called for water. The family members had smeared sugar all over her body and they had to wash that off to treat her.
Our headmaster, Alex and one of the teachers from our school, met us there .
When the head nurse came in she assessed the situation then called Keith and me aside. She told us that Prossy would most likely not survive, but they will try to save her. We left shortly after that and arrived home at 9:00pm. At midnight we received a call from her cousin, who spoke English that Prossy had died.
Because there was nowhere to get a coffin that late we had to wait until morning to go back for the body. We asked one of our teachers, Jeremiah, who is over the spiritual development of the children and is well disciple in God’s word, if he would talk to Prossy’s classmates in p4 and share the Gospel with them in their mother tongue of Lwo. We wanted them to completely understand.
The hospital delivered the body back to the home and the funeral was set for the next day at 9:00am. It was a long sad day, but the Lord’s name was honored through it all.
At 5:00am the next day, the phone rang and it was Mary at the main house. She announced that Kevin was in labor. Kevin is a 15 year old girl that was staying with us because she had been impregnated and her aunt did not want to deal with her and did not want the baby. We got permission from the aunt in letter to care for her until the baby came, then she would be returned to her aunt so that she would be able to go back to school. The baby was given over to Joy Orphan Care Center by the aunt because Kevin is a minor.
Susan Rieger, Alyssa, and Keith and I took her to Gulu Independent Hospital for delivery. Her pains were frequent and strong, but there was a problem. It appeared that the baby was not in the right position. It could easily be seen that his head and backside were at a cross-angle but which was up?? The nurses brought in an ultrasound machine and they discovered the baby was fully breech and requested a C-section for delivery as soon as possible.
The little 5lbs 6oz boy was born healthy and Kevin was fine…Physically. Emotionally she was not. She cried most of the rest of the day. Some of it is normal for just having a baby, but there was more. She had to give the baby up. Her aunt demanded she come home and go back to school so as to have a chance at a future. This was also what Kevin wanted, so she refused to hold the baby or to breastfeed him. We decided to take the baby to another room and wait for the aunt to make all the necessary arrangements for the child to be taken to Joy Orphan Care Center. This is the center that Alyssa runs for the most vulnerable children. We only have three children there now. Keith and I left Alyssa with the baby and Kevin’s sister stayed with Kevin. We headed back to the village for Prossy’s funeral.
We arrived a little late but the funeral was still going on. Some of the family members had invited the Catholic priests from his parish to come and perform the ceremony of burial. But Lawrence was also asked to speak. He is the village pastor of Grace Bible church. There were two bowls laid out on the table. One was for offerings to the Catholic church and the other was for offerings to help the family feed all friends and family that will come over the next weeks.
Because I, Lisa, am director over the school, they asked me to also speak. As I walked up to the center of the gathering I asked the Lord to give me the right words. I was able to share the truth of the gospel with them and pray for the Lord to open their hearts to receive it.
Later that night we received a call that a District official wanted us to come back to the hospital. Apparently, a nurse called him and reported that a white lady just abandoned a 14yr old girl and was attempting to take the baby. She suggested it was child trafficking. We were yelled at and accused as well as threatened. This man knows us well, so it was so shocking to think that something was really wrong here. He demanded that the baby be taken back to the mother and she was required by law to breastfeed him until 6months. He told her this was her responsibility and that she could go back to school later. She cried and he left.
So Kevin is now in the home of her aunt and will raise her child.
All this took place over the span of three days.
We are always learning. The events and tragedies that take place here are essentially the same all over the world, but the truth of God’s word remains. There is life and death, pain and joy, loss and gain, but the truth is Jesus. Let everything be about Him. Receive Him, know Him, love Him, witness of Him, Praise Him, speak Him, model Him.
In His Name,
Keith and Lisa Coggin
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