Taiama visit

I was at Taiama healthcenter this last Friday for a follow-up visit from the previous Friday. The clinic has been so busy lately with graduates from the program! To be a graduate means the child has reached his or her ideal weight-for-height of over 85% for two consecutive visits. We graduated five children this past Friday, and the Friday two weeks from now we are expected to graduate about twenty children! Lucy and I are so excited!

Even though the clinic was so successful this visit, it was also a sorrowful visit. I found out that two of our patients died in just a one week time period. They were two little girls named Isata and Elizabeth. Isata contracted malaria along with it came a very high fever that they were unable to break, and Elizabeth passed away in the Bo Government Hospital from typhoid. When I first heard the news, I didn't know how to react. I had seen these two babies a week ago and they were improving on the supplement. Now they are just gone. I was able to go with Lucy and express our sympathy to the mothers. It really is a numbing experience. I mean, you know the high death mortality rates in Sierra Leone, but the numbers don't become people until you actually experience the deaths. The longer I am here, the more I realize the true horror of the state of medical care this country is in. These were just two children we heard about that were connected to the Taiama clinic. What is it like in the outlying villages that have absolutely no access to any type of healthcare? How are we letting this injustice continue? Please pray for the families of these two little girls and the other families that have lost children from preventable deaths.

Electricity!

I remember when I was young the electricity would go out in our house maybe once or twice a year, and it was so exciting! It would usually happen during a storm when lightening struck a power line. My mom, sisters, and I would sit in front of the window with candles and watch the storm. Such happy memories... In Sierra Leone, for the past eleven years, there has seldom been electricity in Freetown. I was talking to my landlord's wife, Mrs. Assad, about the problem with electricity here. This morning she was explaining to me that since the war, during which the power lines were destroyed, most of Freetown has had absolutely no electricity. In our area, the Assads would have electricity about twice a month. Anyone who can afford diesel relies on generators for power. Most people use lanterns and candles. Walking home at night in the busy city feels so strange, because the roads are dark except for car lights and candles from the street vendors.
Upland of course doesn't ever have electricity. Bo and McKennie do, but it is also unreliable like Freetown. Since December the National Power Authority (NPA) has been much better! I have had electricity in my apartment almost every night! It is so exciting to be able to do simple things like cook dinner, take a shower, and brush my teeth with light. It is funny to think that now I dread the power going out when during my childhood this was such a treat! Now that I know what it is like to be without electricity, I realize how fortunate I am when I do have it.

Learning and Growing

A few months ago I read a book by Dietrich Bonhoeffer entitled Life Together. Something I read in it really stuck with me, but at the time I wasn't sure why. He explains that being a christian, makes being in the presence of the community of believers an uncommon luxury. I really didn't understand what he meant by that. Now I think I know what he is saying. For Bonhoeffer, he was imprisoned for many many years by the Nazis. So of course, having the opportunity to experience the body of Christ must have been a rare occurence. I have been thinking about how I knew God was first calling me into the ministry. It was a gradual call, but I always felt it strongest among Christians who loved, supported, and encouraged my growth in Christ. I realize now that God was using these times to strengthen my faith, to give me a strong foundation for the many times in life where I would be without this supportive community. Times when I would be "in the mission field."

I have begun to redefine what it means to be a missionary. My job right now is to direct the Peanut Butter Project in Sierra Leone. I am a christian, so I am a missionary at all times no matter what circumstances I am in. I am not to dwell on missing the times of fellowship with family, friends, and mentors, but I am to trust that the community of believers is doing their job at being God's example to the world. I have to think about the here and now of what God is calling me to do daily. Of course this is enough in itself! I am to continue understanding the true meaning of love. The true power of Christ's perfect love as he died for us. And when I do have the opportunity to be with those who share my faith, then I can enjoy it with the knowledge that God is strengthening and preparing me for the work ahead.

Summing up the trip

What a wonderful trip to East Africa! It was interesting to see another african country on the other side of the continent. What I didn't expect were so many differences between the two countries. Many people, myself included, tend to categorize all of africa as the same. Since traveling through I have definitely seen how rich africa is in the variety of cultures, customs, and beliefs among the different countries. There is even a difference in the way mothers use lappas to hold babies on their backs! Each country is unique in the way the people dress, greet one another, the landscape, and climate. As far as weather is concerned, it was a shock to the system going to Malawi where the rainy season is ending and coming back to Sierra Leone in the midst of the dry season. I went from green and tropical to dry and dusty! Both countries have such unique beauty but it is good to be home.

The rest of my training and time spent in Malawi went great. We worked hard, getting up at 4:30am and sometimes screening up to 300 children in one day! I learned in more detail how the screening process needs to go in order for it to run best. I got training in all aspects of it. I had lots of practice in using the scale, measure mats, distributing the supplement, and checking for edema with the nurses. My last weekend in Malawi was spent at Lake Malawi! It was such a great trip! We had an adventure getting there... Put it this way,we were five girls packed in a car with a Lonely Planet book and verbal directions from Malawians along the road as our way of reaching the destination. We ended up traveling into the night along a dirt road with high elephant grass growing on both sides of it and absolutely no street lights in sight! One man described the way using hand gestures as he said, "Well you're going to go this way, that way, and then this way..." I still can't believe we made it! The first night, just as we were pulling up to the backpackers' lodge where we would spend the night our vehicle got stuck in some deep sand. That is how close we were to the lake though! You could hear the hippos! After that night everything went as smooth as silk. We got to go swimming, snorkeling, and for a boat ride where we saw eagles. The snorkeling was amazing. The lake has 600 different types of fish and they were a variety of colors and sizes.

I am so thankful to have had such great training from Danielle, Johanna, the nurses, and Liyacka during my time spent in Malawi. I am so excited about implementing what I have learned to the program in Sierra Leone. Thank you for your prayers for my safety during the travels. They are appreciated!