Reflection on A Day: What Now?

We arrived at the village of Inganga after a rollercoaster of a matatu ride one afternoon. This was one of the two sites of Message of Hope Ministries, founded and led by Pastors Innocent Isaac and Irene. They took us on a tour of the grounds, bought with money they raised from the selling of their own land.

In the orphanage were neatly lined triple bunk beds draped by mosquito nets in hues of candy pink and green. As guests, the children greeted us in kneeling position. They greeted Isaac and Irene like that as well.

As we held hands with and heard the stories of the children who are doubly burdened by their status as orphans and bearers of HIV, we learned that many of them also battle malaria. My skin was still crawling from having recently read a National Geographic feature on malaria which explained in almost intolerable detail, how the parasite takes over the body. Bill Gates was quoted as saying that malaria is the worst thing on earth.

Some combination of fear and anger caused me to snap when I heard that the children were getting sick because their mosquito nets had holes in them. The nets were several years old, and cost about 15,000 Ugandan shillings (less than 10 USD) to replace. If I were on Scrubs, my face in that moment, would have been replaced by the head of a raging bull ready to impale whoever was responsible for allowing such a thing to go on.

Vanessa, our team’s nurse and public health trainer, practically forced me to listen to this song on one of our rest days in Kampala. After everything we had seen and done up to that point, it was a potent reflective tool: what will you do now that you found me?

What Now? Steven Curtis Chapman

I saw the face of Jesus in a little orphan girl
She was standing in the corner on the other side of the world
And I heard the voice of Jesus gently whisper to my heart
Didn't you say you wanted to find me?
Well here I am, here you are

So, What now?
What will you do now that you found Me?
What now?
What will you do with this treasure you've found?
I know I may not look like what you expected
But if you remember this is right where I said I would be
You've found me
What now?

What will you do now that you found me? We found Him that day, in that orphanage with the holey mosquito nets. He was there among the children who were able to forget about fevers and hunger for a while when Alex placed her gift of a soccer ball down on the grass. Their deliriously delighted shrieks made it impossible for the rest of us to concentrate on training the orphan’s teachers. Fifty children went nuts with joy chasing that ball around. He was there too in the little girl named Esther, dressed in ragged blue, who did not join the others because she was weakened by “the sickness”. He is there, What Now?

I know the saving of the world has been finished ultimately. But I know too that we have a responsibility to help ease the present suffering faced by Esther and the children of Inganga. For wisdom to know how to move forward with faithfulness and courage.