Zambia

October 2, 2012

We are back in Zimba for six days before heading to Macha where we will stay a record number of days (19) before coming back to Zimba for our remaining time in Zambia.

The “tutors” have very nice accommodations in Zimba which makes it much easier to prepare for class, grade papers, etc.

Yesterday was an unexpected and unusual day; however, it was apparent that God went before us. Our visas have to be renewed every 30 days while in Zambia, so Bud started making those arrangements several days ahead of time. Often they will not do anything with them until the actual day they expire, but he thought we might be able to accomplish this with the assistance of one of the former employees of World Hope, Mr. Mateke, who did this for us last year. We thought everything was going well until this past Friday when we were told they had been stamped incorrectly at the airport and they would have to figure out what to do about them. As a result, we had to remove the students from their clinicals on Monday morning (the expiration date) and all head to Livingstone so they could see each of us in person. Several people had to carefully review them and then discuss what should be done. Apparently the law governing visa renewals was changed June 2012 and some of the people in Immigration seem unclear about what should be done. Mr. Mateke graciously traveled with us to Livingstone and was able to explain to them who were are and why we are in the country, etc.; they finally agreed to stamp and sign them so they are good now for another 30 days!

While Bud and Mr. Mateke were in Immigrations, the students were able to go to a market just around the corner from where we were parked and do some of their souvenir shopping. They were excited about that opportunity. After finishing at Immigrations, we stopped at a grocery store to pick up a few things and many of us went to the ice cream shop and enjoyed that luxury!

Bud & Carol did not have to go to Livingstone yesterday; they had a week-end away this past week-end and enjoyed a trip into Botswana so had to get their visas renewed when coming back into Zambia. This allowed Carol to have a study day and Bud to visit a village where our church has built a school and been providing support in other ways.

Since I missed an entire afternoon of study, Carol and Kristen graciously allowed me to have a study day today rather than going to the hospital for clinicals. I have gotten much done, and will do more again as soon as I finish this note to all of you!

The bus that has been transporting us was broken down yesterday, so Bud L. was able to procure the services of one of the school buses in Zimba as well as a driver who took us to Livingstone. Bud has been kept very busy with all the transportation, food purchases, paying salaries, etc. etc. I am so glad he is taking care of all that and not me!!! He is very detailed and has done an outstanding job, in my opinion!

We have now been in Zambia for five Sundays and have six more to go. Last Sunday, as a result of several factors, we had our own service together joined by Dr. Joan Jones (Dan was on call) rather than going to one of the local churches. That was a nice change since we understood everything that was said. Jesse & Selinda had a message on tape which we heard listened to. We will spend the next three Sundays in Macha and visiting churches there; we were never in Macha last year over a Sunday, so this will be a new experience for us. There are several missionaries from the Brethren in Christ Church who are stationed in Macha, so I would assume we will go with them. After that we’ll have two more Sundays in Zimba and one in Livingstone before we head back to US.

The last two days, all of us have been praying for the IWU Ecuador team who were stuck in Guayaquil, Ecuador with a plane turning around the first day after about 45 min. in the air and then not flying out the second day! Just received an e-mail saying they have arrived in Miami for which we were grateful. We had a special interest in that trip since Tiffany was with them! But then also two of my good faculty friends were leading the team so we were happy for the entire team when they finally made it back to USA.

We have a day of classes tomorrow and again Friday morning; pray for students and tutors alike!  Till next time…..

September 22, 2012

We arrived in Zambia three weeks ago today, and would you believe we are in our third place of “residence”!  We stayed in Lusaka five days and visited several agencies before heading to Zimba on Sept. 6. The trip that usually takes 5-6 hours actually took closer to 9 hours because we were traveling in a bus and pulling a trailer with all of our luggage. The engine overheated twice so we had to stop, find some water and allow it to cool. We stopped at a restaurant for lunch; it’s somewhat like a small roadside café which caters to travelers and serves very quickly. By the time we reached Zimba, we were hungry again and dinner was ready so we were excited about that. The girls and Kristen (RD) stayed in the Wesleyan Guest House, and the Bences and Bud & I stayed in the Guest House across the street specifically built by a group of eye doctors and designated for their use when teams come to Zimba. We had very nice accommodations, including our own bathrooms with showers. We also had a large dining room table that we used as a classroom; that worked very well.

            We went to chapel each morning and then out to the wards. They were having a national campaign to prevent measles, so each day a group of us went out to schools or villages and gave hundreds of measles immunizations. The ones staying back at the hospital worked on the various units with the Zambian nurses and IWU clinical instructor. The girls were particularly excited to “scrub in” in surgery and assist with the delivery of a baby.

            On Thurs. 9/3, Bud L. decided he wanted to make a trip to Choma just to check out the accommodations there since none of us knew exactly where we were staying. Bud B. went with him and they decided the accommodations were not adequate for our group; however, they were able to arrange with Micah Kephart for us to stay in the a place that had recently been renovated by a group called Fortress; we visited this place last year when it was in its last days of operating as a Catholic Hospice. So, in a very few minutes and a couple phone calls, we had a really nice place to stay and at a lesser cost than the original. We believe that God went before Bud & Bud to lead them to this place and open doors so quickly!

            The tragedy connected with this Guest House is that the Zambian Director of Fortress, Richman Syabbamba, was killed this past week in an automobile accident. He and Micah had worked together just a few years and both were passionate about using the arts as an avenue to reach people for Christ; they have a ministry to rescue woman who have been trafficked,  a music school where young men and women learn to use music as a ministry, and a beginning ministry taken over from World Hope called Reach For Life where they go into the schools and teach HIV/AIDS prevention through abstinence, being active in Bible Studies, music, etc.

            The day after his death, Ms. Mukonde told us we should visit the home where people go and greet the family and sit with them for a while (much like we would do at calling hours in a funeral home), so all the ladies put on their chitenges and the team went to the home; after shaking hands with each of those gathered on the floor, we took our places sitting on the floor with them for a short while. One of our Zambian friends suggested it would be appropriate for us to pray with them before we left, so Bud L. prayed before we all left.

            Yesterday we had class all morning and then went to the burial in the afternoon. We all went to the cemetery and waited for the folks to arrive from the church. After waiting 30 – 45 min., we saw a brass band coming followed by pick-up truck with the coffin and the pallbearers who sat on the sides of the back of the truck. These were followed by two vehicles which seemed to be carrying family members. The band played several more hymns which were followed by more singing; after much singing, the body was committed to the ground and those close to the grave threw roses on top of the coffin. There were many people (close to 500) and we were too far back to actually observe all this; however, this is what was described to us. Most of our group walked back to the Guest House after that; however, there were several speeches which followed before they were finally dismissed. Richman will be sorely missed, not only by his parents, his wife and 4 children but much of Christendom in the Choma, Lusaka, Livingston area. He was truly a remarkable man. Some of you may have met him several years ago in the U.S. when he toured with a Zambian Children’s choir. We are told they sang at College Wesleyan Church; however, we lived in Ohio at the time and did not meet them.

            Last Sunday, all of us attended the Choma Central Wesleyan Church which is where Ms. Mukonde, Ms. Botha (our cook), and Ms. Mwiinga (lady doing our laundry) all attend. The girls sang during that service which the people seemed to appreciate and enjoy. Tomorrow we will split into two groups and attend the other two Wesleyan churches in town.

            We have been at Choma General Hospital (CGH) this past week where the girls have had both positive and negative experiences. CGH has twice as many beds as Zimba so there are more opportunities there. They have a psychiatric unit, a large ART Clinic where they do the ongoing treatment (Anti-retroviral Treatment) for HIV/AIDS, large pediatric wards, male wards, female wards, maternity wards, and an operating room (theater). The girls have been able to participate with the Zambian nurses on all these units. We actually go in at 7:30 and stay until 1:30 pm on three days/week.

            This morning, Bud B. took the team to the Cultural Museum as part of his History class, and then everyone ate at the Café located right beside the museum. I chose to stay home today (I visited the museum last year) and had a study day; I am struggling somewhat to have adequate time for class prep while going to the hospital 3x week as well. Appreciate your prayers. Bud is kept quite busy keeping the finances straight and making sure we have the accommodations, transport, food available for cooks, etc. etc. Everyone appreciates greatly all the things he has been doing. He even donned his chef hat and cooked yesterday so Ms. Botha and Ms. Mwiinga could go to Richman’s funeral!

               

September 5, 2012

We safely arrived in Zambia after two nights of flying and a day in London seeing the sights! It was a good but tiring trip; everyone was looking forward to actually lying down flat someplace where they could sleep a few hours. It was a good trip as long trips go…there were no problems other than four bags that didn’t arrive with the group; however, all four bags arrived today.

We attended a great church service on Sunday with Dr. Bud Bence finally starting his message about noon! They had several dignitaries there from the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as a number of officials from the Pilgrim Wesleyan Church. They had just completed their national conference so these folks were still in Lusaka. The choir was good and sang several numbers as well as leading the congregation in singing. The entire service was about 2 ½ hours, but it really seemed to go by quickly.

Our group had to be divided into two different guest houses which are about ½ hour apart, so that’s not so convenient but we have made it work. All the meals are served at the house where we are staying so we personally are not doing the traveling. The students have demonstrated great attitudes about all the uncertainty about schedules, etc. Some arrangements that we thought would have been made for us had not been made so we’re “flying by the seat of our pants” part of the time. Fortunately for us, Ms. Mukonde, a wonderful Zambian retired nurse who traveled with us last year, is with us again so she provides the stability that otherwise we would NOT be feeling.

We had a student who experienced some problems with homesickness the first couple days but after getting some rest, she has been much better! She is doing well now.

These few days in Lusaka, we have visited several hospitals and health care agencies to get a feel for healthcare in Zambia. We visited the University Teaching Hospital which is a huge University Hospital with all the modern conveniences, a hospital that cares primarily for disabled children as well as the Church Hospital Organization of Zambia (CHAZ) and World Vision. It has been an interesting couple days. Both Carol and I were able to get our temporary Zambia nursing licenses.

Tomorrow morning we leave for Zimba Mission Hospital which is a 5 – 6 hour drive. On that note, I better go work on getting my suitcases organized and ready for travel again.

Until next time.

September 5, 2012

We safely arrived in Zambia after two nights of flying and a day in London seeing the sights! It was a good but tiring trip; everyone was looking forward to actually lying down flat someplace where they could sleep a few hours. It was a good trip as long trips go…there were no problems other than four bags that didn’t arrive with the group; however, all four bags arrived today.

We attended a great church service on Sunday with Dr. Bud Bence finally starting his message about noon! They had several dignitaries there from the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as a number of officials from the Pilgrim Wesleyan Church. They had just completed their national conference so these folks were still in Lusaka. The choir was good and sang several numbers as well as leading the congregation in singing. The entire service was about 2 ½ hours, but it really seemed to go by quickly.

Our group had to be divided into two different guest houses which are about ½ hour apart, so that’s not so convenient but we have made it work. All the meals are served at the house where we are staying so we personally are not doing the traveling. The students have demonstrated great attitudes about all the uncertainty about schedules, etc. Some arrangements that we thought would have been made for us had not been made so we’re “flying by the seat of our pants” part of the time. Fortunately for us, Ms. Mukonde, a wonderful Zambian retired nurse who traveled with us last year, is with us again so she provides the stability that otherwise we would NOT be feeling.

We had a student who experienced some problems with homesickness the first couple days but after getting some rest, she has been much better! She is doing well now.

These few days in Lusaka, we have visited several hospitals and health care agencies to get a feel for healthcare in Zambia. We visited the University Teaching Hospital which is a huge University Hospital with all the modern conveniences, a hospital that cares primarily for disabled children as well as the Church Hospital Organization of Zambia (CHAZ) and World Vision. It has been an interesting couple days. Both Carol and I were able to get our temporary Zambia nursing licenses.

Tomorrow morning we leave for Zimba Mission Hospital which is a 5 – 6 hour drive. On that note, I better go work on getting my suitcases organized and ready for travel again.

Until next time.

6/23/12   

The long awaited day for Tiffany, Joey, Kyle, Miranda, Jonathan, Mikala, and Elizabeth has come and gone eight (8) days ago. All seem to have recovered from jet lag and are trying to get accustomed to a totally different way of life. They are enjoying the various kinds of rice and soup that we have each day for lunch during the week. The kids are all “jumping in” and helping with dishes on the week-end and clearing the table after breakfast and dinner each day. Ya Posseh and her daughter totally take care of lunch each week day.  The girls are keeping the water bottles filled, and the boys are keeping the water filter filled, so with a lot of teamwork, things are going fairly smoothly in our household of nine (9) people.

 

Most of the kids have been playing a lot of soccer and basketball with the Sierra Leone children and young people. There are often 15 – 20 smaller children on both the front and back porch decorating with sidewalk chalk or coloring pages from a coloring book. Some of our kids have also been reading to the SL children or listening to them read.  This afternoon there are 27 children playing here!

Bud has totally finished up the water project with new pipe throughout the system; he is also finishing up some electrical work. In fact, today he and Joey removed all the florescent lights from our house and replaced them with LED lights which are more economical. Joey has visited in the schools and talked to some of the teachers and many of the children; in fact, he often has a following of children with him.

Tiffany has been going to class with me each day and has gotten to know the students and shared some of her insights with them. Kyle and Miranda have also participated some in the NA class; maybe there will be a desire for them to get into healthcare at some point…always a wide open field!

While we were still in Freetown, we had the opportunity to go to the beach one day which was fun. The kids swam in the ocean and climbed on the rocks. We all had a great lunch of shrimp and/or barracuda shish kebobs under one of the “grass” umbrellas.  It was a good day!

After the beach, we went shopping for a while, and a gentleman on the street was trying to sell the monkey you see in the pictures. Both Elizabeth and Jonathan were excited to hold him and get their pictures taken. 

 

This morning Tiffany and Joey talked to about 70+ young people about sexual purity per request of Albert Kargbo, the Kamakwie District Youth Director. The teens seemed to be very interested and asked several questions. Both the pastor of the church, Rev. Alusine Murphy and the District Superintendent, Rev. Alfred Bangura were there and assisted with translation and further explanation.

Today, we all went over to Ya Yeleh’s house to see her daughter Pam and the twins, Pa Leach and Dr. Tom. They are growing and look very healthy. Each of us got to hold them for a few minutes.  

  

We are in the process of trying to get the last things done that need to be done before we head back to the US. Next week is our last full week in Kamakwie; we will be happy to return to our home in the US but it will be sad to leave the students and not be able to actually watch them as they grow and develop in their hospital work. Bud’s two guys today seemed somewhat “down” as they talked about Bud leaving the work to them alone.

I’ll probably try to write a short note when we arrive home and then will start the blog again as we get ready to head for Zambia.

Until next time….

We have actually been home now since Monday, July 9, 2012. I was unable to send this last blog from Sierra Leone due to either extremely slow internet and lack of adequate electricity to keep the laptop charged! I’ll try to send this now, and then in a couple days, I’ll wrap things up for Sierra Leone while we rest and get ready for Zambia.