Today I came home from the hospital at noon. I just couldn’t keep working. From practicing everyday with the choir, spending the night at Zara’s house for Christmas (staying up late, waking up early), to working at the hospital everyday 6 days a week. I was just exhausted. I have had many experiences these last few days that I feel are God’s divine appointments. I have talked to many people who have told me they can open their heart up to me. I feel like God is beginning to reveal why I am here. I came to this hospital thinking that I could be an influence to the patients only (by God’s grace I will be as well), but I don’t think God brought me here for other reasons. Not for those who are necessarily “weak”…physically, but those who are week mentally and spiritually.
Since I have been here, there have been times when I have been weak physically, mentally, and spiritually. When I first arrive, as I might have told you before, I was adamant about staying away from Malaria. Even my family will tell you that I prayed God would protect me. I thought it was going to be this great miracle! “Elissa went to Africa in the most malaria-infested country and came back without a single mosquito bite!” hooray!! The Lord humbles me all the time, and this was one of the times. I know some of you might think this is a ridiculous thought but, since the Lord as humbled me from that experience, and I have had malaria twice, I am now able to relate to the patients who walk into the hospital… almost every single one of them! I know that these diseases are dangerous, and I am still motivated to keep as healthy as possible, but if God brought me here, there is a reason why he puts me through these situations. I am living my life for Jesus Christ! What more do I need? Like it says in 2 Cor 12:10 “Therefore I am CONTENT with weakness, with insults, with troubles, with persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong!” Now when persecution comes along, does this verse become invalid? NO! Quite the opposite actually… it is made alive in me! The words have sunk deep into my soul and every morning when I wake up, I relate to these words. I have been physically ill since I’ve been in Africa, but why would God bring me here to this place if he didn’t have a purpose for me? I’m weak, but God is made strong. I go through persecution knowing that God has gone through more. If I am living this life for Him, then there is nothing that I need to fear, for he is my provider.
Mentally, each day can become challenging. The only thing I wanted to do today was come home and shut my door to the world and be alone. Thankfully I got a few hours to myself (much needed). After I practiced with the choir and came home again, I just wanted to go to sleep. It was about 6 o clock. I laid down for a little bit, and realized I hadn’t eaten. Just a little bit ago, I got up and went to the kitchen. I was afraid to turn on my light for fear someone would see that I was home☺. After turning on the light, I stood there for a few moments, listening for anyone outside. Finally, I relaxed… “Eliza!!!” I was startled by Pierre’s voice outside. I had forgotten that Pierre comes to my house every night and sleeps outside to watch over me. Since Pierre has been here, Caitlin and I have taken up the job of feeding him every night. We would always ask him when he came in, “when was the last time you ate?” he would tell us it was that morning. Caitlin never liked his answer and would stuff his face most every night. Now that she is gone, it is my responsibility to remember him and his needs. She even put a sign up that says, “feed Pierre”. I see it everyday ☺! I realized after hearing his voice outside, that I have an obligation. An obligation to be mentally alert for those who are in need. I feel that God will give me strength in this situation as well. “Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in HUMILITY, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well.” Phil 2:3,4. Because of the fact that I was so mentally exhausted, I didn’t want to feed Pierre, but God spoke to me tonight about true humility. Being a servant even when you are totally and completely mentally exhausted yourself. He gives you strength to go a little bit further when you feel like you are going to crash… and a little bit further, and a little bit further. I have realized that nothing in my life has not been overcome. Always… when I feel like I can’t go on anymore, my heavenly father steps in once again.
My spirituality has been faltering. I can hear you saying… “How can that be when you are serving the Lord in Africa? You have to lean on the Lord for everything in those kinds of places. That is what the experience is all about?” Well, to be quite honest with you, I haven’t had personal devotions for a while. The Lord has allowed me to slip away from the most important thing in my life so that I could try and see if I can be strong without him. Not only that, but I have tried to be spiritual without him. I honestly think that is why I am so exhausted today. I have tried to be a spiritual leader without seeking help from the spiritual leader himself! Tonight when I opened my Bible, I broke down in tears because my eyes were opened to my weaknesses. I have tried to be so strong without my source of strength. I can just picture God up in heaven saying to me, “Elissa, you do this every time…and you always come back in my arms exhausted because you tried be strong on your own… just let me carry you and stop worrying about what you can do, but let me worry about what I can do.” I usually picture a smile on His face when he says this, a little side note. He never fails me, I always fail him, but he is gracious and kind, and will let me fall so I can get back up and say, “God is my stronghold, a present help in time of trouble.”
Lately, like I was saying before, God has lead me to people who are really in need of a friend. I have gotten to pray, cry, and laugh with those who have been struggling. God has been using me (in my weakness) to reach out to these people. Three people have said they can open up their heart to me because they feel comfortable. That is not because I have done anything, but God who has allowed me to be a spiritual mentor. I feel he can use me to bring peace and tranquility to the hospital and those who come in and out each day. I pray that I will be an instrument of peace in what seems like a place full of disaster. I just need to remember these words when I am helping those in need “I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused it to grow. So neither the one who plants counts for anything, nor the one who waters, but God who causes the growth.” 1 Cor 3:6,7. I am just one person working with other people, but God is in this story. He has his hand on the hospital, and he will continue to grow all of us together spiritually.
This is what is on my mind tonight. I have many things to talk about in later blogs, but I want this entry to be one that when you read it, you will think of the hospital and the experiences that I have had here. I have lost sleep over these thoughts I’ve shared with you tonight. Continue to PRAY WITHOUT CEASING! God has been and is going to do amazing things here and I firmly believe that when we pray, our prayers are not unanswered. God bless us.
Some songs that we are singing in the Choir for the concert this weekend:
Chant en France:
Qu’it sont beaux sur les montagnes
Les pieds de ceui qui anonee
La paix la bonne nouvelle qui publie le salut.
Chant en Mafa:
Ndo madzahi tele veske nga tsukonri
A sam yesu Bi a sa van pambi na
A sa van pambi na
A san van woufe ndav
Chant en Fulfulde (I think):
Oh ta mbarou djoke sam baba
Nafinta ma yetsu ha yesu
Bone ma hukou donte ma fu ha
Yesu oh walete ronduggo nde
An baba a mouya le
Bana yesus an dada a mouya le
Ps. we are singing about 10-15 songs in total.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
All About The Hospital
I know that each blog I write, I share little experiences from both parts of my life here in Africa. My hospital life, and my non-hospital life. Since I don’t have a lot of time everyday to write about both, I usually just give everyone a sneak peak. In this entry, I want to share what has been going on in the hospital, and also what the Lord has been doing through the hospital workers.
I don’t know the medical terms for many things, but I will try to fill you in on the good stuff. Since we have had the Doctors here, we don’t have to send patients an hour away to get help when they can’t deliver the baby without a C-section. One woman came into the hospital that was pregnant. After examining her, the doctor concluded that her intestines were twisted, and they had to do surgery on her. They took her into surgery and after the C-section, they tried to work on her intestine. I wasn’t there because I was traveling to Maroua but from what I hear her intestine turned dark red. They finished without doing anything to the intestine. She is still in the hospital now. Ganava, the main nurse for maternity doesn’t think she will live. I’m hoping there is a miracle.
Speaking about C-sections, a side note, the doctors who are from the congo have never even delivered a baby yet so I am hoping and praying that they learn quick. It is a bitter/sweet feeling. Knowing they they haven’t delivered any babies means that I can teach them the things that I have been learning about deliveries. The only thing is that if any complications arise, I hope they know what to do in the situation.
Remember when I told you about the man who had Dengue Fever? Well, he was in so much shock that he passed away the next day. I remember talking to Kalda about his case and asked him why he died. Kalda told me that the family refused to treat him. I sometimes wonder why people bring their family members into the hospital when they don’t want to treat the disease. Dr. James told me one day after having a frustrating conversation with a women who was refusing treatment. He said “What do they expect us to do when they bring people to the hospital. Dance around them and chant, throwing dirt into the air and expect them to be healed?” I understand his point, but I am also American. The way people deal with problems here is very different. The Muslim women especially do not make decisions unless the man is around to make them.
I went to the hospital one day at night. I wanted to look in the ER for anyone who needed help. It seemed like Bouwa was holding everything together pretty well. A woman came in who was 9 months pregnant. She looked very agitated and tired. She was going to be admitted. I took her blood pressure and it was 150/90. In America that might not be deadly, but here no one has high blood pressure like that. I concluded that she had preclampsia. I went home to tell James about it so we all went to go help with a c-section. We were there for probably about an hour before she finally refused to be operated on. She said she needed to wait until her husband came to give the answer. We were all confused at how calm she was in this time of Emergency. When the husband finally did come to tell us what he wanted, he refused the operation as well. He said that the babies were too small to be born…she was 9 months pregnant. I don’t know what happened to her, but hopefully she got operated on soon after she left our hospital because she was in danger of death.
When I first arrived here at the hospital, there was a man who was diagnosed with TB. The hospital workers said that he had been there for quite awhile before my arrival. I checked him after I knew it wasn’t contagious anymore. He was so weak a frail. Not only that, but he was in pain and looked horrible. Slowly but surely we have been treating him. Everyday I have been seeing him come to worship in the mornings. Through the worships and nurses talking to him at his bedside these last few months, he has decided to give his life to Jesus! He got baptized last weekend. Avava was talking to me about it the other day and told me that he discovered something very important! He said, “I never knew that the hospital workers could be evangelists just like pastors! I am excited because now I know we have even more power because God is working through us!” I am forgetting his name at the moment, which is horrible because he knows my name but he looks 10 times better than he did when he first came here and he was healed☺
When there is someone in the hospital who needs a transfusion, we get a person with the same blood type in the same day. There is none of this “storing” stuff going on. I love doing transfusions! When I come into the lab and there is someone sitting in the chair where we do transfusion, I get excited. Clara, the lab tech, always knows to get out of the way when there are transfusions patients and I am around. She understands how badly I want poke someone with a huge needle☺ every time someone comes into a lab for a transfusion, I talk them through the process. It is not the nicest way to tell them what is happening, but I try to make it amusing. I usually say in French, “Little poke right now (for HIV test)… Big poke later!:)” While I’m transfusing them, I ask them if they are tired. If they say no, I tell them “later!”…Lol I know it’s horrible, but it makes them laugh. I also tell those who are afraid not to look, or I just push their head to the side. It helps☺
I have never seen worse cases of Hepatitis and Cirrhosis here. The people who come in are like balloons! Their stomachs are filled with fluid! We took care of a guy the other day who came in with the biggest stomach I have ever seen. We have been treating him, and thankfully it has been helping. He is doing much better than he was before.
The nurses and doctors have been doing a great job lately. I have been proud to say I work at the Koza Hospital. I know that we don’t have many supplies, but it is surprising how many things you can do with just a simple needle in this place. I’m amazed at how efficient they are with the products we are given. God continues to save lives and allow lives to be taken away. He has been at work in the lives of the patients and the workers here. Please keep us in your prayers as we try to heal those who come into the hospital each day. Thanks for listening! Until next time…
I don’t know the medical terms for many things, but I will try to fill you in on the good stuff. Since we have had the Doctors here, we don’t have to send patients an hour away to get help when they can’t deliver the baby without a C-section. One woman came into the hospital that was pregnant. After examining her, the doctor concluded that her intestines were twisted, and they had to do surgery on her. They took her into surgery and after the C-section, they tried to work on her intestine. I wasn’t there because I was traveling to Maroua but from what I hear her intestine turned dark red. They finished without doing anything to the intestine. She is still in the hospital now. Ganava, the main nurse for maternity doesn’t think she will live. I’m hoping there is a miracle.
Speaking about C-sections, a side note, the doctors who are from the congo have never even delivered a baby yet so I am hoping and praying that they learn quick. It is a bitter/sweet feeling. Knowing they they haven’t delivered any babies means that I can teach them the things that I have been learning about deliveries. The only thing is that if any complications arise, I hope they know what to do in the situation.
Remember when I told you about the man who had Dengue Fever? Well, he was in so much shock that he passed away the next day. I remember talking to Kalda about his case and asked him why he died. Kalda told me that the family refused to treat him. I sometimes wonder why people bring their family members into the hospital when they don’t want to treat the disease. Dr. James told me one day after having a frustrating conversation with a women who was refusing treatment. He said “What do they expect us to do when they bring people to the hospital. Dance around them and chant, throwing dirt into the air and expect them to be healed?” I understand his point, but I am also American. The way people deal with problems here is very different. The Muslim women especially do not make decisions unless the man is around to make them.
I went to the hospital one day at night. I wanted to look in the ER for anyone who needed help. It seemed like Bouwa was holding everything together pretty well. A woman came in who was 9 months pregnant. She looked very agitated and tired. She was going to be admitted. I took her blood pressure and it was 150/90. In America that might not be deadly, but here no one has high blood pressure like that. I concluded that she had preclampsia. I went home to tell James about it so we all went to go help with a c-section. We were there for probably about an hour before she finally refused to be operated on. She said she needed to wait until her husband came to give the answer. We were all confused at how calm she was in this time of Emergency. When the husband finally did come to tell us what he wanted, he refused the operation as well. He said that the babies were too small to be born…she was 9 months pregnant. I don’t know what happened to her, but hopefully she got operated on soon after she left our hospital because she was in danger of death.
When I first arrived here at the hospital, there was a man who was diagnosed with TB. The hospital workers said that he had been there for quite awhile before my arrival. I checked him after I knew it wasn’t contagious anymore. He was so weak a frail. Not only that, but he was in pain and looked horrible. Slowly but surely we have been treating him. Everyday I have been seeing him come to worship in the mornings. Through the worships and nurses talking to him at his bedside these last few months, he has decided to give his life to Jesus! He got baptized last weekend. Avava was talking to me about it the other day and told me that he discovered something very important! He said, “I never knew that the hospital workers could be evangelists just like pastors! I am excited because now I know we have even more power because God is working through us!” I am forgetting his name at the moment, which is horrible because he knows my name but he looks 10 times better than he did when he first came here and he was healed☺
When there is someone in the hospital who needs a transfusion, we get a person with the same blood type in the same day. There is none of this “storing” stuff going on. I love doing transfusions! When I come into the lab and there is someone sitting in the chair where we do transfusion, I get excited. Clara, the lab tech, always knows to get out of the way when there are transfusions patients and I am around. She understands how badly I want poke someone with a huge needle☺ every time someone comes into a lab for a transfusion, I talk them through the process. It is not the nicest way to tell them what is happening, but I try to make it amusing. I usually say in French, “Little poke right now (for HIV test)… Big poke later!:)” While I’m transfusing them, I ask them if they are tired. If they say no, I tell them “later!”…Lol I know it’s horrible, but it makes them laugh. I also tell those who are afraid not to look, or I just push their head to the side. It helps☺
I have never seen worse cases of Hepatitis and Cirrhosis here. The people who come in are like balloons! Their stomachs are filled with fluid! We took care of a guy the other day who came in with the biggest stomach I have ever seen. We have been treating him, and thankfully it has been helping. He is doing much better than he was before.
The nurses and doctors have been doing a great job lately. I have been proud to say I work at the Koza Hospital. I know that we don’t have many supplies, but it is surprising how many things you can do with just a simple needle in this place. I’m amazed at how efficient they are with the products we are given. God continues to save lives and allow lives to be taken away. He has been at work in the lives of the patients and the workers here. Please keep us in your prayers as we try to heal those who come into the hospital each day. Thanks for listening! Until next time…
Je Suis Content
I have spent the last hour trying to look for my recent blogs because its been so long since I’ve posted, I’ve forgotten where I have left off. If I repeat something, that’ll just be a reminder for you that it was just that important to me☺ A few weeks ago I was asked to do vespers for the church. Papa Sidi asked me on Monday so I could prepare for it Friday night. That whole week prior my stomach hurt because I was always aware of the fact that I was going to speak Friday night and being nervous makes me sick sometimes. I was sitting talking to one of my good friends in the hospital one day. When I noticed he wasn’t his usual happy self. I asked him what was wrong and he told me that he was a little upset because someone talked about him behind his back and he found out about it. We started getting into a conversation about living by example and it hit me… that was exactly what I needed to preach about! I thanked him for making me realize my sermon title. I feel like the hospital really needs to understand their potential in helping others if they merely live by example and stop blaming others for the problems that happen in our lives. Friday night finally came and I was ready. I wore a traditional African outfit so it would be even more epic when people came in. I felt a little out of place, but I am feeling more and more African everyday. When I got up to the pulpit to preach, before I said anything, someone interrupted and said they wanted the sermon to be translated in French AND mafa. … good thing Dr. James was there. I didn’t realize when I got up to the pulpit that my sermon was probably a little too short so I improvised at the end☺ God blessed and I think I got my point across well. Basically it was that we are the light of the world, God wants to use us to glorify him… what better way to do that then to live by example, showing how Christ has died for us and how our lives are forever changed as a result! So don’t blame and ridicule, but live by example.
There are many languages spoken here. Mafa, Fulfulde, Houssa, and French. Many other dialects as well. The hospital workers think its funny when they come up to me speaking another language and I don’t understand them… well I have started to learn a little Mafa now so I can communicate a LITTLE bit with everyone. I connect much better with the patients that way. Almost everyone who comes into the hospital speaks Mafa so I get my share of practice.
The other day a man came into the hospital at night. Cailtin and I happen to be there when he walked into the emergency room. He was badly bleeding from his nose… in fact his nose was almost completely off his face. He was in a bad moto accident. We had our camera on hand, thank goodness, so Cailtin took some gnarly pictures. He was happy to pose for us as well. It was like he wasn’t even in any pain… these Africans know how be strong! He was also missing an arm (not from the accident) so we took pictures with it too. He was laughing and joking with us, sticking his arm nub in our faces... it was amusing.
So I think I have successfully broken all there is to break in our bathroom. When I first arrived here, one day I was in the shower. A mosquito was flying around, and I immediately was alert and was sure it wouldn’t come close to me without me killing it. It landed on the wall and I tried to kill it immediately… I ended up hitting the mirror on the wall as well and it fell off the wall shattering on the floor…Accident number one. The second thing I broke was the light. I was trying to fix it and didn’t realize that I hadn’t turned the light switch off (the are opposite here). I put my finger close to the socket and it electrified me. Obviously anything that was in my hand was going to fall, and sure enough the light shattered as well… I promise I won’t break anything more since there is nothing more to break.
I have been here for 3 months now and I have just recently gotten over my second malaria episode. I honestly thought that I was just exhausted from work because I had worked hard the whole two weeks that Dr. James was here. Avava came to my house Saturday night and told me to get a malaria test. I was pretty sure I didn’t have malaria so I said babyishly, “No way, it hurts me when they poke my finger☺”. Dr. James started telling me that he doesn’t remember how many times missionaries have denied having malaria and the tests results proved them wrong. I was sure about this one… but he said I was in denial. Sure enough, the next day I went to the hospital, I was forced to have a malaria test, and it was 10,300. High. It was a blessing and a curse because I finally got to have a little time in the morning to rest, but I also didn’t want to be chained to the bed all day. I am feeling great now! I also took a Typhoid test and it came up positive as well. I never treated it, so I don’t think that I ever had it in the first place.
Something really exciting happened last weekend. The night before Sabbath I saw people cleaning out the baptistery. Since I live right next to the church, it’s hard for me to go to the hospital without saying hi to everyone that is in my path (I can’t run away☺ lol). They were preparing for people to get baptized (obviously)! Sabbath came along, and the church was completely packed! I sang with the choir group and played guitar. After church everyone went outside to see the baptisms. It was a wonderful Sabbath. We danced and sang for a long time! 80 people were baptized! I pray for those who got baptized to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Caitlin and I did the 12 days of Christmas to our friend Clara. We failed the first time we tried because she came out with a flashlight and saw us running away. We acted stupid and never told her it was us, even though it was extremely obvious. No one would do the 12 days of Christmas here because Seventh-day Adventist DON’T CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS… I know, shocking. Also, no one would give her a cake like we did. Super American! The last day, we knocked on her door, opening the door, we sang to her “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” Love it. She thanked us over and over… We had so much fun in the process
It has been pretty crazy this last week. Since it was Caitlin’s last week, we were inspired to do all the things we said we would do before she left. Sleep outside under the stars, sleep at Zara’s house, climb a mountain, Meet Avava’s fiancé, and ride a donkey. We successfully accomplished those things in one week. One night we brought my little mosquito net outside and slept under the stars…epic. The second night, we slept at Zara’s house. Surprisingly we were more comfortable at Zara’s house then we were sleeping outside our own house. They treat American’s like royalty! I slept right next to Zara and I felt so protected! That Sabbath we went with Bahana to a mountain. It was an amazing experience except for the fact that we almost died! Bahana is a crazy motorcycle driver. We almost ran into a bike rider once, and another time we hit a pothole that he didn’t see and I almost bounced right off… praise God I was holding on tight. We worked so hard to get up to the top of the mountain that the view looked even more amazing. We took 300 pictures that day. When we went to Maroua we met Avava’s fiancé. She is my age! She is still technically in high school, but it is a different system here. We visit her at her school. She is perfect for Avava. While we were waiting for Avava to say goodbye to his love, Cailtin and I were sitting in the car. We had talked earlier that it wasn’t possible to ride a donkey unless there was one randomly in Maroua. Sure enough, a few minutes later a man on a donkey came riding up. I knew he didn’t speak English, but I asked him if I could ride it, looking ridiculous as I motioned “riding a donkey” to him. Finally we got the chance, in the meantime gathering quite a crowd. I bet everybody was whispering to each other in French “Nanzara...” (White person—don’t know how to spell it).
There are just a few fun facts/things that I want to mention before I leave because there is just so much that I can’t write it all out in one blog at this point. I talked to the pastor the other day when we were coming back from Maroua. I asked him how many churches he pastured. He said 32!!! I am already proud of my Father for keeping up one church! 32 is a little much don’t you think?
I was doing rounds with the doctor the other day. He brought me to this one patient and after talking for more than five minutes; he nonchalantly told me that the patient had TB and was admitted yesterday (doesn’t he know that it is contagious?). I quickly tried to explain to him my fear of TB and then left the room immediately. They don’t necessarily take precautions for those kinds of things.
Today when I woke up, I realized that Avava had bought me some apples from the market in Maroua. It was my first apple I have had since I’ve been in Africa… truly heavenly.
The baby that I wash everyday left because he is a healthy child now. I pray he will continue to be well taken care of. I have had so much to do every night since Caitlin has left so I went to bed at 2 am last night. I am trying to keep my eyes open during the day. I am planning on spending Christmas in Koza. It was not my first option, but I think I’m going to be able to give gifts to people who are not as fortunate as me. I just received three huge packages. One from my mother and the other two from Joanna Miracle! Thank you thank you so much church for all of your support! I continue to keep you in my prayers, always giving thanks to God.
The choir is practicing every day until January 1 for a big concert. It is killing me, but I am the guitar player and one of the main leaders. Also, the church is having a week of prayer. This means when our choir starts practice at 3:30 I don’t get to go home until around 7:30 pm… God keep me patient. I’m tired
During worship at the church tonight I was flipping through my notebook. I found a poem I wrote before coming to Africa. I remember writing one day in summer school when the teacher was boring me. I had so many thoughts going through my head about coming here, so I just picked up my pen and wrote what I was thinking, and this is what came out. It’s called “My Stream on Consciousness”
Ps. Arielle, Cecil’s baby boy is about a year old now. He successfully said my name the other day. Audrey is Zara’s little child. He is about 4 years old and he is learning English from me. Now when I come to the house I ask him “Audrey, how are you?”. He slowly says “I…a..am..ffiin…ee. Thank…you”. He knows it though☺
There are many languages spoken here. Mafa, Fulfulde, Houssa, and French. Many other dialects as well. The hospital workers think its funny when they come up to me speaking another language and I don’t understand them… well I have started to learn a little Mafa now so I can communicate a LITTLE bit with everyone. I connect much better with the patients that way. Almost everyone who comes into the hospital speaks Mafa so I get my share of practice.
The other day a man came into the hospital at night. Cailtin and I happen to be there when he walked into the emergency room. He was badly bleeding from his nose… in fact his nose was almost completely off his face. He was in a bad moto accident. We had our camera on hand, thank goodness, so Cailtin took some gnarly pictures. He was happy to pose for us as well. It was like he wasn’t even in any pain… these Africans know how be strong! He was also missing an arm (not from the accident) so we took pictures with it too. He was laughing and joking with us, sticking his arm nub in our faces... it was amusing.
So I think I have successfully broken all there is to break in our bathroom. When I first arrived here, one day I was in the shower. A mosquito was flying around, and I immediately was alert and was sure it wouldn’t come close to me without me killing it. It landed on the wall and I tried to kill it immediately… I ended up hitting the mirror on the wall as well and it fell off the wall shattering on the floor…Accident number one. The second thing I broke was the light. I was trying to fix it and didn’t realize that I hadn’t turned the light switch off (the are opposite here). I put my finger close to the socket and it electrified me. Obviously anything that was in my hand was going to fall, and sure enough the light shattered as well… I promise I won’t break anything more since there is nothing more to break.
I have been here for 3 months now and I have just recently gotten over my second malaria episode. I honestly thought that I was just exhausted from work because I had worked hard the whole two weeks that Dr. James was here. Avava came to my house Saturday night and told me to get a malaria test. I was pretty sure I didn’t have malaria so I said babyishly, “No way, it hurts me when they poke my finger☺”. Dr. James started telling me that he doesn’t remember how many times missionaries have denied having malaria and the tests results proved them wrong. I was sure about this one… but he said I was in denial. Sure enough, the next day I went to the hospital, I was forced to have a malaria test, and it was 10,300. High. It was a blessing and a curse because I finally got to have a little time in the morning to rest, but I also didn’t want to be chained to the bed all day. I am feeling great now! I also took a Typhoid test and it came up positive as well. I never treated it, so I don’t think that I ever had it in the first place.
Something really exciting happened last weekend. The night before Sabbath I saw people cleaning out the baptistery. Since I live right next to the church, it’s hard for me to go to the hospital without saying hi to everyone that is in my path (I can’t run away☺ lol). They were preparing for people to get baptized (obviously)! Sabbath came along, and the church was completely packed! I sang with the choir group and played guitar. After church everyone went outside to see the baptisms. It was a wonderful Sabbath. We danced and sang for a long time! 80 people were baptized! I pray for those who got baptized to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Caitlin and I did the 12 days of Christmas to our friend Clara. We failed the first time we tried because she came out with a flashlight and saw us running away. We acted stupid and never told her it was us, even though it was extremely obvious. No one would do the 12 days of Christmas here because Seventh-day Adventist DON’T CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS… I know, shocking. Also, no one would give her a cake like we did. Super American! The last day, we knocked on her door, opening the door, we sang to her “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” Love it. She thanked us over and over… We had so much fun in the process
It has been pretty crazy this last week. Since it was Caitlin’s last week, we were inspired to do all the things we said we would do before she left. Sleep outside under the stars, sleep at Zara’s house, climb a mountain, Meet Avava’s fiancé, and ride a donkey. We successfully accomplished those things in one week. One night we brought my little mosquito net outside and slept under the stars…epic. The second night, we slept at Zara’s house. Surprisingly we were more comfortable at Zara’s house then we were sleeping outside our own house. They treat American’s like royalty! I slept right next to Zara and I felt so protected! That Sabbath we went with Bahana to a mountain. It was an amazing experience except for the fact that we almost died! Bahana is a crazy motorcycle driver. We almost ran into a bike rider once, and another time we hit a pothole that he didn’t see and I almost bounced right off… praise God I was holding on tight. We worked so hard to get up to the top of the mountain that the view looked even more amazing. We took 300 pictures that day. When we went to Maroua we met Avava’s fiancé. She is my age! She is still technically in high school, but it is a different system here. We visit her at her school. She is perfect for Avava. While we were waiting for Avava to say goodbye to his love, Cailtin and I were sitting in the car. We had talked earlier that it wasn’t possible to ride a donkey unless there was one randomly in Maroua. Sure enough, a few minutes later a man on a donkey came riding up. I knew he didn’t speak English, but I asked him if I could ride it, looking ridiculous as I motioned “riding a donkey” to him. Finally we got the chance, in the meantime gathering quite a crowd. I bet everybody was whispering to each other in French “Nanzara...” (White person—don’t know how to spell it).
There are just a few fun facts/things that I want to mention before I leave because there is just so much that I can’t write it all out in one blog at this point. I talked to the pastor the other day when we were coming back from Maroua. I asked him how many churches he pastured. He said 32!!! I am already proud of my Father for keeping up one church! 32 is a little much don’t you think?
I was doing rounds with the doctor the other day. He brought me to this one patient and after talking for more than five minutes; he nonchalantly told me that the patient had TB and was admitted yesterday (doesn’t he know that it is contagious?). I quickly tried to explain to him my fear of TB and then left the room immediately. They don’t necessarily take precautions for those kinds of things.
Today when I woke up, I realized that Avava had bought me some apples from the market in Maroua. It was my first apple I have had since I’ve been in Africa… truly heavenly.
The baby that I wash everyday left because he is a healthy child now. I pray he will continue to be well taken care of. I have had so much to do every night since Caitlin has left so I went to bed at 2 am last night. I am trying to keep my eyes open during the day. I am planning on spending Christmas in Koza. It was not my first option, but I think I’m going to be able to give gifts to people who are not as fortunate as me. I just received three huge packages. One from my mother and the other two from Joanna Miracle! Thank you thank you so much church for all of your support! I continue to keep you in my prayers, always giving thanks to God.
The choir is practicing every day until January 1 for a big concert. It is killing me, but I am the guitar player and one of the main leaders. Also, the church is having a week of prayer. This means when our choir starts practice at 3:30 I don’t get to go home until around 7:30 pm… God keep me patient. I’m tired
During worship at the church tonight I was flipping through my notebook. I found a poem I wrote before coming to Africa. I remember writing one day in summer school when the teacher was boring me. I had so many thoughts going through my head about coming here, so I just picked up my pen and wrote what I was thinking, and this is what came out. It’s called “My Stream on Consciousness”
Take me to a place in need
Where I will grow spiritually
Giving you each day and hour
Please fill me with your power
I pray that I would be to them
Like you when you made your decent
I’m only human; I make mistakes
Holy Spirit consume me to change my ways
So I turn to you today
Refine and mold me like clay
Prepare me for this journey somehow
Only you can carry me through now
I approach your throne of grace
With boldness I am in this place
Be with me and show me mercy
As I help to lead the thirsty
God has answered my prayer. He has given me mercy grace and power!Where I will grow spiritually
Giving you each day and hour
Please fill me with your power
I pray that I would be to them
Like you when you made your decent
I’m only human; I make mistakes
Holy Spirit consume me to change my ways
So I turn to you today
Refine and mold me like clay
Prepare me for this journey somehow
Only you can carry me through now
I approach your throne of grace
With boldness I am in this place
Be with me and show me mercy
As I help to lead the thirsty
Ps. Arielle, Cecil’s baby boy is about a year old now. He successfully said my name the other day. Audrey is Zara’s little child. He is about 4 years old and he is learning English from me. Now when I come to the house I ask him “Audrey, how are you?”. He slowly says “I…a..am..ffiin…ee. Thank…you”. He knows it though☺
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Just When I Thought It Couln't Get Any Busier
The exact same day that the main nurse left to work for the government, three doctors came to help in the hospital. I love when God provides like that! There are two from the Congo and one (An American) that has been in Tchad for 7 years now. He is a surgeon so all of the surgeries that we were being postponed came back. It has been a hectic two weeks. I have not gotten the sleep I’ve wanted, but I have had experiences to fill it. It has been a little hilarious talking to the Congo doctors. They are not married so you can imagine how they would act toward Caitlin and I, single as well! They also don’t know very much English as well. The first day I met Dr. Roger, he started talking about learning English. I was expecting him to ask me to set a day apart to teach him English. I was just about to say, “Yeah, I can help you. When Do you want to meet?” Instead, he asked me to marry him! He asked me like it was just a favor that he wanted. Don’t worry America, I’m not going to marry someone just so they can learn English!:) I think I’m smarter than that. It seems that the other Doctor has a little crush on Caitlin as well. Now that Caitlin has malaria, the other doctor asks about her all the time. I just tell him that she is sick and can’t come to work. He looks so depressed. The other day I had to say it… “Tu ‘iam Caitlin!” (You love Caitlin!). Anyway… lots of fun.
One day when we were in surgery, Caitlin was trying to learn as much as she could about the man coming into surgery. She asked the question “Is this man circumcised?” The reply didn’t come back from the surgeon but Dr. Solomon, the man who likes Caitlin. Now remember… he doesn’t speak English very well. He turned to her and said “Do you like that?” I think it has been 4 or 5 days since that happened and I still have bursts of laughter. I’m not sure he knew what he was saying.
Lets get down to some medical business now. As I said before, it has been extremely busy in the last two weeks. I have done more in these two weeks than I have this whole month I think. We have done many surgeries. I have helped with many surgeries. 2 appendicitis, prostate, 2 hernias, hysterectomy, bisectomy, removing cysts, and more. I was ecstatic to see these surgeries. The general doctors from the congo are not surgeons, so helping James has been a learning experience. He tolerates them☺ there are times when they are not doing their job right, and James gets frustrated, understandable. It has been crazy watching the surgeries because our instruments are so dull! They try to cut a suture and they have to try two times to cut it. We need supplies! We are getting by though. I am the person who helps Ganava during surgery. Both him and I are the people who aren’t sterile. We run around getting things that the doctor needs. Our job is to prepare the patient for surgery, putting a blood pressure cough around the patients arm as well as oxygen. Then after giving the IV and starting the fluids, we prepare the medications such as getting the Epinepherine, Saline, and the blood bags. During surgery we are the ones who keep the patient alive. If her blood pressure goes down, we add more fluids, if she looses oxygen, we open her airway. Its pretty nice because we get to see and be apart of the surgery without worrying about touching anything that’s not sterile. We also give the surgeon sutures and irrigation when he needs it. When the patient is done with surgery, we clean up! (That’s always the most fun!!!...).
I have learned a lot about surgery lately. One day for some reason, one of the congo doctors didn’t show up. He asked if I wanted to scrub in. What do you think I said??? OF COURSE! I got ready and got to help with an appendicitis surgery. I held the tongs in place and helped with suctioning out the excess blood and liquid. This woman had typhoid so from the moment we operated on her; there was typhoid fluid everywhere! At the end of the surgery when James was suturing up the opening, he handed me the sutures and said, “Go for it!” I had never sutured anything in my entire life, and now I was about to suture someone’s abdomen! I took those sutures with confidence and sutured away… James was talking me through it of course. I know he reads this blog so, thanks for that experience James, it was exciting☺.
Last Friday I accepted an invitation to preach at the church for vespers. Preparing took up a lot of my mind. I was very absent-minded most of the time because I wanted to share with this village the importance of keeping God in focus! Of course, when Friday night came, my stomach started hurting because I was nervous. I prayed that God would calm my nerves. I had peace throughout the whole sermon! You might think that I preached in French… sorry, I’m not that good yet☺ I didn’t know that when I got up to the podium that the church wanted translations from English to French, and from French to Mafa. James was gracious enough to come and help. He is the only one who knows English perfectly. Thank God he was here! So, my sermon was translated into two different languages. It went really well, and God blessed! What made it even better is that I finally had a traditional outfit made for me! I wore it just for that night! I am for sure African now!
I’m not lying about being African now. I know that I get cold in America, but getting cold in Africa… that is just wussie style! Well, I do wear sweaters at night, meanwhile thinking, “How am I going to survive in America!”
I didn’t have a lot of sleep this weekend. After I preached, my father called asking me to get on the Internet in the morning. That is easy to say but very hard to do here. I spend almost the whole night trying to get on the Internet after borrowing a friends computer stick. It was midnight by the time I went to sleep and I had to wake up at 4:45 am to talk to my church family! The Internet failed and all my hard all night long work went down the drain, but it was worth it because I got to talk to my church! I wish I could have seen everyone☹ Dr. James offered me an opportunity to fly back with him and work at the hospital he is working at in Tchad. He told me about some missionaries there and I know one of them! Emily Wilkins!!! I was planning on going for Christmas to see them, but I heard, unfortunately, that Emily as well as a couple others opened up a pressure cooker and got pretty badly burned. Please pray for them as they head back to America soon. I would have loved to see them, but now I don’t think it is possible.
Well, this is the latest of what my life has been like here in Africa. I’m waiting impatiently to see my mother and Diane soon! I wish I could see everyone. Have a happy holiday season and keep Caitlin and I in your prayers as we continue to follow in God’s leading here in Koza. I am amazed at how many people he has brought me to. I now sometimes speak a little Mafa to the patients because that is the only language they know. It is incredible to know that I can communicate and be compassionate with patients that I don’t even know two words of what I’m saying. They just love me for the simple fact that I am caring for them. Well, I’m thinking of home during this season, but its really tough to keep in mind that it is Christmas time when it is so hot during the day. Caitlin and I pasted a Christmas tree on our wall with construction paper. It even has little paper ornaments!
Ps. The child who I helped deliver and whose mother almost died of blood loss (the one I gave my blood to)… He has pustules all over his body and my job is to clean him three times a day. I call him Bill☺ I am trying to teach the family how to take care of him. I’m afraid that he is going to die because all of her children have died after a few days… He is a miracle child!
One day when we were in surgery, Caitlin was trying to learn as much as she could about the man coming into surgery. She asked the question “Is this man circumcised?” The reply didn’t come back from the surgeon but Dr. Solomon, the man who likes Caitlin. Now remember… he doesn’t speak English very well. He turned to her and said “Do you like that?” I think it has been 4 or 5 days since that happened and I still have bursts of laughter. I’m not sure he knew what he was saying.
Lets get down to some medical business now. As I said before, it has been extremely busy in the last two weeks. I have done more in these two weeks than I have this whole month I think. We have done many surgeries. I have helped with many surgeries. 2 appendicitis, prostate, 2 hernias, hysterectomy, bisectomy, removing cysts, and more. I was ecstatic to see these surgeries. The general doctors from the congo are not surgeons, so helping James has been a learning experience. He tolerates them☺ there are times when they are not doing their job right, and James gets frustrated, understandable. It has been crazy watching the surgeries because our instruments are so dull! They try to cut a suture and they have to try two times to cut it. We need supplies! We are getting by though. I am the person who helps Ganava during surgery. Both him and I are the people who aren’t sterile. We run around getting things that the doctor needs. Our job is to prepare the patient for surgery, putting a blood pressure cough around the patients arm as well as oxygen. Then after giving the IV and starting the fluids, we prepare the medications such as getting the Epinepherine, Saline, and the blood bags. During surgery we are the ones who keep the patient alive. If her blood pressure goes down, we add more fluids, if she looses oxygen, we open her airway. Its pretty nice because we get to see and be apart of the surgery without worrying about touching anything that’s not sterile. We also give the surgeon sutures and irrigation when he needs it. When the patient is done with surgery, we clean up! (That’s always the most fun!!!...).
I have learned a lot about surgery lately. One day for some reason, one of the congo doctors didn’t show up. He asked if I wanted to scrub in. What do you think I said??? OF COURSE! I got ready and got to help with an appendicitis surgery. I held the tongs in place and helped with suctioning out the excess blood and liquid. This woman had typhoid so from the moment we operated on her; there was typhoid fluid everywhere! At the end of the surgery when James was suturing up the opening, he handed me the sutures and said, “Go for it!” I had never sutured anything in my entire life, and now I was about to suture someone’s abdomen! I took those sutures with confidence and sutured away… James was talking me through it of course. I know he reads this blog so, thanks for that experience James, it was exciting☺.
Last Friday I accepted an invitation to preach at the church for vespers. Preparing took up a lot of my mind. I was very absent-minded most of the time because I wanted to share with this village the importance of keeping God in focus! Of course, when Friday night came, my stomach started hurting because I was nervous. I prayed that God would calm my nerves. I had peace throughout the whole sermon! You might think that I preached in French… sorry, I’m not that good yet☺ I didn’t know that when I got up to the podium that the church wanted translations from English to French, and from French to Mafa. James was gracious enough to come and help. He is the only one who knows English perfectly. Thank God he was here! So, my sermon was translated into two different languages. It went really well, and God blessed! What made it even better is that I finally had a traditional outfit made for me! I wore it just for that night! I am for sure African now!
I’m not lying about being African now. I know that I get cold in America, but getting cold in Africa… that is just wussie style! Well, I do wear sweaters at night, meanwhile thinking, “How am I going to survive in America!”
I didn’t have a lot of sleep this weekend. After I preached, my father called asking me to get on the Internet in the morning. That is easy to say but very hard to do here. I spend almost the whole night trying to get on the Internet after borrowing a friends computer stick. It was midnight by the time I went to sleep and I had to wake up at 4:45 am to talk to my church family! The Internet failed and all my hard all night long work went down the drain, but it was worth it because I got to talk to my church! I wish I could have seen everyone☹ Dr. James offered me an opportunity to fly back with him and work at the hospital he is working at in Tchad. He told me about some missionaries there and I know one of them! Emily Wilkins!!! I was planning on going for Christmas to see them, but I heard, unfortunately, that Emily as well as a couple others opened up a pressure cooker and got pretty badly burned. Please pray for them as they head back to America soon. I would have loved to see them, but now I don’t think it is possible.
Well, this is the latest of what my life has been like here in Africa. I’m waiting impatiently to see my mother and Diane soon! I wish I could see everyone. Have a happy holiday season and keep Caitlin and I in your prayers as we continue to follow in God’s leading here in Koza. I am amazed at how many people he has brought me to. I now sometimes speak a little Mafa to the patients because that is the only language they know. It is incredible to know that I can communicate and be compassionate with patients that I don’t even know two words of what I’m saying. They just love me for the simple fact that I am caring for them. Well, I’m thinking of home during this season, but its really tough to keep in mind that it is Christmas time when it is so hot during the day. Caitlin and I pasted a Christmas tree on our wall with construction paper. It even has little paper ornaments!
Ps. The child who I helped deliver and whose mother almost died of blood loss (the one I gave my blood to)… He has pustules all over his body and my job is to clean him three times a day. I call him Bill☺ I am trying to teach the family how to take care of him. I’m afraid that he is going to die because all of her children have died after a few days… He is a miracle child!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
I’m loosing track of where I am in life…
It’s been extremely difficult remembering what I have shared with people and what I haven’t. I even loose track in my journal. I’m happy to say… HAPPY THANKSGIVING!:)…Belated. The week of thanksgiving and following have been a bit hectic, but God has not put me in a situation that I cannot handle. I was beginning to get anxious and worried about some problems in the hospital. I started to talk to a good friend of mine one day about it. He comforted me and told me to pray about it. The very next day when I was reading my Bible, it was a complete answer to prayer. “Do not be anxious about ANYTHING. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. And the peace that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Phil 4:6. I have had peace because the Lord is in control and he is taking care of the people at the hospital.
If I haven’t told you already, I get off work every day at 2. I tend to go back later in the day to check on some patients that I helped earlier in the day. I am surprised at how much work they put me through when I come. I have done countless NG tubes and IV’s when I step through the doors. At the beginning of this trip, I made it a point to show my earnest hard work, so now they know to work me hard. I have been quite exhausted because of it, but it feels good☺
I should tell you about Thanksgiving Day! I had been worried about this day for a while because Cailtin and I invited 25 people to visit our home. We were planning it all the way up until the day. We asked the Administrator if we could get off of work at 12 pm to prepare. I did not know how much preparation would go into this meal until Zara came over to the house. They had brought 4 chickens to kill, potatoes, noodles; we had beans and beef… the whole shebang! (I know, I am not vegetarian… its offending when I refuse food here). Zara and Isaiah were in charge of the meat and Caitlin and I started making “Pumpkin Pie” made out of squash. We also made mash potatoes with the sweet potatoes we traveled the day before to get. It took us a total of 6 hours to prepare everything. Since Caitlin and I were the host, we were responsible for making the house appropriate. Every time anyone comes into our home who’ve known the shanks, the comment on how desolate it looks… so we tried to decorate with the flowers outside. It was absolutely GORDEOUS if I do say so myself. We decorated everything! Caitlin and I decided to make a twister on the floor so we cut up construction paper and taped it on the floor. When everyone arrived, we had a candle lit dinner. We went around the table saying what each person was thankful for that day. It was incredible! Later, when those who needed to go home went, we partied Adventist style. They loved twister! I have epic pictures to show in 7 months. I’m happy to tell you that everyone had an amazing time.
I forgot to mention the morning before. Thankfully, I had gone to sleep early the night before Thanksgiving because at 3 AM I got a call from Kalda telling me to come to the hospital. With much stumbling around for a few minutes because there was no light in the house, I finally got everything I needed and ran out of the house. He ended up picking me up with his mototaxi. When I arrived at the hospital, I was shocked to find a man lying on the ground in a pool of blood by his ankle. Apparently that night some thieves came into the village where Karnas lives, and were shooting. There were two men we had to x-rays on. One had a huge gash in his leg, complaining that it was broken. The other man had a broken ankle. We took x-rays and brought the man with the ankle into the surgery room. Anyone could tell that his ankle was broken. You could move it around like a rag doll. He had been drinking that night, so when we put the medication in the IV, he was still struggling. I held him down as they tried to fix his leg. He was never unconscious. They put his leg in place, and sent him to one of the hospital rooms. During the operation, he cried a few times… “Eliza, Eliza”… I didn’t even know he knew I was in the room. He didn’t even know me. We removed three bullets!!! That took the whole morning, or enough for me to go back home around 6:50 AM and make it to work by 7:30. This was Thanksgiving Day, so I was exhausted after it was all over. Praise God for rest☺
Bahana took us to his school party the next day. When we showed up, literally EVERY EYE WAS ON US. I’m getting use to the fact that everyone caters to me no matter what I say. As we went to see what was happening, Bahana made someone go get us a bench… still everyone starring. All I wanted was to just be part of the crowd, but that will never happen. On top of that, the announcers for the soccer game that the students played later, insisted on translating everything in English. It was the most hilarious thing to hear. They didn’t speak very good English. The announcer talked about Cholora when the game was paused and he said, “Yes… Cholora is bad disease and don’t use bad water”. Caitlin and I had to laugh, but we were right next to him so we choked it up as much as we could. Bahana took us home on his friends mototaxi later that day. I was holding on for dear life because I was in a dress so I had to sit on the side. I don’t know if he wanted to impress us or what but he was going a little on the fast side. I’m alive…
Marie Cecil woke me up on Saturday morning because she has lent all of her plates for us to use for Thanksgiving (we have almost nothing). I slowly fell out of bed and ran to her house, carrying the plates on my head like a real African☺ I stopped by the hospital not realizing how much I would be doing. I had to put an NG tube in two children and two IV’s, one that was in an infant’s head (first one I’ve put in a head. He didn’t have any other visible veins). It was successful so thank goodness. Later, I had to go to church. I need strength because it seems that the weekends (which is only Saturday for me) would be relaxing but because I’m apart of this choir, we practice almost non-stop all weakened long. God spoke to me the other day with the verse “Do everything without grumbling or complaining”… That was a slap in the face because that day my choir group was fasting and I had a really bad attitude about it. It ended up going really well. We danced and played matching bible games all day as we fasted. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. God knows.
I went to Avava’s office the other day to chat with him. He was distraught and wanted me to talk to him. After sharing much grief about needed to lend family money and not knowing what and how to do it, I tried to listen. As he started to tell me that his faith was faltering, I heard a song on his computer that always seems to come to my mind or play when I’m going through the same situation. “The Voice of Truth”. I don’t him that God brought me to his office at such a time, and I asked him if I could pray for him. He was thankful, and my faith was strengthened as well.
A little boy came to our house the other day; he always stops by because he loves seeing us. He doesn’t speak English, but he likes hanging out. As we were cooking some pie in the oven, we invited him in. He continued to tell us that the only other sibling in his family passed away a week ago, and he is the last one. We brought him in, and comforted him. Why does this world have to be so corrupt? He ended up staying in one of our extra rooms. I pray for him everyday now. Caitlin and I have been impressed to be willing to give our food and service to anyone who comes to our door. It’s tiring, but the blessing of it is far more than we have imagined. We get people who come just to color in our coloring books. God has brought us here for just a time as this.
Yesterday was the first day without Kalda at the hospital. It was really rough for me because I work with Kalda everyday, and he is one of the most compassionate nurses I know. I ended up doing rounds by myself. There were only two people in Aile I so I took my time. I noticed that one of the patients had an irregular heartbeat. I quickly took the chart and talked to Jacque to come and look at her. Sure enough, she had to get an x-ray and they gave her medication later for arrhythmia. I’m learning a lot. I have now been able to prescribe people with different problems such as pneumonia, malaria, typhoid, gastritis, and amebas. It’s very easy to see the signs and symptoms because everyone comes in at the last minute, and it is the most extreme case. I pray each day that God gives me healing hands.
As the day progressed without Kalda, it got busier and busier. I had to do rounds as well as help the lab… when I thought it was over, Caitlin called me over to Maternity. I was informed that there was a woman having a baby, and I was going to be the only one in the room. The doctor had another case that he was doing. I was already prepared for the challenge. She didn’t end up delivering till later, so Ganava came in and watched. I delivered the baby perfectly. The woman’s uterus had not contracted well, so she was loosing a lot of blood rapidly. I ran over to the lab to grab supplies for hct test. The machine must not have been working because it said she was 34% but hear oxygen level and her blood pressure was going down rapidly… I quickly took her blood type. A positive. We tried to find a donner but there was no one around… this was an Emergency. When I came to my senses about my blood type I quickly sat down in the chair. I am A negative. As soon as they took 500 ml (in less than 5 min) I ran to Maternity. She was ok thank goodness. I sat in that room for hours with her afterwards just holding her baby and watching her slowly come back to life. Ganava was worried as well as the family, but the woman is healthy now with a beautiful baby boy. They thanked me over and over again. I’m glad I got to be apart of her recovery.
I am happy to say that, as of today, there are 3 doctors that will be here on and off for the rest of the time I’m on my mission. I haven’t worked with them yet, but one of them is from America. His name is James Appell. I’m forever grateful for your prayers and intercession. I’m exceedingly happy to finally have them here with us. Please continue to pray for God to be present at this hospital. That He would become real not only to the patients, but amongst the hospital staff as well. I am tired and warn out, but God is giving me strength each day at a time. I don’t have to worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself.
If this blog post does not make much sense, I cannot help you because I wrote it in a hurry. Until next time! Bonne Jounne! (Good Day)
If I haven’t told you already, I get off work every day at 2. I tend to go back later in the day to check on some patients that I helped earlier in the day. I am surprised at how much work they put me through when I come. I have done countless NG tubes and IV’s when I step through the doors. At the beginning of this trip, I made it a point to show my earnest hard work, so now they know to work me hard. I have been quite exhausted because of it, but it feels good☺
I should tell you about Thanksgiving Day! I had been worried about this day for a while because Cailtin and I invited 25 people to visit our home. We were planning it all the way up until the day. We asked the Administrator if we could get off of work at 12 pm to prepare. I did not know how much preparation would go into this meal until Zara came over to the house. They had brought 4 chickens to kill, potatoes, noodles; we had beans and beef… the whole shebang! (I know, I am not vegetarian… its offending when I refuse food here). Zara and Isaiah were in charge of the meat and Caitlin and I started making “Pumpkin Pie” made out of squash. We also made mash potatoes with the sweet potatoes we traveled the day before to get. It took us a total of 6 hours to prepare everything. Since Caitlin and I were the host, we were responsible for making the house appropriate. Every time anyone comes into our home who’ve known the shanks, the comment on how desolate it looks… so we tried to decorate with the flowers outside. It was absolutely GORDEOUS if I do say so myself. We decorated everything! Caitlin and I decided to make a twister on the floor so we cut up construction paper and taped it on the floor. When everyone arrived, we had a candle lit dinner. We went around the table saying what each person was thankful for that day. It was incredible! Later, when those who needed to go home went, we partied Adventist style. They loved twister! I have epic pictures to show in 7 months. I’m happy to tell you that everyone had an amazing time.
I forgot to mention the morning before. Thankfully, I had gone to sleep early the night before Thanksgiving because at 3 AM I got a call from Kalda telling me to come to the hospital. With much stumbling around for a few minutes because there was no light in the house, I finally got everything I needed and ran out of the house. He ended up picking me up with his mototaxi. When I arrived at the hospital, I was shocked to find a man lying on the ground in a pool of blood by his ankle. Apparently that night some thieves came into the village where Karnas lives, and were shooting. There were two men we had to x-rays on. One had a huge gash in his leg, complaining that it was broken. The other man had a broken ankle. We took x-rays and brought the man with the ankle into the surgery room. Anyone could tell that his ankle was broken. You could move it around like a rag doll. He had been drinking that night, so when we put the medication in the IV, he was still struggling. I held him down as they tried to fix his leg. He was never unconscious. They put his leg in place, and sent him to one of the hospital rooms. During the operation, he cried a few times… “Eliza, Eliza”… I didn’t even know he knew I was in the room. He didn’t even know me. We removed three bullets!!! That took the whole morning, or enough for me to go back home around 6:50 AM and make it to work by 7:30. This was Thanksgiving Day, so I was exhausted after it was all over. Praise God for rest☺
Bahana took us to his school party the next day. When we showed up, literally EVERY EYE WAS ON US. I’m getting use to the fact that everyone caters to me no matter what I say. As we went to see what was happening, Bahana made someone go get us a bench… still everyone starring. All I wanted was to just be part of the crowd, but that will never happen. On top of that, the announcers for the soccer game that the students played later, insisted on translating everything in English. It was the most hilarious thing to hear. They didn’t speak very good English. The announcer talked about Cholora when the game was paused and he said, “Yes… Cholora is bad disease and don’t use bad water”. Caitlin and I had to laugh, but we were right next to him so we choked it up as much as we could. Bahana took us home on his friends mototaxi later that day. I was holding on for dear life because I was in a dress so I had to sit on the side. I don’t know if he wanted to impress us or what but he was going a little on the fast side. I’m alive…
Marie Cecil woke me up on Saturday morning because she has lent all of her plates for us to use for Thanksgiving (we have almost nothing). I slowly fell out of bed and ran to her house, carrying the plates on my head like a real African☺ I stopped by the hospital not realizing how much I would be doing. I had to put an NG tube in two children and two IV’s, one that was in an infant’s head (first one I’ve put in a head. He didn’t have any other visible veins). It was successful so thank goodness. Later, I had to go to church. I need strength because it seems that the weekends (which is only Saturday for me) would be relaxing but because I’m apart of this choir, we practice almost non-stop all weakened long. God spoke to me the other day with the verse “Do everything without grumbling or complaining”… That was a slap in the face because that day my choir group was fasting and I had a really bad attitude about it. It ended up going really well. We danced and played matching bible games all day as we fasted. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. God knows.
I went to Avava’s office the other day to chat with him. He was distraught and wanted me to talk to him. After sharing much grief about needed to lend family money and not knowing what and how to do it, I tried to listen. As he started to tell me that his faith was faltering, I heard a song on his computer that always seems to come to my mind or play when I’m going through the same situation. “The Voice of Truth”. I don’t him that God brought me to his office at such a time, and I asked him if I could pray for him. He was thankful, and my faith was strengthened as well.
A little boy came to our house the other day; he always stops by because he loves seeing us. He doesn’t speak English, but he likes hanging out. As we were cooking some pie in the oven, we invited him in. He continued to tell us that the only other sibling in his family passed away a week ago, and he is the last one. We brought him in, and comforted him. Why does this world have to be so corrupt? He ended up staying in one of our extra rooms. I pray for him everyday now. Caitlin and I have been impressed to be willing to give our food and service to anyone who comes to our door. It’s tiring, but the blessing of it is far more than we have imagined. We get people who come just to color in our coloring books. God has brought us here for just a time as this.
Yesterday was the first day without Kalda at the hospital. It was really rough for me because I work with Kalda everyday, and he is one of the most compassionate nurses I know. I ended up doing rounds by myself. There were only two people in Aile I so I took my time. I noticed that one of the patients had an irregular heartbeat. I quickly took the chart and talked to Jacque to come and look at her. Sure enough, she had to get an x-ray and they gave her medication later for arrhythmia. I’m learning a lot. I have now been able to prescribe people with different problems such as pneumonia, malaria, typhoid, gastritis, and amebas. It’s very easy to see the signs and symptoms because everyone comes in at the last minute, and it is the most extreme case. I pray each day that God gives me healing hands.
As the day progressed without Kalda, it got busier and busier. I had to do rounds as well as help the lab… when I thought it was over, Caitlin called me over to Maternity. I was informed that there was a woman having a baby, and I was going to be the only one in the room. The doctor had another case that he was doing. I was already prepared for the challenge. She didn’t end up delivering till later, so Ganava came in and watched. I delivered the baby perfectly. The woman’s uterus had not contracted well, so she was loosing a lot of blood rapidly. I ran over to the lab to grab supplies for hct test. The machine must not have been working because it said she was 34% but hear oxygen level and her blood pressure was going down rapidly… I quickly took her blood type. A positive. We tried to find a donner but there was no one around… this was an Emergency. When I came to my senses about my blood type I quickly sat down in the chair. I am A negative. As soon as they took 500 ml (in less than 5 min) I ran to Maternity. She was ok thank goodness. I sat in that room for hours with her afterwards just holding her baby and watching her slowly come back to life. Ganava was worried as well as the family, but the woman is healthy now with a beautiful baby boy. They thanked me over and over again. I’m glad I got to be apart of her recovery.
I am happy to say that, as of today, there are 3 doctors that will be here on and off for the rest of the time I’m on my mission. I haven’t worked with them yet, but one of them is from America. His name is James Appell. I’m forever grateful for your prayers and intercession. I’m exceedingly happy to finally have them here with us. Please continue to pray for God to be present at this hospital. That He would become real not only to the patients, but amongst the hospital staff as well. I am tired and warn out, but God is giving me strength each day at a time. I don’t have to worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself.
If this blog post does not make much sense, I cannot help you because I wrote it in a hurry. Until next time! Bonne Jounne! (Good Day)
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Do I Have the Power to Heal?
The other day a boy came into the hospital that was severely anemic. He had Malaria. He had not been well taken care of by his family. I could hear him screaming… I knew that kind of scream. When children who come into the Emergency scream like that, they don’t survive more than a few hours. He was dying. I have seen too many children come into the hospital die because they come too late. Their parents don’t understand that Malaria needs to be taken care of right away. They wait too long, trying to cure the sickness with traditional methods or buying medicine they don’t even know the name of in the market. I stand over the child, checking his oxygen level ever so often. I need to save him! There is something in me that needs to know this one will survive. I finish work at 2 pm. I’m going to come back to the hospital to check on this child. For some reason, even though I’ve seen many cases of children die of Malaria, this child is stuck in my mind. I pray for him that afternoon over and over again. I go back to the hospital in the afternoon solely to check on him. He has received blood and Quinine for Malaria. Amazing… he is doing fine! He is eating and moving around. I stop and think… why is this child one of the fortunate ones? Why do the others get death, and this one gets life? I am grateful that this little boy could have life… but sad at the same time that I didn’t intercede for the other children who came in. I know for a fact that my hands did not heal that child. It was only by the power, mercy, and grace of Jesus Christ that he was saved. I have come to realize my need to be on my knees. The hospital is not fully equipped to take care of patients properly, but our God is equipped. No hospital will save more people than a hospital where God is present. He is our healer, counselor, and Sovereign Lord! Every day when I pray with people or by myself, now I say these exact words: “Thank you God for giving me life, breath, and a heartbeat”. I know that God has me here for a purpose, and I slowly understand it more and more.
Today was Sabbath. I am now a co-director of a choir group at church. We meet three times a week. Sabbath afternoon, Sunday afternoon, and Friday night. There goes my rest… this afternoon I was feeling so exhausted. Caitlin and I spend the time after church making lunch with Avava, a close friend who is also the director of the choir. He was so interested in every little ingredient we put in the pasta and mash potatoes. I knew that we had practice in 2 hours so I wasn’t going to be able to get rest yet. At the moment our meal was over, I got a call from Kalda. He said he needed me to come and see a patient in Maternity. Avava quickly rushed me to the hospital. Another miscarriage. I didn’t get done helping until about 4 pm. I was an hour late to practice. I got my guitar as quickly as possible, and ran to the people waiting for me. I taught them the song “You’re Love is Amazing” by Phillips Craig and Dean. After an imperfect practice with the out-of- tune sopranos and the overpowering basses, we were finally finished. As the group would go to the church for the end-of-Sabbath worship, I would sneak away to the house for rest. Just as I thought I would get some sleep, Avava informed me that the group was going to visit a patient in the hospital. I gave into my selfish ambition and said, “I feel so tired, and I need to get some sleep”. He looked at me with disappointment. As they started walking to the hospital, I began to walk with them. Coming up to my house, Avava asked me one more time… “Do you want to come with us?” Without hesitation, I changed my mind…”YES!” I felt I needed to be compassionate, and it wasn’t the time to do my own thing. When I told Avava, he said with excitement “I knew from the moment I met you that you were the daughter of a pastor! You are living a Christian life!” I realized after talking to him how much it meant for me to do even a little thing as sacrificing sleep to see someone who was ill. It wasn’t for the sick person that I went, it was for the people who would really cared about my actions. Avava made me realize that by my actions here in Cameroon, I can be a witness. It might be surprising for you to think that this relieves me because it is hard for a Christian to walk the walk and talk the talk. I tend to be a people pleaser as well… so it is stressful when people are looking at my actions 24/7.. God has broken me to the point where I am learning to be dead to myself, and let Christ be my reputation. The language barrier as well as the age barrier requires me to use my actions rather than words to show truth. Also, my mother always tells me that going oversees is easier because people always love you… this is also true. There is not a lot I can do wrong to these people because they love anyone. Anyway, my point is that I don’t have to be afraid of my actions if I am in communion with my heavenly Father. He guides me and strengthens me each day here, and I know that He will be praised through all of this. I’m only a human and there is not a lot I can do, but I am “FLOORED” by the things God has already accomplished through me. I never did get to sleep today, but I have energy to last me… I know, one of these days I’ll crash, but until then... Party Adventist style☺
Today was Sabbath. I am now a co-director of a choir group at church. We meet three times a week. Sabbath afternoon, Sunday afternoon, and Friday night. There goes my rest… this afternoon I was feeling so exhausted. Caitlin and I spend the time after church making lunch with Avava, a close friend who is also the director of the choir. He was so interested in every little ingredient we put in the pasta and mash potatoes. I knew that we had practice in 2 hours so I wasn’t going to be able to get rest yet. At the moment our meal was over, I got a call from Kalda. He said he needed me to come and see a patient in Maternity. Avava quickly rushed me to the hospital. Another miscarriage. I didn’t get done helping until about 4 pm. I was an hour late to practice. I got my guitar as quickly as possible, and ran to the people waiting for me. I taught them the song “You’re Love is Amazing” by Phillips Craig and Dean. After an imperfect practice with the out-of- tune sopranos and the overpowering basses, we were finally finished. As the group would go to the church for the end-of-Sabbath worship, I would sneak away to the house for rest. Just as I thought I would get some sleep, Avava informed me that the group was going to visit a patient in the hospital. I gave into my selfish ambition and said, “I feel so tired, and I need to get some sleep”. He looked at me with disappointment. As they started walking to the hospital, I began to walk with them. Coming up to my house, Avava asked me one more time… “Do you want to come with us?” Without hesitation, I changed my mind…”YES!” I felt I needed to be compassionate, and it wasn’t the time to do my own thing. When I told Avava, he said with excitement “I knew from the moment I met you that you were the daughter of a pastor! You are living a Christian life!” I realized after talking to him how much it meant for me to do even a little thing as sacrificing sleep to see someone who was ill. It wasn’t for the sick person that I went, it was for the people who would really cared about my actions. Avava made me realize that by my actions here in Cameroon, I can be a witness. It might be surprising for you to think that this relieves me because it is hard for a Christian to walk the walk and talk the talk. I tend to be a people pleaser as well… so it is stressful when people are looking at my actions 24/7.. God has broken me to the point where I am learning to be dead to myself, and let Christ be my reputation. The language barrier as well as the age barrier requires me to use my actions rather than words to show truth. Also, my mother always tells me that going oversees is easier because people always love you… this is also true. There is not a lot I can do wrong to these people because they love anyone. Anyway, my point is that I don’t have to be afraid of my actions if I am in communion with my heavenly Father. He guides me and strengthens me each day here, and I know that He will be praised through all of this. I’m only a human and there is not a lot I can do, but I am “FLOORED” by the things God has already accomplished through me. I never did get to sleep today, but I have energy to last me… I know, one of these days I’ll crash, but until then... Party Adventist style☺
Where Did I Leave Off
The children here have quickly learned that I feed and entertain when they come over to the house. My little friend always brings friends over to color in the only coloring book I have. I also have a few movies that watch. Most of them are only in English or French subtitles, but they absolutely love them! I have noticed that people are up and living life early in the morning. I can hear the children singing at school before 7 o clock. Here in Cameroon, they do something that is called “beeping” another person. This means that they call and hang up if they don’t have credit on their phone. My family friend Bahana calls every morning. He told me that it is just a way to say hi. It’s really sweet, I just didn’t expect him to call at 6:30 or 7 am… people don’t dare to call that early in America unless its an emergency. I am thankful because I don’t have to pick up the phone. Sometimes Kalda does call that early and I DO have to pick up the phone because he has something clever to say or to tell me that I need to come to the hospital… those are rare days.
The other day I spend a long time in the Cashier’s office with Avava. We just chatted about life and love. I asked him about his fiancé and he blushed. I always laugh at him because he comes across so serious, but he says the most ridiculous thing sometimes. He wanted me to eat some of his gato, but I was full from the breakfast I had earlier so I said “no thanks” (by the way, you don’t say that here when someone offers you food). He continued to tell me in a serious tone… “Elissa, I will never eat at your house if you don’t eat some of my gato now, it is important.” Wow… it was pretty serious, but I laughed and he broke down too. I tell him to CHILL OUT sometimes. He is learning to relax more.
I have been learning more and more French. I can have a decent conversation… I’m not sure if I’ve said that already. I can understand it way more than I can speak it though. The other day I was singing a Celene Dion song called “From This Moment On”. I wanted to tell Zara a line from the song so I learned it in French. “Jai’tem Jusque la mort”. It means, I will love you until I die☺ When I said it to her, everyone in the ER heard, so now they say that to me all the time! It’s a bit of a joke.
The hospital is booming with patients. I did rounds the other day at 8:45 pm. I go to the hospital at night to check on patients I have seen. The one I am checking on now is healthy, but hates me. Whenever I get near him he screams bloody murder… sad day. There was one room that was shut and we tried to get in but the woman couldn’t seem to open the door. Kalda just started leaving, but I wanted to see if I could get in. I ended up climbing through the window… it worked, but they looked at me like I was crazy (and laughed). I have had a lot of laundry to do lately, and doing it with my hands takes even longer. I have to set a whole afternoon just to sit down and scrub. Thank goodness Isaiah is here to help me with most of it. I thank God for him.
Recently, after talking to my mother for only a few minutes on the phone (don’t worry dad☺), she told me that I need to start praying for the gift of tongues. That is my main prayer along with healing hands recently. I have been trying to work as hard as I can at the hospital, and soon it will get really crazy because the main nurse is leaving. God is providing though… The doctor from America is coming at the moment the other nurse is leaving.
There is one verse that I read and think about a lot. It is important for me and also for the workers at the hospital. It is tough sometimes because everyone has their own opinion, and it can affect the way we treat each other. I want to be able to show some light on them, and make them understand that it is not about who is better than who, but if God is present in the Hospital. He needs to be amongst the staff and patients if our Hospital is going to be different than other hospitals. God is working slowly to make us ONE BODY and give us a reason to be working there. He has been the ultimate healer, and everyday, we need to be focused on his plan, not our own.
“So then, dear brothers and sisters, be firm. Do not be moved! Always be outstanding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 COR 15:58
PS. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!! (don’t worry, I’m a host of 20 people coming to eat at my house, I’ll keep myself busy)
The other day I spend a long time in the Cashier’s office with Avava. We just chatted about life and love. I asked him about his fiancé and he blushed. I always laugh at him because he comes across so serious, but he says the most ridiculous thing sometimes. He wanted me to eat some of his gato, but I was full from the breakfast I had earlier so I said “no thanks” (by the way, you don’t say that here when someone offers you food). He continued to tell me in a serious tone… “Elissa, I will never eat at your house if you don’t eat some of my gato now, it is important.” Wow… it was pretty serious, but I laughed and he broke down too. I tell him to CHILL OUT sometimes. He is learning to relax more.
I have been learning more and more French. I can have a decent conversation… I’m not sure if I’ve said that already. I can understand it way more than I can speak it though. The other day I was singing a Celene Dion song called “From This Moment On”. I wanted to tell Zara a line from the song so I learned it in French. “Jai’tem Jusque la mort”. It means, I will love you until I die☺ When I said it to her, everyone in the ER heard, so now they say that to me all the time! It’s a bit of a joke.
The hospital is booming with patients. I did rounds the other day at 8:45 pm. I go to the hospital at night to check on patients I have seen. The one I am checking on now is healthy, but hates me. Whenever I get near him he screams bloody murder… sad day. There was one room that was shut and we tried to get in but the woman couldn’t seem to open the door. Kalda just started leaving, but I wanted to see if I could get in. I ended up climbing through the window… it worked, but they looked at me like I was crazy (and laughed). I have had a lot of laundry to do lately, and doing it with my hands takes even longer. I have to set a whole afternoon just to sit down and scrub. Thank goodness Isaiah is here to help me with most of it. I thank God for him.
Recently, after talking to my mother for only a few minutes on the phone (don’t worry dad☺), she told me that I need to start praying for the gift of tongues. That is my main prayer along with healing hands recently. I have been trying to work as hard as I can at the hospital, and soon it will get really crazy because the main nurse is leaving. God is providing though… The doctor from America is coming at the moment the other nurse is leaving.
There is one verse that I read and think about a lot. It is important for me and also for the workers at the hospital. It is tough sometimes because everyone has their own opinion, and it can affect the way we treat each other. I want to be able to show some light on them, and make them understand that it is not about who is better than who, but if God is present in the Hospital. He needs to be amongst the staff and patients if our Hospital is going to be different than other hospitals. God is working slowly to make us ONE BODY and give us a reason to be working there. He has been the ultimate healer, and everyday, we need to be focused on his plan, not our own.
“So then, dear brothers and sisters, be firm. Do not be moved! Always be outstanding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 COR 15:58
PS. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!! (don’t worry, I’m a host of 20 people coming to eat at my house, I’ll keep myself busy)
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
The Winds of Change...
Slowly, the hospital has recognized my potential and the fact that I want to help in any circumstance. I’m often at the hospital in the afternoons, even when it is not my time to work. Usually Kalda, the main nurse, calls me to come help with something or to observe a disease. He teaches me everyday about medications, diseases, and physical exams. I’m thankful to God for him because it is helping me retain the information I learned last year from school. That was one of the reasons I was hesitant for leaving school. God works in mysterious ways. I’m happy to say that I have been doing IV’s on a regular basis and I don’t miss☺. I have also started doing IV’s on children between 5-6. I’m still not quite ready to do a blind IV in a malnourished infant. One day… It is a good feeling having the confidence from the hospital workers and myself to accomplish things like that. I love my teachers back at school, and they helped me tremendously with moving me forward in my education… but it is definitely nerve racking knowing that someone is breathing down your back when you are doing a practical exam. Here at the hospital, they don’t mark me down a point if I forget to put the tape in the right place☺ I am grateful for the education I’ve had, because it has helped me do better here in Africa for sure.
The Emergency room is the main place I work, although I am almost in every other section throughout the day. This is the place where everyone comes in for emergencis, of course, but also for administration. I like working in the ER because I get to see ALL of the patience. I don’t miss anything. The other day, Kalda called me into the hospital to check on a man who had fallen into a coma. I didn’t know what the case was, but I had a feeling Kalda knew and wanted me to diagnose him. As I walked into the room, the man was breathing abnormally and had blood running from his nose. I checked his eyes and they were bloodshot. His conjunctive was pale as well so he was loosing a lot of blood. Kalda asked me what the case was, and I guessed that it might have been a stroke. He knodded his head, but I could tell I was wrong. When we left, Kalda was putting his gloves way infront of him like he didn’t want to touch anything else with them. I asked what he had… Dengue Fever. It is extremely contagious. I wish he would have told me that before. Well, the man died the next day because the family refused to give him treatment. Its life… and we can’t do anything about it.
I’m happy to say that soon the Koza Seventh-Day Adventist Hospital will have a Doctor… for 1 month. He is a surgeon so I’m hoping to get in on some sweet action. I don’t know when he is coming, but the Administrator says soon. There are already people lined up for him to see. I’m excited and anxious to see C-sections, colostomy’s, and surgery on an appendix. These are the things we can’t do at the moment. I was walked from Maternity to the ER one day with Kalda. A woman called over for me to check her. She said she had abdominal pain. Kalda gave me the stethoscope to check her abdomen… then we left. I asked him why she wanted me to check her and not him. He told me that she thinks if a white woman touches her, she will be healed… well I hope I don’t see her again because I don’t have that much power (I wish).
There are many people who are patients in the hospital who call me Madam which means I’m married. I would correct them, but there is not point… I would probably just confuse them more. Also, many patients are starting to call me Doctor. I think its because I’m one of the only ones besides Kalda who wears a stethoscope☺ Yesterday, a man who I have been starting to get to know came into the ER asking about his wife’s case. He asked me to come see her. I came and looked at her, and then checked out her charts. She was positive for HIV. I didn’t know who gave the counseling, so I ended up telling him and giving him counseling about his wife. It was pretty intense because he told me that he was going to leave her if she had HIV. I hope things turn out for him. Also… it was the first time I heard of a patient dying back in Nigeria who I had gotten accounted with. The first time he came in, he had severe case of kidney disease. Is legs were very swollen to the point where he couldn’t walk. He refused to be admitted so we just waited to treat him. Finally, he started to get better, but he didn’t want to stay in the hospital. A few weeks later we heard that he was just walking down the road, and had a sudden attack of Apnea and died. He always came to the hospital and found me to talk to me. His burial service was yesterday. I pray for his family.
If I didn’t think I was going to do anything other than work at the hospital, I have been accomplishing more things as well with the church. I was playing guitar the other day at home and I got a call from Avava. He is the accountant at the hospital. He is also the music coordinator at the hospital. To make a long story short, I joined him one afternoon to teach the group an English song, and now I’m the co-coordinator. I teach music lessons with the group!!! This kind of thing is my favorite! Its so much fun☺ We even dance when we are singing… although I need to get better at it because I can’t multi-task while playing guitar. We are singing “There is a Treasure” and “Holy is the Lord”. I’ll try and record it so I can show people when I get home. It’s a hoot!! Avava kinda threw it on me without warning. I was just planning on playing guitar once. Now I have to think of warm-up exercises and melodies for Bass, Tenor, Alto, and Soprano. God is doing great things.
Everything is going wonderfully over here. I miss America and all of my loved ones. My goats are getting bigger, but now they run to me when I come home. They are starting to know that I won’t eat them like everyone else will do here. I am the one who gives them food… and they love me☺ The other day was extremely exciting because I got a package from Walla Walla University. I opened it that morning brought the Collegian (Walla Walla’s newspaper) to work for people to see. It was a slow day, so we read many articles. I loved seeing the people I know back home☺ There was one section in the paper that talked about “How to know that He/She likes You”. Kalda was looking at it and said, “Oh! I found something interesting”. I caught him later looking at it again☺. We have the greatest time in the hospital. Today we played basketball with crumbled paper and a container for medical waste. It’s probably not the best when the ER is busy, but it is so fun when you are bored. Another day I wanted to bring raisins to work for everyone because it was going slow. I was walking out the door to run home, and Kalda threw his motorcycles keys in my hand. He said, “Take my moto”…and I said “do you really trust me that much?” It was the most hilarious thing. For some reason I have lost my ability to balance on a motorcycle. I got the hang of it and quickly went home… people were definitely staring.
As you might know, I have been living off of money that the administrator gave me for a computer I bought for him in America. It will not last me long, and I still need donations for my travels here as well. Thank you for all of your help in supporting me. My parents told me that my church has been raising money for my mission over here. Praise God for servants of God! I’m appreciative of my church everyday. Thank you all for helping me live my dream in serving God. I’m forever grateful. I have the most amazing people in my life… that’s you!
OCT 29, 2010: Another Baby died. This is a poem I made today when I was thinking about the death.
Deticated to the Family who lost their child.
Life is so precious
Breathing in and out, each moment
But without a though, its gone
No one is prepared
Do I think that maybe
My life will be gone tomorrow?
Why would that thought cross my mind?
It is unimaginable
A little baby has no time to think
Sin takes over… and that’s it
Without a movement or a cry
They are forced to accept
Give it a second, it’ll sink in
There goes another one, my heart breaks
I am now thinking of my life
Oh how precious each breath is
So don’t close you’re eyes before you thank God
The gift of life He has given
The gift of salvation
It’s worth everything!
The Emergency room is the main place I work, although I am almost in every other section throughout the day. This is the place where everyone comes in for emergencis, of course, but also for administration. I like working in the ER because I get to see ALL of the patience. I don’t miss anything. The other day, Kalda called me into the hospital to check on a man who had fallen into a coma. I didn’t know what the case was, but I had a feeling Kalda knew and wanted me to diagnose him. As I walked into the room, the man was breathing abnormally and had blood running from his nose. I checked his eyes and they were bloodshot. His conjunctive was pale as well so he was loosing a lot of blood. Kalda asked me what the case was, and I guessed that it might have been a stroke. He knodded his head, but I could tell I was wrong. When we left, Kalda was putting his gloves way infront of him like he didn’t want to touch anything else with them. I asked what he had… Dengue Fever. It is extremely contagious. I wish he would have told me that before. Well, the man died the next day because the family refused to give him treatment. Its life… and we can’t do anything about it.
I’m happy to say that soon the Koza Seventh-Day Adventist Hospital will have a Doctor… for 1 month. He is a surgeon so I’m hoping to get in on some sweet action. I don’t know when he is coming, but the Administrator says soon. There are already people lined up for him to see. I’m excited and anxious to see C-sections, colostomy’s, and surgery on an appendix. These are the things we can’t do at the moment. I was walked from Maternity to the ER one day with Kalda. A woman called over for me to check her. She said she had abdominal pain. Kalda gave me the stethoscope to check her abdomen… then we left. I asked him why she wanted me to check her and not him. He told me that she thinks if a white woman touches her, she will be healed… well I hope I don’t see her again because I don’t have that much power (I wish).
There are many people who are patients in the hospital who call me Madam which means I’m married. I would correct them, but there is not point… I would probably just confuse them more. Also, many patients are starting to call me Doctor. I think its because I’m one of the only ones besides Kalda who wears a stethoscope☺ Yesterday, a man who I have been starting to get to know came into the ER asking about his wife’s case. He asked me to come see her. I came and looked at her, and then checked out her charts. She was positive for HIV. I didn’t know who gave the counseling, so I ended up telling him and giving him counseling about his wife. It was pretty intense because he told me that he was going to leave her if she had HIV. I hope things turn out for him. Also… it was the first time I heard of a patient dying back in Nigeria who I had gotten accounted with. The first time he came in, he had severe case of kidney disease. Is legs were very swollen to the point where he couldn’t walk. He refused to be admitted so we just waited to treat him. Finally, he started to get better, but he didn’t want to stay in the hospital. A few weeks later we heard that he was just walking down the road, and had a sudden attack of Apnea and died. He always came to the hospital and found me to talk to me. His burial service was yesterday. I pray for his family.
If I didn’t think I was going to do anything other than work at the hospital, I have been accomplishing more things as well with the church. I was playing guitar the other day at home and I got a call from Avava. He is the accountant at the hospital. He is also the music coordinator at the hospital. To make a long story short, I joined him one afternoon to teach the group an English song, and now I’m the co-coordinator. I teach music lessons with the group!!! This kind of thing is my favorite! Its so much fun☺ We even dance when we are singing… although I need to get better at it because I can’t multi-task while playing guitar. We are singing “There is a Treasure” and “Holy is the Lord”. I’ll try and record it so I can show people when I get home. It’s a hoot!! Avava kinda threw it on me without warning. I was just planning on playing guitar once. Now I have to think of warm-up exercises and melodies for Bass, Tenor, Alto, and Soprano. God is doing great things.
Everything is going wonderfully over here. I miss America and all of my loved ones. My goats are getting bigger, but now they run to me when I come home. They are starting to know that I won’t eat them like everyone else will do here. I am the one who gives them food… and they love me☺ The other day was extremely exciting because I got a package from Walla Walla University. I opened it that morning brought the Collegian (Walla Walla’s newspaper) to work for people to see. It was a slow day, so we read many articles. I loved seeing the people I know back home☺ There was one section in the paper that talked about “How to know that He/She likes You”. Kalda was looking at it and said, “Oh! I found something interesting”. I caught him later looking at it again☺. We have the greatest time in the hospital. Today we played basketball with crumbled paper and a container for medical waste. It’s probably not the best when the ER is busy, but it is so fun when you are bored. Another day I wanted to bring raisins to work for everyone because it was going slow. I was walking out the door to run home, and Kalda threw his motorcycles keys in my hand. He said, “Take my moto”…and I said “do you really trust me that much?” It was the most hilarious thing. For some reason I have lost my ability to balance on a motorcycle. I got the hang of it and quickly went home… people were definitely staring.
As you might know, I have been living off of money that the administrator gave me for a computer I bought for him in America. It will not last me long, and I still need donations for my travels here as well. Thank you for all of your help in supporting me. My parents told me that my church has been raising money for my mission over here. Praise God for servants of God! I’m appreciative of my church everyday. Thank you all for helping me live my dream in serving God. I’m forever grateful. I have the most amazing people in my life… that’s you!
OCT 29, 2010: Another Baby died. This is a poem I made today when I was thinking about the death.
Deticated to the Family who lost their child.
Life is so precious
Breathing in and out, each moment
But without a though, its gone
No one is prepared
Do I think that maybe
My life will be gone tomorrow?
Why would that thought cross my mind?
It is unimaginable
A little baby has no time to think
Sin takes over… and that’s it
Without a movement or a cry
They are forced to accept
Give it a second, it’ll sink in
There goes another one, my heart breaks
I am now thinking of my life
Oh how precious each breath is
So don’t close you’re eyes before you thank God
The gift of life He has given
The gift of salvation
It’s worth everything!
Friday, October 22, 2010
It Intimidates Me
It intimidates me… It’s the hardest thing I have to face every morning. When I think of dealing with it, I literally become paralyzed. I tell myself I can’t face it, not today… and sometimes I don’t. As I stand there watching it, I finally muster up the courage, and I do it. I jump in. The moment I reach the bone shattering water, I scream a little inside. You’d think that I would get use to the shower after being in Africa for a month, but I haven’t. This experience happens to me everyday, unless I truly can’t handle it, and I just wash my hair in the sink. It is actually quite humorous how much fear I have of taking a shower☺ I hate cold water…
Well, where did I leave off last. I know some of you have been wondering where my blog went. I am still not sure because as I’m writing this post, I haven’t even gotten on the Internet. I write all my emails offline because I don’t have Internet in my home. I have to drive an hour on a little moto taxi that, after taking the trip, I have to rest my but because the roads are so bad. There are rocks the size of half dome in the middle of the road (little exaggeration☺). Now that my blog is online again, I have figured it out!
Funny/Sad experience happened since the last time I wrote. You know how I got goats? Well, when I was at work one day, the gate must have been opened by someone, and my goats were gone. For two days I was looking all over for them, and actually praying that they would come back. I left it up to God to bring them back home… a ridiculous thing to ask. Well, they showed up yesterday! They were just chilling in a field right outside my house. I don’t know what it is; I have so much love for these goats. They are my one and only pets here, and I can’t loose them again. Interestingly enough, I actually though about it the other day, how much God loves us, and we continually run away from Him, but He patiently waits, or goes out searching for us until one day we show up. I love these goats so much. How much more does the Heavenly Father love His children! WOW.
I have now delivered 4 babies, 3 beautiful girls and 1 handsome boy! I will probably never see deliveries this intense in America. As I’m trying to get the baby’s head out of the cervix, the other doctor is pushing on the woman’s stomach trying to help the baby come out. Others are holding her legs apart, and I’m trying to reach around the baby’s head to conclude a fast delivery. Relieved, I haven’t delivered any underdeveloped baby, but I have heard more than occasionally of a woman who has a miscarriage, abortion, or has an underdeveloped baby because of the sickness and disease here. Malaria destroys a lot of people’s lives here. After being here for only two weeks, my housemate, Catilin Cuenca, has malaria. She has taken the week off to rest, and she is starting to feel better. I feel like her mother because she isn’t taking the Advil for her headache unless I’m forcing her to. One day, I was telling her about the consequences of not taking Advil and that I would really like her to take it she said… “Thanks Mom”. Well, what can I say, I don’t want her to get sick enough to have an IV.
I have been doing random odd things everyday. I pretty much go from one section of the hospital to another every hour or so. The other day I helped measure pregnant women’s stomachs. I’ve also still been helping give IV’s as well as taking blood tests. It’s the same thing mostly every day. This week especially has been rough though because 4 kids have died in the Emergancy room… its only Wednesday.
I had the amazing opportunity to say 7 verses from Psalms 122:1-7 at church… In French! I practiced and practiced, but the morning of Sabbath I was still confused with some words. I didn’t know what to do because no one in my house could help me and I didn’t want to make fool of myself. I just did my worship normally, and when I was about to open the French Bible to practice, a boy randomly came to my gate. I invited him in, and he helped me with all of the words I was confused about. He was an angel in my book. I read the verses, wondering if anyone even understood me, and surprisingly enough after church, people were impressed with what I accomplished. Praise God. Its kind of funny… whenever I go to church, since I don’t understand the songs the pastor or anyone else is singing for that matter, I try to secretly look at one person’s mouth, and try to pronounce the words… the problem is, they end up looking at me, so I have to change people every few seconds. Its difficult to sing the songs, but the melody is familiar a lot of times. They sing many hymns.
When I thought of coming here, and after hearing that there was not doctor, the only thing that was on my mind is the fact that I might have to be the doctor. I didn’t realize that if I got sick, there isn’t a doctor to take care of me! Right when I was close to freaking out, Katie told me that there are American doctors about 3 hours away if I was desperate for help… that calmed me down a bit.
The electricity goes out once in awhile (I walk around with a candle like it’s the 1800’s), and sometimes we have to cook outside on the fire. Other days, I do my laundry (so much easier in America with washing machines… it takes me hours to do one load), but its an adventure that I won’t be able to have back in America. Everyday brings new insights for me, and a chance to learn more! I have started to have a system every day of praying for 10 minutes, asking God to reveal His Will to me this year. Recently I went to my mamma’s house (Zara), and she told me of a project that she has been praying about for quite sometime. She wants to build a shelter for woman and children who do not have a man to take care of them, or a home to live in. We have been praying sincerely, weeping sometimes because of the suffering that people have to go through. This project is going to be what I focus on this year, and maybe even when I go home. I need help in raising money for a shelter, and getting people together to build it. Right now, it is not going fast, but we are continually on our knees to see what God has to offer us. I prayed one day and God opened my eyes to this verse: “For our momentary, light suffering is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison because we are not looking at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen. For what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.” 2 COR 4:17,18. We will stay faithful to this verse, and trust that God has a plan.
So this has been my experience so far, with so much more in-between that I can’t write or this post will be WAY too long. I’m praying each day that God will bring a doctor here… the other day a woman was in labor, and we had to send her away because the baby’s hands were coming out first, and we are not allowed to do C-sections. CRAZY! If I were at the hospital I would have said, “screw it… take that baby out, whatever you have to do!” But… who knows where the mom had the baby, maybe on the side of the road. Please keep praying that a Doctor would be willing to give a little bit of his service to the people here in Africa. Thank you for listening to my stories… A Bientot! (I’ll se you next time)
Well, where did I leave off last. I know some of you have been wondering where my blog went. I am still not sure because as I’m writing this post, I haven’t even gotten on the Internet. I write all my emails offline because I don’t have Internet in my home. I have to drive an hour on a little moto taxi that, after taking the trip, I have to rest my but because the roads are so bad. There are rocks the size of half dome in the middle of the road (little exaggeration☺). Now that my blog is online again, I have figured it out!
Funny/Sad experience happened since the last time I wrote. You know how I got goats? Well, when I was at work one day, the gate must have been opened by someone, and my goats were gone. For two days I was looking all over for them, and actually praying that they would come back. I left it up to God to bring them back home… a ridiculous thing to ask. Well, they showed up yesterday! They were just chilling in a field right outside my house. I don’t know what it is; I have so much love for these goats. They are my one and only pets here, and I can’t loose them again. Interestingly enough, I actually though about it the other day, how much God loves us, and we continually run away from Him, but He patiently waits, or goes out searching for us until one day we show up. I love these goats so much. How much more does the Heavenly Father love His children! WOW.
I have now delivered 4 babies, 3 beautiful girls and 1 handsome boy! I will probably never see deliveries this intense in America. As I’m trying to get the baby’s head out of the cervix, the other doctor is pushing on the woman’s stomach trying to help the baby come out. Others are holding her legs apart, and I’m trying to reach around the baby’s head to conclude a fast delivery. Relieved, I haven’t delivered any underdeveloped baby, but I have heard more than occasionally of a woman who has a miscarriage, abortion, or has an underdeveloped baby because of the sickness and disease here. Malaria destroys a lot of people’s lives here. After being here for only two weeks, my housemate, Catilin Cuenca, has malaria. She has taken the week off to rest, and she is starting to feel better. I feel like her mother because she isn’t taking the Advil for her headache unless I’m forcing her to. One day, I was telling her about the consequences of not taking Advil and that I would really like her to take it she said… “Thanks Mom”. Well, what can I say, I don’t want her to get sick enough to have an IV.
I have been doing random odd things everyday. I pretty much go from one section of the hospital to another every hour or so. The other day I helped measure pregnant women’s stomachs. I’ve also still been helping give IV’s as well as taking blood tests. It’s the same thing mostly every day. This week especially has been rough though because 4 kids have died in the Emergancy room… its only Wednesday.
I had the amazing opportunity to say 7 verses from Psalms 122:1-7 at church… In French! I practiced and practiced, but the morning of Sabbath I was still confused with some words. I didn’t know what to do because no one in my house could help me and I didn’t want to make fool of myself. I just did my worship normally, and when I was about to open the French Bible to practice, a boy randomly came to my gate. I invited him in, and he helped me with all of the words I was confused about. He was an angel in my book. I read the verses, wondering if anyone even understood me, and surprisingly enough after church, people were impressed with what I accomplished. Praise God. Its kind of funny… whenever I go to church, since I don’t understand the songs the pastor or anyone else is singing for that matter, I try to secretly look at one person’s mouth, and try to pronounce the words… the problem is, they end up looking at me, so I have to change people every few seconds. Its difficult to sing the songs, but the melody is familiar a lot of times. They sing many hymns.
When I thought of coming here, and after hearing that there was not doctor, the only thing that was on my mind is the fact that I might have to be the doctor. I didn’t realize that if I got sick, there isn’t a doctor to take care of me! Right when I was close to freaking out, Katie told me that there are American doctors about 3 hours away if I was desperate for help… that calmed me down a bit.
The electricity goes out once in awhile (I walk around with a candle like it’s the 1800’s), and sometimes we have to cook outside on the fire. Other days, I do my laundry (so much easier in America with washing machines… it takes me hours to do one load), but its an adventure that I won’t be able to have back in America. Everyday brings new insights for me, and a chance to learn more! I have started to have a system every day of praying for 10 minutes, asking God to reveal His Will to me this year. Recently I went to my mamma’s house (Zara), and she told me of a project that she has been praying about for quite sometime. She wants to build a shelter for woman and children who do not have a man to take care of them, or a home to live in. We have been praying sincerely, weeping sometimes because of the suffering that people have to go through. This project is going to be what I focus on this year, and maybe even when I go home. I need help in raising money for a shelter, and getting people together to build it. Right now, it is not going fast, but we are continually on our knees to see what God has to offer us. I prayed one day and God opened my eyes to this verse: “For our momentary, light suffering is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison because we are not looking at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen. For what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.” 2 COR 4:17,18. We will stay faithful to this verse, and trust that God has a plan.
So this has been my experience so far, with so much more in-between that I can’t write or this post will be WAY too long. I’m praying each day that God will bring a doctor here… the other day a woman was in labor, and we had to send her away because the baby’s hands were coming out first, and we are not allowed to do C-sections. CRAZY! If I were at the hospital I would have said, “screw it… take that baby out, whatever you have to do!” But… who knows where the mom had the baby, maybe on the side of the road. Please keep praying that a Doctor would be willing to give a little bit of his service to the people here in Africa. Thank you for listening to my stories… A Bientot! (I’ll se you next time)
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Many Stories to Tell
Since I haven’t been able to use the Internet for half the time I’ve been here, there is a lot to write about my experience. I don’t really even know when I left off. I have been in Koza, Cameroon for about a month now. During my stay, there have been days with no water, days with no electricity, days with no gas, and days with all three! Its an epic journey that God is bringing me on… one of patience and grace in times of need. I will try to fill you in on the things that I’ve done since the last time I wrote (I’m sorry its been so long).
I have been surprised in myself. I have missed home a lot, but God has kept me sane. The moment I stepped into the hospital, I made immediate friends… even people who didn’t speak English. God has allowed people in my life that have been more than generous. Taking care of me when I thought I wouldn’t have food. Helping me bargain in the market. Giving me French lessons when I was thriving off every French word they spoke to me. I am truly blessed to be here. I am glad I didn’t have high expectations. Its always better that way because every little thing that happens in my life, I thank God for!
You might be wondering what I am actually accomplishing at the hospital since I’ve been here so I’ll fill you in. The first week I got here was rough because of the time difference. Staying up all-night and wishing I could sleep during the day at the hospital. I’m pretty sure that the hospital workers thought I was a zombie. I’m an African now! I eat African food that our housekeeper cooks, and I wear my clothes at least three times during the week… it makes the most sense that way. PS: The American food that I have learned to make is spaghetti, ice cream, chips, and other things. It takes so much longer, but well worth it! I absolutely love seeing different people during the day, and try to have a conversation with them in French. It is still hard because the main language is French here, yes, but there are also many other local languages. Mafa, Arabic, and others. I’m sticking with French at this time… can’t do too much more.
My job here at the hospital is wonderful. Some days it’s a little slow, and other days it’s crazy! I wonder around to each different section throughout the day. We have five different sections of the hospital. Pediatrics, Adults, Emergency room, Maternity, and Lab. Of course… I have stuck mostly with the Emergency room because that is where everyone comes through. It’s where everyone gets administrated, and also those we have to send away because we do not have proper treatment for them. We need a doctor… but they do work really well with what they have, I’m impressed. The hospital workers are realizing slowly my potential. I’m in everyone’s business trying to have opportunity after opportunity to learn everything that is medical. They are ok with it too! My nursing professor would be happy to know that I am digging in the nursing drug book trying to understand the drugs to administer for each patient who comes in. I have diagnosed many!:) They also call me when they need me to put an IV in, and I get right on it, and have not failed every time thank goodness. I was able to give a malnourished child an NG tube. During the process he had hate in his eyes for me, but I’m sure if he could talk to me, he would be thankful for the treatment we gave him. I also have done many tests. Malaria, Typhoid, Urine, Stool, and Donner blood type. Its amazing to watch blood through a microscope, or check the blood type manually. Clara, the lab tech, laughs at me because I’m so so interested every time! I have given a child oxygen, and put proper medicine through IV when needed. I am proud to say that I have delivered three babies successfully! They were all females and all beautiful☺ One baby had trouble getting through because the opening was too small, but it was still a beautiful cone head baby;). I have sad news though…
One delivery that I wasn’t the doctor for, but I helped with, there were some complications. The mother had malaria, and a few weeks before the nurse didn’t find a heart beat. The baby came through the opening with his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. We delivered him, but he was not breathing. It was the first time I have ever done CPR, and it was an innocent little child that hadn’t been in the world more than a few minutes. I kept saying “come on baby, come on baby, you can do it”. Finally, the doctor stopped giving oxygen, and I kept giving compressions. I swear I could have done it all day, but once I felt the baby getting cold, I knew it was too late. I wept… I didn’t know something so small could go through something so traumatic. The baby was trying to survive. There were moments where he took deep breaths, but it was like it could get air. I went over to the mother after I had my moment to pray and thank God for my life. With tears in my eyes, I leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Desole, Due se avec tua” which means “I’m sorry, God is with you”. That was probably the hardest day here… but things happen for a reason.
I’d like to have to know that Caitlin here, and we have been having a grand time together! You won’t believe this… We bought baby GOATS! We treat them like dogs and it is the funniest things. We only have had them for 1 day, but they are definitely pampered. They cry a lot, and I feel bad because they want their mamma. They were destined to die anyway, so that is my excuse for saying that they will be fine. Today we found out that Caitlin has malaria… I am trying my best to be there for her, but what she needs is a lot of rest, water, and food. Our housekeeper had malaria too… Thank God I haven’t gotten it yet. I’m trying to take care of myself but I have to expect the worst.
I hope that this is sufficient enough information to let you know what I’m doing and how my life is going. I don’t know when the next time I’ll get to Internet, but soon I’m going to Maura, and Caitlin and I will buy an Internet key. I miss all of you back in America! Please continue to pray for me, I still need it! I have lots more to say, but I don’t want to bore you. Bonne Joune! (Good Day)
I have been surprised in myself. I have missed home a lot, but God has kept me sane. The moment I stepped into the hospital, I made immediate friends… even people who didn’t speak English. God has allowed people in my life that have been more than generous. Taking care of me when I thought I wouldn’t have food. Helping me bargain in the market. Giving me French lessons when I was thriving off every French word they spoke to me. I am truly blessed to be here. I am glad I didn’t have high expectations. Its always better that way because every little thing that happens in my life, I thank God for!
You might be wondering what I am actually accomplishing at the hospital since I’ve been here so I’ll fill you in. The first week I got here was rough because of the time difference. Staying up all-night and wishing I could sleep during the day at the hospital. I’m pretty sure that the hospital workers thought I was a zombie. I’m an African now! I eat African food that our housekeeper cooks, and I wear my clothes at least three times during the week… it makes the most sense that way. PS: The American food that I have learned to make is spaghetti, ice cream, chips, and other things. It takes so much longer, but well worth it! I absolutely love seeing different people during the day, and try to have a conversation with them in French. It is still hard because the main language is French here, yes, but there are also many other local languages. Mafa, Arabic, and others. I’m sticking with French at this time… can’t do too much more.
My job here at the hospital is wonderful. Some days it’s a little slow, and other days it’s crazy! I wonder around to each different section throughout the day. We have five different sections of the hospital. Pediatrics, Adults, Emergency room, Maternity, and Lab. Of course… I have stuck mostly with the Emergency room because that is where everyone comes through. It’s where everyone gets administrated, and also those we have to send away because we do not have proper treatment for them. We need a doctor… but they do work really well with what they have, I’m impressed. The hospital workers are realizing slowly my potential. I’m in everyone’s business trying to have opportunity after opportunity to learn everything that is medical. They are ok with it too! My nursing professor would be happy to know that I am digging in the nursing drug book trying to understand the drugs to administer for each patient who comes in. I have diagnosed many!:) They also call me when they need me to put an IV in, and I get right on it, and have not failed every time thank goodness. I was able to give a malnourished child an NG tube. During the process he had hate in his eyes for me, but I’m sure if he could talk to me, he would be thankful for the treatment we gave him. I also have done many tests. Malaria, Typhoid, Urine, Stool, and Donner blood type. Its amazing to watch blood through a microscope, or check the blood type manually. Clara, the lab tech, laughs at me because I’m so so interested every time! I have given a child oxygen, and put proper medicine through IV when needed. I am proud to say that I have delivered three babies successfully! They were all females and all beautiful☺ One baby had trouble getting through because the opening was too small, but it was still a beautiful cone head baby;). I have sad news though…
One delivery that I wasn’t the doctor for, but I helped with, there were some complications. The mother had malaria, and a few weeks before the nurse didn’t find a heart beat. The baby came through the opening with his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. We delivered him, but he was not breathing. It was the first time I have ever done CPR, and it was an innocent little child that hadn’t been in the world more than a few minutes. I kept saying “come on baby, come on baby, you can do it”. Finally, the doctor stopped giving oxygen, and I kept giving compressions. I swear I could have done it all day, but once I felt the baby getting cold, I knew it was too late. I wept… I didn’t know something so small could go through something so traumatic. The baby was trying to survive. There were moments where he took deep breaths, but it was like it could get air. I went over to the mother after I had my moment to pray and thank God for my life. With tears in my eyes, I leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Desole, Due se avec tua” which means “I’m sorry, God is with you”. That was probably the hardest day here… but things happen for a reason.
I’d like to have to know that Caitlin here, and we have been having a grand time together! You won’t believe this… We bought baby GOATS! We treat them like dogs and it is the funniest things. We only have had them for 1 day, but they are definitely pampered. They cry a lot, and I feel bad because they want their mamma. They were destined to die anyway, so that is my excuse for saying that they will be fine. Today we found out that Caitlin has malaria… I am trying my best to be there for her, but what she needs is a lot of rest, water, and food. Our housekeeper had malaria too… Thank God I haven’t gotten it yet. I’m trying to take care of myself but I have to expect the worst.
I hope that this is sufficient enough information to let you know what I’m doing and how my life is going. I don’t know when the next time I’ll get to Internet, but soon I’m going to Maura, and Caitlin and I will buy an Internet key. I miss all of you back in America! Please continue to pray for me, I still need it! I have lots more to say, but I don’t want to bore you. Bonne Joune! (Good Day)
God Has been working (warning, these messages don't match up with the date)
God has been working! Before I came to Cameroon, some of my close friends knew that I was expecting the worst. I made myself believe that I was going to be living on my own and be the only American here. Also, have to wonder around the hospital because I didn’t speak French. I was also prepared to face the worst with communication with family back home. I don’t know if God provided because He thought I might not be able to handle it… even though I was ready, but it has been a miracle after miracle coming here to Cameroon. First, I don’t know how to shop at the market, let alone speak the local language to even know if the people are ripping me off! Yves, the administrator, and his wife, as well as kids, have made my stay here extremely comfortable. They took me into their home, and gave me meals for the first few nights. I also got to rest a lot when I came. I am having a good time trying to learn the language, although it is difficult now. There are people that work in the hospital that love learning English, and are happy to talk to me. I was with one nurse today, my first day on the job, and he literally explained everything step by step. I feel way more prepared than I thought I would be. I fainted today… now let me explain. I was in the hospital and I’m not sure what came over me but all of a sudden I couldn’t hear anything, my body turned boiling hot, and I got extremely dizzy. For a few seconds I tried to listen to the nurse explain things to me, but the next thing I know he is asking me what is wrong and I’m on the floor. I don’t think I fell because he caught me, but I definitely blacked out… it was so so embarrassing on my first day. The nurses explained that it is common for people from America to come to the hospital, and feel dizzy because of the smell of the patients. I didn’t think I was that weak, but I remembered I hadn’t eaten breakfast that morning, so I was already vulnerable. I’m glad nothing worse happened to me. I’m good! It was no big deal!:) It was pretty slow day, but I got to see a lumbar puncture which is where the doctor (in this case nurse☺) takes a needle and stabs the patient in the back, retrieving clear liquid to test for sicknesses such as meningitis. I was also able to observe the pediatric hospital, which another woman, Elissa (no joke, but not sure if its spelled the same), was in charge of. The hospital staff called her Elissa1, and me Elissa2. They are a fun group of people to work with, I tell ya. At the end of the workday, which ends at 2 pm (pretty chill), I was asked to give an IV to a child. The pressure was on… and I took that opportunity to stay calm, remember to SAY YES TO EVERYTHING, and successfully gave my first IV (in Cameroon). It was epic! Everyone was looking at me, and when I finished, one of the nurses said, “She is so intelligent”. I don’t think he knew I had done it before in Haiti… I’m so happy to say that another American is close by to me. Oh my goodness how much of a blessing she is. Get this! She comes over to say hello, and I end up going to her house, she gives me cook books, French books, and taco seasoning, and also would be delighted to show me Koza, and the surrounding area. She is going to take me hiking! And the best part? She is here till December… We are going to be good buddies. She likes a lot of the same things I do. She is from New York! Wow… if you think it doesn’t get better, I have a housekeeper! His name is Isaiah and he cooks and cleans the house. Granted, I have to do my clothes and sweep my room, but he makes me a meal everyday. I think I have it better than America! I have been trying to talk to him in French, and we have had a few conversations, but of course his English is bad, and my French is probably worse☺ I have a full day tomorrow… hopefully I will get some rest tonight. Last night I didn’t sleep at all because of jetlag. I’m getting use to it though. Catilin is coming soon! For those starting school back at home, I miss you and wish I could be here and there at the same time! We will see each other soon! Until next time, au revoir.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Finally home... for 9 months
I have finally made it.. After long hours in a plane, car, and all of the above. I don't even know where to start. I had four transfers, plus a long car ride to get to Koza. I am finally here! When i was in the plane, i was witnessing to a man from Africa. He said he was Muslim. I showed him John 1:1 and John 3:16. After a little bit, he asked, in broken English, "this is your job?" I said... NO its just exciting to share the good news!" I got out of the plane from Washington DC not knowing what to do with myself because i no longer had ANY electronic devices or communication with America. I slept on the bench... The plane in Ethiopia broke down while we were about to leave...scary. They took us to another plane that was fine. I met other missionaries in that plane that, surprisingly, MBA played football against one guys school. It was amazing. They were from OREGON! haha. Well, we arrived in Chad, and i approached the bench with my passport...no visa. They told me I couldn't come into the country. One of the people from the group that was going to Cameroon tried to bring me in as one of their daughters... that didn't work. In my mind i was thinking, i'm all alone and i have no where to stay. God showed up at that time, and my driver came to talk to them. I got into the country. It was about 2 am and so He took me to a Catholic mission where i stayed the night... or napped for 1 1/2 hours. We woke up at 7, ate breakfast, and left for a 5 hour journey, or so i thought. On the way the Adema, the man that was driving me said... "Welcome to Africa, this is your home now". It hit me, i was now apart of Africa, and all that it brought. I wrote in my journal almost every 10 minutes with interesting insights that i found. I saw a giraffe!!!! :) It was in a nearby wildlife preserve, but you could see it from the road. My driver thought i was crazy when i said "PULL OVER!". It was a great ride...but when i needed to go to the bathroom, it took me many tries to get that across to him. "bano, latrine, john, pot, pee pee, toilet!" oh.. toilet. So he stopped the car, and i went to the bathroom on the side of the road:) When we arrived in Maura, not Koza, I waited for Yves (administrator of the hospital) to pick me up. We stayed there for 6 hours!!! I met the president of the Adventist of northern cameroon... the one in the magazine (for my family's knowledge) We then drove, after visiting the market, and talking to the pastors there, to Koza. I got here, and Yves told me we were home.. welcoming me over and over. I stepped out of the car and saw some people that were at the church right next door. I waved, and they freaked out!!! Yves turned around and said "what happened"... i said "i waved!" the children are SO EXCITED i'm here:) that night... i slept 17 hours... wow. thats how much sleep i haven't gotten. Tomorrow i meet the hospital staff and Yves' wife is going to take me to the market. God is faithful, God is good, and God is in control! Praise Him.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Saying Goodbye...
Saying goodbye to my family was the hardest thing i have ever done... as my dad leaned over, gave me a kiss, and said "I will see you in 9 months sweetie", it hit me. My whole life will turn upside down in the next 36 hours. I don't know what to say... today was the first time i didn't want to get on the plane, but also the time when i wanted to be in Cameroon in a second. I am praying to God and asking for him to protect me. Its all up to me now. I'm on my own. I am thankful that Caitlin will be arriving two weeks after i get to the hospital in Koza. It was so interesting. The other day, my dad was reading the World Adventist magazine (really don't know the name of it), and he found an article from the conference president of northern Cameroon. He was talking alot about the Adventist school and the ADVENTIST HOPSITAL in Koza. It made me have a boost of confidence for some reason. Also.. i talk to the doctor that was there for 5 years. He told me that i would have an amazing experience, and that i didn't have to be afraid. The director of the hospital told me how i'm going to be picked up, what the name of the person who was picking me up was, and all kinds of encouragement. God is good... and working too. I am about the board the flight from Portland to Denver Colorado. From Colorado I go to Wasington DC, then to Adis Adaba, and then Djemena or something. I am praying my heart out that God keeps me safe. I miss all of my family and friends, but i know God is calling me here. I will overcome! Jeremiah 1:19
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Up and Down Feelings
In the last couple of days, i have received much word about the happenings in Cameroon as well as information about what to bring to protect myself from disease, mostly Malaria. The most recent news is that i'm going to get Malaria no matter what i try to do to protect myself... I will never be able to give blood if that happens (I'm really into that). Its been a crazy couple of days for me and my feelings. One moment i'm stoked, the next i'm terrified... I am afraid of the unknown, but excited for the experience. There is no doctor there, and recently i've been reading the doctors blogs. How am i going to survive? Is there going to be help? i can't be a doctor! I had two very wonderful people come by my house yesterday with encouragement i don't even think they know they gave me. The first woman that stopped by was Christie. I was busy for a little bit, but came over to sit down and talk to her for awhile. She had given my mom an envelope, and began to tell me that she collects antiques. For her birthday, she wanted to get this beautiful antique barbie that was made the year she was born. She decided that the money would be better used for my trip and wanted to help me with the money. I was shocked and stunned... $100. Praise God for humble people:) Juanne came by later in the day and i was astonished to see the things she blessed me with. She had come over and and brought medical books, otoscope, ophthalmoscope, blood pressure cuffs, and more! The book that answered my prayers was a book called "Where There is No Doctor a village health care handbook". Just hours before she stopped by i was overwhelmed with the responsibility of being some kind of superhero. The only superhero is the Lord himself and no matter what happens, HE WILL PROVIDE. He has been amazing me with His faithfulness through people, providence, and words of comfort! "...If you have a deep personal faith in God you'll be able to say to any mountain of difficulty, 'Out of my way!' and God will help move it. You can do anything for Him when your faith is in Him" Matt 17:20
Friday, August 27, 2010
My Power is Made Perfect In Your Weakness
This morning started out to be a relaxing day, except for the fact that all through the night the cat was trying to wake me up to play, and all morning the dog was scratching at my door trying to play with me too. I had to call the doctor who recently left Cameroon today. While i was on the phone with him, the obligation and sense of responsibility that i am gong to have in Cameroon fell on me like a bolder. I was shocked. I don't know if i was not listening before, but the doctor told me that there will be no doctor at the hospital when i arrive. Also, he said that not only am I there without doctor, performing duties that an RN would perform such as IV's, catheters, medications, I am going to be the only American present in the town. Now... i could have flipped out over this information (and quite honestly i did a little) but the verse that popped into my head lead me to peace. I can do this Lord, i can get through this AND the best part about it is now i can know that it is ALL God working in my life. It is certainly not me who has any power in this situation. I'm leaving it up to the Lord to fashion and mold me into #1 Nurse. The verse goes like this, it is very familiar: "But, He said to me, 'My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' So then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in me. Therefore I am CONTENT with weaknesses, with insults, with troubles, with persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong!" 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. God continues to amaze me...
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Constant Calling On My Life
Lately i haven't wanted to read the gospels. For some stupid reason i have thought that I always turn to the stories that i've read over and over again...its a horrible thought i know. The other day i decided to randomly turn to a gospel and read whatever i put my eyes on. After what God has revealed to me this summer, i am sure that he directs me to certain verses and puts a passion on my heart when i read them. I turned to the chapter in Mark when Jesus is SENDING HIS TWELVE DISCIPLES OUT (Just like me)! I love it when verses just come together and I can hear God literally speaking to me through them. Mark 6:7-10 "Calling the Twelve to him, He sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits. These were his instructions: 'Take nothing for the journey except a staff--no bread, no bag, no maney in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, SHAKE OFF THE DUST OFF YOUR FEET WHEN YOU LEAVE, AS A TESTIMONY AGAINST THEM!'" Its incredible to know that He directed me to this verse closer to when i leave because i don't think i would have taken it the same way earlier this summer. I was just terrified of going, so he gave me words of comfort, and this to me is now preparing me and warning me for the hard times that might come my way...BUT God is by my side, He's got my back, and i have nothing to fear if i put my trust in him. Certainly, i'm not going to be careless in any way when i arrive, but God knows what i can handle and what i can't! Like i said before, bring it on africa:) I am as ready as i'm gonna be.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
God Reveals, God Answers Prayers
As the summer has been progressing, my patience is becoming less and less. I have gone through many questions in my head about Cameroon. What is it going to be like? Is it safe? Can God really use me in a powerful way? Why did he call me there? Am i going to like it? When will i want to come home again? Questions like this keep haunting me everywhere i go, but they also give me a chance to look for the answers in the Bible. I know that nothing in the Bible says "Elissa, you are going to be used by God in powerful ways when you go to Cameroon", but when i was reading in Isaiah, i found a passage that is very similar and spoke to my heart. It was like God was telling me those exact words. "Arise! Shine! For your light arrives! The splendor of the Lord shines on you! For, look, darkness covers the earth and deep darkness covers the nations [Cameroon], but the Lord shines on you [Elissa]; his splendor appears over you. Nations come to your light, kings to your bright light. Look all around you! They all gather and come to you-- your sons come from far away and your daughters are escorted by guardians. Then you will look and SMILE, you will be excited and your heart will swell with pride..." Isaiah 60:1-5. The amazing thing about these verses is that they are just a chapter before the chapter i read when i was in Haiti about rebuilding ruins. My experience in Haiti is definitely preparing me for Cameroon. God is working! Now, i know i'm not anything close to Zion (which is what the chapter is talking about), but God really spoke through those verses. I can't wait until i can allow humbleness to take ahold of me, and God to work miracles where i am going.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
The Beginning
After much procrastination, i have finally started my blog:) It's already been a huge journey figuring out whether i'm going to Ethiopia, Cameroon, or anywhere else in this world. Praying has been often, freaking out has been in there too, but mostly excitement for where God is leading me. Cameroon is the final destination. For those who know me well, i will TRY to write every once and awhile, but i can't promise anything. I do promise that i will remember the most important things, and give you an update at times. Bring it on Africa!!! I'm ready for anything.... or am i? Please keep me in prayers as i prepare to leave and pray for the people waiting for me to show up. I should be leaving on September 15, but who knows, it might be changed. This will be an experience of my life! Still can't believe i'm finally doing this:)!
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