Days spent at the District Hospital with Peter

I thought I was skinny, but having spent the past few days with a friend of mine named Peter, I've realized that in comparison I look like a sumo wrestler. Peter is somewhere in his mid 20's and lives in Kipsongo, a local slum. He first came to Kitale, as part of a group of close to 10 young boys whose parents were killed in tribal conflicts. Pokot raiders came to steal their cattle and the ensuing fight left Peter an orphan. For years Peter and his group of friends lived on the streets of Kitale. Nearly 10 years ago, Peter was arrested for being a street boy and sent to a detention center for 6 months. While in the detention center, Peter was brutally beaten by one of the guards, leaving him with a fractured spine among other injuries. Ever since that day Peter has been unable to lift his arms above his waist or get himself up out of bed or out of a chair without help. He relies on his group of friends to care for him in nearly every task, from showering to eating. In addition to this, the spinal injury has prevented him from gaining any weight. He is so skinny that he looks as if he is a holocaust survivor.

I have been spending a lot of my time ministering to a group of guys in Kipsongo, which is where I have gotten to become close to Peter. A few days ago I decided to take Peter to the district hospital to get x-rays on his spinal cord. Unfortunately the hospital did not have the right x-ray equipment for spinal x-rays but the doctors worried that he might also have Tuberculosis. So instead of a spinal x-ray, Peter got a chest x-ray in an attempt to diagnose the TB. This morning we went to the hospital again for Peter to get his blood tested for TB. Because he was so malnourished, his veins were very hard to find and it was nearly impossible for the doctors to draw his blood. It took close to 3 hours for 5 different doctors to attempt a total of 25 tries to draw his blood before they were able to successfully fill the vial. We are told that we will know the results tomorrow morning so any prayers would be greatly appreciated.

Despite all of this Peter has the most amazing faith and courage. He does not view any of his physical ailments as a burden and is constantly thinking of others. He owns a very small outdoor shop in the slums in which he is able to sell a few items to help pay his rent and buy any food he can afford. He prays that his shop will grow so that he can earn more money to help out his friends who have taken care of him for the past 10 years. This man of God is marked by his unshakable faith and perseverance, something that I will hope to learn from him.