The Past Few Days

The past few days have been very eventful and interesting here in Kapsowar. God is continuing to teach us to abide in Him one day at a time, as you never know what is just around the corner…

Saturday was a nice day, as I finally had enough energy to get out and about. Jason and I went to the market and got some additional needed items at local stores here. It amazed me how much just that little bit of “work” wore me out. We headed home and rested a little, and then enjoyed time in the evening cooking, eating, and spending time getting to know people here a little better.

Sunday was absolutely beautiful – it was sunny and warm, and I felt even more like myself again. We walked to a local church that meets at a school not too far away. The church helps support the school so a majority of the congregation are children. The worship was vibrant and fun (most of it led by the children), and the sermon was from Revelation 2 – the warning to the church of Ephesus to return to their first love. They kindly translated into English for us, and had us get up and introduce ourselves. Jason keeps introducing me as “his beautiful wife of a little over two years”, and everyone thinks it’s hilarious that he introduces me that way. They say he shows me much respect. It is true, and I am so blessed by Him!

   After church, we spent a while reading, and then went for a walk down to the nearby river. Jason has been running in the mornings and as we walked the steep and muddy trails, I was greatly admiring him. He says the change in altitude is still a major challenge with running, along with the hills. I’m hoping to attempt it as soon as I can build my strength back up. For now, I’ll enjoy the walks though!

     In the evening, we suddenly had about 15 children in our living room – almost all of them Kenyans. They heard me playing guitar and all wanted a turn. :) It was loud, crazy, and fun. We then went to a Bible study with the missionaries and enjoyed some more fellowship with them, although is seemed very subdued in contrast. :) It was a refreshing day. (Carissa – I got some good pics of the kids wearing the guitar with the purple strap - if our internet will let us post them I’ll show you!)

Monday, I played with a little missionary boy for most of the morning, in between getting work done at the house. Our next-door neighbors are a family with four children – 3 boys and a new baby girl – who are finishing up a two-year term with Samaritan’s Purse. The Father is a Family Practice Doctor and his wife is a social worker who takes care of the kids full time. Their second child, who is 4 years old, just came and knocked on my door and said he was here to play the guitar and then play toys with me. :) His mother was a little appalled when she found out later, but I assured here that it was no problem and that we had a lot of fun. They are a fun and encouraging family that we are enjoying getting to know.

    In the afternoon, I finally explored the hospital and what opportunities might be available for me to help there. I worked in the surgery clinic with Jason, and got my feet wet in how things work.

      Now for the amusing part of the day… On our walk the day before, Jason had stopped and talked with a girl who was tending her family’s cows. He noticed that one of the cows was being milked, and when he found out I had never milked a cow, he asked the girl if I could come milk it… She was excited to teach me so we made an appointment for Monday evening at 6. :) I wasn’t too sure what I thought of all this, but what was hilarious is that first of all, I had made an appointment to milk a cow, and that secondly, the family was so excited to meet us and said that we are the first Muzungus (Caucasions) to make such a request. :) Anyway… after milking the cow (which went pretty well in case you’re wondering), the family invited us to stay for dinner. I enjoyed learning more of how they cook (the kitchen is in a separate building away from the house and they cook over an open fire) and we had the chance to talk and pray with them. The Father is a pastor at the church we attended Sunday, and they said we should come over often so that I can get more practice! :) I have actually cooked a couple of the local dishes already too and they turned out quite well. They are filling and have good flavor if made and mixed correctly.

Yesterday was the most eventful day so far… I spent almost the entire day at the hospital as I finally found a place to (hopefully) be useful! There is a large storage crate, full of boxes of medical supplies – some useful, some outdated, some useless here, and all fairly disorganized. I started working, box-by-box, on sorting and organizing these things. There are also several other organization and teaching projects that may pan out in the coming weeks, but this one should keep me busy for a long time as well.

    Jason has been learning and assisting in thyroidectomies, prostatectomies, burn contractor releases, cleft lip and palate repairs, tubal ligations, c-sections, and trauma patients. He is also working on continuing to set up the research project for our return trip through emails and phone calls. He seems to be enjoying himself overall, and said last night – “ I think I would really enjoy being a missionary surgeon!” It’s always encouraging and comforting to have some confirmation that you’re on the right track with goals and plans. Knowing of course, that God could re-route us at any time.

    In the late afternoon yesterday, I was following one of the doctors as he was showing me the Maternity area of the hospital. There was a woman waiting to be seen in the clinic portion that was about 12.5 weeks along in her pregnancy and had been bleeding. She had a four-year-old child at home, but had just recently been able to conceive again. When the doctor did the ultrasound, there was no heartbeat or baby present. He sadly told the young woman and her husband the news and then I assisted him with a D&C. Having lived through similar circumstances, I felt the woman’s pain deeply and kept saying “poly sanna” – “I’m so sorry”, as I held her hand.

    A little later, Jason and I were getting ready to walk home when the same doctor told us there was a C-section for a breach baby that was getting ready to be done. Longing to experience something joyful, and to learn, I also attended the C-section. I got to “scrub in” to surgery for the first time, and assist where I could. The woman’s abdomen was extremely large, and the doctor wondered if there were twins. The woman was new to our hospital, so no ultrasound had been done. We were voting on whether there was one baby or two, but none of us imagined what followed…

    After the doctor made the incision and was able to visualize the baby, he began to pull the baby out in the usual way – feet first. However, the baby would not budge even an inch. We tried every position and everything possible, but the head appeared to be so huge that it was completely stuck. We then had to widen the incision multiple times until we suddenly realized that the baby was not normal, and that her head was 2-3 times the size of a normal newborn. When we were finally able to get her out, we realized she not only had severe hydrocephalus, but also many other deformities. We sadly cut the cord and several nurses began providing comfort care to the baby while we tried to repair the mother’s uterus and control the bleeding. From my pediatric ICU training, it was instinctive for me to try to do everything possible for the baby. However, in this culture especially, it doesn’t make any sense. For normal hydrocephalus, there is a nearby hospital that provides treatment, but not for this amount of deformity. The amount of time and money that it would take to even maybe give this child any life of quality is not available within the resources of the hospitals or families here.

      After the surgery was complete and the mother was stabilized, Jason and I walked home in the rain and dark. What was supposed to be so joyous had turned out so sad. We stopped by our neighbor’s house and asked if we could borrow a movie to watch on our laptop, just to relax a little. They gladly agreed and we headed home to eat and relax. About 1/3 of the way into the movie, Jason got a call that a trauma patient had come in and they needed his help. He headed to the hospital again.

      I finished the movie, but then walked up to the hospital to give him the i-pod and speakers to play in the OR, and to see how things were going. This was around 10:30pm or so I think. We didn’t get home until around 3am…

      It turned out there were multiple trauma patients, as several related men in a nearby village had gotten in a fight over land. They had cut each other all over with machetes and one man had two arrow injuries in his back. I ended up putting on scrubs and staying to help in any way I could – getting supplies, cleaning wounds, etc. Jason taught me how to suture for the first time, and we ended up taking care of several of the men together. (One injury was unrelated as a man ”fell” after coming out of a club and needed a few stitches in his head). Anyway, needless to say, the night was very eventful and we were very aware that we are in Africa as the resources and types of injuries are so different.

 Well, now that I have written another novel, I guess I should go… I slept in today and have just been resting and catching up on things here at the house. Jason has been doing surgeries again at the hospital. I spent some good time in the Word again this morning, and have desperately needed God’s perspective on things again today. I am so thankful that He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-sufficient. Also, I am so thankful for His Presence and Spirit because without that, we could not do the things we do. God gives us the ability to “know what we cannot know, and do what we cannot do” (Beth Moore). Amen!