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!