amazing opportunity

I had an incredible opportunity today.  One of the case workers and I visited with a patient who was on watch for suicide ideation.  We were unable to really speak with him because his English was so limited - he speaks Swahili.  So we got permission to call a third party translation service that enabled us to have a conversation.  How cool is that?!


When we interview patients who've previously made comments that they want to hurt themselves, one of the most important things is to get a grasp of whether or not they are still feeling that way.  So it's paramount that we find out if the patients have family to get back to, future-oriented plans, or reasons out there to hope.  If those things are present, then the patient is less likely to attempt suicide.  It was really neat to sit in on such a unique time in a person's life.  We sat in the same room, in 3 chairs grouped together, and I held the translator on speakerphone in my hands as the case worker and patient talked about the most serious of issues. It came out through our conversation that the main thing holding him back from hurting himself was that he thought Jesus didn't want that.  He asked for a Bible to help him find comfort and wisdom, but a Swahili version wasn't readily available.  So that's when I got thinking.


Hoping that it wouldn't be against the rules, I went back to my cubicle (yep, I have a cubicle!) and searched online for Biblical references regarding suicide.  I found that there aren't really any that specifically address the topic, but a couple verses relatable enough that he might find comfort in them.  I wrote for him a document beginning, "Until we find a Bible for you in Swahili, I hope these verses provide you some comfort.  I hope the translation is accurate."  With the help of Google Translate, the patient got 7 or 8 verses in Swahili to have for today, and hopefully for life. We're going to see him again tomorrow and I can hardly wait to speak with him again!


What an awesome opportunity!  I'm really thankful that my superiors were OK with it... in fact, the case worker had a similar idea and printed off his own sheet for the patient.  Wow.  
Praise be the God of all nations!  


grace & peace