Written by: Dawn Haasnoot, Mary Hannah Dolan, and Hannah Gall
But He said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish.” Luke 9:13a
This September, we (Dawn, Mary Hannah, and Hannah) set out with five other members of the Point to participate in medical missions in Togo. We didn’t really know what to expect, so we were prepared to do whatever the Lord called us to do. We were equipped with medicine, medical supplies, oral hygiene items, children’s toys, and anything else we could stuff into thirteen suitcases.
Our first day of clinic was at a remote village located about two hours north of Lome, the country’s capital. In the village’s church building, we set up a triage area, provider stations, and a pharmacy, anticipating we would see around 200-300 patients. We were quickly overwhelmed by the needs of the people we saw: worms, malaria, wounds, hypertension were a few of the many conditions we diagnosed. By the end of the day, villagers crowded in from all entrances of the church made clinic, hoping to be seen and examined by the physicians. We questioned how we would be able to meet the needs of all of the people in this village as well as our next two days of clinic. Yet, at the end of the day, we were able to treat over 400 patients and had enough supplies and medicine left over for our other two clinic days.
On our final day in Togo, we were able to participate in a Vacation Bible School for the children of AKEM. As we were unsure of our role in the VBS prior to our arrival in Togo, we had not prepared sufficiently. However, the Lord took the little we had to offer to the children (a short Bible skit and song), and multiplied it; the rest of the afternoon, we saw kids joyfully repeating the hand motions we had taught them about the creation story. We were also able to gift each child a pair of their very own underwear. The joy they expressed after receiving such a simple gift is unforgettable to us. Over 1000 kids heard the message of the Gospel that day.
This week in Togo challenged us to rely on God’s provision. We frequently experienced having “no more than five loaves and two fish.” Like the disciples in Luke 9, we had to trust in God to meet the needs of the people we were serving. Though we often felt we didn’t have enough to give, we repeatedly saw the Lord provide for each need.
Lord, thank you for being our Great Provider, Jehovah Jireh. Help us to rely on your promises, even when our circumstances seem overwhelming. Amen.