Purity

Friends and Family- Thank you to all of you who got on your knees on behalf of my health yesterday. I am feeling amazing today, not a touch of illness. Praise GOD! I am doing well. I have had a few wonderful shifts this past week also. Tonight I had some wonderful coversations with my patients. Prepare yourself, I have a small small (the people in Liberia use that phrase all the time) story to tell you. I have wanted the chance to tell my patients why I am in Africa. I prayed specifically this week for my patients to understand that when I care for them and touch them, it is not a romantic touch (many of the men say they want to marry white women), but a caring touch from God. Tonight one of my patients asked me about my husband. In case you are concerned, I did not get married in the last week! I told him I was single. He then pointed to the ring I wear on my ring finger. I was able to tell him that I wear a Promise Ring or Purity Ring on my ring finger. He had no concept of what I was talking about. I told him my ring is a promise to God and my future husband to remain sexually pure until I am married. You should have seen his face. He was in shock, almost speechless, confused, lost. I continued to explain that I am waiting until I find one man and only one man to give my self away. He then said, "you mean you are a virgin?" He questioned how I could be my age a still a virgin. He had no idea about what I was saying. The conversation went on for awhile, but he finally understood that sex is for only one man and one women to share. I was also able to teach him about HIV prevention as well. Our conversation turned to other subjects and I was able to tell him the way to Heaven. He was referring to works and Christ's death on the cross. I told him that the Bible says it is by faith alone. The conversation was incredible and so not to bore you to death, I will not say much more about this. He also questioned me about getting old (26 is old, did you know that?) and not yet having children. He said I will die before I see my children grow. We then compared the North American culture and African culture related to families and priorities. In Africa, you need your family, family is life and everything. Also, the current life expectency for Liberians is around age 40. Therefore, from his prespective I could die before having grown children. We next talked about how in America people want only 2 children. He wondered what I will do if I die without have children to remember me. I told him families are very important, but in heaven I will be with Jesus and that is all that really matters. We also discussed how the church is my family. We take care of eachother if we are brothers and sisters in Christ. My current name has been Americano up to this point. This patient said he will now call me "virgin Americano" not the virgin Mary, but "virgin Americano" I thanked him for my new title and told him I am proud of my purity. He then decided he may call me "patient Americano" because I am waiting for a special person. It was funny. I love my new names. I thought I might also mention that most my patients speak English and a tribial language. Even though they speak English they are hard to understand. I would describe them as speaking with their lips almost closed and very tight. I have to get really close to them to understand them. Most the time we figure out some way to communicate. On a note of things for you to pray for. 5 ward nurses are leaving this week and only 1 new nurse is coming. We are very short on staff already. We will not be able to be entirely influential without more staff. If you are a nurse and wanting to come, talk to God and come hang out with me in Africa. If staffing is short, I may have to work more than 40 hours a week.