Days 16, 17, and 18: More New and Wonderous Things

We gave a presentation on Tuesday about diabetes and hypertension. It was fun, I think it went well, and the people were genuinely interested. :-) Albert made some great visual aids for the talk too. Here is Amara at the chalkboard.


On Monday, we were short-staffed. Albert and I saw 76 patients together in clinic that day! Whew! On Tuesday I got to help perform a surgery that was supposed to be a "simple" inguinal hernia repair. Instead it ended up being a cystostomy (we opened up the bladder) and took out a large stone about the size of a half dollar coin except much thicker. Then we found and emptied a hydrocele (fluid filling up and swelling the scrotum) and then also did the hernia repair that we had originally planned on. It seems that we are always finding surprises when we open someone up. It is a good lesson in "expecting the unexpected" when it comes to medicine and surgery. We have some more pictures from work at the hospital as well, but some are not for those with weak stomachs and we may just keep them for medical-type presentations at home or for those who are interested. :-)

Last night, we were invited to join Yisau and his family for dinner to have a local meal; it was a great way to experience their culture more. Here is Issah's wife and brother pounding yams with a giant mortar and pistol to make fufu. (Note: Yams and sweet potatoes are two different foods, although frequently confused in the United States. Yams are white; sweet potatoes are orange.) They use the same process with their corn (which is apparently different than our corn) to make koko and teza. As an aside, I was quite intrigued at first that everyone seemed to give their children cocoa as a staple item. "What a fun place," I thought to myself, "everyone gets to have chocolate all the time!" But I haven't seen any local chocoate since I arrived. . . and then I realized that it was not cocoa, but koko--a type of porridge made out of corn. :-)


Here is Yisau with his children; aren't they cute! By the way, Yisau is one of three men who help to cook lunch and dinner for us while we are here; usually the prepare "American" dishes they think the visiting missionaries will like and mostly it is pretty good. It is fun to try the Ghanian food though and we were excited to have the opportunity to have some.


Here is our dinner. The white stuff is the fufu and it is sitting in a soup of spiced tomato-y liquid and goat meat. I avoided the bone and intestine. . .the meal was quite yummy! Plus, kind of like that Morrocan restaurant we like in Portland (the Marrakesh), we dip our hands in water to clean them before eating and then eat with our hands--even soup!


Here we are with some local boys walking on a portion of what is left of the "slave wall." I think the story goes that the king or tribal chief built it a long time ago, around the entire city of Nalerigu, to protect the people from the slave traders who might come to capture them. The boys said the wall is still protecting their city today.


Here is Albert holding some randomly-found puppies; they are quite cute (Albert, the boys and the puppies. . . but especially Albert). :-)


To our family and friends:
We love and miss you and are so thankful for all your prayers; they are felt. Please continue to pray that Albert and Amara will have great attitudes, get adequate rest, encourage one another with our words and actions, and glorify the Lord in all we do. Please pray also for Dr. Faile and Dr. Hewitt, the 2 missionary doctors who work so very hard here; pray for strength for each day, for rest enough to meet all their needs, and for a renewed sense of encouragement and purpose in their work. May we be a help to them just as they are teaching us so much by allowing us to come here and join them. Also please pray for Heidi, the other medical student here. She works hard together with us and has a little toddler here also that she sees mostly at night. Her husband William is great too; he is away travelling right now doing other missionary work stuff.

Love, blessings, and Sweet dreams from Nalerigu, Ghana, West Africa,
A & A :-)