My last blog post was about a boy dying of kidney failure. There was very little we could do at CURE Ethiopia for him – other than comfort him, pray with him, and pay for his bus ticket home to be with his family. I met this boy and was torn apart inside by him; I felt so powerless. But as I said good-bye to him that day and went back to the operating room, I was immediately greeted by a teenage boy – young man really – with a club foot. He had been walking abnormally and unable to run his whole childhood. And here he was – ready to be helped and easily within our grasp to help and make a huge difference in his life. I have to thank God that He provided immediate tangible service for me to offer, somewhere I could make a difference. He was right there, sitting, waiting for me to place his spinal anesthetic.

We have so many children that come to CURE every day. They are beautiful and precious, every one. They are grateful for the healing they receive. They are astounded that the care is free (most could never pay for treatment) and that a cure is available – something previously beyond their grasp to imagine. For most of these children, their disability defined who they were until they came to CURE and were freed from a burden that is too much for anyone to carry. I want to just put some pictures up of some of these beautiful children we’ve seen lately. There are many more than I can put in my blog, but just enough to get a taste, especially for those of you who support the work here. You are touching someone’s life every day, and usually multiple lives. Not just the children, either; the entire family and community are transformed by hope that wasn’t there before.

Most of the children below have club feet, the smaller babies have congenital dislocated hips. The baby with the burn contracture  you may recognize; her name is Tigist, or “patience,” and she is back now to have the foot released from the contracture. Before, her entire leg was released.

The Bernard family is headed to America next week for a month of regrouping and rejuvenation, but I’m soooo gonna miss these kids!

Luke 14:12-14 
¹² Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. ¹³ But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, ¹⁴and you will be blessed.”

Originally posted at: http://ethiopia.thebernards.org/2012/06/21/on-a-positive-note/.