A Snake Bite

This hospital never has a dull moment, and I love bouncing around from C-sections to traumas to pediatric malaria and seeing such a wide variety of cases. Last Tuesday, a small, elderly man came in during morning rounds. He had been farming out in the fields, when he felt a pain in his left foot and looked to see a snake had just bitten him. His sons quickly brought him into the hospital...as well as the dead snake in a plastic bag. (A note on this from our hospital's treatment manual: “First try to determine the type of snake responsible for the bite... If the snake has been killed, ask to have it brought in to determine the type [which allows us to know if our anti-venom {rare and expensive} will work], but in general, it is not wise to try and kill the snake, since more people are then at risk for bites.” Hope none of you ever have to use this trivia).

We identified the perpetrator as a saw-scaled viper (I would post pictures if internet was faster...it was 3 feet long, and fortunately it was fully dead, because my pictures are from a few feet away). Its venom causes victims to bleed to death, and when the man arrived he already had some bleeding from his mouth and nose. Fortunately, the hospital's anti-venom covers this snake, though even when treated there is still the risk of bleeding to death and the patient must be watched for several days.

Later that afternoon, things finally slowed down. Our patient was getting his 4th vial of anti-venom because he was still bleeding. With the outcome of his bite still unclear, I realized that this man needed to hear the gospel that day. Even if his outcome was poor, he could still have eternal life if he accepted Jesus. Of course, most of you could probably guess speaking Kabie is not my strength nor is tongues my spiritual gift. Fortunately, after asking around, I found a nurse who spoke this man's language. Using him as interpreter, I began to ask this man about his spiritual beliefs. He had never heard much about Jesus but was interested in learning more. So I shared how the true Creator of this world was God, that God had made man, but man had rejected God by disobeying God. As I began to explain how God justly punishes men and women for sinning against him, my interpreter began to go ahead himself and share how God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins by dying on the cross and that if we trust in Jesus alone (not our own good deeds) we can receive salvation. After hearing this, the man said that he wanted to receive Jesus as his Savior. So we prayed with him, there at his hospital bed, and this man put his faith in Christ.

By God's grace, the man stopped bleeding and was discharged from the hospital yesterday. I had several opportunities to talk with him during his stay, and he continued to affirm his new faith in Christ. What a great opportunity to be a part of God's changing this man's heart and making him one of His children (and I am humbled that God uses us to play a role in salvation). One day, he will still face death, but a life in heaven with Jesus now awaits because of his new faith. I was struck by the ability of our sovereign God to take evil events and through His grace turn them to good. Through an unfortunate snake bite, God brought this man to our hospital so the man could hear of Jesus' love. Thousands of years ago, sin (along with sickness and death) came into the world by a serpent who deceived Adam and Eve; now God, in His sense of humor, used another serpent to start a series of events that brought this man to know His Savior.

So pray for this man and his new salvation; and praise our God who is lovingly at work to bring men and women to Himself!