Written By: John Jefferson
The heat of the day no doubt surpassed 100* as we moved through the swampy, steamy back country. At one point we stopped and rung out our “dry fit” shirts yielding enough “Gatorade” for a nice warm drink! In the midst of this scene came a sight that was a bit unusual, and caused us to stop and encounter the phenomenon head on.
A uniformed soldier was marching through the reeds with a young child on his shoulders.
Troop movement was not at all uncommon, nor the sight of someone carrying a small child too young to walk, but this pairing was unique. The soldier told us his boy was ill, and he needed to get him to a clinic. The saddest part of the whole episode was that this was not the first child of his that had fallen ill in this manner.
This man had lost two other boys in their youth, a devastating thing for anyone, but especially someone from a patrilineal society. This is what drove him to take the two-day walk with the boy on his shoulders.
I was deeply moved by the idea of a father’s love displayed by this soldier. It was apparent the boy had swollen glands and was running a fever, which could have meant malaria or some kind of infection. I gave him some vitamin solution to mix with water in hopes that would boost his immune system a bit. We also prayed for the two knowing that was the most we could do, to beseech the God of the Universe to be merciful to this man and his child in this time of great need.
As we went on, it became more and more obvious that the problems that we would encounter along the road would be greater than our ability to solve them alone. Correspondingly, our problems, discomfort, pain, and minor inconveniences started to pale.
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