i'm going to work backwards from tonight to our arrival 2 weeks ago in togo.
tonight...it is the first night the wards are open in the hospital. and i am here, in the middle of the night, listening to the generator hum which is just a bit louder here than in my cabin. listening to the patients sleeping just a few feet away. talking with my fellow nurse and day volunteer who both have english as second or third languages. trying to fill the hours of a long night with very little nursing...it is good to be back. a friend asked me on tuesday if i was ready for the busy-ness that would begin today and not end for the next 6 months...he asked a bit sarcastically. i replied yes, without a doubt. although i have enjoyed the break from the work, this is what God has given me and called me to. i have missed snuggling with my little brown children and babies and having chats with moms through translators and seeing joy dawning on faces which previously bore marks of shame, distrust and fear. so, yes, i am ready!
friday night we hosted a hospital open house for the rest of the crew who work elsewhere on the ship and may not have a clue about life/work in the hospital. crew members could learn to stitch or start IV's (not on real people!) or "operate" on a stuffed monkey or play nurse for a shift and have to complete nursing duties on recalcitrant patients (played by nurses of course! nice to be on the giving end sometimes ;-)hehe). it was a fun night. jens, our carpenter, is almost ready to be a pediatric nurse as he wrestled his "patient" into submission and gave her pills and took her temperature!
thursday night we held a medical reception involving the medical community of togo from the ministry of health to local surgeons, doctors, nurses, hospital directors, and more. it was a nice evening and allowed us to start developing relationships with those who we will work with as well as leaving the work in their hands as we sail away in august.
arrival wednesday until thursday saw the nurses busy unpacking, cleaning and setting up the wards. it is a lot of work to pack up, it is just as much to unpack. and we have a handful of "old" nurses who know where things go and a lot of new nurses who are trying to figure out what we meant when we said this goes in "a" ward or take that to the pilot's entrance. what?!?!? but we had fun with the work as always when you get a bunch of nurses together. crazy hats, dance parties to liven up the work, prayer, seeing how many nurses fit in a small space. and all of it being filmed by a canadian film crew who are filming what goes on in this ship of ours for an episode of "mighty ships" on discovery channel of canada. yep, i'm gonna be famous!?!??! well, not really but i may be on tv. =)
and the day of arrival. we arrived in togo to the sight of part of our land based team coming out on the tug boat that was to assist us into our berth. and as we neared the dock which will be our home these next many months, a band was playing and people were shouting and waving. the band and group of people walked down the dock, pacing us as we moved into our berth. at our berth was another band playing traditional african music to welcome us in. the gangway was let down quickly and a welcoming ceremony was held. it was hot. but it is good to be back.
24 February 2010
14 February 2010
february 2010 newsletter
February 2010
Dear Family and Friends,
I hope this letter/email finds each of you well. I was appalled to realize that my last newsletter has been so long ago. I apologize that I have not been better about letting each of you know how things are going here. (an upfront disclaimer…the photos on here today are from fellow crew members—the dolphins and patient photos are from ali and the sunset on the ocean from ryan)
These last few months have been a time of goodbyes, a time of rest, a time of refreshment, a time of sorrow, a time of joy, and now, it is a time of work. The outreach to Benin finished in late November 2009 and that began my time of goodbyes. Goodbye to Benin, goodbye to the friends who left as the outreach came to a close, goodbye to patients and day volunteers who had touched my life. Although there was sadness in the goodbyes, there was also joy at so many who had touched my life over the last many months. The ship sailed in early December to Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain where we would dock for 2 months to complete maintenance and enjoy the holidays.
I was able to go home a few days after arriving to Tenerife in order to spend time with family and friends. Despite some struggles getting home due to weather, I did make it home (4 days late). I made it back to Texas just in time to say another goodbye. Goodbye to my mother who went Home to Jesus on the 26th of December. It was bittersweet—knowing she wasn’t hurting anymore, knowing she was gone. We (my brother, sister-in-law and myself) were able to clearly see and feel God’s hand upon us during this time of sorrow—to feel His peace and comfort in His own touch as well as those of family and friends.
In spite of the sorrow, the time at home was also a time of refreshment and rest. I was able to visit with many friends and family, to share some of the work God has allowed me to be part of with my home church, and to just rest. It was a time of joy for me.
And now, it is a time of work. I returned to the ship in late January shortly before we sailed to Togo. The work was fairly light upon returning and during sailing, but we hit the ground running here in Togo. In addition to being a ward nurse, I have added a couple of titles to my work here on the ship. I am now the Pediatric Coordinator as well as the Infant Feeding Program Coordinator. There was an infant waiting on the dock for me when we arrived to the ship so I was one of the few who were cleared by immigration to go down on the dock immediately. But, as we are back in Africa, my infant didn’t show up for several more hours. After arriving to Togo, the nurses immediately began cleaning the hospital and preparing for the patients. So I joined in for a few hours until it was time to go visit my baby and get him into the Infant Feeding Program. We continue to clean and set up the hospital and I will continue to check on my baby every couple of days until the hospital opens for patients on the 24th with first surgeries set for the 25th. It is good to be back at work.
This work is just as much yours as it is mine and it is all for His glory. I could not be here serving if it weren’t for my gracious financial and prayer supporters. I pray that this work will bless you as well. You are part of each patient’s story. I am only the hands. Thank you, for myself and those who cannot say thank you.
Dear Family and Friends,
I hope this letter/email finds each of you well. I was appalled to realize that my last newsletter has been so long ago. I apologize that I have not been better about letting each of you know how things are going here. (an upfront disclaimer…the photos on here today are from fellow crew members—the dolphins and patient photos are from ali and the sunset on the ocean from ryan)
These last few months have been a time of goodbyes, a time of rest, a time of refreshment, a time of sorrow, a time of joy, and now, it is a time of work. The outreach to Benin finished in late November 2009 and that began my time of goodbyes. Goodbye to Benin, goodbye to the friends who left as the outreach came to a close, goodbye to patients and day volunteers who had touched my life. Although there was sadness in the goodbyes, there was also joy at so many who had touched my life over the last many months. The ship sailed in early December to Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain where we would dock for 2 months to complete maintenance and enjoy the holidays.
I was able to go home a few days after arriving to Tenerife in order to spend time with family and friends. Despite some struggles getting home due to weather, I did make it home (4 days late). I made it back to Texas just in time to say another goodbye. Goodbye to my mother who went Home to Jesus on the 26th of December. It was bittersweet—knowing she wasn’t hurting anymore, knowing she was gone. We (my brother, sister-in-law and myself) were able to clearly see and feel God’s hand upon us during this time of sorrow—to feel His peace and comfort in His own touch as well as those of family and friends.
In spite of the sorrow, the time at home was also a time of refreshment and rest. I was able to visit with many friends and family, to share some of the work God has allowed me to be part of with my home church, and to just rest. It was a time of joy for me.
And now, it is a time of work. I returned to the ship in late January shortly before we sailed to Togo. The work was fairly light upon returning and during sailing, but we hit the ground running here in Togo. In addition to being a ward nurse, I have added a couple of titles to my work here on the ship. I am now the Pediatric Coordinator as well as the Infant Feeding Program Coordinator. There was an infant waiting on the dock for me when we arrived to the ship so I was one of the few who were cleared by immigration to go down on the dock immediately. But, as we are back in Africa, my infant didn’t show up for several more hours. After arriving to Togo, the nurses immediately began cleaning the hospital and preparing for the patients. So I joined in for a few hours until it was time to go visit my baby and get him into the Infant Feeding Program. We continue to clean and set up the hospital and I will continue to check on my baby every couple of days until the hospital opens for patients on the 24th with first surgeries set for the 25th. It is good to be back at work.
This work is just as much yours as it is mine and it is all for His glory. I could not be here serving if it weren’t for my gracious financial and prayer supporters. I pray that this work will bless you as well. You are part of each patient’s story. I am only the hands. Thank you, for myself and those who cannot say thank you.
19 January 2010
an ode to milk
milk
you are so creamy and white
although some add strawberry or chocolate
you froth and foam when heated
whole you are so full of taste
but you are healthy at 1-2%
and like water when skim
in all your forms so tasty
milk, please keep me from the evils of uht
alas, i must go and leave milk behind
and return to the place of milch
i will miss you milk
=)
you are so creamy and white
although some add strawberry or chocolate
you froth and foam when heated
whole you are so full of taste
but you are healthy at 1-2%
and like water when skim
in all your forms so tasty
milk, please keep me from the evils of uht
alas, i must go and leave milk behind
and return to the place of milch
i will miss you milk
=)
05 January 2010
Mom
i'm going to borrow a line out of one of my fave books..."the place she stood in my heart is now empty."
Carolyn E. Barnes was born in Lubbock, Texas on 9 January 1950. She went home to be with Jesus on 26 December 2009. I got to the hospital just in time to say goodbye. My mom was one of the most amazing people I know. Sure, she did things that as a child embarrassed me and as an adult just made me shake my head and she had that famous Whitten temper, but she was amazing. She had such a servant's heart...always looking to make sure people were comfortable and had what they needed even at cost to her own comfort and needs. She had a beautiful smile. She enjoyed music...singing, playing the piano, even writing her own music (although what became of it I don't know). She was very creative in general...painting, quilting, sewing, writing. She was my biggest cheerleader...she always encouraged me to reach for the stars and applauded me when I reached them and comforted me when I didn't. She loved her family and friends so much...they were her joy (and heartbreak) until her last breath. Her grandkids could bring a smile no matter how much pain she was in.
She was one of the bravest and strongest people I know. Her heart condition caused her so much pain and yet she fought to live every moment to the fullest.
She loved Jesus. He was definitely her all in all. She walked in His strength and wisdom and spent hours with Him in prayer, not just for herself to know Him more but petitioning Him for the needs and wants of her family and friends. She wanted everyone to know Him (and this desire made it a little easier to let her "baby" go off to the wilds of Africa so that He might be known).
I was very blessed to call her Mom. I never doubted that I was loved growing up. And as I grew to adulthood, she became my friend. She will be missed.
thank you for all your prayers for my mom in her illness and my family in this time of saying goodbye.
17 December 2009
basically, dolphins everywhere
so, we're still sailing. but yesterday started and ended and was filled in the middle with dolphins. at one point, the c/o (big polish guy) came on the overhead announcement and said the above "basically, dolphins everywhere". the nurses have been having morning devotional time out on the bow and the day started with a pod of dolphins racing the ship just off the bow. throughout the day we got many overheads to say dolphins here or there. and just before i headed to bed, i sat out on the catwalk off the bridge in the dark and got to see dolphins racing alongside the bow again. however, in the dark they showed up just as a streak as the phosphorescent algae churned up around them. good day really. =)
the photos are from the nurses' devo times and are taken by ali.
14 December 2009
rest and wonder
we are sailing! and for me that means a lot of rest. there are no more patients to care for and no more quick trips into town and the fact that sleeping keeps the urge to vomit at bay ;-). (unfortunately the first 4 days of sailing meant some seasickness for me as well). this time of rest is needed. after giving and giving and giving of ourselves for the last 10 months, it is nice to have this time with lots of nothing to do to just soak in the sun and feel the winds off the ocean and just rest.
yesterday was a day of "rest" of a different sort. i didn't get much physical rest (in fact, i'm running off 2 hours of sleep right now) but it was a rest of the mind and spirit. i spent hours outside, first having a time with the Father, lunch, watching an awe-inspiring sunset, and finally, sitting on the catwalk around the bridge watching the night sky. not just any night sky, though. it was a sky filled with more stars than you can see in any city, even than i've seen when camping out. and set off by the vastness of the ocean surrounding us. to make it even better, last night there was a meteor shower. in the day, the ocean touched by the sun is such a magnificent blue, in the night, there is so much darkness except where the ship churns up the phosphorescent algae and sparkles light the waves that crash under the bow.
and all this brings me to the wonder i found here in the sail and in the time of rest and reflection on all that we've experienced these last 10 months. all that beauty that i get to enjoy here on the sail...God didn't have to create it. He could have just painted the sky blue and the ocean greenish blue and left it at that. but no, He made a million shades of blue and for fun added in the sunset which washes the sky in pinks and purples and kisses it with gold. He could have created the stars although we wouldn't really have known if He didn't...but to add in the meteor showers! phosphorescent algae...who would have known if not for the ark and the need to learn to sail the oceans? but He knew and created it for His enjoyment. more wonder still...He created us with the ability to enjoy it just as He does! He didn't have to. but He did. and as to what i've experienced these last 10 months, He didn't need me to be part of it. but He invited me to join in. how amazing is He! how wonderful!
yesterday was a day of "rest" of a different sort. i didn't get much physical rest (in fact, i'm running off 2 hours of sleep right now) but it was a rest of the mind and spirit. i spent hours outside, first having a time with the Father, lunch, watching an awe-inspiring sunset, and finally, sitting on the catwalk around the bridge watching the night sky. not just any night sky, though. it was a sky filled with more stars than you can see in any city, even than i've seen when camping out. and set off by the vastness of the ocean surrounding us. to make it even better, last night there was a meteor shower. in the day, the ocean touched by the sun is such a magnificent blue, in the night, there is so much darkness except where the ship churns up the phosphorescent algae and sparkles light the waves that crash under the bow.
and all this brings me to the wonder i found here in the sail and in the time of rest and reflection on all that we've experienced these last 10 months. all that beauty that i get to enjoy here on the sail...God didn't have to create it. He could have just painted the sky blue and the ocean greenish blue and left it at that. but no, He made a million shades of blue and for fun added in the sunset which washes the sky in pinks and purples and kisses it with gold. He could have created the stars although we wouldn't really have known if He didn't...but to add in the meteor showers! phosphorescent algae...who would have known if not for the ark and the need to learn to sail the oceans? but He knew and created it for His enjoyment. more wonder still...He created us with the ability to enjoy it just as He does! He didn't have to. but He did. and as to what i've experienced these last 10 months, He didn't need me to be part of it. but He invited me to join in. how amazing is He! how wonderful!
05 December 2009
buying a cow
i could start off with yet another apology about not keeping the blog up very well. but, instead, i will just say that right now my heart is too full and too broken and my spirit is too tired to really be able to coherently share.
my cabin mate tayler was a bit startled a few weeks ago when i asked her to ask her friend tim how much a cow would cost here in benin. what?!?!? you want to buy a cow?!?!? this led me to sharing with her wasti's story.
wasti and his mama showed up on the dock a few days before the end of surgery. wasti had a cleft lip but along with his cleft he didn't look quite right. he also had not really put on much weight since his previous visit but it was just enough that he was okay for surgery from a weight point of view. what about his not looking quite right???? well, his labwork was quite skewed and so he received a CT scan which showed holoproencephalopathy...but just a mild version. so, we told mom the risks of surgery for him. she almost said no but she had fought so hard for his life to now that she didn't give up and said yes. we were prepared for the worst...even to the point of having to make a decision to withdraw support if he ended up on a breathing machine post-op. and yet, he came through the surgery great! and on the very next day after surgery, wasti had on dark charcoal eyeliner below his eyes. this seems a bit strange from a western view but it was a huge deal. mom was claiming him...claiming him as hers and showing her continued fight for his life. it was something to rejoice over.
the next few days were quite time intensive for me. i had him when i was at work but even came in when i wasn't on shift to work with mom. mom, who spoke a dialect none of our translators spoke directly, except one. mom, who had to learn to feed her baby with formula milk since her milk was dried up...how to prepare clean water and then to prepare the milk. mom, who had to learn to feed her baby on schedule rather than demand which is counter-cultural but necessary for wasti to survive. mom, who had to learn to tell time before she could learn to feed on schedule. and all of this from me to bio (our translator) to wasti's mom and then back to make sure she really understood it.
so, why did i want to know about buying a cow? well, wasti's mom shared her story with us as the days progressed. her baby was whole (at least on the outside now) so she was able to return to her village that had shunned her when her "cursed" baby was born. she was sure she could go back home but wasn't sure her husband would provide for her and the baby now. he had given each of his wives a cow and some land but, she had sold everything to care for her broken babies. (wasti's older sister had needed help with her eyes). so, how much to buy a cow to give her a chance at life, to give wasti a chance at life? 150 CFA which is around 300 US dollars. we took up a collection hoping we could do this for her. we had to tell people to stop giving! as i was doing some teaching about her going home and we gave a very small amount of money to her to get her from the port city to her village on the bus, she said no, it is too much, you have already done too much for me. (little did she know). later in the evening, several of us took her into a room away from others to give her the cow money. we showed a picture of a cow and she named it in her dialect. then we showed her the money and pointed to the cow and then to her. she was stunned and almost unwilling to hope even with the money there before her. but finally she accepted and began praising God (that surely came through despite the language barrier). and so, she went home with a baby that will be accepted and a chance at having a life.
and God let us be part of that! what an amazing and humbling experience to be part of what He is doing!
my cabin mate tayler was a bit startled a few weeks ago when i asked her to ask her friend tim how much a cow would cost here in benin. what?!?!? you want to buy a cow?!?!? this led me to sharing with her wasti's story.
wasti and his mama showed up on the dock a few days before the end of surgery. wasti had a cleft lip but along with his cleft he didn't look quite right. he also had not really put on much weight since his previous visit but it was just enough that he was okay for surgery from a weight point of view. what about his not looking quite right???? well, his labwork was quite skewed and so he received a CT scan which showed holoproencephalopathy...but just a mild version. so, we told mom the risks of surgery for him. she almost said no but she had fought so hard for his life to now that she didn't give up and said yes. we were prepared for the worst...even to the point of having to make a decision to withdraw support if he ended up on a breathing machine post-op. and yet, he came through the surgery great! and on the very next day after surgery, wasti had on dark charcoal eyeliner below his eyes. this seems a bit strange from a western view but it was a huge deal. mom was claiming him...claiming him as hers and showing her continued fight for his life. it was something to rejoice over.
the next few days were quite time intensive for me. i had him when i was at work but even came in when i wasn't on shift to work with mom. mom, who spoke a dialect none of our translators spoke directly, except one. mom, who had to learn to feed her baby with formula milk since her milk was dried up...how to prepare clean water and then to prepare the milk. mom, who had to learn to feed her baby on schedule rather than demand which is counter-cultural but necessary for wasti to survive. mom, who had to learn to tell time before she could learn to feed on schedule. and all of this from me to bio (our translator) to wasti's mom and then back to make sure she really understood it.
so, why did i want to know about buying a cow? well, wasti's mom shared her story with us as the days progressed. her baby was whole (at least on the outside now) so she was able to return to her village that had shunned her when her "cursed" baby was born. she was sure she could go back home but wasn't sure her husband would provide for her and the baby now. he had given each of his wives a cow and some land but, she had sold everything to care for her broken babies. (wasti's older sister had needed help with her eyes). so, how much to buy a cow to give her a chance at life, to give wasti a chance at life? 150 CFA which is around 300 US dollars. we took up a collection hoping we could do this for her. we had to tell people to stop giving! as i was doing some teaching about her going home and we gave a very small amount of money to her to get her from the port city to her village on the bus, she said no, it is too much, you have already done too much for me. (little did she know). later in the evening, several of us took her into a room away from others to give her the cow money. we showed a picture of a cow and she named it in her dialect. then we showed her the money and pointed to the cow and then to her. she was stunned and almost unwilling to hope even with the money there before her. but finally she accepted and began praising God (that surely came through despite the language barrier). and so, she went home with a baby that will be accepted and a chance at having a life.
and God let us be part of that! what an amazing and humbling experience to be part of what He is doing!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
