What's Next

Hello everyone!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I have been back home for 2 weeks now but things have been so busy with the holidays that I'm just now getting the chance to write. But I wanted to let you know that I completed my 4 months in Ghana and am now back home and am feeling good. What a challenging, amazing experience – probably the hardest 4 months of my life but I am so thankful for what I experienced, for the help I was able to offer and for all that God taught me.

I want to thank each of you for your prayers, encouragement and support during these past few months. I seriously couldn't have done it without you and I want you to know that even though most of you have never set foot in Ghana, you were there with me each step of the way. Thank you!

I also want to ask for your prayers as I'm back in Atlanta and trying to decide what God has next for me. Please pray for His wisdom and guidance during these next few weeks as I spend a lot of time praying and thinking about what I'm gonna do next. I know His journey for me doesn't stop here, but I'm really not sure what the next chapter is going to be.

None of us know what 2010 holds, but we can rest knowing that God is with us and that He has a plan for each of us. I pray that each of you will enter this new year with hope and trust in our Lord Jesus Christ. May He use each of us for His glory!!

Day in Accra

This is my last blog from Ghana... I can't believe it!! We made it safely to Accra yesterday. We left BMC at 4 am and drove the 2 ½ hours to Tamale... last time on the bumpy Wale-Wale road... and then flew 1 ½ hours to Accra. We were able to rest some yesterday at the Baptist Guesthouse. Megan is feeling better so thank you for the prayers. And besides feeling a little sleep deprived and dreading the long flights ahead of me, I feel good. :)

Today we were able to see a little of Accra. I love tropical cities! After spending 4 months in the dry Northern region, I was happy to see city life, palm trees and the beach!! Praia, que saudades!!! Yes, I was able to see the beach! We did a little shopping and then had lunch at a little restaurant on the beach. It was a great last day!

We're back at the guesthouse and getting ready to leave for the airport. I'm almost home but it's gonna be a long next 24 hours – 6 hour flight to Frankfort, 5 hour layover and then a 10 ½ hour flight to Atlanta. Please pray for safe travels and that I'm able to sleep some. Thanks for being on this journey with me!!

Last day in Nalerigu

It's my last day in Nalerigu! I can't believe this African journey is coming to a close. It is a time of mixed emotions. I am excited to see my family and friends, give my body some rest and eat Chick-fil-a and Christmas cookies. :) I am sad to leave, especially knowing I am leaving a huge need here. But mostly, I feel peace, knowing that I completed the time God had for me here in Ghana. Just a little packing left and a send-off dinner for Matt & Megan and me tonight.

The long 3 day journey home begins tomorrow at 4 am. Although I am feeling better (thanks for all the prayers!), I know the next few days will be very tiring. Tomorrow I will spend the night at the guesthouse in Accra and will be able to write from there. Please pray for safe and trouble-free travels, for strength and that I would be able to rest. I also ask that you say a special prayer for Megan. She is sick and vomiting today... pray that she feels better before we have to travel tomorrow. Thank you guys for all your prayers and encouragement during these past few months!! Love you guys and look forward to seeing many of you soon!!!

Rest & Trust

First of all, thank you so much for all of your prayers!! I was still feeling pretty bad yesterday, but I slept well last night and am feeling so much better today. I'm even able to eat and have finished most of my packing! Praise the Lord!

As my time here draws to close, the question I continue to ask (and I'm sure many of you wonder as well) is “what's next?” Since I know that many of you will ask me as soon as get home, I'll go ahead and share with you... I have no idea! For those of you that know me well, you know that I always like to have a plan and to know as far in the future as God will allow. And it seems that God is continuing to lead me on a path where I don't know the future and have to trust Him. I first started praying about what I was supposed to do after Africa a few months ago and God's answer was and still is “You don't need to know now. Rest and trust in Me.” God has used Isaiah 30 throughout this year to remind me to rest and trust in Him. “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength... blessed are all who wait for Him... Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, 'This is the way; walk in it” (Is 30:15,18,21). He used these verses earlier this year to tell me to rest when I had no idea where I was gonna go after graduation, and then to lead me here to Ghana and keeping me here when the times were tough. And now once again, He is telling me to trust and rest, believing that He will open doors and give His guidance in His perfect timing as He continues to lead me on His journey for my life. I just want to encourage each of you to trust Him, to rest in Him and let Him lead you on the plan He has for your life. Sometimes it means taking a step of faith, sometimes it means being faithful right where you are... it isn't always easy, but we can trust that God's plan is best. God says “Rest. Trust me”.

Prayers for BMC

As I'm preparing to leave in the next few days, the hospital and the great needs here have been heavy on my heart. Matt Jones, the surgical resident who has been here for the past 6 months with his wife, Megan, leave on Monday with me. With both of us leaving at the same time, it will be a drastic increase in work for the remaining doctors. Please pray for Dr. Hewitt and Dr. Dickens, the only two doctors here right now, and for strength, endurance and health. Pray for their wives and kids and for encouragement, strength and joy. Pray that God would provide more workers, both volunteers and long-term doctors. There are a lot of questions about the future of this hospital and it is something that only God knows the answer. I know that as I leave Nalerigu, I am leaving BMC and the patients in His hands. Pray that He would continue to provide for this ministry.

P.S. Please continue to pray for my health and recovery. I wasn't even able to go to clinic today because I was feeling too bad (malaria is no fun) and was so bummed because it was my last day. I ask you to especially pray that I would regain strength and be completely recovered before I start traveling on Monday morning. Thanks so much!

Malaria

I have malaria... I can't believe I got malaria my last week in Ghana! I guess I have now had the true African experience. I do actually feel a lot better so although I ask that you do pray for me, don't worry too much about me. :) I woke up yesterday morning feeling sick and after rounds decided to get a blood film. To diagnose malaria they stick your finger and smear your blood on a slide and look for the malaria parasite. Mine came back negative, which doesn't rule out malaria but doesn't confirm it. Trying to convince myself I wasn't really sick, I tried to see some patients but only lasted for 30 minutes. After having a really bad afternoon and thinking I probably did have malaria but not wanting to take the medicine unless I was sure, I called Megan to take me back up the hospital and got another blood film. And it actually was positive – mps present +. I didn't know whether laugh or cry but was definitely relieved that I now had a diagnosis and could start the medicine.

I have been taking prophylaxis, which decreases your risk of getting malaria and makes it a milder case if you actually do get it. The milder case was bad enough though. Although I am still weak today, I feel 100% better than I did yesterday. But I just kept thinking about all my patients and how much worse they have it and how it's harder for them to get care. I was sick with a milder case for 12 hours until I started treatment and felt probably the worst I have in my life. But the patients I see daily come in with worse symptoms for 3 or 4 days, have to stand in line and wait for hours to see a doctor and then longer to receive the medicine. rI now understand why they lay down on the floor... cause that's what I felt like doing last night. They walk, ride motos or get on a crowded truck or bus to travel far distances just to get here. I live right next to the hospital and even so, was driven to the hospital to get my blood film and had someone get my medicine for me. I had people to take care of me, a comfortable bed to sleep in, the medical knowledge to make sure I was drinking fluids and medicine the first day I got sick... many of the people don't even have that. Malaria is an awful disease and one that affects millions of people worldwide. I pray that I never get it again, but I know that this experienced has given me insight into my patients' illnesses and increased my compassion for what they are feeling. Thanks for your continued prayers! The worst is over and I am on the road to recovery. I'm just so glad I'm sick now and not next week when I'm traveling.

Last Monday Clinic

Today was my last Monday clinic day here at BMC. This time next week I will be in Accra on my way home!! I can't believe it's finally here! It was actually a very busy day in clinic and I saw 150 patients! I thought it would probably be busy cause it's a Monday and market day and Friday was a holiday – Farmer's Day, which I never quite understood what the holiday was for, even after asking people. We didn't all go out to farm or even have a party for the farmers.

Starting my last week here in Nalerigu brings many emotions – excitement, relief and gratitude being the main ones. These have probably been the hardest 4 months of my life, but it has definitely been a life-changing adventure! God has taught me so much and although in many ways I am thankful that it is ending, I am grateful for all that God has taught me through this experience. One of the many things I have learned through this is perseverance. There have been days I just wanted to leave because I felt exhausted, lonely, bored, sad... but through it all God confirmed that He was the one that called me here and would help me get to the end of my appointed time.

So here I am, finishing my last week in Nalerigu for one reason – there is a God who loves me and calls me and equips me to carry out His plan and glorify His name in this world! 2 Corinthians 8:11 is a verse that God reminded me of many times during these last few months – “Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it.” Through God's strength and joy, I am completing this work that He appointed me to! This says nothing for me... God only knows how many times I wanted to give up... this is all about Him and His power, joy and strength in my life! I praise Him for His love and faithfulness! And I thank Him for all of you, that have been there to encourage me, pray for me and support me – I couldn't have made it without you guys!! Thank you SO much!!

Giving Blood in Africa

I have now donated blood twice in my life... both times being in Africa. I guess not many people can say that! :) On Wednesday morning while doing rounds I saw a little boy on the peds ward with malaria and anemia. His hematocrit was 10% (low) and there was no one to donate for him. A couple of his family members had been tested and their blood type did not match. I found out he was 0+, so I donated 140 ml of my blood to him. The actual process of giving blood here is not fun and I couldn't look at the blood flowing out of me and got a little dizzy afterwards (mostly because I hadn't eaten breakfast yet!). But despite the minor pain, the feeling of knowing you're giving a little of yourself to save someone's life is incredible! Malaria is said to kill a million people worldwide each year and is the third deadliest infectious disease in the world. Many kids don't have access to hospitals like BMC to get the medicine and treatment. They die from anemia because there is no one to donate blood and no hospital to carry out the transfusion. This is not 200 years ago... this is today, in 2009, that close to one million kids die from malaria. The statistic is startling but what's even more heartbreaking is to look into their faces, to witness this sickness and see what it does. But what is thrilling is to see the miracle of medicine, of blood and how these precious children can be cured! As my time here in Ghana is ending, I know that there is part of me that I will leave here. I have given my blood, my talent and my love to the people of Northern Ghana and I, in return, have experienced God's joy and blessing that has forever changed me.

Seeing the boy in peds that was severely anemic
Taking my donated blood back to the little boy in the ward

Christmas Time

Yesterday I walked in the hospital and heard Christmas music over the loud speaker “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...” and started laughing. It's December and I remembered that Christmas is almost here! It seems strange to hear Christmas music here in Africa when it's hot outside and there's no external evidence of Christmas. I went to market yesterday and there were no signs of Christmas sales and I haven't seen any decorations on the mud huts. I asked someone today if they have Christmas trees and she said they don't grow here and no one really decorates for Christmas. I still have to ask about Christmas celebrations here, but in a way it's nice to not be bombarded with all the materialism surrounding Christmas in the States. When there's no mall within driving distance, you forget about a lot of the stuff that society says is a must for your wish list. :) But as I heard the Christmas music today, I got excited as I remembered that December not only brings Christmas, but means that I will be coming home soon! Two weeks from now I will be in Atlanta!

Harmattan

Harmattan arrived a couple of weeks ago, signaling the end of rainy season and the beginning of the dry season. One morning everyone started talking about this thing called “Harmattan” and how it wouldn't rain anymore because the winds had changed directions. Harmattan is the dry and dusty West African trade wind. There are good things about the rainy season being over – no more middle of the night thunderstorms, walking in the mud or carrying my umbrella around everywhere. And the weather is actually better... the humidity is lower and it's cooler at night. The Ghanaians actually say it's “cold” and show up to clinic in the morning in sweaters and parkas! The downside of the dry season is the dust. Everything, including me, always seems to be covered in a thin layer of dust and the air is always hazy. I was told the haze actually gets worse later in December. In a way, you kinda get used to the dirt everywhere and never being completely clean for long. Many days I look down at my feet and think they look really tan... until I take a shower and they turn white again! I try to scrub my feet and paint my toes pink so they won't look so bad, but I am definitely looking forward to getting a pedicure in a few weeks! :)

Thoughts on the funeral

Alando's funeral has been the past few days- yes, it lasts for days. Everything seems to be a big event here, especially birth and death. Usually babies don't receive a name until a week after they are born, at their naming ceremony. Christians usually have their naming ceremony at church and then have a big party afterwards. I was told me that it really important to be accepted in the society by having a naming ceremony. Families borrow money and make preparations that could seem elaborate to us considering their means. Funerals, I have learned, are also very important. Alando's started on Thursday when they brought the body from Tamale. They usually have funerals within a few days and don't embalm but because of the murder his body was sent to Tamale for an autopsy and they had to bring it back in the hospital van... I haven't seen any hearses around here.

On Thursday night they had a wake and although we didn't go to that, it usually lasts all night. On Friday they had the burial service, which lasted for hours and then they buried him in a room they had built onto his compound. Apparently they usually bury people inside the courtyard of the house, but Alando's courtyard was concrete so maybe that's why they built a room. We went to his house for the visitation last week. His house was one of the nicest around here and yet it was still set up like the mud hut compounds – individual rooms all around an open courtyard. He has 2 wives and they each have a room in the house. It's mostly non-Christians that have multiple wives but I've seen some Christian men, like Alando, that have more than one wife. I was told that Alando's father had 5 wives. There's so many aspects of the culture that I still don't understand and wonder how the church really should approach these things.

Ok, so back to the funeral. Yesterday they had the memorial service with tributes, sermon, music and even dancing... interesting to see dancing at a funeral. Many letters and tributes to Alando were read and everyone talked about what a great man he was. They even had T shirts that many people wore with his picture and name on the front and “May he rest in perfect peace” on the back. Another interesting thing is that the family has to prepare food for everyone, instead of everyone bringing the family dishes as we do in the States. On Friday and Saturday, they made food and distributed it out to all of us, which is a huge task and expense, considering there were probably close to a thousand people at the burial and hundreds at the memorial service the next day.

Today there was a Thanksgiving service at church, with the purpose of thanking God for all that He has done for us in these past few weeks. I thought it was both interesting and wonderful to have a service to thank God as part of the funeral. Please continue to pray for the family and friends during this time, because no matter what culture or funeral practices, death is never easy. And pray for peace in this community, for love to replace hate, and for comfort to fill the hearts of the people.

Thankful

I'll admit it, I woke up this morning feeling a little sad, that it was Thanksgiving and I was far away from my family and not really gonna have a fun and exciting day to make up for what I am missing today. I did hospital rounds this morning and we are going to have a Thanksgiving dinner tonight with the missionaries, but other than that it's just been a pretty boring, hot day here in Ghana. And before you ask how people in Ghana celebrate Thanksgiving, remember that this American holiday isn't celebrated here. :) After feeling sad for a while, God started to speak to my heart and show me all I really do have to be thankful for. Every Thanksgiving, my Aunt Joan always has everyone pick out 3 corn kernels and say 3 things we are thankful for. And although I'm not with them and don't have any kernels, I still want to think about all the things I have to be thankful for today. What am I most thankful for this Thanksgiving here in Africa? First of all, I am thankful to be alive – to have life, to be able to experience both joy and pain. How often I take my life for granted and how much I have been reminded here that life is merely a vapor. I am also thankful to know God and to be His child. I can't imagine how my life would be if I didn't know Him and the Life He has given me. I am thankful that God exists and that He doesn't just exist, but that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to the world to live and die, so that I might be able to know Him and have a relationship with Him. What a gift! I am also thankful for my family and friends, that love me and continue to encourage me and support me on all my adventures, even though they miss me when I am gone. I love you guys and am so blessed! I am thankful for the experiences that God has given me, to see so much of the world, to be able to make a small difference and to be forever changed by what I have seen and done. I am thankful that this journey is one I do not travel alone, but that God is with me every step of the way and that He leads me and fills me with His peace and presence. I will still miss being with my family today & hanging out with people I love at Thanksgiving dinner and wish that I could eat Nanny's dressing, Mom's pumpkin pie and Aunt Joan's Strawberry Pretzel Salad, but today I feel thankful for all that God has blessed me with! I pray that each of you has a blessed and “thankful” Thanksgiving! Happy Thanksgiving!!

Back to 3 Day Clinic Week

The hospital administration made a decision to go back to 3 day clinic week. I think the decision was made mostly because with Alando's death, the pharmacy cannot handle the number of patients we were seeing with 5 day clinics but I feel that it was the best decision for everyone. I have been worried about how Dr. Hewitt and Dr. Dickens were going to see all the patients after Matt (the surgical resident who's been here for 6 months) and I both leave in a few weeks. Even the clinic workers and interpreters were exhausted and talking about how there were too many patients. In the month of October, we saw 16,000 patients!! Before that, the highest record in a month was 9,000! Part of it was due to the extra volunteers and being at the worst of malaria season, but it's still crazy!
Yesterday wasn't as busy as normal Mondays, but the patients are slowly coming back (I saw over 100 kids). It's been encouraging these past 2 days to see kids get better, especially after the tough weekend. Two of the kids I admitted yesterday (one who was dehydrated and one who needed blood), I was able to discharge home today because they were so much better. I walked into the wards this morning and both of them were sitting up, alert and happy. The little girl was actually asking to go to school and when I said she could go home, she got out of the bed and started walking to the door! Patients do get better and sometimes it's the seemingly “simple” but vital things such as IV fluids or a blood transfusion that is the difference of life or death. On most days I still feel like there's so much I don't know about medicine, but then there are days like today that I realize that there are children alive today because I used the gifts God has given me. Thanks for all the continued prayers and encouragement! Only 3 weeks left... pray I will finish strong!

Tears

How can I ever fully describe the suffering here or even the things I have seen? Tonight on my peds rounds, I took care of a 1 day old baby whose mother died after childbirth. She hadn't had any milk in 24 hours and the pharmacy was closed, but thankfully I was able to get some formula from Hollie (a missionary wife who has a 3 month old). As I was leaving, they called me over to see a 12 day old who I had admitted yesterday for neonatal sepsis. When Dr. Jones and I examined her we realized that the baby was already dead. I don't know how long this mother had been holding her dead child, but she started sobbing when we told her. It is times like these I feel so helpless and the only thing I know to do is pray for God's comfort. I came back to the house with a heavy heart and tears streaming down my face. I have only cried a few times since I've been here. Maybe it's because I haven't allowed myself to cry, afraid that I won't stop. Or maybe it's because I've seen so much during my time here that I haven't begun to process it all. But tonight I cry, for this woman who lost her child, for this baby that will grow up without a mother, for all those that are suffering because of sickness and death. I pray and thank God for His peace and ask Him to comfort these people. And may I be an instrument of His love here at this hospital and wherever I go.  

Hospital Reopened

The hospital is now back open as of today. It seems that Alando's funeral won't be until next Friday but his family, the Nayiri (the chief) and the workers all decided that they should come back to work. Even with the hospital open again, I think things will be slow around here for a while. I only saw 10 patients today (After the numbers I was used to, it seemed like I didn't even work!). We expect to see more patients tomorrow as the word gets around that we're open again, but many people are still afraid. Tonight in Station Meeting, we had a special prayer time, for Alando's family, for the hospital and for this community. Please continue to pray for God's presence and peace in the hearts of the people here. 

African Farming

Since I am a city girl, I never claimed to know a lot about farming but I received quite an education yesterday during my time with Tommy. In addition to preaching in the villages, he has a farm here. After our village visit he took us by his farm. I learned that farming is a lot harder in Africa because they don't have many of the machines that American farmers have. They have to do it all by hand - the sowing, the reaping, everything. We saw his workers pounding the soybean and Tommy explained that after they harvest it and let it dry, they “pound” it (hitting the crops with big sticks) to separate the beans and then collect it. It's a long process. I offered to help them for a few minutes – it's hard work! Many of the people here make their living by farming and I was once again shocked at what a hard life they have. It's not been easy living in an African village these last few months, but I live in a palace compared to what most of these people live in. And these people work so hard. Both the men and the women work long hours on the farm, and the children as well. I have seen many children carrying buckets of water from the well (Don't take for granted that you can turn on the faucet and water magically appears). I have tried to put into words what it's like here, but to fully understand you have to see it for yourself. All I know is that life is hard here. But as I shared with the people at the village yesterday, the same God I know is the same God that loves them. And this God never promises an easy life, but He promises to always be with us and to fill us with His peace and joy no matter what our circumstances!        

Day in the Village

Since the hospital still wasn't open today, I was able to go out to one of the villages with Tommy. He's a missionary who has been here for over 10 years and does a lot of evangelism in the surrounding villages. We went to a village about an hour away from Nalerigu to take part in their weekly “Church Service”. Such a simple and awesome time! We met on benches under a tree and had a time of singing – a bongo drum and women dancing around in a circle and singing. I posted a video for you to see the singing and dancing circle that I later joined in. Tommy shared a Bible message with them and then asked if any of us would share. I got up and was able to talk to them about God's love and His work in our lives. Tommy has been going to this village for the past few years and besides his visits, they have no other church service or Bible teaching. And there are many other villages like this one, so isolated that healthcare, schooling and Bible teaching are hard to come by. Just to get to this village, we had to drive for over an hour on this bumpy dirt road (this was probably the worst one of all I've been on). We stopped along the way and let people jump in the back of the truck... there is no public transportation on these roads so most of them have to walk long distances just to get anywhere. As Megan put it, we thought we came to the end of the earth in Nalerigu only to discover there are many more remote places. The simplicity of their lives is astounding. Most of the people can't speak English, but they warmly welcomed us and served us food – fresh black-eye peas and corn, mixed together and cooked. It definitely tasted more exotic sitting on a bench in the farmlands of Africa. :) Since I mostly have been inside the hospital during my time here, it was great to see more of where and how many of the patients live.  

Here's the video... this is the first time I'm uploading a video on my blog so hopefully it will work.

African Birthday

It's not every day that you can celebrate your birthday in Africa and yesterday was my special day. I originally thought I would spend most of it busy in clinic, but because of the recent events, it turned out to be a relaxing day. Although I didn't do anything really “African”, I had fun! I did get up to do hospital rounds and then we went to the visitation with Alando's family, but after that we chilled and watched a girly movie. My roommates cooked me a delicious dinner of Italian Chicken, Macaroni and Cheese, Lima Beans and Garlic Bread – an interesting choice for a birthday dinner but I had to choose from what we had. :) And no ice cream but I actually had 2 cakes! The girls made me Red Velvet Cake cupcakes and wrote “Happy Birthday Amy” in icing and then lit 29 candles and sang to me! It was great! And after we finished up at the house, we went down to House 6, where Bawa, our cook had made me a coconut cream pie (with fresh coconut!) and we ate my second birthday dessert! Wish you all could have been here to celebrate with me! I realized that I have now celebrated my birthday in 3 different continents and was thinking today that I should add something to my “List” - celebrate my birthday in every continent. So next year I'm thinking I need to celebrate it in Europe... anybody want to come? :)  

                          Annie & me at dinner
                       29 candles on my birthday "cake"

Thank you for the prayers

Thanks for all your prayers regarding the situation here at BMC.  The hospital workers meeting this morning apparently went well, but it looks like it's still going to be a while before we will start back clinic. I still don't understand everything that is going on, especially as it relates to culture practices and beliefs, and there is a lot that doesn't make sense to us as Americans, but it's their culture. We question how you can close a hospital because of one man's death, but one of the missionaries told me he stopped trying to understand or interfere with cultural things years ago. I think that the workers will come back after the funeral, but there's a hold up on that because the body was sent to Tamale for an autopsy. Hopefully that will be sometime this week. Things remain clam here in Nalerigu. We will continue being open on an emergency basis only until then. There were only 9 patients in the peds ward this morning (there are 36 beds that are usually filled and I've seen as many as 58!). It's weird seeing the hospital this empty and going from working nonstop to having nothing to do. We all went and greeted Alando's family this afternoon at a type of visitation. Please continue to pray for comfort for his family and friends during this time. Thank you!

Tragedy in Nalerigu

I just wanted to share about what is going on here and ask you all for your continued prayers. On Thursday night, Alando, the hospital's pharmacist and respected political leader in the community, was shot and killed while he was walking home from work. This man has worked at BMC for 20 years and his death came as a shock to all here. It is thought that his murder is connected with a longtime tribal conflict between the Mamprusi and Kusasi tribes. 

I share this with you not for you to be afraid for us, but so that you will pray more specifically during this time. I do not feel there is any danger and have been told that even if more fighting were to occur, that no one would hurt the “white people”. So please, don't worry about me. The people in the community, however, are living in fear. Crime doesn't happen in Nalerigu and everyone is freaked out. We couldn't have clinic on Friday and had to cancel surgeries because many of the workers refused to come to work. We've had to discharge as many people as we can because we only have a skeleton staff in the wards. We don't even know if we'll be able to have clinic this week. How do you convince people who are consumed by fear, even if it's mostly an unfounded fear, to go on with life as usual? And like someone said, yes, it was a tragedy that Alando died, but it would be cruel to allow other people to die. I have shared how much physical need there is and how much this hospital helps the people of this country. 

I ask you to pray most of all for peace, that God's peace and comfort would replace the fear and anger. I ask you to pray for wisdom for Dr. Hewitt and the other leaders as they have many decisions to make. There will be a staff meeting on Monday morning to determine if and when the BMC workers will be willing to return to work (why they have the power to say whether or not they will work I don't understand, but that's how it is). So please pray especially for this meeting tomorrow. And pray for those of us here, that we would know how to minister, to show God's love and peace in a time and place that so desperately needs it.              

Attempted Trip to the Escarpment

I definitely have had some interesting adventures here in Africa... but at least I have stories to share. :) On Sunday afternoon we decided to go to the Escarpment, one of the only fun activities close by. It's an overlook about 45 minutes away from Nalerigu that you can hike up to and see all over Northern Ghana and even to Togo and Burkina Faso. It is supposed to be beautiful but I actually have yet to see the view... cause we never made it there! No, our hike to the overlook consisted of an hour of hiking in tall grass and trying to find the trail there! We supposedly started out on the right path, but the more we walked, the narrower the path and the taller the grass. Angela was our guide but she has never been there after rainy season (apparently there isn't any grass to walk through in dry season) so she was as lost as those of us who had never been before. At one point we saw some rocks and thought if we could go over to them, then maybe on the other side we would see the escarpment. But after making our way through more grass and climbing up the huge rocks, we were at a dead end. We just kept praying that we wouldn't run into any snakes and thinking how the anti-venom is 45 minutes away! Thankfully, there were no snakes and we at least found our way back to the car before dark. Our 4 hour trip to walk through tall African grass! Hopefully I will get to see the Escarpment before I leave, but next time I will make sure it's with Dr. Hewitt, who is usually the one to take groups there.

With the Escarpment behind me... where we were headed
Us at the dead end.... yea, not such a pretty view.

Coffee days are better days

I had coffee today!! It was my first cup of decent coffee in almost 3 months and it was amazing! Some of you know that I didn't drink coffee before Brasil, but now I love strong coffee! So here's my African coffee adventure... The first week I was here I went through major caffeine withdraw from my daily coffee and/or energy drinks. I started having one coke a week – partly from lack of coffee and coke and partly because I thought it would be good to give my body a caffeine break. But then Angela got me some coffee and a coffee maker from the Failes when they left. I decided to make coffee one morning in September, but didn't have much luck with it. I got sick from the coffee and the thing is that I'm not sure why... whether it was because the coffee expired in 2007 or because I made it really strong and my stomach wasn't used to such strong coffee or maybe it was because the milk was sour.... so after that I was afraid to make coffee again. :) I miss Starbucks and the people that make coffee for me! I was going to buy coffee when we went to Ouaga and was so excited cause I saw “Brazilian coffee” on one of the coffee bags at the supermarket... until I noticed the rest of the package was in Arabic! And I didn't recognize any of the coffee brands (I kept searching for Melita) and didn't want to spend a lot of money of coffee that wasn't even gonna taste good. So I had decided that I would just wait another month to drink coffee. But then someone gave me some Cinnabon-flavored coffee. :) So Annie & I made some this morning... I decided that after seeing over 280 patients in 2 days, I could use a little caffeine to keep going. And let me tell you, it was amazing and today was the best day!! Today was a lighter day because I saw only 98 patients (why do I consider that a light day?) but I still have so much energy. Today I am thankful that God made coffee and for fun African coffee adventures. :)      

Breaking the record... yet again!

158 – that's the number of patients I saw today! It's funny to remember back to my first day here, when I was so amazed that Dr. Miller & I saw 96 patients! Those days are long gone and it seems that as the help has decreased, the number of patients have increased. Thank you for all your prayers and please continue to pray for me and the other workers here. God continues to give me strength and joy for each day, and I know that is in part because of so many people praying for me. You are a part of this ministry and you are here with me as I treat each patient. Please pray for continued strength and endurance this week. Tomorrow is market day so it will be busy and we also had to send some of the patients home to come back tomorrow. Thanks so much! Love you guys!

Cute kids

Just thought I would share some cute pictures of some of my patients today. It's always funny to take pictures of kids here because most of them don't know how to pose (although everyone loves looking at the picture after I take it). I try to get them to smile but it doesn't always work. I took picture of a cute little boy yesterday at the nutrition center and as soon as I took it he broke out in tears. I felt so bad! Everyone around the boy, including his mom, was laughing so I guess it was ok! :)  Enjoy and hope y'all are having a good weekend!

 

A typical day

Just thought I would share a typical weekday for me here at BMC - I get up and head to the pediatric ward at the hospital at 7:30 am. In the morning we round on the inpatients. For the kids, it's mostly deciding who can go home and who can be changed from IV to PO meds. After I finish rounding, which is usually about 8:30 or 9:00, I go to clinic and see patients until break. The clinic closes from 9:30-10:00, when they have a devotion in Mampruli for the patients. I usually go home to eat breakfast and have my own devotion time. After break, it's back to clinic to see patients. There are 7 exam rooms at OPD (Outpatient Department) that are filled with Ghanaian Medical Officers, the missionary doctors and volunteers. When there were a lot of volunteers, we would have 2 and sometimes 3 people to a room, but now I'm in a room by myself. Since there are so many kids, I decided to keep seeing just kids until they finish for the day. With kids, the flow is faster because it's mostly just malaria. I calculated the other day that at times, I see 1 child ever 3-4 minutes! I stop for an hour for lunch and then go back to clinic until all the patients have been seen. Once the children are finished, I start helping them see adults. We usually finish up between 4 and 6 pm, although occasionally it is earlier or later. Mondays are always busy and Market Days (every 3^rd day) as well. Thankfully today was light and we finished around 3 pm (The last 2 days weren't as bad as Monday, but I still saw almost 100 patients each day.).

Thank you all for your prayers! After Monday I was so exhausted and wondering how I was gonna make it until next month, but God has filled with me with His strength and joy these last few days. I got an email with some encouraging verses today - “ My presence will go with you and I will give you rest.” Exodus 33:14. “The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace.” Psalm 29:11. “Your strength will equal your days.” Deuteronomy 33:25 God reminded me that He is with me and the one that gives me strength and peace. He will give me just the right amount of strength for the days He has me here in Ghana, even when I think I won't make it another day. He is the one who called me here, knowing exactly what I would encounter, and I can trust that He is in control. I pray that you all have a day filled with His presence and peace!

An exhausting day

Busy Monday in clinic... After a somewhat relaxing weekend, it's back to life at the hospital. Mondays are always busy but today seemed worse, mostly because almost all of the other volunteers have left. It was an exhausting day! I was in an exam room by myself (usually there's another volunteer) and saw mostly kids all day. The thing about seeing kids is that you don't have to talk a lot to the parents because you diagnose them mainly based on examination (and 90% of them have malaria). Over half of the words I've said all day are “He has malaria” and “Go to the pharmacy” in Mampruli. I saw 132 patients today– just me! That's crazy! I have to admit, after today, I am even more worried about how I will survive the next month and a half. Please pray for me, for strength, endurance, encouragement and peace. Thanks!!

Third World Country Vacation

We're here in Ouagadougou for the rest of our mini vacation. There's been no more African mud baths and our accommodations are far better here than at the game park, but it still strikes me as funny that this is where we come for vacation. Ouagadougou, or “Ouaga” as everyone calls it, is a city of 1 million and the capital of Burkina Faso. Someone told me that Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world. We were talking today about how any Westerner would come to Ouaga and talk about the poverty and the dirtiness of the city. And yet, here we are, coming here because it is so much “nicer” than the village we live in. They actually have paved roads, traffic lights, real supermarkets & restaurants!

Most of what we've done has been eating and shopping... and it's been wonderful! Yesterday's lunch was pizza and today we went to the restaurant at the American Embassy – hamburgers, fries and milkshakes! This is no big deal until you haven't eaten food like this in 2 months. :) Last night we went to a Lebanese restaurant and had pita bread, hummus and amazing fresh vegetables. There aren't that many fresh vegetables in Nalerigu so it was definitely a treat! We had chocolate croissants for breakfast and went to a French restaurant for dinner. The shopping was fun, especially since the Nalerigu market only has fabric and food, but it was quite the experience. Imagine trying to bargain in French (I know like 5 phrases and kept trying to speak Portuguese to them!) and calculating the prices in my head (It's 440 CFA for 1 dollar). But it's definitely been nice to be in a city for a few days and to have a break from the hospital.  

African Mud Bath

Well, you probably thought the title of my blog would be “African Safari”, but we had a different kind of adventure yesterday. Soon after we got to Nazinga it was time to go out for the evening safari. The way it works there is you take your own vehicle and pay for a guide to go with you. We start out our tour with Abel, our guide, handing us a picture guide of animals we might see and not saying anything except “turn right”, “go straight”. So we drove for about 20 minutes through tall grass wondering what in the world we're supposed to be looking for. Our animal search came to a screeching halt when we got stuck. Yes, we got stuck in the mud on an African safari. So, Megan, Matt, our guide and I all get out to push while Angela drives. But it did not budge... since there is no way to call anyone we begin the task of getting us out. Matt & Abel get out the tire jack and begin jacking up the front wheels while Megan & I walk around collecting sticks and rocks to put under the tires. Did I mention that our guide, Abel, does not speak any English and Megan only knows a little French. So with hand motions and a few words, we worked together (and laughed cause what else can you do when you're stuck in the mud in Africa?). Once we got that done, we all pushed the car out. I wish someone could have videoed us pushing because it was quite a site. We were at the beginning of the “small river” when we got stuck, so we still had to go through it. We all push again as Angela guns the gas and are running after the vehicle to keep pushing it. In the process though, I fall into the muddy water (not once but twice!), lose my flip flops (yes, I should have worn my chacos but didn't expect to be walking through rivers!) and get up only to find we're stuck again. So we got out the jack, put the rocks under and pushed again... and finally we were out! By that time though it was almost dark and we had to drive back to the ranch. The only animal we saw on our safari was a some type of deer that I think they called a water buck (and some baboons, some birds and a turtle on our drive in). Not one elephant! So basically we paid money for an African mud bath adventure!

                                             All muddy but at least we're out!
                                               Matt & our guide trying to get us out

Trip to Nazinga Game Ranch

There is no way not to have adventures in Africa, even if they are different than what you expected. We are now safely in the guesthouse in Ouagadougou, but have definitely had an adventure the past 2 days. We left Nalerigu early yesterday morning and it took us nearly 8 hours to get to the Nazinga Game Ranch, where we expected to see elephants. The roads are so bad - almost 100 km in dirt roads where there are huge craters and mud puddles and you can't go over 10 miles an hour in some places! Plus, you have to go through the border, which takes over an hour (nothing is easy here), but thankfully we got through before they closed for their 3 hour lunch break. Our lunch was a “picnic” on the side of the road. We tried to pick a spot where there weren't many people around, but I guess there's no way that white people can't draw attention here. :) By the time we were leaving, we had a small crowd of people just watching us eat.

It is the end of rainy season and apparently not the right time to see animals at Nazinga (yes, useful information to know before you drive 8 hours in Africa but what could we do at that point?). The grass is so tall that you really can't see much of anything. The other problem is the puddles (and small rivers) in the road... which proved to be a bigger problem on our safari. We did make it to the ranch, to our “mud huts”. We thought we had reserved a 3 room chalet but we got 2 small huts with a lock that took 5 mins to open, two twin beds with rock hard mattresses, and electricity from 6-10 pm... pretty rustic but at least it had a toilet and shower. Sleeping was interesting... after the power cut turned our fan off, Angela & kept hearing animal sounds. We couldn't go to sleep because it was so loud so we finally went outside to have a look around (probably not the best idea in Africa but the noises stopped when we walked outside). We finally decided that there must be monkeys or baboons in the tree. I slept off and on – the monkey sounds, the feeling that bugs were crawling on me (although I never saw any), and having a hard mattress. It definitely could have been worse conditions, but we were all thankful to leave this morning.  

Wednesday Update

Well it's Wednesday and I realized I still haven't written anything yet this week. And it's mostly because I've been too busy to write. It's been a long few days in clinic, especially since most of the other volunteers have left. Monday was a 12 hour day and with hospital rounds and the outpatient clinic, Andy & I both saw over 100 patients! I have been mostly seeing kids and am amazed at the number of malaria cases we continue to see. Over 75% of what I treat every day is malaria. Continue to pray for strength and endurance. Andy leaves tomorrow and the rest of the time I am here I think there are only surgical volunteers (meaning there are going to be many more long days in clinic). But I get to take a trip to Burkina Faso for a few days for vacation before it's back to hard work until December. We leave tomorrow and are going to a game park to see elephants and then on to Ouagadougou for a few days. Yeah! I think I will have internet in Ouaga so I will try to update y'all once we get there, but please pray for safe journeys and for a refreshing time for all of us. Thanks!   

Day Trip to Tamale

Yesterday we took a day trip to the nearest “city” so we could go to the ATM and the grocery store. I was looking forward to being out of Nalerigu for the second time in the 10 weeks I've been here. Well, this day trip took 9 hours with over 6 hours in the car. Tamale is only 100 miles away but it takes 3 hours to get there because of the dirt roads filled with pot holes, sheep, goats and people. Traveling is an adventure even when we don't have to use public transportation!

Our first stop was a restaurant for lunch... I was looking forward to eating at a restaurant for the first time since arriving in Ghana! It was good, although we were overwhelmed at having so many choices and our food was really spicy. So I'm still looking forward to Cracker Barrel, Olive Garden & the Mexican Restaurant when I get back to Atlanta! :)

We went to the bank and I was able to use to ATM to withdraw money but then the machine took Annie & Angela's cards when they tried after me. Which is bad because the bank is closed on Saturday... so they have to do the trip all over again on Monday so they can get their debit cards back! It's crazy being 3 hours away from the nearest ATM!

I was excited about going “shopping”, although I didn't expect it to be like the States or even Brasil. The other missionaries always go to Tamale to go to the grocery store and talk about how much it has. So I had this picture of a decent size store with a variety of things... You can imagine my surprise when we get there and it's only one little room with 2 aisles! The padaria (bakery in Brasil) right by my house in Rio had more food than this store! Very disappointing after the 3 hour trip. I bought Coca Light, a can of Pringles and an ice cream bar. And I got some apples from the “Fruit & Vegetable Market” - it was just stands on the side of the road. After that we drove the 3 hours again and got to Nalerigu right after dark. You know, I never liked going to the grocery store in Rio and would always get annoyed at the check-out people because they seemed to take forever. But at least they had lots of good food, air condition, cash registers that accept credit cards and it was only 5 minutes from our house!! Our Tamale adventure made me realize even more how different the way of life is here!

Ghanaian Food

We have a cook that cooks lunch and dinner for us every day. Most of the food is American style with an African twist – hot dogs/hamburgers with homemade buns and fries, soft tacos without sour cream or salsa, chicken pot pie and cabbage salad. This week we decided we wanted to try typical Ghanaian food. Caroline, a Peace Corps Volunteer went and got it for lunch for us... closest to delivery we'll ever have here. :) We had fufu, ground nut soup and guinea fowl. Fufu is made from ghanaian yams that they pound and mix together in a big pot with a wooden spoon. It looks like mashed potatoes but is sticky and honestly has absolutely no taste and is the weirdest consistency. You eat it by dipping it in the ground nut soup (with your hand of course!) I liked the soup, although it was a little spicy. It is made from peanut, which they call ground nut. The soup came in a black plastic bag – no such thing as a disposable bowl here. The guinea fowl, which I thought I wouldn't like at all was my favorite of all and tasted like turkey. The pictures are of me pouring my soup from the plastic bag and of the meal. This was after I had already eaten half of it. All of that for only $1!! I will say that I am glad that I don't have to eat fufu everyday, but it was a fun experience!

     

Caring for Sick Kids

It's been a nonstop past 2 days in the hospital. Yesterday I worked in clinic all day and saw many patients. A bus showed up mid-morning, filled to the max inside and people on top (see the picture below). I continued to be amazed at the extremes people will go to receive medical care here.

Andy and I were on call last night and had the busiest night I've ever had on call. We didn't get to eat dinner until almost 8 (we usually eat around 6 pm) and only slept from 1:30-3:00 and 4:00-7:00 am. They knocked on the door at 3 am calling us back in for a patient that was not doing well. Besides having to get up in the middle of the night, it's always scary to be called back in and you just pray that you will know what to do to help the patient. Sometimes there is nothing that can be done. Thankfully we were able to help the woman, but in pediatrics 2 kids died while we were there, even after we had done all we could do. The suffering and sickness is so overwhelming.

After a short night's sleep, it was a busy day in the pediatrics clinic. I admitted 12 patients to the peds ward today (On average I usually admit 3 or 4 daily). And these kids were all really sick – malaria with anemia or convulsions, dehydration and malnutrition, pneumonia with respiratory distress. Below is a picture of a little boy that I admitted today with malnutrition and dehydration. The peds ward is full but we continue to admit. There are probably 15 kids and their moms on the floor because there are no more beds.

I was reading this weekend in Exodus 36 and it talks about the “skilled person to whom the Lord has given skill and ability to know how to carry out the work just as the Lord commanded”. God reminded me that He has given me skill and asks for my obedience to do the work He has called me to do... even when it's not fun or I'm exhausted or would rather be doing something easier. It is God that calls us and God that gives us His strength to carry out the work. Thank you for your continued prayers!

The Jewelry Women

We went back out to Gambaga Witch Village to see the women making the jewelry. It was a lot more fun with some of the women actually being there. It was really cool to see these “outcasts” with smiles on their faces. There were 7 of us that went and we were all taking pictures and praising their work. It was neat to be able to encourage them in the beginning of their jewelry business. And I loved looking at all the jewelry and watching them make it. They asked my opinion about one of the necklaces they were making it and I told them it was great, so great that I wanted to buy it! Below is a picture of the women at work and me with the woman who designed and made my necklace.

  

More pictures

I've posted more pictures on facebook.  Here are the links to the pics:  

Failes Goodbye Weekend -   

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=116940&id=517652235&l=de614b89ba 

Hanging out in Nalerigu -  

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=117733&id=517652235&l=836050ff8e  

Thanks for all your prayers and encouragement!

Water Sachets

It's Friday and we've survived another week of clinic. It was a busy and hot day today. Let me try to describe our “office” today... Imagine a hot room with a fan that barely works, 3 doctors, 1 interpreter for all of us and an endless flow of sick kids. It was the first day I forgot to bring my water bottle and at 3 pm I was starting to feel dehydrated. Someone went and bought me a water sachet, AKA water in a bag. It's really the only way to find cold, pure water outside of our house. There is a talent to drinking these water sachets, that I apparently lacked this afternoon. I bit a hole on the corner, which ended up being too big, and squeezed too hard... which resulted in water all over me! And it was even funnier because there was a roomful of African women and their kids all laughing at me. I know they were thinking, “This crazy girl can't even drink water right!”    

A tribute to Dr. Chuck Miller

After spending 2 months here at BMC, Dr. Miller left this morning and we were all sad to see him go. He has been an inspiration and encouragement to all of us. Chuck will celebrate his 80^th birthday next month and for the past 10 years has been spending half of each year volunteering at mission hospitals all over the world. It has been amazing to hear of his stories and to see how God changed his life and gave him a special calling during this season of his life. His stamina, his compassion & his knowledge were noted by all. And he was so patient to teach us about pediatrics and how to treat the children. We already miss him but know that what he taught us will help us care for children here and in our future jobs. My life was definitely blessed by the time I was able to spend working with him. I told him that I hope I have half of his energy when I'm almost 80! What an example of a life committed to the Lord.

Jewelry and Witches

Today I visited the Witch's Village of Gambaga. It's a village where woman live who are accused of being a witch. In reality, none of the women are witches like we would think of them. In this culture if you accuse someone of being a witch for whatever reason she is sent out of her village. Common reasons: 1) I have a dream that you are trying to kill me so I accuse you of being a witch. 2) You and I are both wives of the same man. You have children and I don't; so you are a witch because you are robbing me of my chance to have children. 3) You have a prosperous business but mine is not doing well so you are a witch. Which all sounds crazy to us as Americans, but woman are sent out of their village because of this. There is a village supported by the Ghanaian Presbyterian Church where the “witches” can go. Presently there are 70 woman there. Many debate whether the village is helping or merely allowing the witchcraft accusal to continue, but woman that don't have a place like this to go to are killed or forced to hide and struggle to survive.

Caroline, a Peace Corps volunteer, is working to help create income for these women by teaching them to make jewelry. We went today to see the woman and help them in their jewelry making. We got there, though and the woman had gone to farm the chief's land. They broke their commitment to us and did what is better for them today but not necessarily good for their future. It is hard to get the woman to think long-term and work hard today to receive money in a few weeks or months. The visit was still good because the four of us picked out colors and beads and separated them for the women to make later this week. The plan is to sell them to volunteers and in the States so we know better than the women what colors the Americans like. It was fun spending a couple of hours playing with beads and jewelry and I can't wait to see the finished products!

Just another Monday in Ghana

Today was Monday clinic, which is always a busy day. One of the med students, Lindsay, and I shared a room and an interpreter. After getting to the point of being able to communicate with all my patients in Brasil, the language barrier here is difficult at times. I am trying to learn to say more and attempting to call patients to come into the room (I've learning some of the accent and have found if I yell and stress certain syllables, they will understand. And if not, it makes everyone laugh so at least I'm entertaining them. :)

It's been really hot the past few days (Estou com saudades da praia!!). I thought it was the end of rainy season, but apparently it's not over yet. Tonight we had a thunderstorm and Lindsay and I happened to be stuck in the schoolhouse. Well, first the internet went out and then the power went out and we didn't know how long it would last. Plus, we were already late for dinner and really hungry. So we decided to face the rain and run to House 6. Lindsay didn't have an umbrella so I wore my windbreaker and let her use my umbrella. Oh, and did I mention it's pitch black so I'm holding my flashlight inside my windbreaker trying to see where to run. So we start running and all the sudden I'm running through a river – a muddy river. So we're running, screaming, through puddles in the downpour and thunder. We finally get to the house, completely soaked. But it was worth the rain because we had spaghetti and garlic bread for dinner! You know you've been overseas when you jump for joy over things like garlic bread! And dessert was homemade coconut cream pie. It turned out to be a good day after all. :)

A relaxing Saturday

I took today off and had a wonderful, relaxing day. After a woman knocked at our door at 7:30 am trying to sell bananas, I was able to go back to sleep enjoy a few more hours. Angela and I made french toast (with Ghanian bread and syrup someone sent her from the States) for breakfast. It was so good!! We also made banana bread muffins to eat for breakfast during the week. It's funny to me what I end up doing in my free time here. Having a roommate that loves to cook has rubbed off on me I guess, and it's been fun to see all the fun stuff we can make.

I can now add hairdresser to my resume. :) In this last 2 weeks I have cut two people's hair! Andy, one of the med students, begged me a couple of weeks ago until I said yes (I told him I had never done it before but I think I was the only person that would try, haha). And his hair actually turned out well. And then today Angela asked me to cut hers and hers looks good too. I don't plan on changing careers once I get back to the US, but I love all the things I get to do overseas that I would never do in the States.

We watched a movie this afternoon, but the power went off 3 times during it and the bad thing is that Angela's remote doesn't allow you to do scene selection so we have to fast forward from the beginning. Nothing is ordinary here in Africa! Hope y'all are having a great weekend!   

Our pet monkey

Yes, we really do have a pet monkey! The Failes had a monkey, Mambora, for 14 years, and when they left a few weeks ago they couldn't find anyone to take her so she moved to House 6 and became the volunteer monkey. I was so excited about having a monkey to feed and play with but all my dreams came crashing down on the first day when she jumped at me and would have attacked me if she hadn't been to the end of her rope. I thought that she was just having a bad day because her family had left her. Andy & James said they fed her and even pet her so I thought I would try again. A couple days later I went out to try to feed Monkey a banana and she went crazy, jumping at me and making all these noises. I was told that since she is a female that she doesn't really like girls, but she seems to hate me even more. Everyone else thinks it's hilarious and took a video of Monkey and me; As for me, I've decided that it's ok that she doesn't like me and it's her loss, not mine. :)

I'm really in Africa!!!

You know those moments that it just hits you all of the sudden and you think “Am I really here or am I just dreaming?” I had one of those moments yesterday afternoon. My roommate, Angela & I rode into town on our bikes. (BTW, I have a bike now... thanks to one of my friends who bought me one... it's not pink or fancy or new, but it works and it has a basket!) So, there I was, riding a bike (in a skirt of course) on the dirt roads of Nalerigu, maneuvering between goats, motorbikes & puddles, passing mud huts and children yelling, “Saliminga, Hello!” and it hits me, “Nothing about this screams normal, but it seems just normal now. I'm in Africa!” What an experience this has been!

Answered Prayer

I don't think it's just a coincidence that the morning after I asked you guys to pray for balance, Dr. Hewitt shows up at my house at 7 am to say that he heard that I hadn't been feeling great and since we had so many volunteers here, that I should take the day off. What a blessing to have an extra day to sleep and relax! Yesterday he had a meeting with all of the volunteers (currently there are 8 of us) and said that we can start taking a days off or trading off rounds on the weekend so we don't all have to work 7 days a week. That was definitely an answer to prayer for me to hear that it's ok to take time to rest and that I should take advantage of the fact that more volunteers are here now because there probably won't be as many in November and December. Thanks for all the prayers and continue to pray for health, strength and wisdom for all of us.    

Carrying things on your head

Even after being here for 6 weeks, I am still amazed at what these women are able to carry on their heads! It's not just light stuff either but some seriously heavy things! I have seem women with baskets on their head filled with coal, with firewood, and one that was filled with canned food! The funniest though was a few weeks ago when I was walking around town and saw a woman carrying a rolling suitcase on her head! What's the point in having a rolling suitcase if you're not gonna roll it? :) I am convinced that some of the neck pain and back pain (which people here call waist pain) has to be from years of carrying such heavy things on their heads, but none of my patients will agree with me. I guess it could possibly be since they start at such a young age that they get used to it. I am determined to learn how to carry something on my head, but we'll see if I actually succeed. Until then I will go on being fascinated with the women and the babies on their back and baskets filled to the top on their heads.

Thoughts after a restful weekend

After a really busy week, it's been nice to have a pretty relaxing weekend. Friday night we had a Girl's Night at our place with the other female missionaries and volunteers. We had strawberry cupcakes and watched a girly movie and did pedicures! Yesterday Angela and I mostly just chilled and watched movies but this afternoon we were very productive. We made strawberry jam! My first time – I'm learning lots of things here in Africa! You have to be really creative here because there's so much you can't get. Tonite we made an Italian dish and it was really good! We were talking about how good garlic bread would be, but the Ghanian bread is sweet so it won't really work. How I miss my padaria (bakery in Brasil) and all the tasty bread we used to get!

I've been thinking and praying a lot this week about finding a balance of work and play here. The work is never-ending at the hospital and the lines of sick patients seem to grow longer week after week. How do you find time to rest and relax when there's always people that are in desperate need of your care? Where is the balance between taking care of them and taking care of yourself so you're able to continue doing the work? How do you get away and relax when you're in the middle of Africa and to go anywhere means traveling at least 2 tiring hours on a dirt road? In Rio, I had the beach, massages, friends and Sharon, who always gave me a day off when she thought I needed it even before I would ask. But here, everyone works 7 days a week and the permanent doctors work even longer and harder hours than I do. How do they do it? I was talking with another volunteer about how there's no way you can continue on in a place like this were it not for God and the sense of His calling to do His work. I can't imagine where I would be if God were not real and always present in my life. I praise Him for all that He has done in me and through me since I've been here. Please continue to lift me up in prayer and specifically for His wisdom to find that balance and for His strength to continue on day after day.    

Busier day after day

This week was probably the busiest yet. I worked with Dr. Miller all week in pediatrics. The two of us saw around 750 kids in the outpatient clinic and when you add the inpatients we saw on morning and afternoon rounds, the total is over 100 children! We broke our daily record 3 different times this week – 157 on Monday, 163 on Wednesday and 178 on Friday! The thing is that most of these kids are really sick and really need medicine. There were 21 patients admitted to the pediatric ward yesterday and there were patients on the floor because they didn't have any more empty beds. Every week the number of patients increases and we are exhausted. Thankfully, 4 new volunteers arrived this week – two 4^th year medical students and two family practice residents. Please continue to pray for us and for the strength and endurance to keep going day after day.

Goat Kabobs

When I first got here I was surprised at how many goats there were. I guess it's just not the first animal you think about being in Africa, but they are everywhere in Nalerigu. The guys got this idea that we should have goat for James' going away party. Well, our cook went to market and bought one – alive – and the goat was tied up at the schoolhouse for 2 days. The problem was that the goat was really cute and there was a debate at dinner one night as to whether we should really eat him instead of just keeping him as a pet. We all took pictures of him and everything. In the end, though, we were forced to go ahead with the original plan and on Tuesday night we had goat kabobs. The meat was interesting, a little tough and a weird after-taste... apparently if you don't take the goat by surprise it makes the meat really tough. Poor little goat...

Treating Rabies

I never ceased to be amazed of the things I see here. Today I saw an 11 year old girl that came in with a dog bite. The major risk here is malaria and when I asked if it was a mad dog, they informed me that they had killed the dog. We have the rabies vaccine here and I had to go to the pharmacy to ask how to write for it. Well, when I came back, James told me they had brought something to show me – the dog's head! I thought they were joking but then they picked up the bag on the floor. I screamed & turned my head... I couldn't handle seeing that... but James saw it and said it was pretty bad. The smell was sickening. And then our interpreter grabbed it and said she was going to cook it! What in the world! You're not supposed to eat the head of a possible rabid dog!! Yes, every day brings more excitement! I have to go to dinner now. We are having goat tonite... my first time eating goat! That will be tomorrow's story... Wish you were all here with me! :)