Sally Gilbert stands in front of the Edenvale Care Centre

“He has sent me to preach good news to the poor, bind up the broken hearted and proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” (Isaiah 61:1)

When I was leaving to serve overseas with SIM, God gave me a job description: Isaiah 61, verse 1. I was not sure how God was going to apply these verses, but I did know that he was able, especially as I wasn’t.

Here in Johannesburg, one of the ministries I’m involved in is visiting patients at a hospice, the Edenvale Care Centre. Many of these people, who mostly come from the townships around Johannesburg, receive no visitors. This is partly because of the stigma of AIDS, and partly due to the cost of travel.

Some only survive for a day or two; others live for a month or more. So it’s very difficult to build relationships of any quality or depth. For those who only survive a few days, I may not have the opportunity to pray with them, but I can show them God’s love. When I visit patients, I massage their feet, and sometimes their hands and shoulders. They often have very painful feet caused by poor circulation, a side-effect of their medication.

I don’t find this work easy. In fact, I pray before I walk in for the courage to serve the patients—feet are not always the most beautiful part of the human body. And some of their other ailments are even more difficult to cope with. But God has given me courage, compassion, and a deep love for these people.

Bad medicine

Carol came into the ward with a big smile. Only 12 years old, she was not our usual patient. She looked much younger, because she was small for her age. Carol had been born with HIV. In and out of hospital for years, she had never managed to go to school. Her mother was also ill, and had not been able to cope with her, so Carol had been taken into care. She had developed TB again and was quite poorly. The social worker knew if she was admitted to a local government hospital she would die very quickly, so she managed to get her into the hospice as a short-term measure until something else could be arranged.

Carol improved and enjoyed the care of not just the nurses but all who came in and out of the hospice. One day her mother asked if she could take her daughter home for the weekend. I can still picture Carol’s beaming smile.

She returned two days later very ill. Her mother had taken her to a Sangoma (local witch doctor), hoping that he might be able to heal her. The “medicine” he gave her contained battery acid. Carol died within a couple of days, after terrible suffering. We have had four people die in the same manner at the hospice recently.

Forgiveness

Andrew, in his forties, was one of the older patients. He was the last surviving member in his family—his wife and three children had died in previous years, all from AIDS. Through the weeks, he shared with me that he had been a truck driver and had travelled to many different places.

This lovely, gentle man may have brought death into his family and then watched it destroy first his loved ones and then his own life. I cannot imagine how he felt as he looked back and realized what was perhaps the truth of his situation. I reminded Andrew of God’s love and forgiveness.

I long to share Jesus and his gift of eternal life with every patient who comes to the hospice, giving them the opportunity to put their trust in him before they die. But it’s difficult for me to share the Good News when there has not been time to build a relationship. I have to be sensitive and allow the Holy Spirit, not self motivation, to guide my conversations.

I have had some wonderful opportunities and have met some incredibly brave people during the time I have been visiting at the hospice. Some of them have left a mark on my heart, and I hope I will see them in heaven one day. With the knowledge and skills they receive during the week-long seminar, in addition to material designed for Muslims, they have confidence in approaching Muslims with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Pray

That God would reveal himself to the patients through the kindness, gentleness, and compassion of the care center staff and volunteers.

*Note: This article was originally published in Serving in Mission Together, Issue 126.