Counting Sheep

We are into our last days at clinic. It has really gone by fast, and this week especially knowing we leave soon. So much has happened that I wish I could write about.

Wednesday evening Dustin and I went to church with the kids. The ones who board here for school are leaving Friday for their version of summer break. So, we wanted to spend some time with them before they left. After church I met up with Irene and some of the other girls. They wanted to know my name. In Ghana, you have several names. Sometimes additional titles as well. There is no ‘legal’ way of using your name, your name is whatever you want it to be, really. But one of the things Ghanaians do, is they don’t name their babies when they are born. They take the baby home, and the entire family has to tell the mother, what the child’s name will be. To solve the problem of the baby being called ‘hey you’ or ‘small one’ for the first two months of it’s life, they give the child it’s Ghanaian name. This is based on the day of the week you were born. When we arrived that was one of the first questions we were asked, “what day were you born?” Of course, I do not know, and here it’s very important so, some of them were surprised I didn’t know the day of the week. It’s kind of like if you didn’t know your own birthday. Dustin and I looked it up, I was born on a Tuesday, so my Ghanaian name is Abena (pronounced ah-beh-nuh). Pretty, huh? ;)

Monday- Adjoa

Tuesday- Abena

Wednesday- Ekua

Thursday- Yah

Friday- Efua

Saturday- Ama

Sunday- Esi

So I hung out with the girls (several of us are named Abena, so, we are sisters). Then it was time for them to go to the house and go to bed. I continued on my walk with Dustin to the hospital to check on patients. When we arrived, nothing was going on so we started walking home. We met Dr. Alex in the road and he said a patient was coming. She was with her midwife and had severe pre-eclampsia.

Ok pause- pre-eclampsia is a condition in pregnant women consisting of severe hypertension, and high amounts of protein in the urine. This disorder often leads to eclampsia, with is the addition of seizures, thus making it a little more serious and requiring immediate delivery.

Ok, we’re back. So, this patient had severe pre-eclampsia. Blood pressure was 220s/140s and she was so swollen she could hardly breathe. (this was of course because of all the protein loss in the urine). When she arrived, she literally looked like pictures of people that get bee stings and their whole body swells, even the eye lids. It was terrible, I mean absolutely horrible. We got a line, put in a catheter, and gave some dexamethasone. We did this because did I mention, she was only 31 weeks gestation? The lungs are not fully mature until at least 32 weeks (at the earliest from what I understand), so the steroids were supposed to help the child’s lungs develop.

So, we peaced out. She was stable and the nurses were going to call if she had a seizure. In that case we would need to section her.

11:00 PM. Good night.

3:14 AM. Phone rings. Patient has seized. Much C-section asap.

OMG. I am so tired. What the heck.

So, Savannah and I drag out butts out of bed, and up to the OR. We rush in the hospital front doors and no one is there. Like, we could have robbed the place. Dr is gone, anesthetist isn’t there, I have no idea where the nurses are (this is a common problem). The patient wasn’t prepped for surgery, in fact I believe she was puking. So we waited around for everyone to be in place and started the surgery around 5AM. The procedure was going well. Savannah scrubbed and assisted, I caught the baby. Baby was breathing (PTL, HALLELUJAH) and stable.

At about 5:30 the power goes out. Like, pitch dark, no windows dark. The Dr. and Savannah have their hands in her bleeding abdomen, he has a needle and is trying to sew up the uterus while not sticking Savannah. And it’s pitch black. I’m hold a 4 pound baby in my hands, so I don’t want to trudge across the room looking for the battery lit light. Finally after about 15 seconds of everyone trying to find the switch, the battery light comes  on. In the mean time, she has continued to bleed and the abdomen is full of blood.

Did I mention our suction machine is broken?

Did I also mention we are only allowed a certain number of gauze per operation?

Hmmmmm. This is like in school when you have practical exams and you say “I want to suction” and they say “oh, suction machine is broken.” “Ok, then give me more rags” “Oh, there are no more.” You don’t really think it could ever happen. I’m here to testify. It does.

I took that as an opportunity to step out and take the baby to the midwife. When I went in there she became angry with me. She was raising her voice saying something about a cap? I finally figured out she meant the baby’s cap that they like, go home in and stuff. I went back to the OR and got it. She told me you have to put the cap and socks on first thing if you want your baby to have a long life. If you put the cap and socks on immediately after cleaning the baby, the baby will live about 84 years (not sure where the figure came from). But if you don’t, the baby will only live maybe 54. She is sure there are studies on this. I didn’t argue with the old African auntie midwife.

After the baby was dressed the power came back on. The baby continued to breathe. The mother was brought back to the ward. As of tonight everyone is well and blessed. She is a Thursday baby, so her name is Yah.

So, we got back to the house around 630. I napped until 730 and then went in and saw patients all day in clinic because the midwife who normally does was gone. I probably saw over 50 patients today. I finished seeing them around 530.

UPDATE on Abigail

She went to a rehab center in a local town with a bigger hospital for child nutrition rehabilitation. At least  the family said that’s where they would take her,  but the truth is we will probably never know. We pray that she has a live full of relationships that bless one another, that she is God fearing and Christ loving, and that she knows the power that God wants to put within her to do amazing things. I can’t help but think what her life would be like if  she had been able to come to the States with us. But when I start thinking of that, I have to know that God has a plan for this child. Nyame Ado.

My last patient today was a Muslim woman. On July 22 she came to the clinic because she had not felt fetal movements in 2 days. Doppler confirmed there were no fetal heart tones. So, the midwife wanted us to induce her and allow for delivery. She wanted to go home first and let the husband know and come back. When she arrived home, she went into labor and delivered at home. The baby was in fact dead. She didn’t speak English and at this time,  my interpreter was MIA. Of course.

So, here I am. Face to face with an African Muslim woman. A woman who has had 6 other children. I have had none. She is Muslim, I am Christian. She is black, I am white.  She is poor, I am rich. And what can I say to her? She speaks some broken words to me about "baby" "boy" and "big." A boy I gathered she was very proud of. And through all the chaos of this terribly hectic day, I had an overwhelming feeling of what God feels for us when he talks about leaving the 99 sheep to go and look for the 1 who is lost. Time stood still for this woman. I felt like I had seen 99 other patients today and it would’ve been so easy to send this woman on her way without spending a few seconds with her because I had already helped so many other people. I was tired, I hadn’t slept, and I couldn’t communicate well. I asked the Lord, “God in this moment what  words do you have for her that I can give? What can I do? What can I say?” And just like that it came out of my mouth as I reached over and put my white hand on her black one and I said, “Nyame Ado” which translates as “as God wills, so it is so.” She nodded in agreement with me and said “ah, Nyame Ado.” And it was like that’s all I needed to say. She didn’t need to hear about this medicine, that medicine, risks of infection, risks of bleeding. She needed confirmation that through all this, God is still the one in control, and that she’s going to be alright. I felt a sigh of relief come from her as she continued to repeat it “Nyame Ado, Nyame Ado, Nyame Ado.”

And then she smiled. It felt like the moment when the one sheep rejoins the 99 and it knows every thing is going to be alright.

I am so happy I serve a god that will do that for me. After he has cared for many, many other people, he still looks at me as if I am the first patient of the day. Or, perhaps the only client, student, or phone call in a day’s work, but in reality I am probably the last one of hundreds. You know, that feeling when you’ve made 99 phone calls and you just can’t make any more, but really the 100^th is just as important as the 1st? Or you’ve disciplined all day, and that one student in 7^th period that you  just want to ignore because you’re tired? God never looks at us that way. He sees us  fresh, new and clean. As if we are his only creation. Not the dirty, rotten sinners that we truly are. And I pray that for us, if God can see us that way, that we can see others that way too.

Sometimes you're with the 99 and sometimes you’re the one. I pray that the day I’m lost and alone, and am the sheep who has wandered away, that God upholds his promise to come and find me. And that if I'm stranded on the road, and people are passing me by, that a Good Samaritan will stop and help me. Because I am still one person. I am somebody. Whether I am clothed, clean shaven and showered, or I am dirty and homeless. Inside I am a person. We should try and model more of this in life. We need to practice treating each person as if they are one out of one and not of 100, or for that matter, a million.

In James 2:15 he writes,  "If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?” I find this to be especially hard when I've had a long day, paid bills, or am in a hurry, to stop and see the needs of people around me. I may see them, and even say "God bless you" or something like that. But what James is saying is that even if I take the time and say "God bless you" but I don't help provide their basic needs, what have I done? I've done nothing. God isn't going to bless a person because I say "God bless you." So, really I've done nothing. I've just been another person walking by saying "sorry, I don't have any change." Ew. How disgusting to be grouped in with those other people who don't even help. Too bad James is saying my pathetic attempt at consoling someone does no good at all unless the fruit is there. So let's walk through the week in confidence that by giving, and doing, God will replenish us greatly. That we are part of the solution and not part of the problem. That we are covered and protected by God's grace and therefore we can reach out to someone we may not know who is in need, someone who looks different than us, or smells different, eats different things, wears different clothes or what have you. Because we are all made in God's image. Even the homeless man on the corner holding a sign that you pass by on your way to work every day that says "Please help, homeless, need work, God bless you." Or the man who limps over to you and says "do you have any change?" but you don't give it to him because you don't feel like he really is handicapped. 

Let's be The Change so that when nonbelievers get asked about Christians they say "Oh my gosh those Christians, they'll just love anybody."

Counting Sheep

We are into our last days at clinic. It has really gone by fast, and this week especially knowing we leave soon. So much has happened that I wish I could write about.

Wednesday evening Dustin and I went to church with the kids. The ones who board here for school are leaving Friday for their version of summer break. So, we wanted to spend some time with them before they left. After church I met up with Irene and some of the other girls. They wanted to know my name. In Ghana, you have several names. Sometimes additional titles as well. There is no ‘legal’ way of using your name, your name is whatever you want it to be, really. But one of the things Ghanaians do, is they don’t name their babies when they are born. They take the baby home, and the entire family has to tell the mother, what the child’s name will be. To solve the problem of the baby being called ‘hey you’ or ‘small one’ for the first two months of it’s life, they give the child it’s Ghanaian name. This is based on the day of the week you were born. When we arrived that was one of the first questions we were asked, “what day were you born?” Of course, I do not know, and here it’s very important so, some of them were surprised I didn’t know the day of the week. It’s kind of like if you didn’t know your own birthday. Dustin and I looked it up, I was born on a Tuesday, so my Ghanaian name is Abena (pronounced ah-beh-nuh). Pretty, huh? ;)

Monday- Adjoa

Tuesday- Abena

Wednesday- Ekua

Thursday- Yah

Friday- Efua

Saturday- Ama

Sunday- Esi

So I hung out with the girls (several of us are named Abena, so, we are sisters). Then it was time for them to go to the house and go to bed. I continued on my walk with Dustin to the hospital to check on patients. When we arrived, nothing was going on so we started walking home. We met Dr. Alex in the road and he said a patient was coming. She was with her midwife and had severe pre-eclampsia.

Ok pause- pre-eclampsia is a condition in pregnant women consisting of severe hypertension, and high amounts of protein in the urine. This disorder often leads to eclampsia, with is the addition of seizures, thus making it a little more serious and requiring immediate delivery.

Ok, we’re back. So, this patient had severe pre-eclampsia. Blood pressure was 220s/140s and she was so swollen she could hardly breathe. (this was of course because of all the protein loss in the urine). When she arrived, she literally looked like pictures of people that get bee stings and their whole body swells, even the eye lids. It was terrible, I mean absolutely horrible. We got a line, put in a catheter, and gave some dexamethasone. We did this because did I mention, she was only 31 weeks gestation? The lungs are not fully mature until at least 32 weeks (at the earliest from what I understand), so the steroids were supposed to help the child’s lungs develop.

So, we peaced out. She was stable and the nurses were going to call if she had a seizure. In that case we would need to section her.

11:00 PM. Good night.

3:14 AM. Phone rings. Patient has seized. Much C-section asap.

OMG. I am so tired. What the heck.

So, Savannah and I drag out butts out of bed, and up to the OR. We rush in the hospital front doors and no one is there. Like, we could have robbed the place. Dr is gone, anesthetist isn’t there, I have no idea where the nurses are (this is a common problem). The patient wasn’t prepped for surgery, in fact I believe she was puking. So we waited around for everyone to be in place and started the surgery around 5AM. The procedure was going well. Savannah scrubbed and assisted, I caught the baby. Baby was breathing (PTL, HALLELUJAH) and stable.

At about 5:30 the power goes out. Like, pitch dark, no windows dark. The Dr. and Savannah have their hands in her bleeding abdomen, he has a needle and is trying to sew up the uterus while not sticking Savannah. And it’s pitch black. I’m hold a 4 pound baby in my hands, so I don’t want to trudge across the room looking for the battery lit light. Finally after about 15 seconds of everyone trying to find the switch, the battery light comes  on. In the mean time, she has continued to bleed and the abdomen is full of blood.

Did I mention our suction machine is broken?

Did I also mention we are only allowed a certain number of gauze per operation?

Hmmmmm. This is like in school when you have practical exams and you say “I want to suction” and they say “oh, suction machine is broken.” “Ok, then give me more rags” “Oh, there are no more.” You don’t really think it could ever happen. I’m here to testify. It does.

I took that as an opportunity to step out and take the baby to the midwife. When I went in there she became angry with me. She was raising her voice saying something about a cap? I finally figured out she meant the baby’s cap that they like, go home in and stuff. I went back to the OR and got it. She told me you have to put the cap and socks on first thing if you want your baby to have a long life. If you put the cap and socks on immediately after cleaning the baby, the baby will live about 84 years (not sure where the figure came from). But if you don’t, the baby will only live maybe 54. She is sure there are studies on this. I didn’t argue with the old African auntie midwife.

After the baby was dressed the power came back on. The baby continued to breathe. The mother was brought back to the ward. As of tonight everyone is well and blessed. She is a Thursday baby, so her name is Yah.

So, we got back to the house around 630. I napped until 730 and then went in and saw patients all day in clinic because the midwife who normally does was gone. I probably saw over 50 patients today. I finished seeing them around 530.

UPDATE on Abigail

She went to a rehab center in a local town with a bigger hospital for child nutrition rehabilitation. At least  the family said that’s where they would take her,  but the truth is we will probably never know. We pray that she has a live full of relationships that bless one another, that she is God fearing and Christ loving, and that she knows the power that God wants to put within her to do amazing things. I can’t help but think what her life would be like if  she had been able to come to the States with us. But when I start thinking of that, I have to know that God has a plan for this child. Nyame Ado.

My last patient today was a Muslim woman. On July 22 she came to the clinic because she had not felt fetal movements in 2 days. Doppler confirmed there were no fetal heart tones. So, the midwife wanted us to induce her and allow for delivery. She wanted to go home first and let the husband know and come back. When she arrived home, she went into labor and delivered at home. The baby was in fact dead. She didn’t speak English and at this time,  my interpreter was MIA. Of course.

So, here I am. Face to face with an African Muslim woman. A woman who has had 6 other children. I have had none. She is Muslim, I am Christian. She is black, I am white.  She is poor, I am rich. And what can I say to her? She speaks some broken words to me about "baby" "boy" and "big." A boy I gathered she was very proud of. And through all the chaos of this terribly hectic day, I had an overwhelming feeling of what God feels for us when he talks about leaving the 99 sheep to go and look for the 1 who is lost. Time stood still for this woman. I felt like I had seen 99 other patients today and it would’ve been so easy to send this woman on her way without spending a few seconds with her because I had already helped so many other people. I was tired, I hadn’t slept, and I couldn’t communicate well. I asked the Lord, “God in this moment what  words do you have for her that I can give? What can I do? What can I say?” And just like that it came out of my mouth as I reached over and put my white hand on her black one and I said, “Nyame Ado” which translates as “as God wills, so it is so.” She nodded in agreement with me and said “ah, Nyame Ado.” And it was like that’s all I needed to say. She didn’t need to hear about this medicine, that medicine, risks of infection, risks of bleeding. She needed confirmation that through all this, God is still the one in control, and that she’s going to be alright. I felt a sigh of relief come from her as she continued to repeat it “Nyame Ado, Nyame Ado, Nyame Ado.”

And then she smiled. It felt like the moment when the one sheep rejoins the 99 and it knows every thing is going to be alright.

I am so happy I serve a god that will do that for me. After he has cared for many, many other people, he still looks at me as if I am the first patient of the day. Or, perhaps the only client, student, or phone call in a day’s work, but in reality I am probably the last one of hundreds. You know, that feeling when you’ve made 99 phone calls and you just can’t make any more, but really the 100^th is just as important as the 1st? Or you’ve disciplined all day, and that one student in 7^th period that you  just want to ignore because you’re tired? God never looks at us that way. He sees us  fresh, new and clean. As if we are his only creation. Not the dirty, rotten sinners that we truly are. And I pray that for us, if God can see us that way, that we can see others that way too.

Sometimes you're with the 99 and sometimes you’re the one. I pray that the day I’m lost and alone, and am the sheep who has wandered away, that God upholds his promise to come and find me. And that if I'm stranded on the road, and people are passing me by, that a Good Samaritan will stop and help me. Because I am still one person. I am somebody. Whether I am clothed, clean shaven and showered, or I am dirty and homeless. Inside I am a person. We should try and model more of this in life. We need to practice treating each person as if they are one out of one and not of 100, or for that matter, a million.

In James 2:15 he writes,  "If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?” I find this to be especially hard when I've had a long day, paid bills, or am in a hurry, to stop and see the needs of people around me. I may see them, and even say "God bless you" or something like that. But what James is saying is that even if I take the time and say "God bless you" but I don't help provide their basic needs, what have I done? I've done nothing. God isn't going to bless a person because I say "God bless you." So, really I've done nothing. I've just been another person walking by saying "sorry, I don't have any change." Ew. How disgusting to be grouped in with those 'other' people who don't even help. Too bad James is saying my pathetic attempt at consoling someone does no good at all unless the fruit is there. So let's walk through the week in confidence that by giving, and doing, God will replenish us greatly. That we are part of the solution and not part of the problem. That we are covered and protected by God's grace and therefore we can reach out to someone we may not know who is in need, someone who looks different than us, or smells different, eats different things, wears different clothes or what have you. Because we are all made in God's image. Even the homeless man on the corner holding a sign that you pass by on your way to work every day that says "Please help, homeless, need work, God bless you." Or the man who limps over to you and says "do you have any change?" but you don't give it to him because you don't feel like he really is handicapped. 

Let's be The Change so that when nonbelievers get asked about Christians they say "Oh my gosh those Christians, they'll just love anybody."

Tourists for a day.

Dustin and me at the beach in Cape Coast

What a weekend we had :) Saturday we planned to go on a trip, but our phone rang at 445 that morning with an emergency c-section. So we dragged our sleepy butts up to the clinic and helped delivery baby Kwame. We got back to the house around 7 am, showered, and then we got to be tourists for the first time since we came here. We drove about 30 minutes to a town called Winneba where our friend Courtney is living and starting her girls' home called The Pearl House. It was wonderful! She has 11 girls and could soon be getting 5 more. The Lord is richly blessing her with help and it was so great to go and encourage her and see her place.

After we passed through Winneba, our driver drove us over to Cape Coast which was about another hour and a half. It is a large town where there is a university and some other things do to. We went for the purposes of seeing 'the castle.' It is a really old castle built in like 1482 by the Portugese. For 10 US Dollars you can tour this awesome castle. It was originally meant for like gold and ivory trading but eventually became used for slave trading. So, slaves that were shipped to the Americas or Britain were housed in dungeons in this castle sometimes for months. Women would give birth, pee, and poop all on the same floor in a crowded room where you could only stand. If they survived the sometimes three months in the dungeons, then they were usually shipped out to various places around the world. There was a lot of dark feelings in this castle, I just prayed as I walked through. On the bottom floor  was where hundreds of men and women were held, and on the fourth floor, the governor stayed. He had the entire floor to himself. On a beautiful coastline, with anything he needed. The hypocrisy was overwhelming. I honestly don't understand how someone could have lived in such luxury with other human beings dying three floors below. 

The side of El Mina Castle

After touring the castle we went to a restaurant that served Ghanaian food and ate authentically. I ordered banku (like, a maize-type mush that's stiff) with okra stew. I did not order any meat (of course). However, when my dish arrived there was a whole deep fried fish. Like, head and all. And I obviously can't say "I'm sorry I'm a vegetarian" because it was given to me complementarily as a gift to enjoy and experience Ghana. 

So...

At least I knew it was fresh???

I think I did pretty good. Considering... I had no idea how to eat this thing and no utensils because they eat with their hands. Bon appetit. 

Sunday we rested and did laundry. Nothing major to report.

Today at the clinic I saw patients while Savannah ran the wards. We had a few children admitted for malaria. One little girl, her name is Abigail, was admitted because she was barely responsive. She was almost gone when she arrived. However, they started giving her fluids and medication, and most importantly food, and she is doing much better this afternoon. She was so malnourished she didn't have any hair. She was one year old and weighed 8 pounds. Ok, that's the size of a newborn in the states. She was so little. Her mother had died 5 months ago, and the family was feeding her best they could but they didn't have the money to do it properly. She was marasmic, just totally wasted away. Pray for her to feel better! I will try and snap a picture of her soon. If the family wanted to give her up, I might seriously be coming home with an African baby.

There are no bad questions.

It has been a great couple of days here in Ghana! So great that I haven't even had time to write :)

CHARLES WENT HOME! Hallelujah Jesus. I am so grateful to have met this wonderful man of faith. He will still be coming for daily dressing changes, but today he'll get to go home and bathe/change clothes for the first time in two weeks. I am so indebted to his encouragement and example of faith. What a strong servant. He even calls Dustin his brother.

We had another patient come to the hospital unconscious but responding to pain. He was Kussmaul breathing (all my fellow medicals... look that one up), and stiff. In short, he was dying. He was a long time victim of strokes and COPD. So, his family had brought him here kind of knowing it was time. Well, he laid in the bed and labored for several hours. He was moaning and covered in sweat. Like he had been showering. Gasping for breath. I felt his agony of wrestling with death. It was nearly tangible in the room. Finally after 4-5 hours of this misery I went into the room and just prayed over him. I said " Lord, I pray that this man knew you, and that you would not let him suffer like this any more. Let him go and take your servant home. I commit his soul to you." And as soon as I finished he took two more gasping breaths and then he died. WOW.

Just think about that for a minute.

I asked for God to take the man.

And He did.

I know I shouldn't be surprised right? But the Lord continues to amaze me. It was so powerful to know that He truly does answer us, and that He has given us all authority to ask in the name of Jesus and expect results. I guess the lesson here is, if you don't want it, DON'T ASK ;)

Another testimony to this is yesterday I had a mother here with her small child. He came to the clinic weak, with a hemoglobin of 4.5 (normal is 12-15). He was so anemic that he was weak. We had to transfuse him with 250 mL of whole blood to get it up to 8.2. He is doing much better and his name is Emmanuel. Anyway, his mother, Ernestina is really precious and patient with us. So, she asked if we knew of anyone who worked at White Sands (the local resort) because she needed a job. As a matter of fact she was a cook. Nathan (a little boy D is tutoring), his father is a pastry chef there! So we told her yes we did. That we would talk to him for her and that she should expect to receive all that she needs in Jesus' name. She said "I receive it!" and was so happy. The joy of the Lord was so heavy on her.  So, this morning D was planning to head over to the nursery school to catch the father by 8:00 when he dropped Nathan off. D was running late this morning and didn't get there by 8, but around 8:15 when I arrived at morning devotional, the man was THERE! Ok, this is strange because I haven't seen this man in weeks. He was bringing his daughter to the clinic, today. And Ernestina was in the hospital with her son, today. So, they met and she is going Monday for an interview! Man, God is so cool We need to be more confident in Him, that he will provide everything we need. She is well and blessed, and praising the Lord tonight for his providence.

I am so pleased to be a servant of Christ. To be a vessel. And to do and say things based on want my master desires for me to say and do. Because through this powerful relationship, lives are changed. Not because I can give medicine or I can perform surgery, but because of Christ's ability to change the soul that lives in me. Anyone can study a book and know to give this med or that med. But, not every one can ask for redemption of the soul, food for the heart. So, why are we waiting? Let's start asking! There are a lot of people out there that need us to ask. They NEED us to intercede for them because they can't, or won't, or don't know how. Don't be afraid to ask, and when you do, ask specifically, so that when it happens you KNOW it was God. Testify to His power, and His willingness to work with in us and to use us. What an honor to be a vessel for The Creator himself to use as he pleases. But if you aren't willing, He won't make you. He won't force you. So, open up. Ask Him what He would have you do and say. Ask for specific things. Then testify to the greatness, to the One and Only Great Jehovah. Don't be afraid. This is for someone, that you are afraid to ask because you are afraid it won't happen, or you will look silly. If you are thinking that way, then you aren't outside of yourself. That is your flesh talking. Lay it aside.

I mean, asking never hurt, right? How many teachers did I have that said "there are no bad questions."

And yet, we still don't ask.

Why?

As for me, I am doing well. The doctor even left the clinic tonight and let us round and 'take over' for him so he could run a few errands. It was great. Really eye opening that I will be doing this in a few months (Lord willing, of course)! Dustin is also doing well, his students took the end of semester exam today so he is busy grading away. Can't believe we leave so soon.

More Happenings.

Wow! What a day. I don't even know where to start. Last night after putting the EKG machine together, Savannah gave a presentation on what an EKG is, how you apply the pads and how you operate the machine. I couldn't believe it! These nurses are finishing nursing school, and yet they don't know what an EKG is! This donation is truly going to change the way things operate here. It's marvelous, the timing of God.

I have so much I want to tell you about!

After the presentation, everyone went around to do rounds. Some of you have been following Charles (the man with the leg). Charles has an incredible faith. In fact, when he came here he didn't have insurance. His family all lives several hours away, so there was no one to take care of him. He started to waste away. Just lost all of his fat and the muscle was disintegrating. And still, every day he says that God is his comfort. Well, when Charles became ill, Dr. Alex knew he would be in the hospital for a while. So, he suggested that Charles transfer to another hospital closer to family so they could take care of him. Because our hospital does not supply any food or clothing. Simply whatever is brought to the patient. Charles wouldn't go, because he had been told by some people to go and see a Fettish Priest. He had told them that he would rather die, than put his faith in someone other than God. So, he came to Hope Christian Hospital. That is why he won't transfer. He wants to be here at our hospital surrounded by Christians and fellow encouragers. Today he told Dustin he believes the reason he came to HCH was to meet Dustin and to see his example of faith. Even so, Charles is the one who is showing us what deep rooted faith is like. Today, the doctor said that Charles could go home Friday if he was feeling strong enough. He also said that his bill would be in the thousands. (In our money, that's maybe 500-600 American dollars). Really?? He's been there TWO WEEKS. I can't imagine what my bill in America would look like. But we got the total today, after praying hard that it would be feasible. It was only 624 Ghana Cedi! That's about 312 American dollars!!! Man, God is sooooo good. And, with the help of friends and family, the bill has been paid in full. Charles' miraculous faith has truly inspired many. Please continue to pray for him.

After we saw Charles, Courtney Garland and her new group of girls came to the clinic for check ups and screening. Courtney is a friend of our from Memphis who recently started a girls' home nearby for girls living in Ghana that need a place to call home. She currently has 11 girls. They arrived only Saturday, so they are still getting used to each other! For more information, check this out- https://www.facebook.com/ThePearlHouseGhana

As we were getting started check the girls in, a woman's head popped sideways into my doorway and all I could see was crazy hair. I was so confused! But it was a woman who was stopped over and her knees were bent because she was in labor!! She couldn't walk, so she was bent over trying to get my attention. I quickly whisked her to the labor ward. I couldn't even get a glove on to check her before I could see a head coming out. About that time, the midwife (Ma Josephine) ran in and delivered the baby in a hospital bed. The baby came out but didn't exactly look healthy. (Fellow medicals, her Apgar score was 3). She was blue, and didn't take big, healthy breaths at all. As the day progressed her lungs continued to sound wet, like she had a chest cold. So, Savannah had to give this 1 day old baby an IV and start antibiotic therapy. Pray for her lungs to mature. That she will live and breathe for the great Jehovah, and that the work of His hand will bear abundant fruit by His strength in her. She is called Ekua.

After the drama of that finished we continued seeing the girls for their physicals. At several point during the day I found myself in an exam room, with my patient who spoke a northern language, another girl from the house who spoke the northern language, and Twi, and the housemother who spoke Twi and English. IT was crazy. Tower of Babel all over again.

By the end of the day we were worn out. Exhausted. And yet through it all, I had to count my blessings. It is such a great reward to serve those who need it most. There is honestly nothing like it. You understand more about how God wants to give to us. I can just feel the heart of God when I see a need and I'm able to help meet it. It's truly beautiful. I want to press in and know more about the part of God that longs to give us the desires of our hearts. I want to know what it looks like, how it feels. And I want more opportunities to serve those who need it. 

As I lay here in bed, listening to distant singing of little African voices sing, pray that each of you reading this will find some way today to serve another. That you would see that you dont have to come to Africa to help someone. Or to meet a need. And I pray when you do serve that someone, that you feel God's joy. Because it's truly indescribable. It makes the discontented content. 

"My life is an example to others because you have been my strength and protection" -Psalm 71:7 

Things to pray for:

-After praying that the hospital would have an EKG machine, within two day they did! whoa. God can do anything! Now, they are in need of a portable x-ray machine. Please pray for God to deliver in a big way through specific needs. He wants to provide for us.

-Charles :) That he has the strength the had and more, before he came here. So he is able to go and encourage others.

- Baby Ekua. For lung maturity and strength

-The Pearl House, https://www.facebook.com/ThePearlHouseGhana

- Ears to hear and eyes to see. 

-For the hospital staff here. Specifically the doctor, Dr. Alex Pessah and his midwife-nurse Josephine. That they may experience rest beyond their imagination. That they can feel restored, and their faith renewed every morning.

Peace, perfect peace.

Another busy day here at the VOH. Dustin and I are feeling the warmth and comfort of all of the support back home. It's so wonderful. Keep it coming!

Today Savannah and I saw patients at the clinic while the nurse-midwife was able to  get some of her work done. She usually also has to see patients because sometimes they'll have 100 or so, and with only one doctor, there is no way he can see that many. So, she also sees patients to help him out. Luckily, we have been here long enough now that we are able to see patients on our own, we actually feel as though we are helping. It's wonderful! We also helped set up the defibrillator today. It came with a portable monitor as well for EKGs and such. So, now they are able to hook a patient to it while they are having surgery and their cardiac status will be monitored along with the oxygen saturation and blood pressure. Before, they were having to check all of these things manually while operating.

Savannah helping Ma Josephine check her blood pressure :) We were excited.

Also today, we passed some school boarders on the way for them to go for dining. They LOVE my stethoscope. They think it's so neat to hear their own heart beat. So, I was helping them listen to my heart and then theirs. It may have made them a little late for dinner, but I thought it was a teachable moment.

Nothin deeply philosophical tonight. Simply enjoying the peace and quiet of rural Africa. There is nothing like it.

I am somebody.

Hello from Ghana :)

Walking to Senya. Stopped under this awesome tree to snap a pic!

Today marks two weeks until we leave to come back to The States, and the day I was prophesied that Dustin and I will have twins (FS people, mark that one down!).  I cannot believe how quickly the time is going. I feel as though I want to do all I can before I leave so that I will have really soaked in this African experience. And while in two weeks, I will be leaving to go back to the care of my air conditioning, Whole Foods Market, and hot showering, I can’t help but think that for all my friends I am leaving behind, life goes on. Lord willing, they will stay well and healthy, have access to health care and food. My heart breaks though for the ones who don’t.

Today I had a mother come in with her three children. The youngest was one year of age and had an open burn on her arm. It was about three inches in length. She told me the child had burned herself one week ago. One week! And the child had just been sitting at home, in dirt no doubt, with an open, seeping wound. It looked very painful. The second of her children had scabs all over his head where he had picked his ringworms until they became infected with bacteria. I cannot imagine how long these ringworms had been there.

Although for some this dilemma seems frustrating, when you are in Africa you have to kind of adopt the African way of life. How many mangoes do you have to sell before you can come and see the doctor? If it’s 25 mangoes that may take you a couple of days to get the money to come. So, you have to acclimate yourself to things being imperfect. Maybe not as you (as an American) would have them be. Patient care is not stressed as much here, either. So, you may have to wait two hours for your patient to receive the orders you prescribed for them. And, at home these things are done immediately. So, just as in every other aspect of life, things slow down here. And everyone is ok with it. Patients don’t expect to be pain free twenty four hours a day. They know, that in between medications, they will feel the pain and that they endure it. For, pain medicine is a luxury. It’s a blessing to have it when you’re fortunate enough. Patients don’t feel as though they’re entitled to perfect care. They know that things don’t go flawlessly all the time.

As I’m trying to process all of these things, I look on the wall at the hospital and I see a quote from Lily Tomlin (which I think is hilarious, because although I love Lily Tomlin I doubt my patients even know who she is), it said,

 “I always wondered why somebody didn’t do something about that. Then I realized I was somebody.”

And I thought to myself, “yes, I am somebody.” Why am I continuing to think “why doesn’t someone fix that problem, it wouldn’t take much” if I, myself, am not willing to do it? Isn’t this, after all, a reason why Jesus came? To say, “I can do it, and so can you. Here is how it’s done, I will help you by showing you.” We as Americans have so much potential to change the world, and yet we don’t even take the first steps. Sponsor one child, sponsor two, don’t eat out for a month and spend the money towards building a well. Because even though you didn’t get to eat out, you’re helping someone have clean water. CLEAN WATER. You have it running in your taps for virutally nothing. You didn't have to fetch it in a bucket and carry it on your head. But here, that's the only way to get it. The well is only the first step. It doesn’t take much to change the world, we just have to be willing to do it. A little sure does go a long way.

Our hospital does not have an EKG machine. Imagine, trying to assess patients with chest pain and you don’t even have a 3 lead EKG. So, Savannah started praying for a way to get them an EKG. We had discussed even buying a used one and sending it over. Lo and behold, the day we started discussing this option, a group from Florida arrived with a defibrillator, that also brought a long with it, an EKG. WOW! What an answer to prayer that will be for many people who come seeking help for heart failure. Praise the Lord for his divine timing! And that we were able to bear witness to it. That small deed of kindness from someone in the states donating an old machine they weren’t even using, is going to change the way this hospital is able to operate!

Also, Sunday night Dustin preached to the kids. He spoke to them about building a home and asked them what kind of home they were building for themselves? Was it a home of love and peace? Or were they creating discord and strife within themselves. It was great. The kids loved it. In fact, some of them were on our porch tonight listening to Lecrae on Dustin’s iPad, and they asked if he would preach again Sunday because they want to hear what he has to say. During the sermon, I got tapped on the shoulder by Ruth who was sitting behind me. She asked me if I was Savannah's mother. Well, that's a first.

Dustin preaching to the kids on Sunday night.

Dustin with his boys on our porch. Having some great fellowship time.

And even yet, as I'm here and different groups come and go I am feeling the tension that we've created by evangelizing here. Yesterday after Dustin preached, he got asked by a fellow American where we went to church. When Dustin explained to him that we attend a non-denominational church in Memphis, but that we believe the people are the church, he pressed on to ask "but you are in The Church?" 

How confusing this must be for people, who struggle daily with what they'll eat and what they will drink to be fussed over and preached to regarding things that we as Western citizens have made into problems that date back to the interpretation of classical Greek. If the bible is true for all people at all times, then certainly they can read it. We don't have to bring in our denominations, and our divisions that the West has masterfully created and nurtured, creating a great divide amongst Christians. Please, just let them follow Christ. Let them know of his power, his love, and his forgiveness. Most of all, that they know about His sacrifice and the example he gave to us. Let them read for themselves, and create their own congregation of believers and fellowship together. And when we do come, let us respect the establishments of the Ghanaians here. Let us acknowledge that culturally we are different, and that we don't expect your church to mirror ours in America, we understand each lifestyle is different. It's futile for a man here, from the village to come to church is one hundred degree weather, wearing a suit with a button down collared shirt simply because that's what Westerners have come here and modeled for them. How silly! The man will sweat to death in the heat with no air conditioning while you sit in the luxury of yours wearing your suit because you told him that was the proper way to worship. Let him wear his traditional Sunday best, just as you have. God created culture, He made us different. It would be sad if we all looked the same.

 MEDICAL UPDATES- squeamish people this is where you peace out.

Update on foot guy: several of you have asked and his foot is looking much better! PTL for answered prayers on this man’s behalf. He has been coming daily for dressing changes. This is what his foot looks like now:

Update on Charles: Charles is the man I wrote about in a previous blog regarding the leg wound. He is still is a decent amount of pain. He sits in the ward all day, can’t walk, and has nothing to do. He is wasting away. Finally I went and asked him “Charles, are you bored?” He said “No, for God is my comfort, and I can talk to Him.” He didn’t even have a bible to read at bedside. So, I left him mine and he said “ I am very grateful for this gift.” Maybe now, he can occupy his mine with things other than his leg. Here is a photo of his leg after we incised and drained in two places. Don't mind the blood a pus. He's been on antibiotics for 1 week, so it could've been worse.