What do you ask a pregnant woman during her prenatal visit whose husband was murdered less than 3 days ago over a disputed soccer goal?
I went with, "how are you sleeping?"
And then, "can I pray with you?"
The visit was a study in contrasts, a juxtaposition of joy as we listened to the baby's heartbeat with the doppler, and heavy sadness as we briefly touched on the important life event that must be consuming her mind. The juxtaposition was almost like the night at the hospital when her husband was brought in dead, when I was initially at the hospital to do a delivery of a perfect baby girl, and ended up doing chest compressions on a gunshot wound victim who was the son of the patriarch of the nearest village and the husband to the patient I saw today, the son of one of our counselors, and a father to 2.5 children.
Everyone's lives here are touched by the violence that is raging through this country like a wildfire that cannot be contained. Before I go any further, let me state clearly that I do not personally feel at risk; in fact, those attending high school or college in the U.S. right now are probably at higher risk of being killed by guns in a mass shooting than I am by a stray bullet out here. Even saying that, I still know that writing about this violence is going to bring on many concerned e-mails and probably phone calls by people who love me and worry about my safety in Honduras.
The longer I'm here, the more I get to know people in the community, patients, employees and their families, and the fabric that ties them together. I didn't personally know the man who got shot, but several of the doctors who were at the code knew him. There are all kinds of numbers out there about the murders in Honduras- San Pedro Sula I think still holds the dubious title of 'murder capitol of the world.' Bad as they are, the statistics don't seem adequate to express what the rampant violence is doing to this country and to these people. There is no end in sight. Venganza (revenge) is often the reason for murders, which then spawns more murder. It's not the only cause of death, but it is a significant one. Only forgiveness will break this cycle, and Jesus is the only power I know of who is strong enough to overcome evil with good.
As I prayed with my patient today, I was painfully aware of how inadequate my Spanish skills were to communicate all that I wanted to. That inadequacy is provoking me to study more, and to pray more. Prayer and the power of God are the only things that will ultimately change this nation. No public health intervention or community education or even improved intensive care services will stop the violence. I struggle with what that means for me and my role as a physician and as a Christian. What I've arrived at is that sometimes we are to be witnesses, to expose the darkness, to stand up to a culture and say that this isn't right, to keep the outrage fresh.
In a society where the answer to a dispute is gunfire, and the justice for a murder is the family members of the deceased taking revenge for them, in the face of a country whose justice system is seemingly powerless to punish the right people, I don't know what the answer is. When I'm fresh out of solutions, I turn to where I should have begun anyway, on my knees.
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I went with, "how are you sleeping?"
And then, "can I pray with you?"
The visit was a study in contrasts, a juxtaposition of joy as we listened to the baby's heartbeat with the doppler, and heavy sadness as we briefly touched on the important life event that must be consuming her mind. The juxtaposition was almost like the night at the hospital when her husband was brought in dead, when I was initially at the hospital to do a delivery of a perfect baby girl, and ended up doing chest compressions on a gunshot wound victim who was the son of the patriarch of the nearest village and the husband to the patient I saw today, the son of one of our counselors, and a father to 2.5 children.
Everyone's lives here are touched by the violence that is raging through this country like a wildfire that cannot be contained. Before I go any further, let me state clearly that I do not personally feel at risk; in fact, those attending high school or college in the U.S. right now are probably at higher risk of being killed by guns in a mass shooting than I am by a stray bullet out here. Even saying that, I still know that writing about this violence is going to bring on many concerned e-mails and probably phone calls by people who love me and worry about my safety in Honduras.
The longer I'm here, the more I get to know people in the community, patients, employees and their families, and the fabric that ties them together. I didn't personally know the man who got shot, but several of the doctors who were at the code knew him. There are all kinds of numbers out there about the murders in Honduras- San Pedro Sula I think still holds the dubious title of 'murder capitol of the world.' Bad as they are, the statistics don't seem adequate to express what the rampant violence is doing to this country and to these people. There is no end in sight. Venganza (revenge) is often the reason for murders, which then spawns more murder. It's not the only cause of death, but it is a significant one. Only forgiveness will break this cycle, and Jesus is the only power I know of who is strong enough to overcome evil with good.
As I prayed with my patient today, I was painfully aware of how inadequate my Spanish skills were to communicate all that I wanted to. That inadequacy is provoking me to study more, and to pray more. Prayer and the power of God are the only things that will ultimately change this nation. No public health intervention or community education or even improved intensive care services will stop the violence. I struggle with what that means for me and my role as a physician and as a Christian. What I've arrived at is that sometimes we are to be witnesses, to expose the darkness, to stand up to a culture and say that this isn't right, to keep the outrage fresh.
In a society where the answer to a dispute is gunfire, and the justice for a murder is the family members of the deceased taking revenge for them, in the face of a country whose justice system is seemingly powerless to punish the right people, I don't know what the answer is. When I'm fresh out of solutions, I turn to where I should have begun anyway, on my knees.
