22 Jan 2015
Where the streets have no name
We have participated in several mobile medical clinics and provided care for hundreds & hundreds of people out in distant villages. This outreach has HUGE potential and we are working toward acquiring more medications and reliable transportation. We are visiting places far off the beaten path. These villages are found on trails off of rutted up sandy roads. It reminds me of the song by U2 (& redone by Chris Tomlin): "Where the streets have no name". Great song. Play it as you read this--
2 nights ago we drove home from our mobile clinic deep in the bush. I was riding in the back of a pickup truck with 4 men, a mother and her baby girl and young son (plus 2 wooden benches, a stool, several mats, boxes of equipment and medications. It was one of those reassuring and inspirational moments that remind me that its all worth it. The clinic was a huge success (Thanks Zach & Charis for Project 21) and I was now enjoying an open air view of a brilliant night sky from the back of a truck. The hot dusty air blew in my face and parted my beard as I stared up at infinite stars and a sliver of a moon. We bounced along passed countless villages and saw people sitting around cooking fires in the pitch black darkness. I imagined elders telling stories to their children and grandchildren around those fires. There are practically no real books in this part of Chad so history is passed along through story telling.
I wonder if one night they may be telling stories about how the hospital or the church or God or even "you" reached out and made a difference. We all have a part in shaping that history.
-Mason
Good morning how are you?
ReplyDeleteMy name is Emilio, I am a Spanish boy and I live in a town near to Madrid. I am a very interested person in knowing things so different as the culture, the way of life of the inhabitants of our planet, the fauna, the flora, and the landscapes of all the countries of the world etc. in summary, I am a person that enjoys traveling, learning and respecting people's diversity from all over the world.
I would love to travel and meet in person all the aspects above mentioned, but unfortunately as this is very expensive and my purchasing power is quite small, so I devised a way to travel with the imagination in every corner of our planet. A few years ago I started a collection of used stamps because trough them, you can see pictures about fauna, flora, monuments, landscapes etc. from all the countries. As every day is more and more difficult to get stamps, some years ago I started a new collection in order to get traditional letters addressed to me in which my goal was to get at least 1 letter from each country in the world. This modest goal is feasible to reach in the most part of countries, but unfortunately it’s impossible to achieve in other various territories for several reasons, either because they are countries at war, either because they are countries with extreme poverty or because for whatever reason the postal system is not functioning properly.
For all this I would ask you one small favor:
Would you be so kind as to send me a letter by traditional mail from Chad? I understand perfectly that you think that your blog is not the appropriate place to ask this, and even, is very probably that you ignore my letter, but I would call your attention to the difficulty involved in getting a letter from that country, and also I don’t know anyone neither where to write in Chad in order to increase my collection. a letter for me is like a little souvenir, like if I have had visited that territory with my imagination and at same time, the arrival of the letters from a country is a sign of peace and normality and an original way to promote a country in the world. My postal address is the following one:
Emilio Fernandez Esteban
Calle Valencia, 39
28903 Getafe (Madrid)
Spain
If you wish, you can visit my blog www.cartasenmibuzon.blogspot.com where you can see the pictures of all the letters that I have received from whole World.
Finally I would like to thank the attention given to this letter, and whether you can help me or not, I send my best wishes for peace, health and happiness for you, your family and all your dear beings.
Yours Sincerely
Emilio Fernandez