“Being with Erica day to day, getting to know and observe the other workers — ministry is so much more than what happens at the clinic. They have chosen to do life with these tribes and villages, spending time with the people in their dwellings, supporting their village churches, going to the people, not just the people coming to them for care at the clinic.”
It is 6:45 am one morning and already 32 degrees C, when Rob and DaNae meet Erica at the door to her home in the compound – a simple home of one room and a porch with a cooking area – to see what a day at the clinic is like. During the half-kilometre walk to the clinic, it’s apparent how much Erica lives among the people as she comfortably greets everyone she passes in Arabic.
Several different tribes have come to live in the area near the compound and clinic. There’s a specific area for the official refugee camp but in reality there are displaced people groups all around.
“As we enter the clinic,” Rob says, “people are already filling the benches waiting to be seen. Some may have walked days to get to there – the clinic’s reputation in the region is a place that cares for people. We follow the awesome sound of singing – Arabic worship songs sung in the medical offices where patients will soon be seen, as the team meets for devotions to ready their hearts for the day.”
Erica’s team is made up of people from all over the world. She estimates that she’ll see about 200 people before the day is over. There’s a nutritionist teaching the waiting patients on good nutrition, followed by one of the chaplains sharing from the Bible, as the medical staff work through the crowd to triage and assess any significantly ill patients.
The first person Erica sees is a young boy with malaria, which is quite common here. “Even as I write this” Rob says, “I smile thinking of her compassion and kindness as she explains the required tests and treats patients. After a quick blood test, she confirms the diagnosis and is able to send him and his mum away with the meds he needs to recover. Prescriptions are included with the minimal fee patients pay to see a nurse or clinician. If they are unable to pay, they are still seen. The clinic turns no one away.
“Her next patient is a young girl, extremely sick with a high temp (40+ degrees). They suspect advanced malaria but are unable even to get her to settle. We watch as they try to ease the fear the girl feels by letting her rest with a chaplain nearby but nothing is working. Erica confers with Connie, the doctor at the clinic, and, because the girl’s condition is deteriorating, they decide to transfer her to a larger hospital 20 minutes away that can provide overnight care.
“The Grieve Medical Clinic is an amazing ministry of SIM, providing for real needs of least-reached people in South Sudan. All throughout the day there is a bustle of activity – clinicians seeing patients, cleaners filling washing stations and greeting people, chaplains in and out as needed, staff registering people and filling prescriptions. Everyone – expat missionaries and staff – are passionate to care for those around them.” But it’s an uncertain time for the clinic.
DaNae says, “As we left South Sudan, three staff members were leaving the team with us, including Connie, the doctor who had served there six years. The clinic will carry on but it is uncertain how care will look without a doctor present. Both Rob and I felt blessed to see God at work here through this team. We are praying that He would draw new team members to join them, especially another doctor.
Would you join us in this prayer?”
— DaNae & Rob Reynolds