I had a refreshing experience in South Africa with my mom a couple weeks ago. We were able to visit Cape Town and part of Kruger Park-such a change from life in Zimbabwe! It was also a wonderful blessing to have some time with my mom and to receive her special deliveries (notes from friends and family and donations for the orphanage). When I arrived in Harare, the Mapongas were there to greet me and take me to the orphanage, but first we had to make a few stops for groceries, etc. on the way. Grocery shopping is always interesting - seeing who has what and at what prices... Then we continued on our journey to Masembura, less than an hour from Harare. After unpacking my luggage, and meeting everyone at the Maponga home, we went down to the orphanage. All the children were standing in a line holding colourful signs when we arrived. I had no idea what they were doing, I thought it was some sort of activity that they do every evening, until I got out of the truck and heard them singing a song with my name in it – and the colourful signs were a welcome greeting for me! I was quite overwhelmed... Soon I was introduced to each child: 3 girls and 6 boys. Then we kept singing and dancing for a while. The next day I sorted some of the donations for the orphanage before lunch. Then I had two of the girls who live with the Mapongas help me attempt to make balloon animals from some of the balloons that were donated. We were a sight! They were quite contorted and we were in hysterics whenever they popped! Later Mai Maponga came in to go through the donations with me. We had so many beautiful dresses, lace, ribbon, thread, balls, toys, balloons – it was such a blessing to be a part of delivering all of these to the kids! THANK YOU to everyone who helped! Since there are only 3 girls at the orphanage right now, the Mapongas agreed to help me distribute the other dresses to other orphans in the community. (Because of the selection process for the orphanage, they are quite familiar with the needs in the surrounding community.) Since I wasn’t staying at Masembura very long, they said we would do it whenever I come back, so that I can take pictures and see more of the surrounding community.
The next day I came back to Sanyati, and we loaded donations for the Baptist Seminary in Gweru and the orphanage into the Maponga’s truck. Then, I rested for a couple days before heading off to Denda Clinic. This clinic is in a very isolated area and is severely lacking in resources. The staff there continues to trudge through despite the many inadequecies; they were an inspiration to me! I stayed with a nurse (Sister Nyama), her young sister (Joyce, 16), and her nephew (Genius, 14). There wasn’t a mattress for me, but I did have my own room with an examination table to sleep on. That was actually quite a pleasant surprise, because when I first arrived they told me that they should have brought a mattress for me. Then I was thinking, “Great, I’m going to be on the floor and rats are going to get tangled in my hair.” So when I saw the exam table, I was pretty sure that, although it wouldn’t be the most comfortable, at least the rats wouldn’t get tangled in my hair! (And I never even saw any rats while I was there.) I saw lots of patients with Sister Nyama and helped the nurse aides with wound care (mainly from scotch cart incidents). There used to be both running water and electricity in this community, but not anymore. There is a solar panel that the clinic staff uses to keep the clinic phones and batteries charged. The vaccine refrigerator is gas-powered. The artesian well on the clinic site has very warm, salty water that is not ideal for drinking. So, I went with Sister Nyama on a few days to collect water from a protected well a little less than a kilometre away. The water from this well was still much more salty than I would have liked, but clean and safe were good enough for me! I had gotten quite used to cold water during my stay in South Africa and my time in Sanyati, so it was an adjustment to warm-ish water for the week.
One day I went with the Environmental Health Technician to do some health education in the community. We went on his motorbike (donated by WHO) to an even more rural area between the Denda Clinic and the next clinic over. About 40 people came to the session, which I thought was pretty good for a meeting taking place under a tree in the middle of a desert. He was a little disappointed though, and said that often over 100 people will come to his sessions, but he thought lots of people were out collecting food from donating agencies at the time of this meeting. He told me about a few of the people in the crowd, and how he especially appreciated the support of the local traditional healer and spirit medium who were there. Since both of these people still have such a strong influence in the community, the people are more likely to accept the information presented if these influential people embrace the new information. After the meeting we had lunch with a local family, and I also played a little football/soccer with the kids (with a plastic bag/string soccer ball). We also found a little store that had electricity AND Coca-cola! One of those is special, but to find both of them together was a very special treat! There was also a group of people gathered at the store next door watching what is likely to have been the only television in the area. Then we continued our journey back to Denda Clinic (I only had to get off the bike a few times to go through river beds, etc.). The next day, after our time at the clinic, Sister Nyama and I walked to the Baptist deacon’s home. They welcomed us with rice (!) and tea before walking me around and showing me each of the buildings that comprised their home. The main house had four bedrooms and a sitting area. The other buildings were the thatched-roof kitchens, the grass bathroom, Blair toilets, and the granary, where they store and dry the maize until they are ready to use it for sadza. On Sunday, we went to the local Baptist church. They asked me to speak, which I wasn’t exactly prepared for. I’m not even sure if my interpreter understood what I was trying to say. (Being in such a rural area, the people are not used to speaking as much English...especially with my Southern accent.) The front of the church is virtually nonexistent. The church is a cinder-block structure, but the front and one of the sides are basically missing - a stark reminder of the situation here and the serious lack of resources. Despite the circumstances, everyone was eager to share, sing and learn from the Word.
On Monday I came back to Sanyati. It took longer than it should have, due to some technical difficulties, but we made it back to the mission station eventually. I came back to the administrator’s home and resettled here (in other words, unpacked and repacked, since I’m living from a suitcase). I just relaxed for a couple days with Mai Mtisi and Tanaka (their 8 y/o son) at home. She is a teacher, and they haven’t been working much lately. I’ve also started helping Tanaka with his English. On Thursday, I went back to the hospital. There are still a few departments that I haven’t spent time in yet, and so I decided to start somewhere new. After chapel, I talked to the matron about going to OI for a while. OI stands for Opportunistic Infections; this is where people go for pre/post HIV test counselling and follow-ups. They also help coordinate home based care givers, who are volunteers in the community. These dedicated ladies are essentially hospice workers in rural villages. Tonight I had dinner with the Byler’s who were celebrating their son’s birthday. It was a special treat to have cold tea and homemade pizza (even chocolate cake!). The electricity is finally back, another treat after the week at the clinic and then a week here without it! I watched Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien, and now I’m watching Crossing Jordan...almost like being home!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
a loooong update!
Saturday: Back in Sanyati. Left Gweru yesterday around 2 pm, instead of the 10 am I was expecting. On the way, they had trouble finding fuel to continue the journey. Mr. Mtisi the administrator had told me before I went to Gweru, that we would plan to go to two of the clinics on the way back to Sanyati. So we stopped in Gokwe for fuel…an interesting experience to say the least! And then proceeded to Sasame. It was getting dark, so it was hard to see, but the houses are in significant disrepair, but the clinic is a newer one that was built in 2002. There has been a clinic here for about 30 years, but the new one was opened in 2002. I talked with a lady there who has been working there for more than 30 years and she broke my heart: her daughter died in May, after going to South Africa for heart surgery, her husband is blind, she is getting older and working very hard at the clinic, and she’s tired and hungry. I feel a little cold-hearted saying this, but her story is not unusual, in fact many of them are much worse than that. Listening to her, I was overwhelmed though, but I tried to be reassuring, even though it’s hard for me to see hope in such desperate times.
Then we continued our journey toward Nenyunga Clinic. On the way we stopped or dinner in Chiketekere (?); we had sadza and beef. The water I washed my hands with before eating with them made me a bit nervous, because it looked dirty…so I decided to wait and drink the water in my bottle that I had left in the ambulance.
Mr. Mtisi told me as we continued our journey that we were very near a game park, so I kept hoping to see some animals…but every time I thought I saw something it turned out to be a cow or a person walking on the road. The road to the clinic was very bumpy and seemed to take forever after we turned off the main road. There were many rocks, ruts, ditches, and the like…if it was during the rainy season we could not have driven there.
It was dark when we arrived at Nenunga. The head nurse and her family were sitting outside finishing their dinner by the fire. We talked for a few minutes, then walked around and I took pictures of some problem areas, including the river bed that gets closer and closer to the clinic each year.
Sunday: Saturday waited around the Chikonzo’s home until the ambulance came to pick me up. We went to the Denda Clinic, which was about an hour and a half drive. They have an artesian well there, and it goes through a pipe to an area where people from the community gather water. The problem with this is animals also drink water from here. So, the animals urinate and defecate in the same muddy water the people have to walk through to access the fresh water from the artesian well coming out from the pipe. A project has been initiated to reroute the water from the spring to brick water tanks to protect the water from environmental contaminants. It also broke my heart to see bed frames with no mattresses…most of them only had blankets on top of wire springs! There are so many needs everywhere I turn!
Today went to church with the Chikonzo’s, probably for the last time. Mai B led Sunday School for the older kids, so I followed her outside. She used a children’s Bible and started from Creation and went through Cain and Abel. About half-way through two more teachers came and the younger kids went with them. Later I went to see what they were doing, and ended up leading them in Father Abraham, Deep and Wide, and Jesus Loves Me. Soon it was time to go back to big church, where I listen and follow along with scripture with little to no understanding.
Dr. Chikonzo had to go to church in Arda today for a business meeting, so the rest of us walked to church at the shops (I’ve heard it’s about 3 km, but it didn’t seem that far…). After church, one of the elder’s wives asked me what I had brought them from Gweru. Ahhh! Things like that make me want to be selfish with what I do have…but then I get frustrated with myself for not oozing grace, how can I respond though? My thoughts are quite jumbled…
When we left the church, I ended up walking with a 9 year old girl named Lyvette. She doesn’t know much English, and I cannot continue a Shona conversation much past the greetings. Finally, I started asking her to name things in Shona for me (tree/flower/grass/etc.). She stayed with us for lunch today and we read a little from the children’s Bible together. Then we played War with my deck of cards, after she grasped that, I tried Go Fish…that was a failure! We had fun though :)
I’ve been leading devotions at the hospital this week. I started with some encouraging words from Philippians 4:13 on Monday, then part of my testimony yesterday. I was planning to continue with my testimony today, but the nurses are now on strike.
Monday I continued working on the clinic proposals for the hospital administrator and worked in maternity for a bit. Tuesday I scrubbed in for a C-section with Dr. Byler. It is so much more interesting when you can help a little! I know I’m not doing much, but I am contributing and learning a lot at the same time! He had me hold the bladder blade and assist with the suturing.
I’m planning to start going to a Bible Study at Angie Byler is leading. It’s a Beth Moore study focusing on the patriarchs. There have been many occurrences around me lately that have seemed to be leading me to study Abraham, and this is another one of those. I haven’t spent much time with Angie, I think it will be good. I went to the Byler’s house one night for dinner; they had both national doctors and their families over. Angie also came and took my picture as I led devotions yesterday, which was very thoughtful of her.
The container arrived yesterday! I was helping Kudzai with Biology, so I was unaware until they were finished unloading. Today I will check out the new stocks, and take some pictures.
I went to the hospital a little late this morning, because there will not be devotions until the staff are back off strike…everyone who is coming to work needs to be working when they are there. I thought I would go look at the shipment that came in yesterday, but first Mr. Mtisi wanted me to help him with more work on the proposals. Although I thought I was finished, we went through everything together and it took all morning! Don’t get me wrong, I wanted him to check over what I was doing but then he explained everything to me and there were lots of interruptions. I became rather impatient…but then I started thinking what better do I have to do? I’m just so task-oriented, and I want to get things done…and this thing is never-ending it seems! I guess I should look at it from a different perspective, as I’ve completed the hospital proposal, and the Denda Proposal, and the Nenyunga one…I’m almost done with the Sasame one too! (Yeah, that feels a little better.)
I’m going to head back to the hospital now and see what I can find to do. I hope I can check out what came in with the shipment yesterday! I’m not sure what else I can do, because the power is gone now, and the battery on Mr. Mtisi’s computer doesn’t last very long at all.
I was able to take some good pictures of some of the donations that came in with the recent shipment (with much thanks to JouneyPartners!). There are several beds, lots of mattresses, IV drip stands, trolleys, a heat lamp for premature babies, a scale, and lots of other boxes that we haven’t even gone through yet! The matron said we would continue to sort and distribute on Monday, and Dr. Randall is coming soon. (I don’t remember if I mentioned him before, but he worked in Sanyati (and the clinics) for about 30 years! Everyone seems to be a big fan of both him and his wife, so I cannot wait to meet them! I think they will be here for about two weeks and Dr. Randall will be doing lots of surgeries, hopefully I can follow and see lots of cool stuff! I’m sure there is so much I can learn from Dr. Randall.)
I moved to the matron’s house on Thursday evening. He lives with his wife, Mrs. Winnie Mtisi, Stephen Joe (son, 25), Anna (niece, 20), Cynthia (niece, 15), Mousa (grandson, 5) and Munashe (granddaughter, 15 months). I have my own room and bathroom; it’s sort of like having an apartment! We have been without electricity (and water) for a few days now. Anna brought me a bucket of water last night so I would have some. This morning I washed a little laundry and gave the bathroom a good scrub, before making final use of the water by flushing the toilet! (If anyone thought I tried to conserve at home…it’s to the serious extreme here!) The Mtisi’s just moved to this house over the past couple weeks, so they aren’t completely settled and I don’t think my little suite area has had a good scrub…that’s why I started with the bathroom. The bathroom is small and I thought I could make do with my one bucket of water. It feels much cleaner now and I have a little bit of ownership in my space now. Whenever we have more water I will continue to clean, and if it takes too long I will just keep going bit by bit.
They do family devotions every night and then pray together. So far, Mr. Mtisi has led all of them. I want to hear someone else led them before I volunteer though. After devotions Anna and Cynthia went outside to clean the pots, so I went out to see if they wanted to play cards later. We sat down to play rummy at the kitchen table…but then Mr. Mtisi said something, and they whispered that maybe we should stop…so I suggested we go to my room. My little suite is at the opposite end of the house (it even has it’s own door!), so we were not being as disruptive there…but we were being quiet in the kitchen too!
I ate my first bulger on Friday…I’m not sure, but maybe it’s millet. I think they use it when sadza is scarce. The bulger wasn’t bad, but I had it with beans, so it wasn’t my favorite…of course I didn’t let on though. I was telling myself I have to get the protein from the beans if we will only have meat once a week, but I might have to start telling myself something different for that to work. Mrs. Mtisi told me they normally have meat about once a week, but we have had meat three times since I have been here. I am thankful for the meat, but I hate to be a burden! It’s quite hard to show appreciation and at the same time tell someone not to do something for you…they are so giving!
I think Kudzai is moving back to school this weekend, so I’m trying to prepare a week’s worth of lessons for him to study. It will be nice to have more free afternoons to get to know my new hosts. I wanted to live here before living with the administrator’s family because I already know them pretty well. I had never met any of the matron’s family until I arrived here with my bags. I thought it would be better to get to know more people sooner, so I can have stronger relationships with people.
Yesterday was Grandaddy’s birthday…I hope it was good! I don’t think he got my e-mail, because we haven’t had power the last few days. Maybe Dad will get his on time though…
Went to church for the first time with the Mtisis today. I was a bit confused, because everyone was up and getting ready for church but then I left with only Mr. Mtisi. He said he really likes the Bible Study in the morning, and the others are normally late. OK. I never even saw his wife or the girls there. Mr. Mtisi had suggested I go to Mr. Machapaza’s class for Sunday School, because he does it in English, but he wasn’t there today. So I went with Isabelle (a young lady I know from the hospital) to the class that she was teaching. Then I followed her back to the sanctuary. Mr. Mtisi had told me I should go with his son for the service since Isabelle helps with praise and worship, but then his son said I needed to sit with the other girls (I’ve been noticing the segregation of sexes during services, except when the whole family sits together.) So I felt like a kid that was unwanted…but Isabelle told me later they just argue like that, joking around…but I didn’t know that at the time. It was weird for me to be sitting with Isabelle because she was in the second to the front row and they kind-of led worship from there, at least at the end of the service…so when the rest of my row got up to leave, I wasn’t sure whether to stay or go, but Isabelle had told me we would go out together…so I waited, even though I felt out of place. Then we filed out of the church (just like at AFM) and shook everyone’s hand in a circle that grew as we added to it coming out from the sanctuary. Again, I felt out of place, because I had walked out with Isabelle (and the other praise and worship folks, and then they went to the middle of the circle!) All this left me at the very end of the line, behind Mr. Mtisi and then most of the young men were in front of him…so I felt like I should have been going around the circle with the women instead of after Mr. Mtisi…but I know I stick out like a sore thumb anyway, so I’m sure it doesn’t matter that much! On our walk home from church, I asked Mr. Mtisi if his wife and the girls went, he said they did, but they probably left because Munashe was fussy.
Munashe is giving me some trouble. When I first came, she would cry whenever she would see me. I told myself it was because she wasn’t used to white people. Now she still cries most of the time, but if I tease her a little (like hiding behind a wall and playing peek-a-boo), she will normally laugh. Sometimes, she sees me and smiles and then cries…so I think she’s just teasing me now! I think we will be friends soon enough though.
Today is Wednesday night, and it has been a very long day in Sanyati! The past few days I’ve been working in the warehouse helping to sort the big MedShare shipment, with lots of donations that JourneyPartners helped send! I’ve been working with Alex and Sister Shumba carrying lots of boxes to the warehouse and to help get some of them distributed to the departments. I met Dr. Randall today…you know how, it’s so exciting to meet a famous person but then when you meet them, they are well…just human? I kind of feel like that. Everyone has been talking about Dr. Randall and how they are so excited he’s coming, etc., etc. I haven’t really had a full conversation with him yet, but I am very excited about the opportunity. 30 years in Sanyati doing medical missions! It’s like seeing a part of who I hope I am becoming…
I went to Bible study with Mai Mtisi today. There were about 12 ladies at the Byler’s house to watch this Beth Moore video Bible Study. Afterwards I talked to Angie about some groceries for me. The Mtisi’s (the matron’s family) are struggling, and I feel the weight of my being here much more than at the Chikonzo home. Mai Mtisi keeps asking me what I want to eat, and I don’t know what to tell her; I’m not used to having much choice! So she told me to talk to the Byler’s about getting some food for me, but most of it will be for us. I hope we will be able to get mealie meal (for sadza), sugar, oil, flour, fruits (oranges, etc.), muriwo (green vegetables), tomatoes, chicken…the basics. I did get some mac n cheese from the Byler’s house today and some strawberry jam. In the morning, I will have peanut butter and jelly on flat bread, I hope someone else will eat some too. I told Mai Mtisi tonight that I want to save the mac n cheese for Sunday, I’m trying to think of what will go best with it. Maybe corned beef and muriwo/tomatoes. I also borrowed some books from the Bylers: The Applause of Heaven (Lucado); Mukiwa: A white boy in Africa (Peter Godwin); The Chairman (Harry Lee Kraus, Jr.). I think each of them will be very good choices, I’m excited about reading them!
Today little Munashe came and sat with me for a while! I’m so pleased we are shamwaris now! She’s still a bit finicky, but that’s just her personality. We sat in the den together for a bit today and when I got up to leave the room she followed me! She has started talking to me a little too…most of it isn’t real words, but she does call me Nana Anna...they said that means baby Anna But at least she knows my name, and that its different from her cousin Anna…
Today is Saturday. Last night I had dinner with the Bylers (Dr. Mark, Angie, and Luke (11)) and Dr. Randall. It was refreshing to talk with Angie for a bit before dinner; we haven’t had much opportunity to talk before. We had salad, spaghetti, and pineapple cake with icing! It was a welcome treat! Then I stayed at their house for a while to watch a couple episodes of the Cosby show and to send a couple e-mails.
I told Mai Mtisi that I would cook something for breakfast today, but I told her I would need help. I didn’t know what she expected or what was possible… (My name is now Auntie Anna and Anna the cousin is known as Mai Anna.) Mai Anna had already prepared bulger this morning, so I just supplemented that with some groceries that Angie sent over for me earlier in the week. I cooked eggs with tomatoes and we also had bananas with peanut butter. Then I did the dishes and the girls (Mai Anna and C {Cynthia) helped me put things up. I haven’t been helping as much here, because I am still adjusting to life at this house. I’m going to continue to do more and more though.
Today I think I will visit the administrator’s house and see if he was able to figure out any transport for me to get to the airport next month. The matron told me he didn’t think the administrator was able to contact anyone while he was in Kadoma yesterday, presumably due to poor network.
I did laundry today…independently! It seems like this family does theirs outside, but it’s so hot and I would rather them not watch me…I still feel quite awkward washing everything by hand. I have two buckets in my bathroom and I used one for soaking/washing and the other for rinsing, it went pretty well actually.
Electricity has been quite scarce this week. It only came on a few nights during the week and only for a few hours each time. Finally on Friday it came on and stayed on for most of the day, it went off Friday evening around 6 and came back around 7:30, which was a big surprise! We still have it! I hope it stays on long enough to replenish our water supply. It is such a hassle to use buckets of water for everything.
Wednesday, September 24: This week electricity has been much better! (That also means we have running water…praise the Lord!) I have been following Dr. Randall, a surgeon who worked in Sanyati for about 30 years. I’ve been able to see and help with so many things…skin grafting, hernias, undescended testicles, a suprapubic catheter, irrigation and casting of a compound tib/fib fracture (complete break from being run over by a scotch cart). I think it’s going to get better once we get oxygen; then he is going to do some bigger things! (We are supposed to get oxygen tomorrow.)
Yesterday I went to Kadoma with the Bylers (an American missionary family; Dr. Byler, Angie, and Luke). Every week Luke meets with a home-school group there. Yesterday Dr. Byler was heading to Chinoyi to try to pick up some meds/supplies/maize for the hospital, so he dropped us off in Kadoma and then picked us up on his return trip. Once Luke started his lessons, Angie and I went to town to try to pick up some groceries for me and the family I am staying with. That was quite an interesting adventure, but we were rather successful! After lunch with the moms in the group, we had a Bible Study. They have some Beth Moore videos and workbooks they are using. It was refreshing to be with a completely different group of people, and very thought provoking.
Sunday, September 28: I walked with Mai Anna and Synthia to Chivanga Baptist Church today. I thought we were leaving at 8, but at 6:30 they told me it would start at 7! I hadn’t even showered or anything, and it’s a 30 minute walk! We left about 7:10 and arrived about 7:45 after serious power walking! They were still singing when we arrived and someone translated the message for me as the pastor preached. The service was very short, because it was part of the conclusion of a conference weekend. We left there about 9:40, it took almost an hour to walk back because we were no longer in a hurry.
I led the family devotion last night. We played the game two truths and a lie, which was quite easy for me, but harder for them since they are family! Then I talked about some of my recent thoughts about who I represent while I am here. I am a direct representative of JourneyPartners, since I came here through JP. In addition to that I have also been thinking about who else I represent: my country, my family, my school… Then I talked about who we are and who we represent as Christians. We looked at 2 Corinthians 5:17 (We’re a new creation in Christ…) and then 2 Corinthians 3:2-3 and 18 (We are a letter from Christ, like ambassadors and more and more of Him is being unveiled in us.)
On Friday I was able to scrub in to two surgeries and watch one. The first one was this precious 4 month old musikana (girl) with a hugely distended abdomen. It turned out to be a congenital defect that allowed for massive amounts of bile to be stored in this outpocketing…over a liter! The next was a colostomy closure, which I didn’t scrub for, and finally a prostatectomy.
Friday, October 3: I continued to follow Dr. Randall this past Monday and Tuesday. There were more surgeries, of course but they were smaller surgeries (hernias, undescended testicles, a breast mass). Actually, we didn’t go through with the mastectomy because the patient had some respiratory problems. On the ward her BP was high, so they hesitated to send her to surgery to start with. The nurse anesthetist said to send her over anyway, and she would make the decision. So they decided to proceed with the surgery. However, when the anesthetist went to intubate her she had some difficulty. The patient’s pulse went up to 160 and her O2 sats dropped down to the 30s! I was so very nervous, especially because I couldn’t really do anything. Each time they would wait for her sats to come up before trying to intubate again, but on the third try she started foaming at the mouth and they decided not to try any more. I had just talked to Angie Byler a couple nights before this about how they don’t even really do CPR here. She said they really just give the patient’s oxygen, so whenever a mother sees them coming with oxygen she is likely to panic because she knows that’s one of the last interventions they do here. (Oxygen is quite a commodity. Last week Sanyati had to trade another hospital Halothane {an anesthetic} for oxygen, so that we would have enough oxygen to continue doing surgeries.)
Wednesday I did rounds with Dr. Byler and then went to surgery with him. There was a young man who had a rather large mass in his elbow that needed to be removed. They said it might or might not be a keloid. There was quite a bit of blood, but it was a very interesting procedure. Dr. Byler cut all the way around it to excise the mass, then he undermined the skin so it would stretch further. Then he made some an extra cut on each side to have a flap of skin to reach across the gaping wound (this prevented the need for grafting). I was surprised at how such a large wound could be covered in this way.
Wednesday afternoon I went to Bible Study at the Bylers. Angie wasn’t there, so it was me with about 14 nationals. We always discuss after the video, and I enjoy going to the afternoon session so that I can listen to more people’s thoughts and opinions. (There are less people at night, and, thus, less discussion.) I wasn’t able to understand much this time though, because nearly everything they said was in Shona. That frustrated me a little, but I think that means they are really processing the topics being discussed. If they tried to discuss in English, I think it would be a great hindrance to their learning and growth, so I enjoyed listening to them continue their discussion without really knowing what they were talking about.
I am very excited about my upcoming trip to South Africa! I’m going to meet my mom for some sightseeing and get to catch up with her. This week I have been busy working out my plans to get to the airport and make arrangements for my return.
Then we continued our journey toward Nenyunga Clinic. On the way we stopped or dinner in Chiketekere (?); we had sadza and beef. The water I washed my hands with before eating with them made me a bit nervous, because it looked dirty…so I decided to wait and drink the water in my bottle that I had left in the ambulance.
Mr. Mtisi told me as we continued our journey that we were very near a game park, so I kept hoping to see some animals…but every time I thought I saw something it turned out to be a cow or a person walking on the road. The road to the clinic was very bumpy and seemed to take forever after we turned off the main road. There were many rocks, ruts, ditches, and the like…if it was during the rainy season we could not have driven there.
It was dark when we arrived at Nenunga. The head nurse and her family were sitting outside finishing their dinner by the fire. We talked for a few minutes, then walked around and I took pictures of some problem areas, including the river bed that gets closer and closer to the clinic each year.
Sunday: Saturday waited around the Chikonzo’s home until the ambulance came to pick me up. We went to the Denda Clinic, which was about an hour and a half drive. They have an artesian well there, and it goes through a pipe to an area where people from the community gather water. The problem with this is animals also drink water from here. So, the animals urinate and defecate in the same muddy water the people have to walk through to access the fresh water from the artesian well coming out from the pipe. A project has been initiated to reroute the water from the spring to brick water tanks to protect the water from environmental contaminants. It also broke my heart to see bed frames with no mattresses…most of them only had blankets on top of wire springs! There are so many needs everywhere I turn!
Today went to church with the Chikonzo’s, probably for the last time. Mai B led Sunday School for the older kids, so I followed her outside. She used a children’s Bible and started from Creation and went through Cain and Abel. About half-way through two more teachers came and the younger kids went with them. Later I went to see what they were doing, and ended up leading them in Father Abraham, Deep and Wide, and Jesus Loves Me. Soon it was time to go back to big church, where I listen and follow along with scripture with little to no understanding.
Dr. Chikonzo had to go to church in Arda today for a business meeting, so the rest of us walked to church at the shops (I’ve heard it’s about 3 km, but it didn’t seem that far…). After church, one of the elder’s wives asked me what I had brought them from Gweru. Ahhh! Things like that make me want to be selfish with what I do have…but then I get frustrated with myself for not oozing grace, how can I respond though? My thoughts are quite jumbled…
When we left the church, I ended up walking with a 9 year old girl named Lyvette. She doesn’t know much English, and I cannot continue a Shona conversation much past the greetings. Finally, I started asking her to name things in Shona for me (tree/flower/grass/etc.). She stayed with us for lunch today and we read a little from the children’s Bible together. Then we played War with my deck of cards, after she grasped that, I tried Go Fish…that was a failure! We had fun though :)
I’ve been leading devotions at the hospital this week. I started with some encouraging words from Philippians 4:13 on Monday, then part of my testimony yesterday. I was planning to continue with my testimony today, but the nurses are now on strike.
Monday I continued working on the clinic proposals for the hospital administrator and worked in maternity for a bit. Tuesday I scrubbed in for a C-section with Dr. Byler. It is so much more interesting when you can help a little! I know I’m not doing much, but I am contributing and learning a lot at the same time! He had me hold the bladder blade and assist with the suturing.
I’m planning to start going to a Bible Study at Angie Byler is leading. It’s a Beth Moore study focusing on the patriarchs. There have been many occurrences around me lately that have seemed to be leading me to study Abraham, and this is another one of those. I haven’t spent much time with Angie, I think it will be good. I went to the Byler’s house one night for dinner; they had both national doctors and their families over. Angie also came and took my picture as I led devotions yesterday, which was very thoughtful of her.
The container arrived yesterday! I was helping Kudzai with Biology, so I was unaware until they were finished unloading. Today I will check out the new stocks, and take some pictures.
I went to the hospital a little late this morning, because there will not be devotions until the staff are back off strike…everyone who is coming to work needs to be working when they are there. I thought I would go look at the shipment that came in yesterday, but first Mr. Mtisi wanted me to help him with more work on the proposals. Although I thought I was finished, we went through everything together and it took all morning! Don’t get me wrong, I wanted him to check over what I was doing but then he explained everything to me and there were lots of interruptions. I became rather impatient…but then I started thinking what better do I have to do? I’m just so task-oriented, and I want to get things done…and this thing is never-ending it seems! I guess I should look at it from a different perspective, as I’ve completed the hospital proposal, and the Denda Proposal, and the Nenyunga one…I’m almost done with the Sasame one too! (Yeah, that feels a little better.)
I’m going to head back to the hospital now and see what I can find to do. I hope I can check out what came in with the shipment yesterday! I’m not sure what else I can do, because the power is gone now, and the battery on Mr. Mtisi’s computer doesn’t last very long at all.
I was able to take some good pictures of some of the donations that came in with the recent shipment (with much thanks to JouneyPartners!). There are several beds, lots of mattresses, IV drip stands, trolleys, a heat lamp for premature babies, a scale, and lots of other boxes that we haven’t even gone through yet! The matron said we would continue to sort and distribute on Monday, and Dr. Randall is coming soon. (I don’t remember if I mentioned him before, but he worked in Sanyati (and the clinics) for about 30 years! Everyone seems to be a big fan of both him and his wife, so I cannot wait to meet them! I think they will be here for about two weeks and Dr. Randall will be doing lots of surgeries, hopefully I can follow and see lots of cool stuff! I’m sure there is so much I can learn from Dr. Randall.)
I moved to the matron’s house on Thursday evening. He lives with his wife, Mrs. Winnie Mtisi, Stephen Joe (son, 25), Anna (niece, 20), Cynthia (niece, 15), Mousa (grandson, 5) and Munashe (granddaughter, 15 months). I have my own room and bathroom; it’s sort of like having an apartment! We have been without electricity (and water) for a few days now. Anna brought me a bucket of water last night so I would have some. This morning I washed a little laundry and gave the bathroom a good scrub, before making final use of the water by flushing the toilet! (If anyone thought I tried to conserve at home…it’s to the serious extreme here!) The Mtisi’s just moved to this house over the past couple weeks, so they aren’t completely settled and I don’t think my little suite area has had a good scrub…that’s why I started with the bathroom. The bathroom is small and I thought I could make do with my one bucket of water. It feels much cleaner now and I have a little bit of ownership in my space now. Whenever we have more water I will continue to clean, and if it takes too long I will just keep going bit by bit.
They do family devotions every night and then pray together. So far, Mr. Mtisi has led all of them. I want to hear someone else led them before I volunteer though. After devotions Anna and Cynthia went outside to clean the pots, so I went out to see if they wanted to play cards later. We sat down to play rummy at the kitchen table…but then Mr. Mtisi said something, and they whispered that maybe we should stop…so I suggested we go to my room. My little suite is at the opposite end of the house (it even has it’s own door!), so we were not being as disruptive there…but we were being quiet in the kitchen too!
I ate my first bulger on Friday…I’m not sure, but maybe it’s millet. I think they use it when sadza is scarce. The bulger wasn’t bad, but I had it with beans, so it wasn’t my favorite…of course I didn’t let on though. I was telling myself I have to get the protein from the beans if we will only have meat once a week, but I might have to start telling myself something different for that to work. Mrs. Mtisi told me they normally have meat about once a week, but we have had meat three times since I have been here. I am thankful for the meat, but I hate to be a burden! It’s quite hard to show appreciation and at the same time tell someone not to do something for you…they are so giving!
I think Kudzai is moving back to school this weekend, so I’m trying to prepare a week’s worth of lessons for him to study. It will be nice to have more free afternoons to get to know my new hosts. I wanted to live here before living with the administrator’s family because I already know them pretty well. I had never met any of the matron’s family until I arrived here with my bags. I thought it would be better to get to know more people sooner, so I can have stronger relationships with people.
Yesterday was Grandaddy’s birthday…I hope it was good! I don’t think he got my e-mail, because we haven’t had power the last few days. Maybe Dad will get his on time though…
Went to church for the first time with the Mtisis today. I was a bit confused, because everyone was up and getting ready for church but then I left with only Mr. Mtisi. He said he really likes the Bible Study in the morning, and the others are normally late. OK. I never even saw his wife or the girls there. Mr. Mtisi had suggested I go to Mr. Machapaza’s class for Sunday School, because he does it in English, but he wasn’t there today. So I went with Isabelle (a young lady I know from the hospital) to the class that she was teaching. Then I followed her back to the sanctuary. Mr. Mtisi had told me I should go with his son for the service since Isabelle helps with praise and worship, but then his son said I needed to sit with the other girls (I’ve been noticing the segregation of sexes during services, except when the whole family sits together.) So I felt like a kid that was unwanted…but Isabelle told me later they just argue like that, joking around…but I didn’t know that at the time. It was weird for me to be sitting with Isabelle because she was in the second to the front row and they kind-of led worship from there, at least at the end of the service…so when the rest of my row got up to leave, I wasn’t sure whether to stay or go, but Isabelle had told me we would go out together…so I waited, even though I felt out of place. Then we filed out of the church (just like at AFM) and shook everyone’s hand in a circle that grew as we added to it coming out from the sanctuary. Again, I felt out of place, because I had walked out with Isabelle (and the other praise and worship folks, and then they went to the middle of the circle!) All this left me at the very end of the line, behind Mr. Mtisi and then most of the young men were in front of him…so I felt like I should have been going around the circle with the women instead of after Mr. Mtisi…but I know I stick out like a sore thumb anyway, so I’m sure it doesn’t matter that much! On our walk home from church, I asked Mr. Mtisi if his wife and the girls went, he said they did, but they probably left because Munashe was fussy.
Munashe is giving me some trouble. When I first came, she would cry whenever she would see me. I told myself it was because she wasn’t used to white people. Now she still cries most of the time, but if I tease her a little (like hiding behind a wall and playing peek-a-boo), she will normally laugh. Sometimes, she sees me and smiles and then cries…so I think she’s just teasing me now! I think we will be friends soon enough though.
Today is Wednesday night, and it has been a very long day in Sanyati! The past few days I’ve been working in the warehouse helping to sort the big MedShare shipment, with lots of donations that JourneyPartners helped send! I’ve been working with Alex and Sister Shumba carrying lots of boxes to the warehouse and to help get some of them distributed to the departments. I met Dr. Randall today…you know how, it’s so exciting to meet a famous person but then when you meet them, they are well…just human? I kind of feel like that. Everyone has been talking about Dr. Randall and how they are so excited he’s coming, etc., etc. I haven’t really had a full conversation with him yet, but I am very excited about the opportunity. 30 years in Sanyati doing medical missions! It’s like seeing a part of who I hope I am becoming…
I went to Bible study with Mai Mtisi today. There were about 12 ladies at the Byler’s house to watch this Beth Moore video Bible Study. Afterwards I talked to Angie about some groceries for me. The Mtisi’s (the matron’s family) are struggling, and I feel the weight of my being here much more than at the Chikonzo home. Mai Mtisi keeps asking me what I want to eat, and I don’t know what to tell her; I’m not used to having much choice! So she told me to talk to the Byler’s about getting some food for me, but most of it will be for us. I hope we will be able to get mealie meal (for sadza), sugar, oil, flour, fruits (oranges, etc.), muriwo (green vegetables), tomatoes, chicken…the basics. I did get some mac n cheese from the Byler’s house today and some strawberry jam. In the morning, I will have peanut butter and jelly on flat bread, I hope someone else will eat some too. I told Mai Mtisi tonight that I want to save the mac n cheese for Sunday, I’m trying to think of what will go best with it. Maybe corned beef and muriwo/tomatoes. I also borrowed some books from the Bylers: The Applause of Heaven (Lucado); Mukiwa: A white boy in Africa (Peter Godwin); The Chairman (Harry Lee Kraus, Jr.). I think each of them will be very good choices, I’m excited about reading them!
Today little Munashe came and sat with me for a while! I’m so pleased we are shamwaris now! She’s still a bit finicky, but that’s just her personality. We sat in the den together for a bit today and when I got up to leave the room she followed me! She has started talking to me a little too…most of it isn’t real words, but she does call me Nana Anna...they said that means baby Anna But at least she knows my name, and that its different from her cousin Anna…
Today is Saturday. Last night I had dinner with the Bylers (Dr. Mark, Angie, and Luke (11)) and Dr. Randall. It was refreshing to talk with Angie for a bit before dinner; we haven’t had much opportunity to talk before. We had salad, spaghetti, and pineapple cake with icing! It was a welcome treat! Then I stayed at their house for a while to watch a couple episodes of the Cosby show and to send a couple e-mails.
I told Mai Mtisi that I would cook something for breakfast today, but I told her I would need help. I didn’t know what she expected or what was possible… (My name is now Auntie Anna and Anna the cousin is known as Mai Anna.) Mai Anna had already prepared bulger this morning, so I just supplemented that with some groceries that Angie sent over for me earlier in the week. I cooked eggs with tomatoes and we also had bananas with peanut butter. Then I did the dishes and the girls (Mai Anna and C {Cynthia) helped me put things up. I haven’t been helping as much here, because I am still adjusting to life at this house. I’m going to continue to do more and more though.
Today I think I will visit the administrator’s house and see if he was able to figure out any transport for me to get to the airport next month. The matron told me he didn’t think the administrator was able to contact anyone while he was in Kadoma yesterday, presumably due to poor network.
I did laundry today…independently! It seems like this family does theirs outside, but it’s so hot and I would rather them not watch me…I still feel quite awkward washing everything by hand. I have two buckets in my bathroom and I used one for soaking/washing and the other for rinsing, it went pretty well actually.
Electricity has been quite scarce this week. It only came on a few nights during the week and only for a few hours each time. Finally on Friday it came on and stayed on for most of the day, it went off Friday evening around 6 and came back around 7:30, which was a big surprise! We still have it! I hope it stays on long enough to replenish our water supply. It is such a hassle to use buckets of water for everything.
Wednesday, September 24: This week electricity has been much better! (That also means we have running water…praise the Lord!) I have been following Dr. Randall, a surgeon who worked in Sanyati for about 30 years. I’ve been able to see and help with so many things…skin grafting, hernias, undescended testicles, a suprapubic catheter, irrigation and casting of a compound tib/fib fracture (complete break from being run over by a scotch cart). I think it’s going to get better once we get oxygen; then he is going to do some bigger things! (We are supposed to get oxygen tomorrow.)
Yesterday I went to Kadoma with the Bylers (an American missionary family; Dr. Byler, Angie, and Luke). Every week Luke meets with a home-school group there. Yesterday Dr. Byler was heading to Chinoyi to try to pick up some meds/supplies/maize for the hospital, so he dropped us off in Kadoma and then picked us up on his return trip. Once Luke started his lessons, Angie and I went to town to try to pick up some groceries for me and the family I am staying with. That was quite an interesting adventure, but we were rather successful! After lunch with the moms in the group, we had a Bible Study. They have some Beth Moore videos and workbooks they are using. It was refreshing to be with a completely different group of people, and very thought provoking.
Sunday, September 28: I walked with Mai Anna and Synthia to Chivanga Baptist Church today. I thought we were leaving at 8, but at 6:30 they told me it would start at 7! I hadn’t even showered or anything, and it’s a 30 minute walk! We left about 7:10 and arrived about 7:45 after serious power walking! They were still singing when we arrived and someone translated the message for me as the pastor preached. The service was very short, because it was part of the conclusion of a conference weekend. We left there about 9:40, it took almost an hour to walk back because we were no longer in a hurry.
I led the family devotion last night. We played the game two truths and a lie, which was quite easy for me, but harder for them since they are family! Then I talked about some of my recent thoughts about who I represent while I am here. I am a direct representative of JourneyPartners, since I came here through JP. In addition to that I have also been thinking about who else I represent: my country, my family, my school… Then I talked about who we are and who we represent as Christians. We looked at 2 Corinthians 5:17 (We’re a new creation in Christ…) and then 2 Corinthians 3:2-3 and 18 (We are a letter from Christ, like ambassadors and more and more of Him is being unveiled in us.)
On Friday I was able to scrub in to two surgeries and watch one. The first one was this precious 4 month old musikana (girl) with a hugely distended abdomen. It turned out to be a congenital defect that allowed for massive amounts of bile to be stored in this outpocketing…over a liter! The next was a colostomy closure, which I didn’t scrub for, and finally a prostatectomy.
Friday, October 3: I continued to follow Dr. Randall this past Monday and Tuesday. There were more surgeries, of course but they were smaller surgeries (hernias, undescended testicles, a breast mass). Actually, we didn’t go through with the mastectomy because the patient had some respiratory problems. On the ward her BP was high, so they hesitated to send her to surgery to start with. The nurse anesthetist said to send her over anyway, and she would make the decision. So they decided to proceed with the surgery. However, when the anesthetist went to intubate her she had some difficulty. The patient’s pulse went up to 160 and her O2 sats dropped down to the 30s! I was so very nervous, especially because I couldn’t really do anything. Each time they would wait for her sats to come up before trying to intubate again, but on the third try she started foaming at the mouth and they decided not to try any more. I had just talked to Angie Byler a couple nights before this about how they don’t even really do CPR here. She said they really just give the patient’s oxygen, so whenever a mother sees them coming with oxygen she is likely to panic because she knows that’s one of the last interventions they do here. (Oxygen is quite a commodity. Last week Sanyati had to trade another hospital Halothane {an anesthetic} for oxygen, so that we would have enough oxygen to continue doing surgeries.)
Wednesday I did rounds with Dr. Byler and then went to surgery with him. There was a young man who had a rather large mass in his elbow that needed to be removed. They said it might or might not be a keloid. There was quite a bit of blood, but it was a very interesting procedure. Dr. Byler cut all the way around it to excise the mass, then he undermined the skin so it would stretch further. Then he made some an extra cut on each side to have a flap of skin to reach across the gaping wound (this prevented the need for grafting). I was surprised at how such a large wound could be covered in this way.
Wednesday afternoon I went to Bible Study at the Bylers. Angie wasn’t there, so it was me with about 14 nationals. We always discuss after the video, and I enjoy going to the afternoon session so that I can listen to more people’s thoughts and opinions. (There are less people at night, and, thus, less discussion.) I wasn’t able to understand much this time though, because nearly everything they said was in Shona. That frustrated me a little, but I think that means they are really processing the topics being discussed. If they tried to discuss in English, I think it would be a great hindrance to their learning and growth, so I enjoyed listening to them continue their discussion without really knowing what they were talking about.
I am very excited about my upcoming trip to South Africa! I’m going to meet my mom for some sightseeing and get to catch up with her. This week I have been busy working out my plans to get to the airport and make arrangements for my return.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
From Gweru...
Sat: Such a blessing to use the real Internet today! And I was even more blessed by all the encouraging words awaiting me there! It’s not that I’ve really been struggling…I mean everyone is wonderfully accommodating, welcoming, helpful…but they often don’t realize some of my internal struggles. Nothing that I direly need to discuss with anyone…and I don’t know that I could put all of it into words…but those things make me appreciate your words and actions more.
So I was asked to share greetings on behalf of JourneyPartners at the Baptist Congress today. It went something like this: Manheru (Evening…a greeting) Ndinonzi Anna (My name is…) I am Anna Clements from North Carolina in the United States. I came to Zimbabwe through Journey Partners and Bonnie Dixon. She sends greetings. I also give you greetings from Pullen (the church that helped with the water tank) and Ginter Park (the church that helped at Zororo Primary School). I also bring greetings from Carson-Newman College, a Baptist college in Tennesse, in the United States. I graduated from there this past May with a degree in Biology. I am planning to attend medical school and pursue a career in medical missions. Currently I am serving and learning at Sanyati Baptist Hospital in Sanyati. I have been there for nearly a month, and, yes, I am eating lots of sadza with my maokos (literally arms, also hands) and practicing my Shona every day. God is teaching me so much through my work with the patients and staff at the hospital, in addition to what I am learning straight from His word. I plan to return home in December. After that, I plan to continue working with JourneyPartners, especially with establishing a relationship between JourneyPartners and a service learning program (Bonner Scholars) at Carson-Newman. I participated in this program while at Carson-Newman, and God taught me tremendous lessons from my serving people in a suffering world. I hope that I can help further the relationship being built between these two entities that have been so influential in my own life. Thank you for allowing me to be with you this weekend. Ma ita basa (Thank you). And I also want to remind you that there are many JourneyPartners and others praying for you during these difficult days.
During the conference time, I also worked out a devotion to share with the hospital when I return (I couldn’t understand all the Shona, so I decided to use my time wisely :). It will be something like this:
Ndinogaita zose naiye unondipa simba///I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. (Phil 4:13)
This is one of my favorite verses, in fact, I think it’s a pretty popular favorite verse. I hope that I can use this verse to be an encouragement to you this morning. I realize, although I haven’t lived them quite like you have, the difficulties in your lives these days. I think sometimes, though, we question God. Now, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with questioning God. He invites us to fellowship with Him in fact, and part of having a real, honest fellowship with Him is the freedom to question, but in this questioning, we mustn’t forget that He is the Almighty, the All Powerful, and the Loving God. Remember Abraham questioning God concerning Sodom? Genesis 18:16-33. Let’s re-read 23-26 and 32. Abraham’s questions were quite bold – but he knew that OUR God is a righteous judge and He wouldn’t punish the innocent with the wicked. As I said, questioning in itself isn’t the problem, but when we become obsessed with questioning and demanding answers from God, it is easy to forget to pray for our sustaining strength from our heavenly father and then we don’t receive the blessings of His promises. BUT I want to be clear here, by the blessings of His promises I do not refer to the accumulation of great material things in this life—they should never be our focus. Remember Titus 2:11-14 and especially 1 John 2:15-16. Let’s go back to where we started in Philippians. I’m pretty sure in Philippians 4:13 Paul wasn’t referring to all worldly things, but, instead, those things God calls us to, and thus we are assured He will lead us through. I also want to point out that Paul suffered hunger. Read Philippians 4:11-13. One of the greatest missionaries and men of God ever…yet, God allowed Him to be jailed and hungry. I know everyone here can relate to nzara (hunger), so let’s review again what Paul said in Philippians 4:11-13. I encourage you today to live through His strength and not your own, in this way, for when we are weak, we are strong in His strength, as Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 12:9-12. I’ll also remind people of Romans 8:26-27; the gravity of the situation here is so overwhelming, I struggle with how and what to pray…so those verses have been very encouraging to me.
So I’ve been in Gweru a couple days now, basically relaxing and making use of the Internet. I am also learning about the lives of the Mapongas, the family that I am staying with. Their passion for helping the children at the orphanage in Masembura is inspiring and heartbreaking. It’s so hard to do anything for anyone here right now…so there are many frustrations, but their commitment and dedication is the inspiring part. I think I will get to visit Masembura in the upcoming weeks, and I’m very excited about meeting the kids there and being able to minister to them.
When there has been power in Gweru, I have been helping out at the camp with preparations for a big women’s meeting. There are nearly 1000 women coming, and there are not nearly enough beds for that…so they said many of them will be sleeping on the floor, but that’s normal for some of them who still live in the villages.
Yesterday I left the camp area around lunch time to return to the Mapongas home. There was no power when I left the camp, and someone told me it was because a small animal died on the line, so we had to wait for the ZESA folks to fix it. It only took about a day…which was rather surprising to me. I just hope the phone line will be back soon so I can finish my e-mails, etc. before leaving Gweru.
Today I went to Zororo Primary School…I thought I was going to visit and walk around, but boy was I wrong! The headmaster said I could say something to the WHOLE school and then in EACH class!!! Ahhh….I was nervous, but they kept telling me just to be very free and to act as I would at home…I hate talking in front of people and I don’t randomly go to schools at home to talk or share or anything! During the walk to the school this morning, I started to worry that I would be asked to really speak, so I started praying and thinking. Several thoughts collided during the walk: I was trying to think of scriptures to encourage students…the first one that came to me was Proverbs 3:5-6; a few weeks ago during devotions, Dr. Chikonzo focused on God’s call to Abraham to sacrifice Isaac; this week I’ve been talking to the Mapongas about things to do with the kids in Masembura…which had me thinking about the song/dance “Father Abraham”; there were a few other thoughts in there, but that’s the gist of it… So it just made since to use those! God really provided…because I sure wasn’t prepared for any of that, and it all fit together so perfectly! It even fit with me leaving home for Zimbabwe (Abraham leaving his home) and things not making sense in our eyes (Proverbs).
I was truly, truly blessed by some of the students that wanted to share things with me after I was finished. Several groups wanted to sing together and one girl sang a song “Somebody, Somewhere.” I don’t remember hearing that song before, but it was very powerful! It talked about people around the world praying for each other and even when all these terrible things are happening, someone is praying, and God is listening to those prayers. It literally gave me chills in the heat of Zimbabwe! To hear her beautiful voice, singing of the faithfulness of Christians around the world, and the faithfulness of our God, especially with so many problems going on around her...
I was disappointed to discover that the 1st and 2nd grade students left before I got to them! I was having so much fun, and felt like God was really using me to bless these kids! The 1st and 2nd graders leave at 12, while the others are dismissed around 1. It was nearly one when I finally reached the 3rd graders, so I thought that after lunch I could come back to the last two, but they don’t go back after lunch AND they were already gone!
I walked back to the kids dorms with them and then down to the conference center, and finally back to the Maponga’s home. I was so tired after all the singing, dancing, and walking on the rough paths! Now, I’m just relaxing at the Maponga’s home.
Since I’ve been in Gweru, I’ve been reading a book called Your God is Too Safe…it’s been a good read, and challenging to me and my faith. Part of what it talks about is getting out of the borderland, the in-between, no-man’s land…I think going to that school today was part of stepping out of the borderland. It is only after we are vulnerable and open to being stretched, that God is really free to use us for all that He has planned. Even back to Abraham and Isaac’s plot: it’s after we lay our lives down that God can really use them. When I first arrived at the school, I was completely overwhelmed…I mean, I had a few ideas during the walk on the way, but talking to all of 240 kids as a group AND to each class? What in the world can I say or do? We have to lay our lives down…
Even after my brief address to the full crowd, I felt silly and ill-prepared, but after I started with the individual classes it seemed to flow, because I let go. We have to lay our lives down…
So I was asked to share greetings on behalf of JourneyPartners at the Baptist Congress today. It went something like this: Manheru (Evening…a greeting) Ndinonzi Anna (My name is…) I am Anna Clements from North Carolina in the United States. I came to Zimbabwe through Journey Partners and Bonnie Dixon. She sends greetings. I also give you greetings from Pullen (the church that helped with the water tank) and Ginter Park (the church that helped at Zororo Primary School). I also bring greetings from Carson-Newman College, a Baptist college in Tennesse, in the United States. I graduated from there this past May with a degree in Biology. I am planning to attend medical school and pursue a career in medical missions. Currently I am serving and learning at Sanyati Baptist Hospital in Sanyati. I have been there for nearly a month, and, yes, I am eating lots of sadza with my maokos (literally arms, also hands) and practicing my Shona every day. God is teaching me so much through my work with the patients and staff at the hospital, in addition to what I am learning straight from His word. I plan to return home in December. After that, I plan to continue working with JourneyPartners, especially with establishing a relationship between JourneyPartners and a service learning program (Bonner Scholars) at Carson-Newman. I participated in this program while at Carson-Newman, and God taught me tremendous lessons from my serving people in a suffering world. I hope that I can help further the relationship being built between these two entities that have been so influential in my own life. Thank you for allowing me to be with you this weekend. Ma ita basa (Thank you). And I also want to remind you that there are many JourneyPartners and others praying for you during these difficult days.
During the conference time, I also worked out a devotion to share with the hospital when I return (I couldn’t understand all the Shona, so I decided to use my time wisely :). It will be something like this:
Ndinogaita zose naiye unondipa simba///I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. (Phil 4:13)
This is one of my favorite verses, in fact, I think it’s a pretty popular favorite verse. I hope that I can use this verse to be an encouragement to you this morning. I realize, although I haven’t lived them quite like you have, the difficulties in your lives these days. I think sometimes, though, we question God. Now, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with questioning God. He invites us to fellowship with Him in fact, and part of having a real, honest fellowship with Him is the freedom to question, but in this questioning, we mustn’t forget that He is the Almighty, the All Powerful, and the Loving God. Remember Abraham questioning God concerning Sodom? Genesis 18:16-33. Let’s re-read 23-26 and 32. Abraham’s questions were quite bold – but he knew that OUR God is a righteous judge and He wouldn’t punish the innocent with the wicked. As I said, questioning in itself isn’t the problem, but when we become obsessed with questioning and demanding answers from God, it is easy to forget to pray for our sustaining strength from our heavenly father and then we don’t receive the blessings of His promises. BUT I want to be clear here, by the blessings of His promises I do not refer to the accumulation of great material things in this life—they should never be our focus. Remember Titus 2:11-14 and especially 1 John 2:15-16. Let’s go back to where we started in Philippians. I’m pretty sure in Philippians 4:13 Paul wasn’t referring to all worldly things, but, instead, those things God calls us to, and thus we are assured He will lead us through. I also want to point out that Paul suffered hunger. Read Philippians 4:11-13. One of the greatest missionaries and men of God ever…yet, God allowed Him to be jailed and hungry. I know everyone here can relate to nzara (hunger), so let’s review again what Paul said in Philippians 4:11-13. I encourage you today to live through His strength and not your own, in this way, for when we are weak, we are strong in His strength, as Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 12:9-12. I’ll also remind people of Romans 8:26-27; the gravity of the situation here is so overwhelming, I struggle with how and what to pray…so those verses have been very encouraging to me.
So I’ve been in Gweru a couple days now, basically relaxing and making use of the Internet. I am also learning about the lives of the Mapongas, the family that I am staying with. Their passion for helping the children at the orphanage in Masembura is inspiring and heartbreaking. It’s so hard to do anything for anyone here right now…so there are many frustrations, but their commitment and dedication is the inspiring part. I think I will get to visit Masembura in the upcoming weeks, and I’m very excited about meeting the kids there and being able to minister to them.
When there has been power in Gweru, I have been helping out at the camp with preparations for a big women’s meeting. There are nearly 1000 women coming, and there are not nearly enough beds for that…so they said many of them will be sleeping on the floor, but that’s normal for some of them who still live in the villages.
Yesterday I left the camp area around lunch time to return to the Mapongas home. There was no power when I left the camp, and someone told me it was because a small animal died on the line, so we had to wait for the ZESA folks to fix it. It only took about a day…which was rather surprising to me. I just hope the phone line will be back soon so I can finish my e-mails, etc. before leaving Gweru.
Today I went to Zororo Primary School…I thought I was going to visit and walk around, but boy was I wrong! The headmaster said I could say something to the WHOLE school and then in EACH class!!! Ahhh….I was nervous, but they kept telling me just to be very free and to act as I would at home…I hate talking in front of people and I don’t randomly go to schools at home to talk or share or anything! During the walk to the school this morning, I started to worry that I would be asked to really speak, so I started praying and thinking. Several thoughts collided during the walk: I was trying to think of scriptures to encourage students…the first one that came to me was Proverbs 3:5-6; a few weeks ago during devotions, Dr. Chikonzo focused on God’s call to Abraham to sacrifice Isaac; this week I’ve been talking to the Mapongas about things to do with the kids in Masembura…which had me thinking about the song/dance “Father Abraham”; there were a few other thoughts in there, but that’s the gist of it… So it just made since to use those! God really provided…because I sure wasn’t prepared for any of that, and it all fit together so perfectly! It even fit with me leaving home for Zimbabwe (Abraham leaving his home) and things not making sense in our eyes (Proverbs).
I was truly, truly blessed by some of the students that wanted to share things with me after I was finished. Several groups wanted to sing together and one girl sang a song “Somebody, Somewhere.” I don’t remember hearing that song before, but it was very powerful! It talked about people around the world praying for each other and even when all these terrible things are happening, someone is praying, and God is listening to those prayers. It literally gave me chills in the heat of Zimbabwe! To hear her beautiful voice, singing of the faithfulness of Christians around the world, and the faithfulness of our God, especially with so many problems going on around her...
I was disappointed to discover that the 1st and 2nd grade students left before I got to them! I was having so much fun, and felt like God was really using me to bless these kids! The 1st and 2nd graders leave at 12, while the others are dismissed around 1. It was nearly one when I finally reached the 3rd graders, so I thought that after lunch I could come back to the last two, but they don’t go back after lunch AND they were already gone!
I walked back to the kids dorms with them and then down to the conference center, and finally back to the Maponga’s home. I was so tired after all the singing, dancing, and walking on the rough paths! Now, I’m just relaxing at the Maponga’s home.
Since I’ve been in Gweru, I’ve been reading a book called Your God is Too Safe…it’s been a good read, and challenging to me and my faith. Part of what it talks about is getting out of the borderland, the in-between, no-man’s land…I think going to that school today was part of stepping out of the borderland. It is only after we are vulnerable and open to being stretched, that God is really free to use us for all that He has planned. Even back to Abraham and Isaac’s plot: it’s after we lay our lives down that God can really use them. When I first arrived at the school, I was completely overwhelmed…I mean, I had a few ideas during the walk on the way, but talking to all of 240 kids as a group AND to each class? What in the world can I say or do? We have to lay our lives down…
Even after my brief address to the full crowd, I felt silly and ill-prepared, but after I started with the individual classes it seemed to flow, because I let go. We have to lay our lives down…
Saturday, August 30, 2008
the everyday...
Thursday night, August 14
Tomorrow is Adam’s birthday and his first day of school! Oh, I pray it is wonderful!
Went to the Chikonzo’s regular church on Sunday…there were less people and a smaller building since it wasn’t the ‘conference’ week. I didn’t know this during the service, but later discovered that each Sunday a different group from the church body leads the service. Last week it was the youth. When we returned home following the service, I told Florence I didn’t know she was so involved, but then she explained to me… Dr. Chikonzo also leads the Sunday School time…we talked about (well, he and a little bit of they, not so much me) the Second Coming of Christ and the promises that we as believers have. A couple from the church road home with us and stayed for lunch. After lunch, I did the dishes (as usual) and then did some reading.
On Monday we left at 3 am for Masvingo. (It was supposed to be 2, but we are on Shona time…actually, I think most places other than the US operate like this…) Mr. Mtisi (the administrator), Dr. Chikonzo, Prof. Greg, Beauty (Dr. Chikonzo and Florence’s cousin), and I all ventured out for Masvingo, the Great Zimbabwe, and Harare. We essentially made a big loop through Zim, going down through Gweru to stop by the Maponga’s (where we also enjoyed a wonderful breakfast), and then on to Masvingo, where we meet Dr. Chikonzo and Florence’s cousin Rebecca. It was wonderful to be in her home, she was so full of joy and tons of laughter! Three kids stay with her, but I think only one is her biological daughter; they were all very helpful and a joy to be with as well. Someone told Rebecca that I had eaten termites in Zambia, and so she told me she would have a special treat for my dinner…
After tea at Rebecca’s we went on to the Great Zimbabwe for a long, but gratifying hike up to the ruins. On the way up, the views of the countryside and the other structures were breathtaking! We could see Lake Kyle (formed by a dam built in the 60’s), mountains, villages, and the Great Enclosure, along with other structures. I think my favorite part was a small alcove, barely a cave, where the king is said to have consulted with his spiritual advisors and, also, where he may have called down to the other areas with requests (it is situated perfectly for echoes to travel down to the other structures.
Then we went off-roading in Dr. Chikonzo’s 1992 Sentry. I couldn’t stop laughing, because he kept saying we were almost there, and I thought we were headed back to Rebecca’s house…when in fact we were heading to the village where his family lives! At one point the grass was very tall, nearly taller than the car, and suddenly there was a car blocking the path…a little sketchy feeling, but I was in a car mostly full of people who knew what was going on. Dr. Chikonzo got out to check the ground to see if we could pull off the road to get around…I said I hope there’s no shumba there! (In Shona, shumba means lion…I throw in a word or two whenever I have one that almost fits the situation )
The village Dr. Chikonzo is from is what I imagine when I imagine rural Africa…a few huts within a gate…there were a couple more modern houses too though. It was a wonderful experience to walk into one of the dark, smoky huts as they were cooking sadza and to sit on the floor with the family. I also met a two week old baby, when we returned to Sanyati, I was able to inform Florence of his birth, though I couldn’t identify his parents (Dr. Chikonzo took care of that for me). Before long we headed back to cousin Rebecca’s house, she (well mostly her kids, under her instruction) had a wonderful feast prepared for us! There was sadza, rice, and noodles, chicken, green vegetables, beans, and even gelatin with bananas for dessert! Oh yeah, and I had my first caterpillar! Not really very pleasant, but I’m glad that I tried it. (If I was served them for dinner, I would graciously accept, but I would hope there would at least be some sadza to mix it with ) Later we had tea as well…there was even electricity the whole time we were there!
We got up early the next morning to head off to Harare to drop cousin Beauty at the airport and Prof. Greg at the airport…a long and rather bumpy ride…nothing much to tell. We did see a giraffe after leaving Harare, it was enclosed in a fence with cattle though so not too natural…
I started following Dr. Chikonzo at work some…a bit easier to understand his English than that of Mr. Charambamwe. Started by going on the round with him; this was more like a parade on Wednesday, because there were two missionaries there from Bulawayo, Dr. Chikonzo, Dr. Byler, and me. It was a good experience though, and I learned a lot from listening to the wife’s questions, that I would not have even known to ask. (She is a nurse midwife.) This was my first time seeing much of the ward happenings. I saw a four year old little girl camped out under big metal wires to keep her blankets from being directly on her burn wounds (today I saw them debrided…). Saw some particularly interesting things on Friday…including a lumbar puncture and chest tubes…the different words and equipment still throw me for a loop sometimes… Talked with Mr. Mtisi the administrator a great deal on Friday to learn a lot about the inner workings of the hospital and the delicate interaction among people and groups.
Friday: First lesson with Kudzai in Biology, Dinner with Bylers: Roast Beef/Gravy, Rice
Sat: reading biology to be better prepped for next lessons, reading Eliot’s A Chance to Die…
Sun: Back to Arda (Sanyati Town as opposed to Sanyati Mission where the hospital is) for church, walked to friends house afterwards for prayer, pawpaw, and beans
Mon: Devotions, Followed Dr. Chikonzo in rounds, OPD, then Dr. Byler to learn about debridement…in a four year old little girl…hurt me to watch…so much to learn!, on to the executive lunch meeting, then continued to follow Dr. Byler in OPD…some interesting stuff…maybe I’ll follow in the morning to see the removal of a Bartholin cyst in a pregnant woman. Off to do Bio with Kudzai…more interesting…I even had a little lab activity for him. Also had dinner with the Mtisi’s…rice, ham (?), ‘salad’ (more like slaw…), also had pawpaw (a fruit…insides seems rather like a cantaloupe, soft and orange, but the outside is green/yellow and leathery/rubbery…I know that doesn’t make much since…sorry.) The whole crew of the Mtisi children walked me home because it was dark…all three boys and their daughter, who is the oldest (20).
Tues: Devos, then tried to follow Dr. Byler to take care of that Bartholin cyst, but the proper minor surgery pack was not ready (quite a task to coordinate sterile kits when electricity is so unpredictable and supplies are in such short supply!). Then Dr. Byler was going to work on inventory in the pharmacy, so I followed Dr. Chikonzo in OPD again. Nothing to exciting…felt a hiatal hernia, saw some umbilical hernias, the usual opportunistic infection cases.
Wed: Devos, followed Dr. Byler to the D&C room to marsupialize that cyst. It was huge; I didn’t realize how big it was until she was on the table. When he cut it, there was quite a splatter of blood! (Fortunately I was behind him, so it didn’t get on me…) Then he sutured open the duct that had been blocked…so know I think I know exactly what is meant by marsupialize. He went to change after that, and I went to Mr. Mtisi’s office to see about sending e-mail. Got a couple in the outbox…so whenever the network and ZESA (Zimbabwe Electrical Supply Authority) are both working, they will go out. Then helped Dr. Gwatikunda try to put some music on his phone after loading it onto Mr. Mtisi’s computer, but lost out with ZESA… Home for tea (today was instant coffee and bread with margarine). Back to the OPD following Dr. Chikonzo, ended up following him to minor surgery to see a partial finger amputation and the suturing afterwards. He had to use a bone wrench to get some of the bone out of the way so there was enough skin left to cover the wound… (Both times today during their suturing, I was reminded of my struggles with suturing the rats in mammalian…) No more patients in OPD after that, so home for lunch now. After a rather long lunch, returned to the hospital for the Head of Department meeting. Ummm….what can I say? You would expect any meeting of this sort to have some struggles, since everyone has their own priorities (i.e. their department), but in the midst of seriously reduced access to resources answers become much harder to agree upon. That meeting lasted until the end of the day, a few things were resolved but none with much clarity. (You hear “We have to do this…” and “We have to do this…” but, in reality, you can’t do both right now even though they are both very legitimate priorities…the cycle is endless it seems.) Then I went to the Mtisi home for another Biology lesson. We reviewed the first three intro chapters of the book via oral quizzing…scientific method, biogenesis v. abiogenesis, natural selection (very basic explanation), and classification of organisms. After that moved onto a little human biology; I thought that would be easier for teacher and student since we are both more interested in that. So we talked about 4 tissue types and 10 organ systems, by then it was starting to get dark so we decided to conclude for the day. Mai B (mother of Blessed/Mrs. Chikonzo/Josephine) was outside cooking by the fire when I arrived home. Once again, we had sadza, greens (not sure exactly what kind), and tomato sauce (finely chopped tomatoes simmered to softness with some minestrone soup mix added for flavor/a little thickness) with some beef. This is the most common meal at the Chikonzo home, and I have come to enjoy it the most, although it is the most common. We also had tea after dinner last night.
Thursday: Devotions, then followed Dr. Chikonzo to do a lumbar puncture that he wanted to do on Wednesday, but without power that would have been pointless. I carried the CSF down to the lab so I could see what meningitis looks like. Dr. Chikonzo was pretty sure it was meningitis because of the high pressure the CSF was under, but I only saw a few of the organisms in the lab. (That was my first trip to the lab, interesting to see how they operate and distressing to see all that they don’t have…) Then I followed Dr. Chikonzo and Dr. Gwatikunda doing the round through the wards, also saw the little girl with burns that I watched Dr. Byler debride…still not a happy camper, but they do look like they are healing well. There’s also a young man with a femur fracture…traction is interesting…literally weights hanging off the end of the bed. (He will be here several more weeks…) Returned home for tea…Dr. Chikonzo went to town, Mai B went to church, and Florence was at a study session, so I fixed my own tea and bread for the first time by myself. (It was a bit strange being here alone because normally there is always someone here…) Then I went back to the hospital…wasn’t sure what to do so I went to the pharmacy where I am always useful! They are out of dispensing envelopes so there is always paper to be folded and stapled into envelopes and pills to be counted. I also talked with the matron about going to maternity ‘full-time’ next week. They also have an Ante-Natal Clinic behind the maternity ward so I can learn about that too. He said the Sister in Charge will be back on days next week so I should start on Monday; her name is Sister Gora. {I’m trying to keep up with the days so when I do have access to my blog I can share lots of life in Zimbabwe with you…I feel pretty silly right now though, just typing this on my computer!}
Friday: Followed the Drs. Chikonzo and Gwatikunda again…Gwatikunda did an I&D (incision and drainage on a diabetic lady’s foot…quite disturbing, pretty sure she’s going to lose at least part of her foot. He did it in minor surgery, so he didn’t go too deep…he also wanted to talk with Dr. Byler about sending her to a specialist…but even if she could get to Harare, we don’t know that they have adequate supplies for her either. (I’m hoping to follow Dr. Byler in the OR on Wednesday for him to explore it further; he said he may go ahead and amputate part of her foot then or wait for Dr. Randall to come later in September…just depends on what is there. Dr. Randall was a medical missionary here for about 30 years; he will be here for 2 weeks in September doing lots of surgeries.)
Saturday: Dr. & Mrs. Chikonzo went to Arda (Sanyati Town) after tea and they were gone for most of the day. Florence was gone to a study session until about 1:30. During the morning I did lots of laundry…which is very time consuming, especially for someone inexperienced at hand-washing! I wasn’t sure when Dr. & Mrs. Chikonzo would return…or Florence for that matter, so a little after 1 I ate a pawpaw. Soon Florence came back and was very apologetic, but I was really fine… She cooked and after she was done she asked whose bike was outside. (Mr. Job (church elder) had gone with Dr. & Mrs. Chikonzo to Arda and left his bike in the yard.) This meant she had to have another serving for him…I didn’t think to tell her that while she was cooking, because I was quite sure they wouldn’t return until late at night, but she said she had to have a plate for each of them anyway. So she told me she would just have tea, instead of sadza. I suggested we just give everyone a slightly smaller portion and it would be alright, but no, no, no… While she was outside heating her water for tea, I took the liberty of dividing my portion in two and fixing her a plate. She still tried to refuse it for a while, but I realize in Shona culture you always provide for others first and don’t worry too much about yourself…but how could I eat a full plate of food while she had tea and bread? So we split my portion and each of us had some tea and bread. Later that night I decided to give Florence one of the dresses I brought…she has become my best friend here and I wanted her to have the one with pretty blue flowers on it that I wished desperately that I could wear… She was ecstatic and I was so glad that I gave her that one! I also showed her the one that I planned to give to Mai B…and she told me I needed to give it to her soon, so Mai B wouldn’t think that I thought Florence had done more for me than Mai B…and I knew she was right. Dr. & Mrs. Chikonzo didn’t return until late on Saturday night, and I was already asleep.
Sunday: Gave Mrs. Chikonzo the red/black dress with beads on the back…not as perfect as Florence’s, but she was quite happy with it, also gave her a tie to pass on to Dr. Chikonzo (I was worried, because I’ve never seen him wear a tie, but she said he did sometimes.) Went to ‘small’ church, returned home for beans and rice, prepared some biology lessons for Kudzai, met Florence’s fiancé. I was quite upset with Florence, because when I told Mai B that Brother Calling and someone else had visited she asked if Florence told me that Calling is her fiancé…of course not! I had actually met him before, but only very briefly, and no one told me then either! So later I had to ask Florence all of these ‘engagement’ kinds of questions…both for personal and cultural knowledge and understanding Calling used to work at the hospital, but he is now preparing to be a pastor; I think he will graduate next year.
Monday: Followed Dr. Byler on rounds, went to tea, talked to Mr. Mtisi (adm), and went to maternity. I worked in the ANC (Antenatal Clinic) for awhile taking BPs and weights and recording their exam results in a big logbook. After the ANC cleared, I went back to the maternity ward and talked with the nurses. Around 3:15 they said a lady would give birth soon! So I donned my gloves and apron (literally a plastic apron you would expect a butcher to wear…). I assisted Nurse Nhdlovu in my first daylight delivery…this time I could actually see what was going on! We delivered a healthy musikana (girl) at 15:38! While Nurse Nhdlovu started cleaning up, I handed our musikana to her mother and pushed them to the post delivery ward in a wheelchair. I helped them pick a bed and get settled in…maybe I can take a picture with them tomorrow morning if they are still there… Then I went to the washroom where Nurse Nhdlovu was busy cleaning up our mess; I watched him because I had already removed my gloves (which was rather convenient for me…)
Tuesday: I hope to follow Dr. Byler to do a epigastric hernia procedure this morning, then I have a project to work on with the administrator. He wants me to help him with a proposal for the Italian Baptists, so I think I’m going to go around the hospital taking pictures and documenting some pressing needs that they may help provide for in the near future. If I have any more time, then I will go back to maternity for the rest of the day.
I followed Dr. Byler doing rounds on the men’s and children’s wards, then to do an ultrasound on a lady with serious ascites and a very unusual, large, movable abdominal mass. He decided it was most likely attached to her liver. (Dr. Randall may evaluate when he comes with his Sanyati surgical expertise.) Then he circumcised a 16 year old, who evidently had a previous partial circumcision. He had significant scar tissue, but Dr. Byler was still able to remove most of the foreskin. Before we began, one of the nurses asked me to pray; I wasn’t really ready for that…I’ve never been in surgery and never prayed in the theatre…but I’m sure the Holy Spirit did some interceding, despite the lack of eloquence. (Tea break…) Then the epigastric hernia came, and one of the nurses asked if I needed a gown. (I had put on the hospital scrubs, but did not scrub in for the circumcision. I hesitated this time, but when Dr. Byler said this would be a good first one to scrub in on I felt like he really didn’t mind and maybe even wanted me to…I was also worried about wasting one of the few sterilized gowns and pairs of surgical gloves…but his approval soothed those concerns.) As Dr. Byler was scrubbing for the circumcision he talked me through his scrubbing, pointing out technique and things that I wouldn’t have noticed if he had not made note of them. So, I was prepped a little before scrubbing for the first time, and then as the nurse assisted him with his sterile gown and gloves I watched attentively. So after we were in the theatre, Dr. Byler and the nurses continued to coach me as I donned my sterile gown and gloves. Dr. Byler instructed me to stand across from him, on the opposite side of the patient, which I eagerly did. The nurse was just on the other side of me, toward the patient’s feet. He cut down her linea alba, which reminded me of the rats He explained that even though that wasn’t exactly where we wanted to be, it would be the best place to cut and then we could go over a little once we were inside, if need be. He thought the hernia was in the fascia, but even before he finished cutting realized that it didn’t seem to be there (he could feel better after the skin was cut, since it was not stretched out so much…) Then he decided to continue cutting through the fascia to see if he could figure out what was really going on; he decided she had very swollen aortic lymph nodes. He let me put my fingers in and feel them…like small, hard grapes. He also let me assist with the suturing by holding the sutures tight as he continued down the cut; I also cut the sutures at the appropriate times. So that was my first real human surgery experience! Then there was just one more for the day…a D&C. For that there is a special D&C room, and less hubbub getting ready since you don’t have to scrub in and it is mostly already set-up. Dr. Byler told me this lady delivered the night before, and that she delivered her placenta, but he felt some pieces of tissue the night before after delivery. He explained that she would probably be alright without the D&C, but once she was back in her distant village, she would be much less likely to return for something that may seem like a small problem (or even when it seems to become a larger problem). Then I changed back to my regular clothes and shoes (they literally have rubber boots for theatre use…).
I waited for Dr. Byler to finish talking to the administrator and then I went in. He had wanted me to help him with a proposal for the Italian Baptists before their contact comes in a couple weeks, so then I went around taking pictures of some problem areas and worked on documenting some of the needs.
Wednesday: Went to devotions, one of the men who works in the pharmacy gave his testimony…a little frustrated because I missed all the funny parts due to translation… Then went to Maternity Ward, helped one of the nurses with ‘damp dusting,’ in other words, wiping down with water and cloth. Then I talked with the administrator about this project that I’m helping him organize as a proposal for the Italian Baptists…stayed for tea at his house with his family. Then I went back to the maternity ward, nothing going on: played cards and talked with the nurses, also learned a few more words in Shona. I cooked my first sadza tonight! Mai B and Dr. Chikonzo are gone to Masvingo for a church conference so Florence and I are here alone for a few days, so she said it would be a good time for me to practice with very little pressure. It went pretty well…although my arm was quite tired by the end!
Thursday: Helped deliver a baby :)…otherwise pretty similar to the other days in maternity…
Friday: Back to maternity…learned to do 10 day and 6 week post-natal follow-ups… Not much else today. Also went to the Mtisi’s for the biology lesson with Kudzai; tonight I wrote out some things for him to study while I’m in Gweru. I also cooked the sadza again tonight…Florence didn’t monitor me quite so closely. It was a little grainy, but not too bad…
Saturday: Going to Gweru (maybe I can use real internet???) and finally post these blogs! There is a Baptist Congress there and then I will stay there with the Maponga’s for a week or two.
(I've been writing at least a few times a week and just copying the whole thing now...I'm in Gweru for a little while and all the encouraging words that I've read since getting Internet access are wonderful and very, very much appreciated! much love & many prayers....
Tomorrow is Adam’s birthday and his first day of school! Oh, I pray it is wonderful!
Went to the Chikonzo’s regular church on Sunday…there were less people and a smaller building since it wasn’t the ‘conference’ week. I didn’t know this during the service, but later discovered that each Sunday a different group from the church body leads the service. Last week it was the youth. When we returned home following the service, I told Florence I didn’t know she was so involved, but then she explained to me… Dr. Chikonzo also leads the Sunday School time…we talked about (well, he and a little bit of they, not so much me) the Second Coming of Christ and the promises that we as believers have. A couple from the church road home with us and stayed for lunch. After lunch, I did the dishes (as usual) and then did some reading.
On Monday we left at 3 am for Masvingo. (It was supposed to be 2, but we are on Shona time…actually, I think most places other than the US operate like this…) Mr. Mtisi (the administrator), Dr. Chikonzo, Prof. Greg, Beauty (Dr. Chikonzo and Florence’s cousin), and I all ventured out for Masvingo, the Great Zimbabwe, and Harare. We essentially made a big loop through Zim, going down through Gweru to stop by the Maponga’s (where we also enjoyed a wonderful breakfast), and then on to Masvingo, where we meet Dr. Chikonzo and Florence’s cousin Rebecca. It was wonderful to be in her home, she was so full of joy and tons of laughter! Three kids stay with her, but I think only one is her biological daughter; they were all very helpful and a joy to be with as well. Someone told Rebecca that I had eaten termites in Zambia, and so she told me she would have a special treat for my dinner…
After tea at Rebecca’s we went on to the Great Zimbabwe for a long, but gratifying hike up to the ruins. On the way up, the views of the countryside and the other structures were breathtaking! We could see Lake Kyle (formed by a dam built in the 60’s), mountains, villages, and the Great Enclosure, along with other structures. I think my favorite part was a small alcove, barely a cave, where the king is said to have consulted with his spiritual advisors and, also, where he may have called down to the other areas with requests (it is situated perfectly for echoes to travel down to the other structures.
Then we went off-roading in Dr. Chikonzo’s 1992 Sentry. I couldn’t stop laughing, because he kept saying we were almost there, and I thought we were headed back to Rebecca’s house…when in fact we were heading to the village where his family lives! At one point the grass was very tall, nearly taller than the car, and suddenly there was a car blocking the path…a little sketchy feeling, but I was in a car mostly full of people who knew what was going on. Dr. Chikonzo got out to check the ground to see if we could pull off the road to get around…I said I hope there’s no shumba there! (In Shona, shumba means lion…I throw in a word or two whenever I have one that almost fits the situation )
The village Dr. Chikonzo is from is what I imagine when I imagine rural Africa…a few huts within a gate…there were a couple more modern houses too though. It was a wonderful experience to walk into one of the dark, smoky huts as they were cooking sadza and to sit on the floor with the family. I also met a two week old baby, when we returned to Sanyati, I was able to inform Florence of his birth, though I couldn’t identify his parents (Dr. Chikonzo took care of that for me). Before long we headed back to cousin Rebecca’s house, she (well mostly her kids, under her instruction) had a wonderful feast prepared for us! There was sadza, rice, and noodles, chicken, green vegetables, beans, and even gelatin with bananas for dessert! Oh yeah, and I had my first caterpillar! Not really very pleasant, but I’m glad that I tried it. (If I was served them for dinner, I would graciously accept, but I would hope there would at least be some sadza to mix it with ) Later we had tea as well…there was even electricity the whole time we were there!
We got up early the next morning to head off to Harare to drop cousin Beauty at the airport and Prof. Greg at the airport…a long and rather bumpy ride…nothing much to tell. We did see a giraffe after leaving Harare, it was enclosed in a fence with cattle though so not too natural…
I started following Dr. Chikonzo at work some…a bit easier to understand his English than that of Mr. Charambamwe. Started by going on the round with him; this was more like a parade on Wednesday, because there were two missionaries there from Bulawayo, Dr. Chikonzo, Dr. Byler, and me. It was a good experience though, and I learned a lot from listening to the wife’s questions, that I would not have even known to ask. (She is a nurse midwife.) This was my first time seeing much of the ward happenings. I saw a four year old little girl camped out under big metal wires to keep her blankets from being directly on her burn wounds (today I saw them debrided…). Saw some particularly interesting things on Friday…including a lumbar puncture and chest tubes…the different words and equipment still throw me for a loop sometimes… Talked with Mr. Mtisi the administrator a great deal on Friday to learn a lot about the inner workings of the hospital and the delicate interaction among people and groups.
Friday: First lesson with Kudzai in Biology, Dinner with Bylers: Roast Beef/Gravy, Rice
Sat: reading biology to be better prepped for next lessons, reading Eliot’s A Chance to Die…
Sun: Back to Arda (Sanyati Town as opposed to Sanyati Mission where the hospital is) for church, walked to friends house afterwards for prayer, pawpaw, and beans
Mon: Devotions, Followed Dr. Chikonzo in rounds, OPD, then Dr. Byler to learn about debridement…in a four year old little girl…hurt me to watch…so much to learn!, on to the executive lunch meeting, then continued to follow Dr. Byler in OPD…some interesting stuff…maybe I’ll follow in the morning to see the removal of a Bartholin cyst in a pregnant woman. Off to do Bio with Kudzai…more interesting…I even had a little lab activity for him. Also had dinner with the Mtisi’s…rice, ham (?), ‘salad’ (more like slaw…), also had pawpaw (a fruit…insides seems rather like a cantaloupe, soft and orange, but the outside is green/yellow and leathery/rubbery…I know that doesn’t make much since…sorry.) The whole crew of the Mtisi children walked me home because it was dark…all three boys and their daughter, who is the oldest (20).
Tues: Devos, then tried to follow Dr. Byler to take care of that Bartholin cyst, but the proper minor surgery pack was not ready (quite a task to coordinate sterile kits when electricity is so unpredictable and supplies are in such short supply!). Then Dr. Byler was going to work on inventory in the pharmacy, so I followed Dr. Chikonzo in OPD again. Nothing to exciting…felt a hiatal hernia, saw some umbilical hernias, the usual opportunistic infection cases.
Wed: Devos, followed Dr. Byler to the D&C room to marsupialize that cyst. It was huge; I didn’t realize how big it was until she was on the table. When he cut it, there was quite a splatter of blood! (Fortunately I was behind him, so it didn’t get on me…) Then he sutured open the duct that had been blocked…so know I think I know exactly what is meant by marsupialize. He went to change after that, and I went to Mr. Mtisi’s office to see about sending e-mail. Got a couple in the outbox…so whenever the network and ZESA (Zimbabwe Electrical Supply Authority) are both working, they will go out. Then helped Dr. Gwatikunda try to put some music on his phone after loading it onto Mr. Mtisi’s computer, but lost out with ZESA… Home for tea (today was instant coffee and bread with margarine). Back to the OPD following Dr. Chikonzo, ended up following him to minor surgery to see a partial finger amputation and the suturing afterwards. He had to use a bone wrench to get some of the bone out of the way so there was enough skin left to cover the wound… (Both times today during their suturing, I was reminded of my struggles with suturing the rats in mammalian…) No more patients in OPD after that, so home for lunch now. After a rather long lunch, returned to the hospital for the Head of Department meeting. Ummm….what can I say? You would expect any meeting of this sort to have some struggles, since everyone has their own priorities (i.e. their department), but in the midst of seriously reduced access to resources answers become much harder to agree upon. That meeting lasted until the end of the day, a few things were resolved but none with much clarity. (You hear “We have to do this…” and “We have to do this…” but, in reality, you can’t do both right now even though they are both very legitimate priorities…the cycle is endless it seems.) Then I went to the Mtisi home for another Biology lesson. We reviewed the first three intro chapters of the book via oral quizzing…scientific method, biogenesis v. abiogenesis, natural selection (very basic explanation), and classification of organisms. After that moved onto a little human biology; I thought that would be easier for teacher and student since we are both more interested in that. So we talked about 4 tissue types and 10 organ systems, by then it was starting to get dark so we decided to conclude for the day. Mai B (mother of Blessed/Mrs. Chikonzo/Josephine) was outside cooking by the fire when I arrived home. Once again, we had sadza, greens (not sure exactly what kind), and tomato sauce (finely chopped tomatoes simmered to softness with some minestrone soup mix added for flavor/a little thickness) with some beef. This is the most common meal at the Chikonzo home, and I have come to enjoy it the most, although it is the most common. We also had tea after dinner last night.
Thursday: Devotions, then followed Dr. Chikonzo to do a lumbar puncture that he wanted to do on Wednesday, but without power that would have been pointless. I carried the CSF down to the lab so I could see what meningitis looks like. Dr. Chikonzo was pretty sure it was meningitis because of the high pressure the CSF was under, but I only saw a few of the organisms in the lab. (That was my first trip to the lab, interesting to see how they operate and distressing to see all that they don’t have…) Then I followed Dr. Chikonzo and Dr. Gwatikunda doing the round through the wards, also saw the little girl with burns that I watched Dr. Byler debride…still not a happy camper, but they do look like they are healing well. There’s also a young man with a femur fracture…traction is interesting…literally weights hanging off the end of the bed. (He will be here several more weeks…) Returned home for tea…Dr. Chikonzo went to town, Mai B went to church, and Florence was at a study session, so I fixed my own tea and bread for the first time by myself. (It was a bit strange being here alone because normally there is always someone here…) Then I went back to the hospital…wasn’t sure what to do so I went to the pharmacy where I am always useful! They are out of dispensing envelopes so there is always paper to be folded and stapled into envelopes and pills to be counted. I also talked with the matron about going to maternity ‘full-time’ next week. They also have an Ante-Natal Clinic behind the maternity ward so I can learn about that too. He said the Sister in Charge will be back on days next week so I should start on Monday; her name is Sister Gora. {I’m trying to keep up with the days so when I do have access to my blog I can share lots of life in Zimbabwe with you…I feel pretty silly right now though, just typing this on my computer!}
Friday: Followed the Drs. Chikonzo and Gwatikunda again…Gwatikunda did an I&D (incision and drainage on a diabetic lady’s foot…quite disturbing, pretty sure she’s going to lose at least part of her foot. He did it in minor surgery, so he didn’t go too deep…he also wanted to talk with Dr. Byler about sending her to a specialist…but even if she could get to Harare, we don’t know that they have adequate supplies for her either. (I’m hoping to follow Dr. Byler in the OR on Wednesday for him to explore it further; he said he may go ahead and amputate part of her foot then or wait for Dr. Randall to come later in September…just depends on what is there. Dr. Randall was a medical missionary here for about 30 years; he will be here for 2 weeks in September doing lots of surgeries.)
Saturday: Dr. & Mrs. Chikonzo went to Arda (Sanyati Town) after tea and they were gone for most of the day. Florence was gone to a study session until about 1:30. During the morning I did lots of laundry…which is very time consuming, especially for someone inexperienced at hand-washing! I wasn’t sure when Dr. & Mrs. Chikonzo would return…or Florence for that matter, so a little after 1 I ate a pawpaw. Soon Florence came back and was very apologetic, but I was really fine… She cooked and after she was done she asked whose bike was outside. (Mr. Job (church elder) had gone with Dr. & Mrs. Chikonzo to Arda and left his bike in the yard.) This meant she had to have another serving for him…I didn’t think to tell her that while she was cooking, because I was quite sure they wouldn’t return until late at night, but she said she had to have a plate for each of them anyway. So she told me she would just have tea, instead of sadza. I suggested we just give everyone a slightly smaller portion and it would be alright, but no, no, no… While she was outside heating her water for tea, I took the liberty of dividing my portion in two and fixing her a plate. She still tried to refuse it for a while, but I realize in Shona culture you always provide for others first and don’t worry too much about yourself…but how could I eat a full plate of food while she had tea and bread? So we split my portion and each of us had some tea and bread. Later that night I decided to give Florence one of the dresses I brought…she has become my best friend here and I wanted her to have the one with pretty blue flowers on it that I wished desperately that I could wear… She was ecstatic and I was so glad that I gave her that one! I also showed her the one that I planned to give to Mai B…and she told me I needed to give it to her soon, so Mai B wouldn’t think that I thought Florence had done more for me than Mai B…and I knew she was right. Dr. & Mrs. Chikonzo didn’t return until late on Saturday night, and I was already asleep.
Sunday: Gave Mrs. Chikonzo the red/black dress with beads on the back…not as perfect as Florence’s, but she was quite happy with it, also gave her a tie to pass on to Dr. Chikonzo (I was worried, because I’ve never seen him wear a tie, but she said he did sometimes.) Went to ‘small’ church, returned home for beans and rice, prepared some biology lessons for Kudzai, met Florence’s fiancé. I was quite upset with Florence, because when I told Mai B that Brother Calling and someone else had visited she asked if Florence told me that Calling is her fiancé…of course not! I had actually met him before, but only very briefly, and no one told me then either! So later I had to ask Florence all of these ‘engagement’ kinds of questions…both for personal and cultural knowledge and understanding Calling used to work at the hospital, but he is now preparing to be a pastor; I think he will graduate next year.
Monday: Followed Dr. Byler on rounds, went to tea, talked to Mr. Mtisi (adm), and went to maternity. I worked in the ANC (Antenatal Clinic) for awhile taking BPs and weights and recording their exam results in a big logbook. After the ANC cleared, I went back to the maternity ward and talked with the nurses. Around 3:15 they said a lady would give birth soon! So I donned my gloves and apron (literally a plastic apron you would expect a butcher to wear…). I assisted Nurse Nhdlovu in my first daylight delivery…this time I could actually see what was going on! We delivered a healthy musikana (girl) at 15:38! While Nurse Nhdlovu started cleaning up, I handed our musikana to her mother and pushed them to the post delivery ward in a wheelchair. I helped them pick a bed and get settled in…maybe I can take a picture with them tomorrow morning if they are still there… Then I went to the washroom where Nurse Nhdlovu was busy cleaning up our mess; I watched him because I had already removed my gloves (which was rather convenient for me…)
Tuesday: I hope to follow Dr. Byler to do a epigastric hernia procedure this morning, then I have a project to work on with the administrator. He wants me to help him with a proposal for the Italian Baptists, so I think I’m going to go around the hospital taking pictures and documenting some pressing needs that they may help provide for in the near future. If I have any more time, then I will go back to maternity for the rest of the day.
I followed Dr. Byler doing rounds on the men’s and children’s wards, then to do an ultrasound on a lady with serious ascites and a very unusual, large, movable abdominal mass. He decided it was most likely attached to her liver. (Dr. Randall may evaluate when he comes with his Sanyati surgical expertise.) Then he circumcised a 16 year old, who evidently had a previous partial circumcision. He had significant scar tissue, but Dr. Byler was still able to remove most of the foreskin. Before we began, one of the nurses asked me to pray; I wasn’t really ready for that…I’ve never been in surgery and never prayed in the theatre…but I’m sure the Holy Spirit did some interceding, despite the lack of eloquence. (Tea break…) Then the epigastric hernia came, and one of the nurses asked if I needed a gown. (I had put on the hospital scrubs, but did not scrub in for the circumcision. I hesitated this time, but when Dr. Byler said this would be a good first one to scrub in on I felt like he really didn’t mind and maybe even wanted me to…I was also worried about wasting one of the few sterilized gowns and pairs of surgical gloves…but his approval soothed those concerns.) As Dr. Byler was scrubbing for the circumcision he talked me through his scrubbing, pointing out technique and things that I wouldn’t have noticed if he had not made note of them. So, I was prepped a little before scrubbing for the first time, and then as the nurse assisted him with his sterile gown and gloves I watched attentively. So after we were in the theatre, Dr. Byler and the nurses continued to coach me as I donned my sterile gown and gloves. Dr. Byler instructed me to stand across from him, on the opposite side of the patient, which I eagerly did. The nurse was just on the other side of me, toward the patient’s feet. He cut down her linea alba, which reminded me of the rats He explained that even though that wasn’t exactly where we wanted to be, it would be the best place to cut and then we could go over a little once we were inside, if need be. He thought the hernia was in the fascia, but even before he finished cutting realized that it didn’t seem to be there (he could feel better after the skin was cut, since it was not stretched out so much…) Then he decided to continue cutting through the fascia to see if he could figure out what was really going on; he decided she had very swollen aortic lymph nodes. He let me put my fingers in and feel them…like small, hard grapes. He also let me assist with the suturing by holding the sutures tight as he continued down the cut; I also cut the sutures at the appropriate times. So that was my first real human surgery experience! Then there was just one more for the day…a D&C. For that there is a special D&C room, and less hubbub getting ready since you don’t have to scrub in and it is mostly already set-up. Dr. Byler told me this lady delivered the night before, and that she delivered her placenta, but he felt some pieces of tissue the night before after delivery. He explained that she would probably be alright without the D&C, but once she was back in her distant village, she would be much less likely to return for something that may seem like a small problem (or even when it seems to become a larger problem). Then I changed back to my regular clothes and shoes (they literally have rubber boots for theatre use…).
I waited for Dr. Byler to finish talking to the administrator and then I went in. He had wanted me to help him with a proposal for the Italian Baptists before their contact comes in a couple weeks, so then I went around taking pictures of some problem areas and worked on documenting some of the needs.
Wednesday: Went to devotions, one of the men who works in the pharmacy gave his testimony…a little frustrated because I missed all the funny parts due to translation… Then went to Maternity Ward, helped one of the nurses with ‘damp dusting,’ in other words, wiping down with water and cloth. Then I talked with the administrator about this project that I’m helping him organize as a proposal for the Italian Baptists…stayed for tea at his house with his family. Then I went back to the maternity ward, nothing going on: played cards and talked with the nurses, also learned a few more words in Shona. I cooked my first sadza tonight! Mai B and Dr. Chikonzo are gone to Masvingo for a church conference so Florence and I are here alone for a few days, so she said it would be a good time for me to practice with very little pressure. It went pretty well…although my arm was quite tired by the end!
Thursday: Helped deliver a baby :)…otherwise pretty similar to the other days in maternity…
Friday: Back to maternity…learned to do 10 day and 6 week post-natal follow-ups… Not much else today. Also went to the Mtisi’s for the biology lesson with Kudzai; tonight I wrote out some things for him to study while I’m in Gweru. I also cooked the sadza again tonight…Florence didn’t monitor me quite so closely. It was a little grainy, but not too bad…
Saturday: Going to Gweru (maybe I can use real internet???) and finally post these blogs! There is a Baptist Congress there and then I will stay there with the Maponga’s for a week or two.
(I've been writing at least a few times a week and just copying the whole thing now...I'm in Gweru for a little while and all the encouraging words that I've read since getting Internet access are wonderful and very, very much appreciated! much love & many prayers....
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
i'm here :)
Friday night 10 pm, August 1, 2008
Wednesday was a very long day. After a five hour wait in D.C., I boarded the plane to Johannesburg. I was surprised my seat was so close to the front! In fact, I passed it and turned around because at first I did not believe it! The plane had a row of two on each side with a row of four in the middle. I was on the end of one of the middle rows, with no one beside me in the middle row. It seemed that everyone (at least all of the loud Americans on the plane) were headed out on hunting trips. I did quite a bit of reading in Elisabeth Elliot’s A Chance to Die, which is a biography about Amy Carmichael, a missionary in the 1800s. It was rather encouraging to read about her experience leaving home, because I could identify with it. It was also comforting because hers seemed much more difficult than mine; I am only here for five months! She probably took nearly that long to make it to Japan, which was her first stop. I also did quite a bit of praying and journaling along the way. I only watched one whole movie, which was about a prison guard on Robben Island and how his slowly evolving relationship with Nelson Mandela taught him a great deal. I was quite concerned when I disembarked in Joburg, because the line for international transfers was not moving when I first turned the corner. I was comforted after talking with the two ladies in front of me who were both headed to Harare on the same flight as me. Soon enough, the line moved and I made it to the gate in plenty of time. The other two ladies were also shortly behind me. Ms. Margaret was truly a dear; she was returning home from Brisbane, Australia where she visited her daughter and grandchildren. She showed me a drawing that one of them gave her before leaving. I know not to take candy from strangers…but I could not refuse when she offered to share her KitKat. Actually, I tried to refuse but the grandmother in her would not let me. In Joburg, a bus carries passengers out onto the tarmac to load the planes, so we boarded together and I carried her bag up the steps onto the plane for her.
The plane to Harare had 3 seats on one side and 2 on the other. I was in the first row behind first class in the middle on the 3 seat side. The man beside me was an American citizen living in Belgium who was going to Harare on business. When I got through the Visa line, Ibrahim was standing on the other side of the luggage carousel with his bags. I looked around for mine and did not see them, but figured they would be out soon. So I told Ibrahim he did not have to wait for me, but then decided to make sure my ride was there before he left. He loaned me his phone, and my heart leaped when I spoke to Mr. Mtisi on the other side! I knew that I had made it this far and they were there waiting for me, and it would not be much longer. So Ibrahim left, and I saw Ms. Margaret again and told her I did not know where my bags were. She said if they weren’t out, they weren’t going to be coming out. So I walked over to the office to start filling out paperwork. I quickly got frustrated, because my codes didn’t fit the forms and I asked another goofy American, and he said he was just making it up too…so he wouldn’t be much help to me. Then I asked one of the porters, and he tried to help but said to wait in the line and the person in the office would help me. Then I decide to walk out one more time and look… and there are my bags! Stacked up on a cart, all three of them together, with one other bag on top. What sweet relief! So I make it through customs and talk my way out of paying duty on anything. (OK, well, I prayed the whole time waiting in the Visa line for God to clear the way and then I kept telling myself He had, and HE did! It was all very anticlimactic, although at one point I thought I was going to have to pay duty on some items. But, God wanted me and these supplies here…and here we are!)
When I walked out of customs and Greg stepped toward me, I was so relieved. I felt like now I didn’t have to worry about anything because they would take care of it. (I was pretty worried about visas and customs, because I just hate talking to officials, and I often am paranoid that I am doing something wrong and I am not.) Then I was rather overwhelmed because there were so many people there to greet me! Greg Casalenuovo (CN Nursing Prof), Mr. David Mtisi (the hospital administrator), Dr. Norman Chikonzo, Robert (the ambulance driver), the Mapongas (Mr. Maponga is the director of the Bapist Conference Center in Gweru, they also run an orphanage in a rural area), and Makieda (a nurse at Sanyati) was in the ambulance when we reached it. The road to Sanyati was long and bumpy, but the ride was not too bad. I saw a shooting star on the way. (A little God made me smile moment.) Arrived at the Chikonzo home, unloaded, and went to sleep!
Yesterday I woke up about 8, which was too late to make hospital devotions at 7:30. When we were ready, Dr. Chikonzo and I walked to the hospital. He showed me a few things, and then introduced me to Rev. Peter Japu, the hospital chaplain, who finished showing me around. The hospital is on one floor with several different halls/wards/buildings. The buildings are somewhat open and connected by walkways. There is an outpatient area near the front, and registration is just across from the chapel, which is also near the chaplain’s office. Behind his office is a general medical ward (I think it’s men’s). There is also an OB area, a surgery area, and a peds area. I saw the autoclave and the lab as well. The nursing school is only slightly separated from the rest of the hospital. After all this, Rev. Japu and I walked to Mr. Mtisi’s home and visited with Mr. Mtisi and Greg. Then we walked back to the hospital to find Dr. Chikonzo. By then it was time for tea! So Dr. Chikonzo and I went back to his home for tea with Josephine (his wife) and their baby Blessed. Josephine served each of us three biscuits and tea. Later we went back to the hospital and talked with Mr. Mtisi (admin.) and I also met Mr. Mtisi (the head nurse). We talked a little about what I can do and how long I will be around, and decided to talk more later.
Greg and I also needed to register with the local police so that they know who we are. We went into Sanyati town to do that, but we made a few stops in town so that our fuel would be worthwhile. We stopped at the bank and Kubatana Baptist Church. At the church, we meet Rev. and Mrs. Mugiriri and saw the preschool Greg said he helped with last year. Then we made our way to the station, but the person we needed to talk with was not there. We plan to return on Monday to do that.
Today we went to Gweru, which is the third city of Zimbabwe, with the first two being Harare and Bulawayo. Of course, because of the fuel shortage our trip served multiple purposes. We made several stops along the way, dropping people off and running errands of our own. Leaving Sanyati, Robert drove with Mr. Mtisi and Dr. Chikonzo up front, while Professor Greg, myself, Makieda (who was also there to collect me from the airport), Lawrence (one of the plumbers working at one of the rural clinics; he reminds me of Morgan Freeman…does that mean he also reminds me of God?), and Miriam (another Sanyati resident) rode in the back of the ambulance. (The ambulance is a truck with a camper shell that has a pad in the back for a patient.) Makieda and Miriam helped with a little Shona along the way; we had fun laughing at me and making tiny bits of progress.
The trip was rather long, maybe three hours each way with many intermittent stops. I’m really not sure about the time though, it seems irrelevant, so I don’t pay it much mind. The road to Kadoma, the city closest to Sanyati is quite bumpy, but after that it is a bit smoother. I’m starting to get used to the bumpy roads and stops and starts passing potholes, cars, people, and animals. Today I think I even dozed off a few times during the ride!
There are several Baptist entities in Gweru, one of which is the Baptist Convention Center. We met Rev. Josiah there, toured the facility, and went out to lunch. This was an eye-opening experience, culminating in the waitress counting out each one of the many bills it required to pay for our meal. We also stopped by the Baptist Conference Center and Zororo Primary School.
On the ride back we also made several stops and picked up friends returning to Sanyati. This time the front of the truck was the same, the back still including Prof. Greg, Lawrence, me, and Tanasha (Mr. Mtisi’s nephew), Patricia and her husband and baby Ano. It was entertaining to have the baby in the back with us; I was rather disappointed when he went to sleep during the ride, although I’m sure his mother was not.
When we returned tonight, Dr. Chikonzo’s sister Florence was preparing dinner. (His wife Josephine was having her hair done, and she had baby Blessed with her.) We had sadza, beef, a tomato sauce/paste, and something akin to collards. I have enjoyed each meal that has been prepared for me, but there is so much sadza! I have to teach myself to finish it, or convince them to not give me as much!
I have learned there is typically electricity on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. So tonight there is power as I am typing this, hopefully within the next few days I can access the Internet to post these blogs.
Friday afternoon 5 pm, August 8, 2008
On Saturday the Chikonzo’s had a church meeting that lasted all day. So I spent the day at Dr. Gwatikunda’s (the other Zimbabwean doctor) home with his family. Dr. Gwatikunda and I talked before lunch, about Zimbabwe, healthcare, and being a doctor. When it was time for lunch, we sat at their table and I was given silverware! (This was rather surprising to me, because I haven’t been using silverware at the Chikonzo home…it has been my preference to live as they are living, which includes forming my sadza into a ball in my hand and then picking up some vegetables or meat to go with it.) After lunch Dr. Gwatikunda went to play football/soccer and I stayed at the house with his wife, son, and their maid. I found a Shona/English phrase book on their bookshelf with healthcare related questions to help with interviewing patients. I haven’t learned the first page yet, but I am working on it. I have mastered the greetings for each time of day, however. I had fun practicing my simple Shona with Tana, the Gwatikunda’s four year old son. I also talked with Mrs. Gwatikunda about her family and work. She is a nurse, but is taking a break for now. She wants to go back and get her Master’s in Public Health; I told her that I have considered that as well.
I was planning to attend church with Mr. Mtisi the administrator, his family, and Prof. Greg on Sunday, but when the Chikonzo’s returned home on Saturday evening, they said I should go with them on Sunday. They go to an A.F.M. church (Apostolic Faith Ministry, I think). I believe once a month all of the smaller congregations around the area come together for a bigger church meeting/conference. This lasts from Friday through Sunday, but the Chikonzo’s only went on Saturday and Sunday.
The Chikonzo’s have a small, four-door car that we drove to church. On the way we picked up a few extra people who had been walking to church. (I wasn’t sure where they were going to sit, but, somehow, it worked! When fuel and cars are so rare, they are used for all they are worth… ) There were many people standing around talking outside the church when we arrived. (At this point the Chikonzo’s didn’t know that I had been studying a little Shona, so I surprised Florence when I began greeting people after realizing how little English was being spoken.) Soon Florence was coaching me through more Shona words and phrases, and more and more children gathered around us.
One little girl told me her name was Kudzai, which means “Praise,” but later re-introduced herself to me as “Anna,” so I re-introduced myself as Kudzai, which brought much laughter to our little circle outside the church! When it was time to walk into the church, all of the children followed Florence and I….I felt pretty weird, but honored at the same time. We sat down on one bench, and then moved to another (I still don’t know why, maybe just so there weren’t 30 children trying to sit with us.)
The entire service was in Shona, which made it seem much longer than it was. They did sprinkle in a few words of English when they introduced me/I introduced myself. To begin with it was quite wonderful, listening/humming along during the praise and worship time and trying my best to listen attentively to preaching when I can’t understand anything. I did read the passages in my Bible and tried to gather some of what the preacher said from his gestures and the scripture I had read. After a couple of hours sitting on the wooden bench, I was quite sore, but did not complain when Florence asked if I was comfortable. Eventually, she found a cloth for me to sit on as a cushion, which was much appreciated….but, in reality, did not help very much. This made me very grateful for the times when we were up singing and praising the Lord! We also had communion, which consisted of raspberry flavored drink (rather like Kool-aid, they buy a liter or two of the concentrate and then mix it with water) and small bits of bread. This was a wonderful reminder of the common ground we as believers have the world over, and was a spiritual and physical comfort to me for that reason, and because of the familiarity of the little mini cups of juice being passed around. Soon after communion, the service ended, and we headed out to the car where more people than before crammed into the car…but this gave me another opportunity to practice my simple Shona greetings and to meet more children. We had rice on Sunday afternoon, which was a surprise to me, because I have become so accustomed to sadza. (I’ve even learned to finish it!)
On Monday morning, I headed off to ‘work’ at the hospital, not really knowing what I would be doing. They have devotions at 7:30 though, so I figured I would start there and then ask one of the Mr. Mtisis. Mmmm…the week is running together in my mind. I started off in OPD (Outpatient Department), with the nurse’s aides taking vitals as the patients came back. Then I followed Mr. Charambamwe, an older nurse who worked at Sanyati Baptist Hospital since before independence in 1980. He worked elsewhere for a stint since then, but knows the hospital and the people very well. After lunch, I followed Jameson, who is a younger nurse, but who has a specialty in psychiatry. We didn’t see any psych. patients, but we did see some other ones. I have also spent some time working in the pharmacy…making envelopes for pills by folding papers and stapling them to form ‘envelopes.’
One day after finishing with Mr. Charambamwe, I decided to go see what was happening in the maternity ward. There was one patient who was expected to deliver soon…two hours before I arrived she was dilated to 6 cm. (They do not check too frequently, because of the short supply of gloves.) The nurse there said it shouldn’t be too long, so I decided to wait around. Even after they broke her water, she was still taking a long time. This patient kept rolling over, and saying she would just wait for it to come. In the mean time, four other expectant mothers came in from the matumba (“the waiting place”) where they go during the last few weeks of pregnancy…Florence told me how long they stay there depends on how lazy they are… I’m sure if they expect any problems they also go sooner though. One of the new patients that came in began crowning very soon, so I switched patients (I was getting pretty hungry by this time and wanted to be back in time for dinner…) So I helped deliver my first baby…by candlelight in Sanyati. I helped clamp the cord, stimulate the baby, and check the afterbirth. I even got to hand the little one off to his mother after she moved to the post-delivery room!
Today is Saturday and I did my first load of laundry, in a bucket in the tub. Florence instructed me and helped me out…it took most of the morning! I asked her if she had ever had a washing machine, and she said, “No, but we can use our hands.” That just made me think of all the things we have/use and think that we need, but we really don’t…
Normally there is power on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but it went out about mid-day yesterday. It has returned in the past hour or so, so I am finishing up this entry now. I thought that when there was ‘network’ we could use the regular internet, but it turns out in Sanyati (to the best of my understanding) I will only be able to use a certain e-mail program that will run off the phone network. We are planning to go the Great Zimbabwe on Monday and drop Prof. Greg at the airport on Tuesday, so maybe while we are in a more urban area I can find real Internet to use…
Wednesday was a very long day. After a five hour wait in D.C., I boarded the plane to Johannesburg. I was surprised my seat was so close to the front! In fact, I passed it and turned around because at first I did not believe it! The plane had a row of two on each side with a row of four in the middle. I was on the end of one of the middle rows, with no one beside me in the middle row. It seemed that everyone (at least all of the loud Americans on the plane) were headed out on hunting trips. I did quite a bit of reading in Elisabeth Elliot’s A Chance to Die, which is a biography about Amy Carmichael, a missionary in the 1800s. It was rather encouraging to read about her experience leaving home, because I could identify with it. It was also comforting because hers seemed much more difficult than mine; I am only here for five months! She probably took nearly that long to make it to Japan, which was her first stop. I also did quite a bit of praying and journaling along the way. I only watched one whole movie, which was about a prison guard on Robben Island and how his slowly evolving relationship with Nelson Mandela taught him a great deal. I was quite concerned when I disembarked in Joburg, because the line for international transfers was not moving when I first turned the corner. I was comforted after talking with the two ladies in front of me who were both headed to Harare on the same flight as me. Soon enough, the line moved and I made it to the gate in plenty of time. The other two ladies were also shortly behind me. Ms. Margaret was truly a dear; she was returning home from Brisbane, Australia where she visited her daughter and grandchildren. She showed me a drawing that one of them gave her before leaving. I know not to take candy from strangers…but I could not refuse when she offered to share her KitKat. Actually, I tried to refuse but the grandmother in her would not let me. In Joburg, a bus carries passengers out onto the tarmac to load the planes, so we boarded together and I carried her bag up the steps onto the plane for her.
The plane to Harare had 3 seats on one side and 2 on the other. I was in the first row behind first class in the middle on the 3 seat side. The man beside me was an American citizen living in Belgium who was going to Harare on business. When I got through the Visa line, Ibrahim was standing on the other side of the luggage carousel with his bags. I looked around for mine and did not see them, but figured they would be out soon. So I told Ibrahim he did not have to wait for me, but then decided to make sure my ride was there before he left. He loaned me his phone, and my heart leaped when I spoke to Mr. Mtisi on the other side! I knew that I had made it this far and they were there waiting for me, and it would not be much longer. So Ibrahim left, and I saw Ms. Margaret again and told her I did not know where my bags were. She said if they weren’t out, they weren’t going to be coming out. So I walked over to the office to start filling out paperwork. I quickly got frustrated, because my codes didn’t fit the forms and I asked another goofy American, and he said he was just making it up too…so he wouldn’t be much help to me. Then I asked one of the porters, and he tried to help but said to wait in the line and the person in the office would help me. Then I decide to walk out one more time and look… and there are my bags! Stacked up on a cart, all three of them together, with one other bag on top. What sweet relief! So I make it through customs and talk my way out of paying duty on anything. (OK, well, I prayed the whole time waiting in the Visa line for God to clear the way and then I kept telling myself He had, and HE did! It was all very anticlimactic, although at one point I thought I was going to have to pay duty on some items. But, God wanted me and these supplies here…and here we are!)
When I walked out of customs and Greg stepped toward me, I was so relieved. I felt like now I didn’t have to worry about anything because they would take care of it. (I was pretty worried about visas and customs, because I just hate talking to officials, and I often am paranoid that I am doing something wrong and I am not.) Then I was rather overwhelmed because there were so many people there to greet me! Greg Casalenuovo (CN Nursing Prof), Mr. David Mtisi (the hospital administrator), Dr. Norman Chikonzo, Robert (the ambulance driver), the Mapongas (Mr. Maponga is the director of the Bapist Conference Center in Gweru, they also run an orphanage in a rural area), and Makieda (a nurse at Sanyati) was in the ambulance when we reached it. The road to Sanyati was long and bumpy, but the ride was not too bad. I saw a shooting star on the way. (A little God made me smile moment.) Arrived at the Chikonzo home, unloaded, and went to sleep!
Yesterday I woke up about 8, which was too late to make hospital devotions at 7:30. When we were ready, Dr. Chikonzo and I walked to the hospital. He showed me a few things, and then introduced me to Rev. Peter Japu, the hospital chaplain, who finished showing me around. The hospital is on one floor with several different halls/wards/buildings. The buildings are somewhat open and connected by walkways. There is an outpatient area near the front, and registration is just across from the chapel, which is also near the chaplain’s office. Behind his office is a general medical ward (I think it’s men’s). There is also an OB area, a surgery area, and a peds area. I saw the autoclave and the lab as well. The nursing school is only slightly separated from the rest of the hospital. After all this, Rev. Japu and I walked to Mr. Mtisi’s home and visited with Mr. Mtisi and Greg. Then we walked back to the hospital to find Dr. Chikonzo. By then it was time for tea! So Dr. Chikonzo and I went back to his home for tea with Josephine (his wife) and their baby Blessed. Josephine served each of us three biscuits and tea. Later we went back to the hospital and talked with Mr. Mtisi (admin.) and I also met Mr. Mtisi (the head nurse). We talked a little about what I can do and how long I will be around, and decided to talk more later.
Greg and I also needed to register with the local police so that they know who we are. We went into Sanyati town to do that, but we made a few stops in town so that our fuel would be worthwhile. We stopped at the bank and Kubatana Baptist Church. At the church, we meet Rev. and Mrs. Mugiriri and saw the preschool Greg said he helped with last year. Then we made our way to the station, but the person we needed to talk with was not there. We plan to return on Monday to do that.
Today we went to Gweru, which is the third city of Zimbabwe, with the first two being Harare and Bulawayo. Of course, because of the fuel shortage our trip served multiple purposes. We made several stops along the way, dropping people off and running errands of our own. Leaving Sanyati, Robert drove with Mr. Mtisi and Dr. Chikonzo up front, while Professor Greg, myself, Makieda (who was also there to collect me from the airport), Lawrence (one of the plumbers working at one of the rural clinics; he reminds me of Morgan Freeman…does that mean he also reminds me of God?), and Miriam (another Sanyati resident) rode in the back of the ambulance. (The ambulance is a truck with a camper shell that has a pad in the back for a patient.) Makieda and Miriam helped with a little Shona along the way; we had fun laughing at me and making tiny bits of progress.
The trip was rather long, maybe three hours each way with many intermittent stops. I’m really not sure about the time though, it seems irrelevant, so I don’t pay it much mind. The road to Kadoma, the city closest to Sanyati is quite bumpy, but after that it is a bit smoother. I’m starting to get used to the bumpy roads and stops and starts passing potholes, cars, people, and animals. Today I think I even dozed off a few times during the ride!
There are several Baptist entities in Gweru, one of which is the Baptist Convention Center. We met Rev. Josiah there, toured the facility, and went out to lunch. This was an eye-opening experience, culminating in the waitress counting out each one of the many bills it required to pay for our meal. We also stopped by the Baptist Conference Center and Zororo Primary School.
On the ride back we also made several stops and picked up friends returning to Sanyati. This time the front of the truck was the same, the back still including Prof. Greg, Lawrence, me, and Tanasha (Mr. Mtisi’s nephew), Patricia and her husband and baby Ano. It was entertaining to have the baby in the back with us; I was rather disappointed when he went to sleep during the ride, although I’m sure his mother was not.
When we returned tonight, Dr. Chikonzo’s sister Florence was preparing dinner. (His wife Josephine was having her hair done, and she had baby Blessed with her.) We had sadza, beef, a tomato sauce/paste, and something akin to collards. I have enjoyed each meal that has been prepared for me, but there is so much sadza! I have to teach myself to finish it, or convince them to not give me as much!
I have learned there is typically electricity on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. So tonight there is power as I am typing this, hopefully within the next few days I can access the Internet to post these blogs.
Friday afternoon 5 pm, August 8, 2008
On Saturday the Chikonzo’s had a church meeting that lasted all day. So I spent the day at Dr. Gwatikunda’s (the other Zimbabwean doctor) home with his family. Dr. Gwatikunda and I talked before lunch, about Zimbabwe, healthcare, and being a doctor. When it was time for lunch, we sat at their table and I was given silverware! (This was rather surprising to me, because I haven’t been using silverware at the Chikonzo home…it has been my preference to live as they are living, which includes forming my sadza into a ball in my hand and then picking up some vegetables or meat to go with it.) After lunch Dr. Gwatikunda went to play football/soccer and I stayed at the house with his wife, son, and their maid. I found a Shona/English phrase book on their bookshelf with healthcare related questions to help with interviewing patients. I haven’t learned the first page yet, but I am working on it. I have mastered the greetings for each time of day, however. I had fun practicing my simple Shona with Tana, the Gwatikunda’s four year old son. I also talked with Mrs. Gwatikunda about her family and work. She is a nurse, but is taking a break for now. She wants to go back and get her Master’s in Public Health; I told her that I have considered that as well.
I was planning to attend church with Mr. Mtisi the administrator, his family, and Prof. Greg on Sunday, but when the Chikonzo’s returned home on Saturday evening, they said I should go with them on Sunday. They go to an A.F.M. church (Apostolic Faith Ministry, I think). I believe once a month all of the smaller congregations around the area come together for a bigger church meeting/conference. This lasts from Friday through Sunday, but the Chikonzo’s only went on Saturday and Sunday.
The Chikonzo’s have a small, four-door car that we drove to church. On the way we picked up a few extra people who had been walking to church. (I wasn’t sure where they were going to sit, but, somehow, it worked! When fuel and cars are so rare, they are used for all they are worth… ) There were many people standing around talking outside the church when we arrived. (At this point the Chikonzo’s didn’t know that I had been studying a little Shona, so I surprised Florence when I began greeting people after realizing how little English was being spoken.) Soon Florence was coaching me through more Shona words and phrases, and more and more children gathered around us.
One little girl told me her name was Kudzai, which means “Praise,” but later re-introduced herself to me as “Anna,” so I re-introduced myself as Kudzai, which brought much laughter to our little circle outside the church! When it was time to walk into the church, all of the children followed Florence and I….I felt pretty weird, but honored at the same time. We sat down on one bench, and then moved to another (I still don’t know why, maybe just so there weren’t 30 children trying to sit with us.)
The entire service was in Shona, which made it seem much longer than it was. They did sprinkle in a few words of English when they introduced me/I introduced myself. To begin with it was quite wonderful, listening/humming along during the praise and worship time and trying my best to listen attentively to preaching when I can’t understand anything. I did read the passages in my Bible and tried to gather some of what the preacher said from his gestures and the scripture I had read. After a couple of hours sitting on the wooden bench, I was quite sore, but did not complain when Florence asked if I was comfortable. Eventually, she found a cloth for me to sit on as a cushion, which was much appreciated….but, in reality, did not help very much. This made me very grateful for the times when we were up singing and praising the Lord! We also had communion, which consisted of raspberry flavored drink (rather like Kool-aid, they buy a liter or two of the concentrate and then mix it with water) and small bits of bread. This was a wonderful reminder of the common ground we as believers have the world over, and was a spiritual and physical comfort to me for that reason, and because of the familiarity of the little mini cups of juice being passed around. Soon after communion, the service ended, and we headed out to the car where more people than before crammed into the car…but this gave me another opportunity to practice my simple Shona greetings and to meet more children. We had rice on Sunday afternoon, which was a surprise to me, because I have become so accustomed to sadza. (I’ve even learned to finish it!)
On Monday morning, I headed off to ‘work’ at the hospital, not really knowing what I would be doing. They have devotions at 7:30 though, so I figured I would start there and then ask one of the Mr. Mtisis. Mmmm…the week is running together in my mind. I started off in OPD (Outpatient Department), with the nurse’s aides taking vitals as the patients came back. Then I followed Mr. Charambamwe, an older nurse who worked at Sanyati Baptist Hospital since before independence in 1980. He worked elsewhere for a stint since then, but knows the hospital and the people very well. After lunch, I followed Jameson, who is a younger nurse, but who has a specialty in psychiatry. We didn’t see any psych. patients, but we did see some other ones. I have also spent some time working in the pharmacy…making envelopes for pills by folding papers and stapling them to form ‘envelopes.’
One day after finishing with Mr. Charambamwe, I decided to go see what was happening in the maternity ward. There was one patient who was expected to deliver soon…two hours before I arrived she was dilated to 6 cm. (They do not check too frequently, because of the short supply of gloves.) The nurse there said it shouldn’t be too long, so I decided to wait around. Even after they broke her water, she was still taking a long time. This patient kept rolling over, and saying she would just wait for it to come. In the mean time, four other expectant mothers came in from the matumba (“the waiting place”) where they go during the last few weeks of pregnancy…Florence told me how long they stay there depends on how lazy they are… I’m sure if they expect any problems they also go sooner though. One of the new patients that came in began crowning very soon, so I switched patients (I was getting pretty hungry by this time and wanted to be back in time for dinner…) So I helped deliver my first baby…by candlelight in Sanyati. I helped clamp the cord, stimulate the baby, and check the afterbirth. I even got to hand the little one off to his mother after she moved to the post-delivery room!
Today is Saturday and I did my first load of laundry, in a bucket in the tub. Florence instructed me and helped me out…it took most of the morning! I asked her if she had ever had a washing machine, and she said, “No, but we can use our hands.” That just made me think of all the things we have/use and think that we need, but we really don’t…
Normally there is power on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but it went out about mid-day yesterday. It has returned in the past hour or so, so I am finishing up this entry now. I thought that when there was ‘network’ we could use the regular internet, but it turns out in Sanyati (to the best of my understanding) I will only be able to use a certain e-mail program that will run off the phone network. We are planning to go the Great Zimbabwe on Monday and drop Prof. Greg at the airport on Tuesday, so maybe while we are in a more urban area I can find real Internet to use…
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
From Dulles...
I am waiting in the DC airport right now; I have a few hours of downtime before boarding my flight to Johannesburg. This morning was…shall we say…a stretching experience. It was quite difficult to walk away from Mom, Adam and Faye down the security line. But then, I think, it’s just a little more than a semester of school before I return, which makes it feel much less traumatic :) I am nervous and hopeful right now, and trusting that God has not brought me this far to abandon me. I truly believe this is where I am supposed to be and what I am supposed to be doing. I look forward to sending another update from Africa! I thank you all for your love and concern, and especially for your prayers as the journey becomes more and more real.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
The Journey Begins...
Well, the past week has had some major ups and downs in reference to this journey, which is wonderful because now I appreciate the excitement that I am currently blessed by...and I am ready to get this show on the road (or in the air)! I met with Bonnie Dixon today, who is helping me coordinate this trip, and it seems that Sanyati Baptist Hospital is waiting for me with open arms! I cannot wait to meet and serve the people there!
I have my suitcases laid out, with most of what I am planning to back nearby. Today I bought some supplies for the trip: pencils, balloons, safety pins, a sewing kit, some inspirational bookmarks (that are very pretty!), along with a few other gifts and supplies. Bonnie mentioned today that oftentimes it takes a month or two's salary to purchase a necktie in Zimbabwe...I mean, I know ties are not the most important thing in life, but that shocked me! So tonight, my Grandaddy donated about 15 ties, along with a few dress shirts to support the cause. I am sure I will be blessed when giving these and the other small gifts I have to those who need them most!
Of course, there is still some unrest in the country, although the political leaders are gaining some ground by at least agreeing to talk. So your prayers are still needed for the people of Zimbabwe and their leaders, as well as me, as I prepare to embark on this great journey!
I look forward to sending out more updates soon!
I have my suitcases laid out, with most of what I am planning to back nearby. Today I bought some supplies for the trip: pencils, balloons, safety pins, a sewing kit, some inspirational bookmarks (that are very pretty!), along with a few other gifts and supplies. Bonnie mentioned today that oftentimes it takes a month or two's salary to purchase a necktie in Zimbabwe...I mean, I know ties are not the most important thing in life, but that shocked me! So tonight, my Grandaddy donated about 15 ties, along with a few dress shirts to support the cause. I am sure I will be blessed when giving these and the other small gifts I have to those who need them most!
Of course, there is still some unrest in the country, although the political leaders are gaining some ground by at least agreeing to talk. So your prayers are still needed for the people of Zimbabwe and their leaders, as well as me, as I prepare to embark on this great journey!
I look forward to sending out more updates soon!
Saturday, May 17, 2008
I am going to Zimbabwe!
I am writing to share some exciting news about what God has been preparing me for over the last several years, but first I would like to give you a brief update on my life. I just graduated from Carson-Newman College this May with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and a minor in Sociology. During my college career, I have continued my active involvement with missions and serving the poor. Along with ministering at a free clinic each week, I have been part of establishing a globally minded organization on our campus to educate students about global issues and how they can be involved with these. In addition, during one school break each year I served on a mission trip through our Baptist Collegiate Ministries. In fact, this year I traveled to Jimani, Dominican Republic to participate in my first medical mission trip. Through this, I was able to see and participate in God’s work among his people there. It was also very inspiring to work with the medical team there, who have dedicated themselves to serving the underserved in both the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
As many of you are probably aware, I have felt God calling me to medical missions for several years, which makes what I am about to share with you wonderfully exciting! After much prayer and consideration, I am planning a journey to Zimbabwe this August. I plan to spend most of my time serving in the Baptist Mission Hospital in Sanyati. Sanyati is a small village in north central Zimbabwe and is a former mission post that is currently maintained by nationals. I will live with a family of nationals who are involved in the local Baptist church, as well as the hospital. I will live as they live over the course of my five months in the country. I hope to learn much from them and to gain a deeper understanding of their lives and circumstances, while also reminding them of the hope and promise that we have in Jesus Christ.
Last year our campus minister introduced me to a developing ministry called JourneyPartners. This small, but far-reaching ministry has developed many partnerships both nationally and internationally to further its goal of “developing networks and partnerships for mutual learning and spiritual growth.” This ministry has made many valuable contributions to schools, hospitals, clinics, as well as the Church Leadership Institute and Baptist Conference Center in Zimbabwe. JourneyPartners has also entered into a partnership with a project originating in South Africa, called Jewels of Hope, which allows children to make jewelry, allowing them to remain in school, and help provide for their education, food supplements for them and their families and living expenses.
It is my hope and prayer that you will partner with me, JourneyPartners, and the people of Zimbabwe. It is our desire to involve you in the wonderful journey that Christ invites us to embark upon by carrying his message to the ends of the earth. I will be fundraising for the next couple months and I would greatly appreciate any contribution that you are willing to offer; both prayers and financial contributions will be graciously accepted. This is an awesome opportunity for you to be involved in going to the ends of the earth with Christ, and to share His message of hope and love to those who most need it.
In Christ,
Anna Clements
As many of you are probably aware, I have felt God calling me to medical missions for several years, which makes what I am about to share with you wonderfully exciting! After much prayer and consideration, I am planning a journey to Zimbabwe this August. I plan to spend most of my time serving in the Baptist Mission Hospital in Sanyati. Sanyati is a small village in north central Zimbabwe and is a former mission post that is currently maintained by nationals. I will live with a family of nationals who are involved in the local Baptist church, as well as the hospital. I will live as they live over the course of my five months in the country. I hope to learn much from them and to gain a deeper understanding of their lives and circumstances, while also reminding them of the hope and promise that we have in Jesus Christ.
Last year our campus minister introduced me to a developing ministry called JourneyPartners. This small, but far-reaching ministry has developed many partnerships both nationally and internationally to further its goal of “developing networks and partnerships for mutual learning and spiritual growth.” This ministry has made many valuable contributions to schools, hospitals, clinics, as well as the Church Leadership Institute and Baptist Conference Center in Zimbabwe. JourneyPartners has also entered into a partnership with a project originating in South Africa, called Jewels of Hope, which allows children to make jewelry, allowing them to remain in school, and help provide for their education, food supplements for them and their families and living expenses.
It is my hope and prayer that you will partner with me, JourneyPartners, and the people of Zimbabwe. It is our desire to involve you in the wonderful journey that Christ invites us to embark upon by carrying his message to the ends of the earth. I will be fundraising for the next couple months and I would greatly appreciate any contribution that you are willing to offer; both prayers and financial contributions will be graciously accepted. This is an awesome opportunity for you to be involved in going to the ends of the earth with Christ, and to share His message of hope and love to those who most need it.
In Christ,
Anna Clements
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