Date: 9-24-07
I sit her in Africa in the middle of trying to can pumpkin. My family gave me a huge pumpkin, I made pumpkin muffins yesterday with some of the prized Raisin's mom sent with me, but there was still a ton left. I decided to give canning it a try so that we could have pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. Pray that none of us die of botulism though ;) Mom told me that it needs to be canned in a pressure cooker under 15 lb.'s of pressure for 50 minutes. Well I've got them in a pressure cooker and they will be there for a little longer than 50 minutes to be safe. But as far as the 15lb's of pressure goes that would be a coke bottle cap. Hmmm..guess it's part of embracing Africa ;)
Monday, September 24, 2007
Wilderness Experience
Date: 9-22-07
It's a dark night outside, the crickets are humming, and the coal fire the pressure cooker is over is glowing orange out on the porch. It is here I sit overwhelmed by what an amazing opportunity God has presented me with here. It is a discovery that I can't help but share with you.
I walked into Sabbath School and joined our newly formed group of English speaker's, the sounds of the Mundo, Nagerene, and French language Sabbath School's mixed together in the brick building. We opened up to the weeks Sabbath school lesson and saw that it was on Hosea and Gomar. I strained to hear the conversation as the Quinine makes my ears feel like they are filled with cotton, I caught pieces here and there. It came my turn to read the next verse..and this is what I read.
"Therefore, behold, I will allure her and bring her into the wilderness, and I will speak tenderly and to her heart. And I will betroth you to Me forever, yes, I will betroth you to me in righteousness and justice, in steadfast love, and in mercy. I will even betroth you to Me in stability and in faithfulness, and you shall know, recognize, be acquainted with, appreciate, give heed to, and cherish the Lord.and in that day I will respond, says the Lord." Hosea 2: 14, 19, 20
Tears filled my eyes as I read this, I looked out the tall rectangular windows that lined the church wall, rice filled rolled in the breeze, a couple children ran by laughing, dragon flies hovered in the air that was beginning to get heavy with heat. I thought of my hut, my cot, my mat, my hole, my new family.
This was it! Tchad, this was my wilderness experience, I'm so sure of it now. God has brought me here to betroth me to Him forever in righteousness, justice, love, mercy, stability, and faithfulness! The incredible part is even if I don't do something incredible here in Chad He still wants to have a relationship with me, in fact it might be the very reason why He has brought me here. He always takes the initiative, all I have to do is be willing to be loved and that love relationship will cause the changes in my life. I can mess-up here, spend too much time at the hospital house, not learn French, and maybe not even do something amazing for God here..those are all earthly thing/accomplishments that gives us a sense of righteousness. God could care less, He wants us to focus on what is not seen what is eternal, He just wants to take us to the wilderness and for us to experience with Him true love.
I continued to read this morning and found this verse:
"Come and let us return to the Lord, for He has torn us so that He may heal us. He has stricken so that He may bind us up..then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: His going forth is prepared as the morning: and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth." Hosea 6:3
I know that the changes aren't going to be easy, but as I read the description of the love relationship that He offers if you embrace those trials in the wilderness experiences that He brings into our lives.I can't help but be excited about the possibilities
It's a dark night outside, the crickets are humming, and the coal fire the pressure cooker is over is glowing orange out on the porch. It is here I sit overwhelmed by what an amazing opportunity God has presented me with here. It is a discovery that I can't help but share with you.
I walked into Sabbath School and joined our newly formed group of English speaker's, the sounds of the Mundo, Nagerene, and French language Sabbath School's mixed together in the brick building. We opened up to the weeks Sabbath school lesson and saw that it was on Hosea and Gomar. I strained to hear the conversation as the Quinine makes my ears feel like they are filled with cotton, I caught pieces here and there. It came my turn to read the next verse..and this is what I read.
"Therefore, behold, I will allure her and bring her into the wilderness, and I will speak tenderly and to her heart. And I will betroth you to Me forever, yes, I will betroth you to me in righteousness and justice, in steadfast love, and in mercy. I will even betroth you to Me in stability and in faithfulness, and you shall know, recognize, be acquainted with, appreciate, give heed to, and cherish the Lord.and in that day I will respond, says the Lord." Hosea 2: 14, 19, 20
Tears filled my eyes as I read this, I looked out the tall rectangular windows that lined the church wall, rice filled rolled in the breeze, a couple children ran by laughing, dragon flies hovered in the air that was beginning to get heavy with heat. I thought of my hut, my cot, my mat, my hole, my new family.
This was it! Tchad, this was my wilderness experience, I'm so sure of it now. God has brought me here to betroth me to Him forever in righteousness, justice, love, mercy, stability, and faithfulness! The incredible part is even if I don't do something incredible here in Chad He still wants to have a relationship with me, in fact it might be the very reason why He has brought me here. He always takes the initiative, all I have to do is be willing to be loved and that love relationship will cause the changes in my life. I can mess-up here, spend too much time at the hospital house, not learn French, and maybe not even do something amazing for God here..those are all earthly thing/accomplishments that gives us a sense of righteousness. God could care less, He wants us to focus on what is not seen what is eternal, He just wants to take us to the wilderness and for us to experience with Him true love.
I continued to read this morning and found this verse:
"Come and let us return to the Lord, for He has torn us so that He may heal us. He has stricken so that He may bind us up..then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: His going forth is prepared as the morning: and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth." Hosea 6:3
I know that the changes aren't going to be easy, but as I read the description of the love relationship that He offers if you embrace those trials in the wilderness experiences that He brings into our lives.I can't help but be excited about the possibilities
An Answered Prayer
Date: 9-21-07
I stood giving the 4th dose of Quinine to another fever soaked infant lying wrapped in a bright piece of African fabric. As I was checking to make sure the drip was slow enough I heard the gurgling gasps from the last bed in the room. The same gurgling gasps that had caused James to insert a tracheal tube the night before. The same gasps that lead us to suction her trachea out with a tube and our mouths and bag her to get her 02 sat up. This was the first patient that I'd been able to prayer with her family for her, she was a little 8 year old girl that had been through it all, the day before a truck had fell on her and brok her Tibia in one leg and her Femur in the other. And now this struggle for life. I ran to the bedside and began to suction, sucking so hard my chest hurt. Bust still I got nothing. I turned to call for help and that's when I realized I was in this alone. Sarah had gone for a bit to eat and Augustine (the other nurse) had disappeared quite some time ago. I turned on the 02 sat monitor and watched as she started to drop 83, 82, 81. Please God send somebody I prayed and went to try and suction again. No luck. I glanced over my shoulder and there stood a nurse from the other side who never ventures over to this side. Praise God. I handed the suction to him to try because he might have more suction power than me. I was going to get James.
James arrived and we suctioned, bagged, and gave albuterol liquid straight down her tracheal tube to loosen up the secretions. He 02 sat reached 98% being bagged. We taught the family how to bag her so that they could through the night. Last I checked on her before going to bed she was waking up blinking her eyes and moving some fingers. Praise God!
I stood giving the 4th dose of Quinine to another fever soaked infant lying wrapped in a bright piece of African fabric. As I was checking to make sure the drip was slow enough I heard the gurgling gasps from the last bed in the room. The same gurgling gasps that had caused James to insert a tracheal tube the night before. The same gasps that lead us to suction her trachea out with a tube and our mouths and bag her to get her 02 sat up. This was the first patient that I'd been able to prayer with her family for her, she was a little 8 year old girl that had been through it all, the day before a truck had fell on her and brok her Tibia in one leg and her Femur in the other. And now this struggle for life. I ran to the bedside and began to suction, sucking so hard my chest hurt. Bust still I got nothing. I turned to call for help and that's when I realized I was in this alone. Sarah had gone for a bit to eat and Augustine (the other nurse) had disappeared quite some time ago. I turned on the 02 sat monitor and watched as she started to drop 83, 82, 81. Please God send somebody I prayed and went to try and suction again. No luck. I glanced over my shoulder and there stood a nurse from the other side who never ventures over to this side. Praise God. I handed the suction to him to try because he might have more suction power than me. I was going to get James.
James arrived and we suctioned, bagged, and gave albuterol liquid straight down her tracheal tube to loosen up the secretions. He 02 sat reached 98% being bagged. We taught the family how to bag her so that they could through the night. Last I checked on her before going to bed she was waking up blinking her eyes and moving some fingers. Praise God!
Fake Out
Date: 9-19-07
As I walked home from work I prayed with everything inside me that the meal wouldn't be spit-sauce and boulle'. I'd loved it last week but now this week and Quinine for Malaria has left me wanting to barph at the site of it. I surveyed the cooking pots on the coal in the courtyard and tried to say a happy "Bonjour, ca va?" as I spotted the creamy peanut butter being prepared to be poured in with the boiling okra. Oh boy..I thought as my stomach turned inside out. Am I gonna make it another 8 months? I ate 3 bites and had to quit, telling them it was my Quinine. For the 3rd time since being here I stayed the whole day with my family without returning to the hospital to e-mail/eat American food. Little baby steps. But unfortunately that meant dinner with my family!
As I watched them roast the feathers off the chicken I wondered what might be in store for me. I immediately knew it was leftovers when one of the girls headed for the food-hut which I have fondly named the cockroach hut. I watched as they washed off whatever might haven let by those nasty critters off the boulle throw it in some water to boil for 5 minutes and "voila" leftover's of cold peanut spit sauce and boulle on a dirty plate appeared in front of me. Two of the girls dug in, I tried one bite and the stomach said uhhhh, no. So I faked. I stuck my head in the light of the moon and acted like I grabbed some boulle, acted like I dipped and then sucked on my fingers for a llittle while and chewed. Boy what nutrition. I knew eating with my fingers would come in handy.my family never knew, and you never could've accomplished that with a spoon and eating from a bowl by yourself!!!!
As I walked home from work I prayed with everything inside me that the meal wouldn't be spit-sauce and boulle'. I'd loved it last week but now this week and Quinine for Malaria has left me wanting to barph at the site of it. I surveyed the cooking pots on the coal in the courtyard and tried to say a happy "Bonjour, ca va?" as I spotted the creamy peanut butter being prepared to be poured in with the boiling okra. Oh boy..I thought as my stomach turned inside out. Am I gonna make it another 8 months? I ate 3 bites and had to quit, telling them it was my Quinine. For the 3rd time since being here I stayed the whole day with my family without returning to the hospital to e-mail/eat American food. Little baby steps. But unfortunately that meant dinner with my family!
As I watched them roast the feathers off the chicken I wondered what might be in store for me. I immediately knew it was leftovers when one of the girls headed for the food-hut which I have fondly named the cockroach hut. I watched as they washed off whatever might haven let by those nasty critters off the boulle throw it in some water to boil for 5 minutes and "voila" leftover's of cold peanut spit sauce and boulle on a dirty plate appeared in front of me. Two of the girls dug in, I tried one bite and the stomach said uhhhh, no. So I faked. I stuck my head in the light of the moon and acted like I grabbed some boulle, acted like I dipped and then sucked on my fingers for a llittle while and chewed. Boy what nutrition. I knew eating with my fingers would come in handy.my family never knew, and you never could've accomplished that with a spoon and eating from a bowl by yourself!!!!
The Challenge
Date: 9-17-07
And..it's on Liz is down 1:2. Sonya's in the lead only because she didn't have enough Garlic in he blood when she arrived. The mosquitos are buzzing with the most recent malaria score gossip as Sonya confronts Liz at the hospital steps. "So I hear you've got Malaria?" Liz display's the 0.05% p. paludisma on the "Bulletin Examen Labo." Welcome to the club James says when he finds Liz lying on the couch with a cool washcloth that Sonya so lovingly placed there. The next day arrives and the mosquito's have gone wild in the stands. "Did you see Sonya go to the Lab this morning - I hear we've infected another one!!!!!" Sonya, is searching the hospital looking in every room to tell the world the new score...or is it just Liz that she's looking for. She finds her getting over one of the hot flashes that have taken over her new Malaria filled body.
"So it looks like I'm winning 2 to your 1." Sonya, states holding up her newest Bulletin Trophy.
"Don't challenge me!" Liz replies.leaving both Sonya and Liz with the image of lying outside on their mats at night, arms exposed, saying " Her squito, squito, squito."
And..it's on Liz is down 1:2. Sonya's in the lead only because she didn't have enough Garlic in he blood when she arrived. The mosquitos are buzzing with the most recent malaria score gossip as Sonya confronts Liz at the hospital steps. "So I hear you've got Malaria?" Liz display's the 0.05% p. paludisma on the "Bulletin Examen Labo." Welcome to the club James says when he finds Liz lying on the couch with a cool washcloth that Sonya so lovingly placed there. The next day arrives and the mosquito's have gone wild in the stands. "Did you see Sonya go to the Lab this morning - I hear we've infected another one!!!!!" Sonya, is searching the hospital looking in every room to tell the world the new score...or is it just Liz that she's looking for. She finds her getting over one of the hot flashes that have taken over her new Malaria filled body.
"So it looks like I'm winning 2 to your 1." Sonya, states holding up her newest Bulletin Trophy.
"Don't challenge me!" Liz replies.leaving both Sonya and Liz with the image of lying outside on their mats at night, arms exposed, saying " Her squito, squito, squito."
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