At the Bloc

Front view of the Bloc (operating building):

A common sight on a sunny day:

This particular surgery was long and involved. It took about five hours with Boni and Laura working together. At one point we thought the guy being operated on had died, but he pulled through all right.

 

Trying to look cool while hanging out in the O.R. all afternoon:

 

        Mary Rose watches Boniface at work:                    Orxance changing out the IV bag:

New Schedule

Thursday I started a new schedule here at the hospital. My days have been quite varied and made up of lots of random things – but for the next five weeks, while the Cedarville team is here, I have a set assignment of where I’m supposed to be and what I’m supposed to be doing – at least between the hours of 7:00 and 4:00. (That is, when I don’t have to be in the office)

With all the visitors here, we have three groups: “P.A.s,” “Pre-Meds” and “Nurses.” There are three people in each group and I am in the nursing student group. Each group will take a rotation through one area of the hospital for a week, and then move on to another area. The first week, my team is in Medicine Homme, Medicine Femme and Pediatrics. Because neither of the other girls understand French or Lingala, so guess who had to translate? Yours truly. Complete with all my mad ninja skillz in Lingala. NOT. 

The girls were learning a new system, trying to understand/be understoood, realizing how different medical work is here and having to adapt to less-than-ideal circumstances, among other things. They’re nursing students, with a lot of the training and knowledge of how things SHOULD be done, so their first day was pretty confusing and frustrating.

This was my first time to be officially working in the wards and dealing with the medical charts, so I had to learn fast how it all worked, take vital signs, pass meds and translate for the girls and the nurse on duty all at the same time. I think it was a frazzling morning for all three of us. I had to go back and forth between several buildings to get various things. It would help if we had more than one scale and more than one oxymeter. Oh well. Such is life here.

The morning passed quickly, and I learned some more about nursing care. Kristen, who is in her third year, kind of acted as an instructor to Malia and I – but we also divided up patients to get things done quicker. I did my best to translate between the girls and the patients and the girls and Liliane. I definitely sensed the patients’ frustration at the fact that none of us could speak Lingala very well, but I was doing my best!

Kingdom Comes

When anger fills your heart
When in your pain and hurt
You find the strength to stop
You bless instead of curse

When doubting floods your soul
Though all things feel unjust
You open up your heart
You find a way to trust

That's a little stone that's a little mortar
That's a little seed that's a little water
In the hearts of the sons and the daughters
The kingdom's coming

When fear engulfs your mind
Says you protect your own
You still extend your hand
You open up your home

When sorrow fills your life
When in your grief and pain
You choose again to rise
You choose to bless the name

That's a little stone that's a little mortar
That's a little seed that's a little water
In the hearts of the sons and the daughters
The kingdom's coming

In the mundane tasks of living
In the pouring out and giving
In the waking up and trying
In the laying down and dying

That's a little stone that's a little mortar
That's a little seed that's a little water
In the hearts of the sons and the daughters
The kingdom's coming

(Sara Groves)

Football (or Soccer, depending on where you're from)

On Sunday there was a big football match at the hospital. (We happen to have a pretty nice field here). I think everyone was surprised at how many people showed up to watch. There were people sitting on top of cars, people sitting on top of the fence surrounding the hospital, and people on the roofs of nearby houses, not to mention the crowds lining the edges of the field.

This was my first experience watching a football game in Africa. It was pretty fun, and there was a lot of excitement in the air. Whenever a goal was made by the Impfondo team, half the audience would rush out onto the field. You would think this would slow down the game quite a bit, but they ran back to their places pretty quickly so it didn't really.

I sat for a while very squished by people, holding Raphaella, with Cherissa, JDD and some others crowded in around me. Lauren and I walked around a little too - and got plenty of stares and people yelling at us and taking pictures of us. That part wasn't so fun. It's especially annoying when the guys get right in your face yelling "white person!" or saying that they want to marry you. Now that I can understand a little Lingala I can hear some of their conversations among themselves and some of what they say to me - and it usually just gets me frustrated.

The Impfondo team (yellow) won - which thrilled the majority of the people, and they all went parading off very happy. The area cleared fast - considering there was probably about two thousand people, and we headed back to the Blue House for our prayer/singing time.

Jour Ferrier

We had a holiday, so we made the most of it and had a big pizza party. This probably wouldn't have happened without the big block of cheese James brought up from Brazzaville for us. You can't get cheese here but somebody found butter in the market the other day, so that was a nice surprise!

It was totally different from our Moot Hall pizza parties at home, but it was still quite an experience. Altogether it took us six hours to make everything. We were feeding about 18 people and doing everything as well as we could, but this is Africa…so it took a lot of time. The outdoor oven came into use again for baking all the pizzas and I made the dessert.

We also had corn which the neighbors brought over and the chocolate cake was in honor of Dr. Laura. There was plenty of food for everyone and one of the girls ate more than I've seen anyone ever eat. I think she got full for the first time in her life.

Contrasts

Life here is full of contrasts. Hope and despair. Poverty and plenty. Joy and sorrow. It rains. I walk in the rain, mourning with those who mourn. The sun shines. I hang up laundry to dry. It rains again. Rain makes the flowers grow.

One moment I see this:

Another moment I see this:

In the morning I'm playing with some kids, laughing with them and having a great time. In the afternoon I'm riding in a truck crowded with people crying their hearts out because their mom just died. One hour I'm enjoying the entertaining process of teaching English, another hour I'm standing in the emergency room in the middle of pain and suffering. In the morning I'm dragging my feet to get out of bed because I'm so tired. In the afternoon I'm helping bandage feet ruined by leprosy. 

Life here is full of contrasts.

Whether it was the heat...

...which warped the wood, or something else (like being bumped around too much), I'm not sure, but today I opened up the violin case to discover the sad sight of "me fiddle" in a state of disrepair. Actually, it's Hannah's violin...so roomie, if you're reading this, my deepest apologies to you. (I know you knew there was a pretty big chance of this happening.)

Now I'm going to miss my music a lot. It was a bit pathetic trying to play my songs without my band, but now I can't even do that. I wish I'd had time to play it more. Anyway, I surely hope this fiddle is not the first in a long line of unthinkable accidents, like the fiddles of long ago that perished in terrible ways. Ask Dr. Cockman to tell you the stories - they will make you shudder.

And so perished Hannah's violin, which I have treasured these two moons of life on African soil. I suspect it is not beyond repair and could be renewed at the hands of a good old boy from the Appalachian Music Shoppe. (actually, I'm convinced it could.) But alas, here there are no such skilled hands. So it will have to lie in dust and mildew awaiting its resurrection.

See Him In Your Face

Some days seem better than others. Sometimes we just sit down and cry...it's just too much.

"When life seem so hard to bear

When shadows look real

The circumstance is your Father's care

Don't find faith by what you feel...

His quiet voice speaking in silence every day

If I will only listen to the words he has to say

I'll walk in His spirit and see Him in your face

I will live, 'cause He will live in my place."

Seeing Him in the faces around me - that's the key. They're not just people - they are made in the image of God. I'm not just dealing with people here - or serving people. What I do, I do for God.