tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53545935288031881102024-03-13T06:28:30.317+00:00Amara & Albert's Mission to Nalerigu, GhanaHighlights from our medical missions trip to the Baptist Medical Centre in Nalerigu, GhanaAlberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13192437345028972071noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354593528803188110.post-66834981057062072132008-01-06T22:22:00.000+00:002008-01-06T22:52:32.821+00:00Day 26 and on: Sharing is CaringHere is a long over-due wrap-up post (in picture form) to describe what we were up to during our final days in Ghana..<br /><br />As a part of our INMED course, Amara and I were tasked to give an educational presentation on a topic for the medical staff. We chose to speak about hypertension, explaining what causes high blood pressure, mentioning the long-term consequences of uncontrolled hypertension, highlighting some of the alarm ymptoms, and briefly mentioning pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatments.<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/albywan/Ghana/photo?authkey=irJkRMziDtY#5146682979881736098"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/albywan/R2yw5uNmV6I/AAAAAAAABms/Ax8mjSYQRMM/s400/IMG_1168.JPG" /></a><br /><br />On our final day in Nalerigu, we were invited to share a message/lesson with students at 3 different schools. Originally, we were only aware of going to one classroom to help pick-up some penpal letters that would be going to some 5th-graders in the U.S., but as it turns out, we had the opportunity to speak to 2 different classrooms of children and even one entire student body! It was a wonderful blessing to be able to share about the meaning/significance of Christmas, highlighting aspects and miracles of Jesus Christ's life, and proclaiming the gospel to these attentive ears. To reach the schools, we traveled on the backs of motorcycles:<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/albywan/Ghana/photo?authkey=irJkRMziDtY#5146686652078775570"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/albywan/R2y0PeNmXRI/AAAAAAAABx8/9uS3v4xtf7c/s400/IMG_1302.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/albywan/Ghana/photo?authkey=irJkRMziDtY#5146686862532173154"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/albywan/R2y0buNmXWI/AAAAAAAAByk/5I15_r63BmQ/s400/IMG_1309.JPG" /></a><br /><br />Here is Amara sharing the gospel with all of the students of Sheriga-Naa JHS gathered in a big circle:<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/albywan/Ghana/photo?authkey=irJkRMziDtY#5146686364315966626"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/albywan/R2yz-uNmXKI/AAAAAAAABxA/atf9urboKE4/s400/IMG_1294.JPG" /></a><br /><br />Another sharing experience:<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/albywan/Ghana/photo?authkey=irJkRMziDtY#5146686905481846130"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/albywan/R2y0eONmXXI/AAAAAAAABys/NzfBjGr-JxM/s400/IMG_1310.JPG" /></a><br /><br />Post-sharing at another school:<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/albywan/Ghana/photo?authkey=irJkRMziDtY#5146687124525178322"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/albywan/R2y0q-NmXdI/AAAAAAAABzg/qetd5I2mT18/s400/IMG_1316.JPG" /></a><br /><br />Our final meal in Nalerigu was specially prepared because it was one of our favorite Ghanaian dishes -- ground nut stew.. mmm mmm!<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/albywan/Ghana/photo?authkey=irJkRMziDtY#5146687674280992450"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/albywan/R2y1K-NmXsI/AAAAAAAAB1Y/S45OS8BKcqU/s400/IMG_1337.JPG" /></a><br /><br />Our flight for Accra from Tamale left quite early in the morning, so we were graciously hosted overnight by the Ozments, who are missionaries at the Baptist Seminary in Tamale. Peggy cooked us up a delicious meal, and we were able to hear interesting stories from Pat while enjoying the nighttime air on their porch:<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/albywan/Ghana/photo?authkey=irJkRMziDtY#5146688163907264514"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/albywan/R2y1neNmYAI/AAAAAAAAB38/1cR5Ja3Xw_A/s400/IMG_1369.JPG" /></a><br /><br />When we got back to Accra, we had the desire to travel to the coast since we were so close to it. Traveling by tro-tro (a type of bus) was the most economical way, so we headed to the bus station. This is what we found:<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/albywan/Ghana/photo?authkey=irJkRMziDtY#5146688657828503810"><img src="http://lh3.google.com/albywan/R2y2EONmYQI/AAAAAAAAB6A/Nky001r1nrk/s400/IMG_1386.JPG" /></a><br />There was no central area and no real guidance to which bus to take. We ended up having to walk around for about an hour and a half before we found a bus that was going in the right direction to where we wanted to go. That bus dropped us off, allowing us to take a taxi to our final destination, which was the African Academy of Music and Arts:<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/albywan/Ghana/photo?authkey=irJkRMziDtY#5146688696483209490"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/albywan/R2y2GeNmYRI/AAAAAAAAB6I/GLvBheKdW2c/s400/IMG_1387.JPG" /></a><br />Amara had read in multiple sources about the fun drumming and dance show that would take place on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. We planned to get to the site early enough for the Saturday show. However, like many things in Africa, it didn't turn out quite as we had imagined. The Saturday show had been cancelled, but a Sunday show was available. Unfortunately, we wouldn't be able to attend since we had to make it back to Accra in time to catch our outbound flight back to the U.S. Fortunately, we had the chance to spend time in the beautiful resort and go swimming and body-surfing in the private beach area:<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/albywan/Ghana/photo?authkey=irJkRMziDtY#5146688833922163026"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/albywan/R2y2OeNmYVI/AAAAAAAAB6o/ziml6Pvbwuc/s400/IMG_1391.JPG" /></a><br />Even though this was a pretty nice resort, interestingly, our rooms did not have running water. So, featured below is the source of our toilet flushing. It also turns out to be the source of our drinking water (after purification with iodine tablets, of course):<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/albywan/Ghana/photo?authkey=irJkRMziDtY#5146689095915168242"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/albywan/R2y2duNmYfI/AAAAAAAAB78/PWx1wZdXNVM/s400/IMG_1402.JPG" /></a><br /><br />Back in Accra, we enjoyed our last Ghanaian meal at the Country Kitchen:<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/albywan/Ghana/photo?authkey=irJkRMziDtY#5146689491052159650"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/albywan/R2y20uNmYqI/AAAAAAAAB9U/nY7S37EctrI/s400/IMG_1414.JPG" /></a><br /><br />Here we are with the Huey's, who are missionaries that run the guesthouse in Accra. They were very friendly and a whole lot of help!<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/albywan/Ghana/photo?authkey=irJkRMziDtY#5146690517549343554"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/albywan/R2y3weNmY0I/AAAAAAAAB-s/7VpBgGg4500/s400/IMG_1439.JPG" /></a><br /><br />Back on the plane, heading home..<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/albywan/Ghana/photo?authkey=irJkRMziDtY#5146690590563787634"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/albywan/R2y30uNmY3I/AAAAAAAAB_E/Y5lHpeG7B9o/s400/IMG_1442.JPG" /></a><br /><br />The presence of wintery flakes of ice served as a reminder of where we were going, a place so very different from where we had just been..<br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/albywan/Ghana/photo?authkey=irJkRMziDtY#5146690560499016546"><img src="http://lh6.google.com/albywan/R2y3y-NmY2I/AAAAAAAAB-8/012OayCoAcM/s400/IMG_1441.JPG" /></a><br /><br />It was an amazing trip.. God blessed us richly and allowed us to see his works, to serve his people, and to stretch ourselves. =)Alberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13192437345028972071noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354593528803188110.post-87894168237424340642007-12-11T15:29:00.000+00:002008-12-09T18:51:06.170+00:00Days 22-25: Familiar, Fresh, Frenzy, Forward, Freaky<span style="font-weight: bold;">Something Familiar<br /><br /></span>On Saturday, we had a nice evening at the Faile's. They invited us over for some yummy, homemade pizza that Mrs. Faile made and to play games. While I really do enjoy the Ghanaian food we've had, a good pizza is hard to beat and it really hit the spot. After dinner, we learned how to play the game Chickenfoot, a board game played with tiles and similar to dominoes. It was a relaxing and fun time.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Something Fresh<br /><br /></span>On Sunday, we went with the evangelist Tommy out into the villages. Nalerigu is the main town in the area, but it is surrounded by lots of smaller villages. There are more than 20 different languages spoken in the nearby villages. We drove for about an hour and a half to get to an open school area where Tommy shares the Word of God with local people. His message this Sunday was talking about being a light to the world, just as Jesus was, and allowing that light to shine on others. Here are some pictures from our trip:<br /><br />Pretty much everybody in the villages lives in mud huts with straw roofs:<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R161N0aZTSI/AAAAAAAABQ0/CQ-0IsAdEmg/s1600-h/IMG_1231.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R161N0aZTSI/AAAAAAAABQ0/CQ-0IsAdEmg/s320/IMG_1231.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5142747073515965730" border="0" /></a><br /><br />As we drive by, people love greeting/waving to foreigners:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R161OUaZTTI/AAAAAAAABQ8/cEgOzvPuzMk/s1600-h/IMG_1233.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R161OUaZTTI/AAAAAAAABQ8/cEgOzvPuzMk/s320/IMG_1233.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5142747082105900338" border="0" /></a><br /><br />A nice view of the savannah grasslands during the dry season.. it looks quite different during the wet season:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R161OkaZTUI/AAAAAAAABRE/h6tAyf2bhJk/s1600-h/IMG_1239.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R161OkaZTUI/AAAAAAAABRE/h6tAyf2bhJk/s320/IMG_1239.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5142747086400867650" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Riding along in Tommy's truck:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R161O0aZTVI/AAAAAAAABRM/34DLYsPk59Y/s1600-h/IMG_1242.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R161O0aZTVI/AAAAAAAABRM/34DLYsPk59Y/s320/IMG_1242.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5142747090695834962" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Amara had a lot of fun playing with the kids and chasing them around to tickle them..<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R161O0aZTWI/AAAAAAAABRU/gzFDlp_x2iw/s1600-h/IMG_1257.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R161O0aZTWI/AAAAAAAABRU/gzFDlp_x2iw/s320/IMG_1257.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5142747090695834978" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here is Tommy sharing his message to the people:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R160lkaZTNI/AAAAAAAABQM/mgP4GRwhj50/s1600-h/IMG_1263.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R160lkaZTNI/AAAAAAAABQM/mgP4GRwhj50/s320/IMG_1263.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5142746382026230994" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Frenzies of People<br /><br /></span>It's pretty amazing how many crowds of people we have encountered. Here in Nalerigu, every third day is market day, which means that people from near and far come into town to sell their goods (be it produce, clothing, wares, and whatnot). The scene at the market is like a tightly packed flea market. Dr. Hewitt brought us into market on Sunday afternoon to buy a few items. Here he is being swarmed by people while trying to get some rice for his dogs:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R160mEaZTOI/AAAAAAAABQU/6a09G-X1Dxg/s1600-h/IMG_1270.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R160mEaZTOI/AAAAAAAABQU/6a09G-X1Dxg/s320/IMG_1270.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5142746390616165602" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Amara and I have made some progress in the number of patients we've been seeing. On Monday, which was particularly busy for the clinic because last Friday was a holiday, we saw 98 patients between the two of us. Dr. Faile saw well over a hundred patients by himself. The pharmacy people are especially busy since all of the patients go through the pharmacy to pick up medications and pay their bills. There were so many people yesterday that the pharmacy people were working until 11:30pm, and they still had a large number of people to see this morning that they had sent home for the night to return today. This is a picture taken outside of the hospital on a typical clinic day (which are Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays). While this already seems like a lot of people, keep in mind that it is early morning around 7:30am and the doctors generally don't start seeing patients until 9:00am.. the crowd only grows from here!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R160mUaZTPI/AAAAAAAABQc/3tw-1g0ba78/s1600-h/IMG_1271.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R160mUaZTPI/AAAAAAAABQc/3tw-1g0ba78/s320/IMG_1271.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5142746394911132914" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Driving Forward<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span>During this trip, Amara's had the chance to learn and practice how to drive a stick-shift truck. She's done great and only stalled once!<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R160m0aZTQI/AAAAAAAABQk/TDZ6HmAjdQg/s1600-h/IMG_1282.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R160m0aZTQI/AAAAAAAABQk/TDZ6HmAjdQg/s320/IMG_1282.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5142746403501067522" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Freaky Bugs<br /><br /></span>There are a lot of interesting bugs here, many that end up in places not as welcome as others. Here's one that I found crawling into my sandal this morning at the hospital.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R160nUaZTRI/AAAAAAAABQs/8e6-g0zZiEA/s1600-h/IMG_1288.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R160nUaZTRI/AAAAAAAABQs/8e6-g0zZiEA/s320/IMG_1288.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5142746412091002130" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here's another fun flying bug that kept following us while we were walking outside. It hovered in front of our feet for a while, as if it wanted us to take its picture. In fact, right after it landed and we snapped a shot of it, it took off and left. I guess it got its wish..<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1617EaZTXI/AAAAAAAABRc/0_To_PkRUpw/s1600-h/IMG_1223.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1617EaZTXI/AAAAAAAABRc/0_To_PkRUpw/s320/IMG_1223.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5142747850905046386" border="0" /></a>Alberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13192437345028972071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354593528803188110.post-62608479442045345602007-12-08T11:44:00.000+00:002008-12-09T18:51:07.861+00:00Days 19-21: Winding Down and Climbing Up<strong>Winding Down</strong><br /><br />On Thursday, we attended our weekly station meeting, which is a fellowship gathering of the missionaries here. Since we will be leaving next Thursday afternoon, this was our last one. Dr. Faile asked us if we could lead the discussion, so Amara delightedly agreed to do so (since she had already wanted to). I picked a few songs to sing for worship, a couple which were familiar to people and a couple which were new. I had trouble getting the guitar we had here in tune, so we ended up singing acapella, which was nice. Amara led the discussion on the topic of sacrifice. She opened by talking about how she celebrates/recognizes Advent in her family. We then read a few passages and an excerpt from an Advent book, and then people shared about what sacrifice meant to them and how they had seen sacrifice play out in their lives. We closed the evening with a a couple more worship songs, a time of prayer, and refreshments (Elisabeth Faile made some yummy cookies and popcorn).<br /><br />At the end of the night, we were each also given a nice picture of the Baptist Medical Centre as a keepsake. Here we are with Dr. Faile and Dr. Hewitt, the two extraordinary missionary doctors here:<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1qGFGgOR0I/AAAAAAAABP0/NLXXBW1KZ3c/s1600-h/IMG_1185.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141569346800076610" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1qGFGgOR0I/AAAAAAAABP0/NLXXBW1KZ3c/s320/IMG_1185.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Amara and Elisabeth Faile with an Advent star:<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1qGFmgOR1I/AAAAAAAABP8/Nw3Auur1qMs/s1600-h/IMG_1186.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141569355390011218" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1qGFmgOR1I/AAAAAAAABP8/Nw3Auur1qMs/s320/IMG_1186.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><strong>Climbing Up</strong><br /><br />Yesterday happened to be Farmer's Day, a holiday here. This day allows farmer's to be recognized for their exceptional crops and get awards for them. Since we didn't have clinic, our afternoon was free to relax. With our free-time, Dr. Hewitt picked us up and took us out to a couple of scenic short hiking/climbing areas. The fields nearby had been burned down, so there was plenty of ash all around us (and eventually on us, too). It was quite fun to get out and hop around on the rocks and such. Here are some pictures from our excursion.<br /><br />Amara making her way up the rocks:<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1qGGGgOR2I/AAAAAAAABQE/ayBb6b0kONU/s1600-h/IMG_1189.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141569363979945826" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1qGGGgOR2I/AAAAAAAABQE/ayBb6b0kONU/s320/IMG_1189.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Amara is queen of the world!<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1qFAGgORvI/AAAAAAAABPM/oqEVTAyEr3M/s1600-h/IMG_1195.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141568161389102834" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1qFAGgORvI/AAAAAAAABPM/oqEVTAyEr3M/s320/IMG_1195.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />She's a ballet dancer on the edge of reason..<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1qFA2gORwI/AAAAAAAABPU/fRiyzuRr6-8/s1600-h/IMG_1199.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141568174274004738" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1qFA2gORwI/AAAAAAAABPU/fRiyzuRr6-8/s320/IMG_1199.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Riding a "whale" of a rock..<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1qFBGgORxI/AAAAAAAABPc/zgcP0F36Q7Q/s1600-h/IMG_1212.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141568178568972050" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1qFBGgORxI/AAAAAAAABPc/zgcP0F36Q7Q/s320/IMG_1212.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Peering into the future..<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1qFBGgORyI/AAAAAAAABPk/9rbhUDlDI54/s1600-h/IMG_1218.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141568178568972066" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1qFBGgORyI/AAAAAAAABPk/9rbhUDlDI54/s320/IMG_1218.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Sporting and pointing to her "hard hat":<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1qFBWgORzI/AAAAAAAABPs/BAjv5eY-QNA/s1600-h/IMG_1221.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141568182863939378" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1qFBWgORzI/AAAAAAAABPs/BAjv5eY-QNA/s320/IMG_1221.JPG" border="0" /></a>Alberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13192437345028972071noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354593528803188110.post-82441048938158931402007-12-05T20:50:00.000+00:002008-12-09T18:51:09.667+00:00Days 16, 17, and 18: More New and Wonderous ThingsWe 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.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1cUa2gORuI/AAAAAAAABPE/T-T7EYf9zC4/s1600-h/IMG_1168.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5140599951206532834" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1cUa2gORuI/AAAAAAAABPE/T-T7EYf9zC4/s320/IMG_1168.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />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. :-)<br /><br />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. :-)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1cT62gORrI/AAAAAAAABOs/SfRxtpPxSVQ/s1600-h/IMG_1177.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5140599401450718898" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1cT62gORrI/AAAAAAAABOs/SfRxtpPxSVQ/s320/IMG_1177.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />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.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1cT7GgORsI/AAAAAAAABO0/fRGWZlDVpLc/s1600-h/IMG_1179.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5140599405745686210" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1cT7GgORsI/AAAAAAAABO0/fRGWZlDVpLc/s320/IMG_1179.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />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!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1cT7WgORtI/AAAAAAAABO8/6BZTFYiVttQ/s1600-h/IMG_1180.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5140599410040653522" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1cT7WgORtI/AAAAAAAABO8/6BZTFYiVttQ/s320/IMG_1180.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />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.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1cT6mgORqI/AAAAAAAABOk/LIQXuyWeh8U/s1600-h/IMG_1176.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5140599397155751586" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1cT6mgORqI/AAAAAAAABOk/LIQXuyWeh8U/s320/IMG_1176.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here is Albert holding some randomly-found puppies; they are quite cute (Albert, the boys and the puppies. . . but especially Albert). :-)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1cT6WgORpI/AAAAAAAABOc/jsEqyZ8NYmw/s1600-h/IMG_1171.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5140599392860784274" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1cT6WgORpI/AAAAAAAABOc/jsEqyZ8NYmw/s320/IMG_1171.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />To our family and friends:<br />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.<br /><br />Love, blessings, and Sweet dreams from Nalerigu, Ghana, West Africa,<br />A & A :-)Amarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124101843432394805noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354593528803188110.post-78039040611687524762007-12-02T20:03:00.000+00:002008-12-09T18:51:13.686+00:00Days 12-15: Working, Walking, and Wildlife<strong>Working</strong><br /><br />While here at the Baptist Medical Centre, both Amara and I have had the chance to get our hands wet and perform more procedures than we would have at our level of training in the U.S. We have plenty opportunity for doing ultrasounds, excising small masses, suturing lacerations, and helping with skin grafts.<br /><br />Here is Amara with a man receiving a split thickness skin graft. In this procedure, a piece of skin is harvested from a part of the body such as the thigh, but only a thin part of it, which is done using a tool that looks and works sort of like a large potato peeler (that's how William, husband of another med student here described it). Then, that piece of skin is run through a mesher, which cuts it fancily into a mesh (imagine criss-cut fries at Carl's Jr). This makes a skin graft which can be stretched into a larger size than what was taken from the thigh to cover a bigger area (in the case below, an area on the top of this man's foot and front part of his lower leg which had to be debrided/cleaned off since he had a non-healing ulcer there that spread and caused a lot of the skin around his foot to necrose/die):<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MkiWgORoI/AAAAAAAABOU/WgyAtBeDklE/s1600-R/IMG_1002.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139491772334753410" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MkiWgORoI/AAAAAAAABOU/lyBOSo5ixvo/s320/IMG_1002.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />To learn how to perform a skin graft yourself, click <a href="http://www.haunsinafrica.com/slideshows/skingraft/">here</a> (courtesy of William Haun).<br /><br />One night, a man was brought in who had just been in a motorcycle accident. He had multiple cuts on his forehead, some gashes on his foot, but the biggest/deepest cut was actually running across his lower eyelid, right below his eye! Essentially, his lower eyelid had been split open fairly deeply. He was very lucky not to have damaged his eye, but the suturing was very tricky since this was a delicate area, the tissue was soft (and kept moving around), and also because the patient kept shifting and blinking.<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MkCmgORjI/AAAAAAAABNs/NhxUNO6mGb4/s1600-R/IMG_1069.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139491226873906738" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MkCmgORjI/AAAAAAAABNs/GBROJ-Golk8/s320/IMG_1069.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I've had a large number of insect bites on both of my legs while being here. At first, we thought they were mosquito bites, which would be bad considering the prevalence of malaria here. But after looking at the pattern and reading a little in an African dermatology atlas and a tropical infectious diseases textbook, we have concluded that they are more likely to be bedbug bites. The pattern is more clustered, kind of like flea bites, and they tend to happen at night. The bed bugs (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedbug">Cimex lectularius</a>) come out of old mattresses when it is dark at night and munch on human blood. At latest count, I had 35 bites on my left leg and 46 on my right. I have since started to wear long pants and socks to bed, after which I have not noticd any more bites of this type. Reaffirms the old adage, to "not let the bed bugs bite."<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MkC2gORkI/AAAAAAAABN0/q9uAfocTpmg/s1600-R/IMG_1072.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139491231168874050" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MkC2gORkI/AAAAAAAABN0/-mMul7tijhI/s320/IMG_1072.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Amara and I walk to work every day and pass a nutrition resource center. On the ground in front one day we saw this:<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MkC2gORlI/AAAAAAAABN8/yEu05z10CWU/s1600-R/IMG_1076.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139491231168874066" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MkC2gORlI/AAAAAAAABN8/m_nCF4cmhdw/s320/IMG_1076.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Nothing's more nutritious than a bowl of blankets and baby!<br /><br /><strong>Walking</strong><br /><br />Yesterday, we went for a nice little exploratory walk in the grasslands behind the hospital grounds. We were accompanied by several Ghanaian children (who seem to cling to foreigners whenever they see them) and Dr. Hewitt's amazing dog Sandy, which just joined us incidentally when we walked past it on our way out. This dog actually used to belong to someone else who used to work at the hospital, but then that person left, and the dog was given to someone else to take care of. That family moved far away (like many miles). One day, the dog was missing. About 3-4 weeks later, the dog was found back on the hospital property. In any case, it was a very cool dog. The dog would stop every once in a while and seem to mark where we were. When we would get to forks in the road, he would stop and wait for us to make sure we went the same direction. Anyway, we hiked in the grasslands for about two hours, which included passing by the creek here:<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MkDGgORmI/AAAAAAAABOE/393Uhj8uS8Q/s1600-R/IMG_1078.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139491235463841378" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MkDGgORmI/AAAAAAAABOE/z0MMMeD4z-w/s320/IMG_1078.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />There are two Japanese medical students visiting the hospital this week. We played cards with them last night. First, we taught them how to play Hearts, and then they taught us how to play Sichinarabe (a very famous Japanese card game):<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MkDWgORnI/AAAAAAAABOM/Q9q3M7L_L6Q/s1600-R/IMG_1084.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139491239758808690" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MkDWgORnI/AAAAAAAABOM/G9boZaIjHx0/s320/IMG_1084.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><strong>Wildlife</strong><br /><strong></strong><br />We visited the Catholic church of a boy named Prosper here (his father is a nurse at the hospital and he comes around to our house fairly often). The service had some traditional aspects of Catholic masses, but it also had some pretty lively singing/dancing. Here is Amara worshiping "wildly":<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1Mil2gOReI/AAAAAAAABNE/3QQL1jlpG98/s1600-R/IMG_1090.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139489633441039842" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1Mil2gOReI/AAAAAAAABNE/gr_I2vVFnQc/s320/IMG_1090.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This little piggy didn't go to market but instead was just sniffing around on the ground on our walk back from church (featured because some of our audience happen to like pigs):<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MimWgORgI/AAAAAAAABNU/OgtpQpGrliI/s1600-R/IMG_1094.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139489642030974466" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MimWgORgI/AAAAAAAABNU/3L8VjsgeqLg/s320/IMG_1094.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Today, Dr. Hewitt drove a group of us to a scenic area about 40 minutes away called the Escarpment. Here is a view of the picturesque bluffs from afar (the rocks on the top of the edges on the right are where we were climbing/standing atop, shown later):<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MimmgORhI/AAAAAAAABNc/QMkb3CoRP0o/s1600-R/IMG_1099.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139489646325941778" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MimmgORhI/AAAAAAAABNc/Rg7X9q5b9dU/s320/IMG_1099.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Me, Amara, Dr. Kirby, Shinthke, Dr. Hewitt, Dr. Burgoyne, and Twyla Burgoyne on the bridge near the river:<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1Mim2gORiI/AAAAAAAABNk/BeE_pgxksIA/s1600-R/IMG_1106.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139489650620909090" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1Mim2gORiI/AAAAAAAABNk/ODr_KhYI-Lw/s320/IMG_1106.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The next two pictures were taken at the home of John and Deniesce, who have worked to help reforest the area. Amara with a horse.. she <em>loves</em> horses..<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MdDGgORZI/AAAAAAAABMc/J_60vnv_OJs/s1600-R/IMG_1107.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139483538882446738" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MdDGgORZI/AAAAAAAABMc/KQBl9LXVVMY/s320/IMG_1107.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Me with a babboon.. I <em>love</em> babboons.. just kidding..<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MdDmgORaI/AAAAAAAABMk/jJCgJJJ2Lkg/s1600-R/IMG_1110.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139483547472381346" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MdDmgORaI/AAAAAAAABMk/ZrycuwLYE-U/s320/IMG_1110.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We hiked through tall (itchy) grasses to get to the nice view..<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MdEGgORcI/AAAAAAAABM0/XdbR0haqqvE/s1600-R/IMG_1133.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139483556062315970" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MdEGgORcI/AAAAAAAABM0/XTGqIBTC2n0/s320/IMG_1133.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here we are standing on top of the rocks that I mentioned earlier:<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MbYGgORYI/AAAAAAAABMU/B1UmR6wkJic/s1600-R/IMG_1142.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139481700636444034" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MbYGgORYI/AAAAAAAABMU/XYyBZQX9CGM/s320/IMG_1142.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Sitting pose:<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MbXmgORXI/AAAAAAAABMM/-k6d-zJu9cI/s1600-R/IMG_1149.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139481692046509426" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MbXmgORXI/AAAAAAAABMM/Z8MdcdoRoFI/s320/IMG_1149.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Posing between rocks:<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MbXWgORWI/AAAAAAAABME/-9R9g3d5V6g/s1600-R/IMG_1154.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139481687751542114" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MbXWgORWI/AAAAAAAABME/14bqgzf_StA/s320/IMG_1154.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Hanging from a tree:<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MbW2gORVI/AAAAAAAABL8/wzVYnh2dgrI/s1600-R/IMG_1155.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139481679161607506" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MbW2gORVI/AAAAAAAABL8/kK0m9RDwiEc/s320/IMG_1155.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Amara took this pretty picture of the setting African sun to signal the end of our fun day trip:<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MbV2gORUI/AAAAAAAABL0/gp26jtHnHE0/s1600-R/IMG_1157.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139481661981738306" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R1MbV2gORUI/AAAAAAAABL0/SAS4dyfMj68/s320/IMG_1157.jpg" border="0" /></a>Alberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13192437345028972071noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354593528803188110.post-69463496230949378612007-11-28T21:40:00.000+00:002008-12-09T18:51:15.257+00:00Days 10 and 11: Village LifeThere are a lot of visiting doctors here right now and that is making the work a little bit lighter. This afforded us the opportunity to go out and explore the village life yesterday afternoon. :-) We walked along the road, down to a resevoir, to the well and water pump, and then back to the market and through the prarie back home. Everyone thought it was quite a site to see a Caucasian and an Asian person walking down the road together amidst all the Ghanaian Africans. They were all quite friendly and many wanted to tell us "hello" and talk to us. We even had this boy Daniel walk most of the whole way with us (for about 2.5 hours) and guide us along the way. Very neat!<br /><br />Thinking of you and appreciating your prayers,<br /><br />Love you bunches,<br />The "A" Team :-)<br />(Albert and Amara)<br /><br /><p><em>Many Ghanaians live in mud huts with a central courtyard for community interaction.</em><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0KhrPqdGvU9IlgHqE-8d-RWoYEMDYM3AxX_irokPjHnVp3HtDgJ9KHmQg3BGXql5oC26b53Gsu097AIh630Yzw7QXE0ZkD9Iy51TzdakA7abR8RaVfJSeumThbvF6R-3fi2omDBrBsVa7/s1600-h/IMG_1006.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138017450435613410" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0KhrPqdGvU9IlgHqE-8d-RWoYEMDYM3AxX_irokPjHnVp3HtDgJ9KHmQg3BGXql5oC26b53Gsu097AIh630Yzw7QXE0ZkD9Iy51TzdakA7abR8RaVfJSeumThbvF6R-3fi2omDBrBsVa7/s320/IMG_1006.jpg" border="0" /></a> </p><p><em>Most families own a donkey in order to help them transport barrels of water and other items. They are very friendly.. just look how fuzzy and cute its eyes are!</em><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBPtpfGWJvHThqUXxJRM4ZO8u_jwR09gUNvfjS8dDl7bhekpF-tkaPdX3Jc9po7u3KvuH9KMb02uomQp_2Ys1ZAm0aQ59s-PEPyLahQNDhVwgwosXlG_pa5koNj2KT5T0um_aCY4EQZLez/s1600-h/IMG_1011.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138017446140646098" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBPtpfGWJvHThqUXxJRM4ZO8u_jwR09gUNvfjS8dDl7bhekpF-tkaPdX3Jc9po7u3KvuH9KMb02uomQp_2Ys1ZAm0aQ59s-PEPyLahQNDhVwgwosXlG_pa5koNj2KT5T0um_aCY4EQZLez/s320/IMG_1011.jpg" border="0" /></a> </p><p><em>This is the reservoir from which they draw water for drinking/washing/etc.. no swimming allowed!</em><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGZSu9CKExqQrGMd-BpIooJ6ouBPBGNc124UqXfnBgNEPlGfkzgdZjtNL7ojAQbFxhiNm5uzk6fzq07smKDWXUSKD_hgGCR44I5kD8mPhBrqrwBR-Wk_a1BYSYhFVI4GSpBbvax4A_n-2W/s1600-h/IMG_1026.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138017437550711490" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGZSu9CKExqQrGMd-BpIooJ6ouBPBGNc124UqXfnBgNEPlGfkzgdZjtNL7ojAQbFxhiNm5uzk6fzq07smKDWXUSKD_hgGCR44I5kD8mPhBrqrwBR-Wk_a1BYSYhFVI4GSpBbvax4A_n-2W/s320/IMG_1026.jpg" border="0" /></a> </p><p><em>This is a water well that is connected to the reservoir.. imagine filling a barrel one bucket at a time.. it takes a while!</em></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvZGn0wnv_B41wJ175QMwslxqB2T4Y-qv0KJjHb-zpmMhqB-weY_adqo5cp6lbZcT_rU5hy-34TrEm6ni_QYmGfvtYi0NaDmY6wwyP7qQNhBG2sLk9rS1ALECFaSPRR7zjLEcZU52gbG5z/s1600-h/IMG_1030.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138016204895097522" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvZGn0wnv_B41wJ175QMwslxqB2T4Y-qv0KJjHb-zpmMhqB-weY_adqo5cp6lbZcT_rU5hy-34TrEm6ni_QYmGfvtYi0NaDmY6wwyP7qQNhBG2sLk9rS1ALECFaSPRR7zjLEcZU52gbG5z/s320/IMG_1030.jpg" border="0" /></a> </p><p><em>Amara's takes her turn to help pump the well water</em><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmv5KeKU3JWUgVe-F3PXmt5-vvqsHtNCp5JSA4EZ6xhggmbESt-SG-xBu2yymRTsAcptmsDO_6L1mhV_R2e6i1vrsnUsHbzxMouN3szWjHs76XhZMKlVEOZx1CGZy2mV_MLXSryX2Mqr1f/s1600-h/IMG_1035.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138016196305162914" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmv5KeKU3JWUgVe-F3PXmt5-vvqsHtNCp5JSA4EZ6xhggmbESt-SG-xBu2yymRTsAcptmsDO_6L1mhV_R2e6i1vrsnUsHbzxMouN3szWjHs76XhZMKlVEOZx1CGZy2mV_MLXSryX2Mqr1f/s320/IMG_1035.jpg" border="0" /></a> </p><p><em>Every three days is market day in town.. it's like a big flea market that offers everything from produce to clothing</em><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMjJWrUDsUc8xSxURjff0mU2JhIaffpx6MyBOavByHpg3xD3kZOmiYkGQymkDL_FZgxhRFhXKO2vhCAqiBIasojVJ9TZmiRdJ7_KTvmvnTF7Ygxnl_0vxoGsAe9j_cwkhibdez09zK4Nah/s1600-h/IMG_1046.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138016192010195602" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMjJWrUDsUc8xSxURjff0mU2JhIaffpx6MyBOavByHpg3xD3kZOmiYkGQymkDL_FZgxhRFhXKO2vhCAqiBIasojVJ9TZmiRdJ7_KTvmvnTF7Ygxnl_0vxoGsAe9j_cwkhibdez09zK4Nah/s320/IMG_1046.jpg" border="0" /></a> </p><p><em>Us with Daniel (our tour guide/interpreter for the day) standing across the street in front of the Baptist Medical Centre</em><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj15P0dRbJaSHrXD6Mhq5siQrVJlBzhUUR6nRNtFzYoCCMoi3kibq4K_Nou_mZ31w8nPbwlbSkKpvV7vuVQgsVTUAQaaEK2GoXKYe55ApyWJbNCRP9eYYZtHIXPHPhovjaVZBqUnrWzWm4G/s1600-h/IMG_1059.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138016183420260994" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj15P0dRbJaSHrXD6Mhq5siQrVJlBzhUUR6nRNtFzYoCCMoi3kibq4K_Nou_mZ31w8nPbwlbSkKpvV7vuVQgsVTUAQaaEK2GoXKYe55ApyWJbNCRP9eYYZtHIXPHPhovjaVZBqUnrWzWm4G/s320/IMG_1059.jpg" border="0" /></a> </p><p><em>Hiking through the savannah plains near the BMC compound</em><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrEcRb2tVROaM9XSfJCYtou5F-1GRXzE6oDgkLNQ8BNALmfZtrTDdsg83IRR-pta0yPJy2vhE7y1tmxI_yUjzo8Ui3ca1lgAbC-04AddAgXh5FbBYz27or4jhYvhVMD6mJenHpLRFOLwzU/s1600-h/IMG_1064.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138016174830326386" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrEcRb2tVROaM9XSfJCYtou5F-1GRXzE6oDgkLNQ8BNALmfZtrTDdsg83IRR-pta0yPJy2vhE7y1tmxI_yUjzo8Ui3ca1lgAbC-04AddAgXh5FbBYz27or4jhYvhVMD6mJenHpLRFOLwzU/s320/IMG_1064.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></p>Amarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124101843432394805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354593528803188110.post-65500059905792406512007-11-26T22:32:00.000+00:002008-12-09T18:51:16.127+00:00Days 5, 6, 7, 8, 9: Busyness, Excitement, and "Marked"<strong>Busyness</strong><br /><br />As you may have guessed, we're really into the swing of things already and are actually quite busy! The hospital has 113 beds and the clinic sees several hundred patients each day. We have been working between 12 and 16 hours a day. We have already seen and helped take care of many patients with interesting medical problems. We usually start morning rounds around 7:30am and work until 1pm at which point we get an hour to walk home and eat lunch. At 2pm we continue our work either in clinic or surgery until about 6 to 8pm, at which point we'll go home for dinner. Then, about every other day we go back to the hospital to finish our work for the evening to end at about 11pm! Kind of like hospital work in the States, kind of not.<br /><br />Here we are pre-/post-surgery in Dr. Faile's office.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIzyHiOgUM9weKAs5Ko1JgnJB_yuvNBGwT2f6RoLSB3M68igQgqqBtkxX_EZPV61PclLIfgI1hhkId4ujUUcya35MIWmRo8Gmei_Ui11jUXsfECRMFL5qrY5RJGWUekIkDodGBeRgwOUzT/s1600-h/IMG_0971.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137300740652995090" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIzyHiOgUM9weKAs5Ko1JgnJB_yuvNBGwT2f6RoLSB3M68igQgqqBtkxX_EZPV61PclLIfgI1hhkId4ujUUcya35MIWmRo8Gmei_Ui11jUXsfECRMFL5qrY5RJGWUekIkDodGBeRgwOUzT/s320/IMG_0971.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here is Albert finishing up with another happy customer in clinic... hee hee, I think I caught them by surprise.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-_2gvP-n-wJPqBB7zRMM_q2gUgmpyfzbPSOIwJOjpX50oScahh92DWjwesQKFK8N03x_DvQ6kNdeFNCsiBLmE7Jlfi7_6s2RhkexFe8HInfc4iKD4TufV4A3Pv1rm3rHvWLfDP9tXCGUn/s1600-h/IMG_0981.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137301694135734834" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-_2gvP-n-wJPqBB7zRMM_q2gUgmpyfzbPSOIwJOjpX50oScahh92DWjwesQKFK8N03x_DvQ6kNdeFNCsiBLmE7Jlfi7_6s2RhkexFe8HInfc4iKD4TufV4A3Pv1rm3rHvWLfDP9tXCGUn/s320/IMG_0981.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We got to take a break to play tennis on Saturday!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_1tJdy2PdL47eGaFZOSY8CSPll7Bvvk2xdfSwuu01lm3hmSazBGJnTAvIxeYTIPI4fWEsAULCjZ7LsayMIkbTEZ1z-6J0pnAoAd1mNOu3XWE7A0rNhPcIUhA6qBCJScgcUDBCs9qvSnG2/s1600-h/IMG_0989.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137302634733572690" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_1tJdy2PdL47eGaFZOSY8CSPll7Bvvk2xdfSwuu01lm3hmSazBGJnTAvIxeYTIPI4fWEsAULCjZ7LsayMIkbTEZ1z-6J0pnAoAd1mNOu3XWE7A0rNhPcIUhA6qBCJScgcUDBCs9qvSnG2/s320/IMG_0989.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><strong>Excitement</strong><br /><br />We have seen some incredible things during our time here so far and we are allowed to do far more than in the USA. The staff call us "Dr. Albert" and "Dr. Amara" or sometimes just "Doctor," which is kind of funny and kind of fun. :-) Here is a patient that I helped perform a C-section surgery on. Her twins are on the bed. . . pretty cute, huh? (Since many women don't get a lot of prenatal care here, she didn't even know she had twins until a couple days ago when we performed an ultrasound on her.)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPhgxFa922bxcSG61UoHpWk4jAO_GMglMh6JENhq2NsFaw52RODjETmjUkTZuPW7QPrS2_ob1QTkAKgylbdxFKsW3cNgnlWg4ZjAd5jhdGkYGYO8PFZ5MxsIeKm0zMbYBfhaCu_txvglRg/s1600-h/IMG_0994.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137301286113841698" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPhgxFa922bxcSG61UoHpWk4jAO_GMglMh6JENhq2NsFaw52RODjETmjUkTZuPW7QPrS2_ob1QTkAKgylbdxFKsW3cNgnlWg4ZjAd5jhdGkYGYO8PFZ5MxsIeKm0zMbYBfhaCu_txvglRg/s320/IMG_0994.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Last night, Albert and I were on call for the first time and we had another obstetrical emergency. A full-term woman who was not yet fully in labor had begun to bleed quite a bit and was in pain. The ultrasound showed placenta previa, a dangerous complication where the placenta is in the wrong place. We took her to surgery and I got to perform the spinal anesthesia (a task only certain doctors are trained to do in the States)! Dr. Faile was an excellent guide and walked me through it well. Albert has also been a great help in coaching me through things so far. :-) Well, I placed the spinal successfully and the operation began. When we opened her up, we saw that it was even more severe than we expected: the uterus was about to rupture and she had both placenta previa and placenta accreta. She had severe hemorrhage and we almost could not stop the bleeding; she lost a detectable blood pressure twice and probably lost more than half the blood in her body. Albert and I did the best we could in the OR with Dr. Faile but I knew that prayer would be the most helpful thing I could do because it would be only by the grace and power of the Lord that she would live. Amazingly, she was rolled out of the OR and was still breathing, as she was this morning as she finished her blood transfusion and this afternoon as she was up and asking us questions about her adorable baby beside her. This is, without a doubt in my mind, a miracle of God. She has eight other children at home that will now be able to see their mother again, that have hope for their future; praise God!<br /><br />Also exciting, but in a startling sort of way, is that this not-so-little 2 1/2" bugger happened to jump INTO my skirt somehow! I knew something was wrong when my hip started hopping--literally! I had to hide behind a curtain and throw off my skirt in order to free myself from its critteriness.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihLWKs_xgHZpJgeLUbltM2XcrqpQXcFzGDlXQ-MTxhBT7mmB1lxx3tnXeRsmc7t7vwv41le8_ig9bwd-e5QIRG54YudQLPOjw5it2WYhsaA7ySXcpvtWsjPCXgChigTmMDD4EOkzahgup1/s1600-h/IMG_1000.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137302879546708578" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihLWKs_xgHZpJgeLUbltM2XcrqpQXcFzGDlXQ-MTxhBT7mmB1lxx3tnXeRsmc7t7vwv41le8_ig9bwd-e5QIRG54YudQLPOjw5it2WYhsaA7ySXcpvtWsjPCXgChigTmMDD4EOkzahgup1/s320/IMG_1000.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><strong>"Marked"</strong><br /><br />Tribes often "mark" their members by cutting on the faces of their children. If you look on someone's cheeks, you'll usually see a design (the same on both sides) sharply imprinted to show with whom they are affiliated.<br /><br />Traditional healers also leave their mark on our patients. For example, those with sickle cell disease (a disease that turns red blood cells into a "sickle" shape, protecting people against malaria but giving them a whole different set of problems) often have enlarged spleens. The traditional healers make lots of small (1-2 inches) cuts across the skin over the spleen in order to "release the evil" that has affected that part. One of Albert's patient's today likely has a hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) and had a fairly large abdominal mass. We knew we weren't the first ones to find it; there were cuts from the traditional healer marking the spot. I'd like to show you what I mean with some pictures, but I don't have any that display this just yet. You'll have to keep posted by checking later for added pics.<br /><br />A deeper truth. . . You know all these marks got me to thinking about what "marks" I have on my own body, what marks I have on my life. With my name, I carry the mark of my family; with my physical appearance, my geographical and genetic heritage; with my manners, language and custom, my culture. But what is the mark of Christ on me? With what signs do people know to whom I belong? Will people know that I am the way I am because someone else has found me first? I have joy because my Lord Jesus has given me life everlasting. I have peace because my guilt is forgiven. I have purpose because I have a loving relationship with the very One who has given me breath and He has called me to share His love, compassion, and healing with others. It is my prayer that my life-through my words, thoughts, attitudes, and actions-will be a reflection of His "mark" on me for His glory.Amarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124101843432394805noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354593528803188110.post-40683077175947128922007-11-21T21:38:00.001+00:002008-12-09T18:51:16.275+00:00Day 4: Where the Wild Things AreLions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!<br />Okay, so we haven't actually seen any of those things yet, but we would like to share a little bit about our experiences with the animal kingdom here so far. . . :-)<br /><br />1) First of all (and this is especially written for our friends Jeremy and Vince), there are a handful of friendly turkeys that live right next door to the hospital that we pass by on our walk to work--that's right, Turkeys do live in Africa! And we found them just in time for Thanksgiving!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXYrTeIfkTAlcwm7HUI_9DWRPTGCIz-S7UkMBXGbG_swYhVv3wN4LTGT-8vchkPxK-YEsUp-XqyB7v2NVCwO6wfkrQHT2Qaw3vXGc1_4ZsyZbOdY05xIfUf_6skQR0KwQGGWv6uTmLcsbW/s1600-h/IMG_0970.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5135417779745788418" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXYrTeIfkTAlcwm7HUI_9DWRPTGCIz-S7UkMBXGbG_swYhVv3wN4LTGT-8vchkPxK-YEsUp-XqyB7v2NVCwO6wfkrQHT2Qaw3vXGc1_4ZsyZbOdY05xIfUf_6skQR0KwQGGWv6uTmLcsbW/s320/IMG_0970.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>2) We also have a pet gecko that lives in our dining room and sometimes in the guest bathroom down the hall. He's pretty quick, so we don't have a picture of him just yet. I thought of my sister Heather when I first spotted him because she really likes geckos. She also likes little goats, which there are a lot of around here.</div><br /><div>3) SNAKES! Lots of patients come to the hospital with snake bites; the poisonous venom causes anticoagulation (in other words, it makes your blood lose its ability to clot. . . which is pretty dangerous if you get a cut and can't stop bleeding!) Mona, one of the missionary ladies here, taught us on the first day to carry flashlights with us when we're out at night and to stay on the paths and out of the grass. Dr. Hewitt even had to amputate a little girl's finger due to a bad snake bite yesterday!</div><br /><div>4) I saw my first case of rabies today in a nice young woman who got bit by a mad dog. In Oregon, rabies mostly comes from bats, and even then we hardly ever see it; in fact, I think there are only 1-2 reported cases per year.</div><div></div><br /><div>5) Albert learned that roosters don't only crow at sunrise (like in the movies) but they actually crow pretty much whenever they're awake.</div><br /><div>6) Scientifically speaking, humans are part of the animal kingdom as well, and this is kind of wild. . . the missionary doctors Drs. Faile and Hewitt saw about 100 patients each on Monday! Today Dr. Faile and I saw 65 patients during our clinic day in addition to all our hospital patients we saw on rounds. . . they are very talented and we are all very busy! I am looking forward to learning more so that I can be more helpful soon. By the end of the day I took care of three patients on my own--> I was even allowed to diagnose them and write them prescriptions on my own! </div><br /><div>7) Last, but certainly not least, mosquitos have somehow managed to penetrate my 25% DEET protection as I have 3 bites on my right leg today! With so many cases of malaria, I definitely appreciate your prayers that I will not get it myself. I will continue to spray myself, use the nets at night, and take my doxycycline prophylaxis so I should be in good shape, but I always appreciate your prayers as well.</div><br /><div>Much love and many blessings!</div><div>Nawun Passi Alafia! (God give you health!)</div><br /><div></div>Amarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124101843432394805noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354593528803188110.post-40701720293827632862007-11-20T20:41:00.000+00:002008-12-09T18:51:16.396+00:00Day 3: Introduction to the HospitalNi Zanoori!<br />(Good evening! in Mampruli)<br /><br />Today Albert and I started in the hospital. It was a challenging first day because the degree of disease is so severe here and even though we were sort of expecting it, it was tough to see first-hand little children suffering from horrible malnutrition and malaria. Albert also went to surgery today, he helped deliver a stillborn 6-month-old (gestational age) baby :-( and did an exploratory surgery to find and repair a bowel perforation from Typhoid disease! Albert worked very hard today and I was glad to see him this evening, since I left early with an upset stomach (which is now feeling better.) I look forward to starting clinic tomorrow. (Clinic days = M, W, F; surgery days=T, Th)<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDwVtd-VARhv36KgXhtNsVv1oS6c-0Q2dfCD-1bIt309W5GqJhtJcv630PYbYUCqUDc5QAJuFtm9-ralAzFT1gQbtWDANcgAJ-cGFlmeirl9gZ4Oef_mMmpEqb40oQ7ULIyRmvfZHCgNG9/s1600-h/IMG_0965.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5135029424507916786" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDwVtd-VARhv36KgXhtNsVv1oS6c-0Q2dfCD-1bIt309W5GqJhtJcv630PYbYUCqUDc5QAJuFtm9-ralAzFT1gQbtWDANcgAJ-cGFlmeirl9gZ4Oef_mMmpEqb40oQ7ULIyRmvfZHCgNG9/s320/IMG_0965.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />This is a picture of me in my bed with mosquito netting around it to protect me from the malaria-ridden mosquitos around here.<br /><br />Blessings and good night, Friends!Amarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124101843432394805noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354593528803188110.post-1359592944030519792007-11-19T21:48:00.000+00:002008-12-09T18:51:16.687+00:00Day 2: To Nalerigu We GoHere is Albert standing in front of the smaller plane we took from Accra to Tamale:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAfdSDkaLud0qJH4OaePdgVzIYeZEVL7iER041OD2bGr7R_yyX6RoRsPKIF9ajJWYzf8uWB6cBtgwU9Z7d-wgeTAyFJoiStvHgIRsoq8rTaY4cTNSWyDDEqAZel-Hp5M7oxijv-CXuZWnz/s1600-h/IMG_0951.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5134672297977254354" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAfdSDkaLud0qJH4OaePdgVzIYeZEVL7iER041OD2bGr7R_yyX6RoRsPKIF9ajJWYzf8uWB6cBtgwU9Z7d-wgeTAyFJoiStvHgIRsoq8rTaY4cTNSWyDDEqAZel-Hp5M7oxijv-CXuZWnz/s320/IMG_0951.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Here I am in front of the small dirt road airport in Tamale before our 3 hour drive to Nalerigu:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8dfBErc9OoG5_KhY6De4tBH4h9HbYZULX6TdMhu8B4CB1AbufKtqxkXJT__Kzqlkbr9T_qnOmOGgm0arffNYX_pP96ryJsuqmfrrvlSAnCRn0tyP7cVQjq8WHW3QKUA3ZETyJCZzKqabK/s1600-h/IMG_0952.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5134672624394768866" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8dfBErc9OoG5_KhY6De4tBH4h9HbYZULX6TdMhu8B4CB1AbufKtqxkXJT__Kzqlkbr9T_qnOmOGgm0arffNYX_pP96ryJsuqmfrrvlSAnCRn0tyP7cVQjq8WHW3QKUA3ZETyJCZzKqabK/s320/IMG_0952.jpg" border="0" /></a>Amarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124101843432394805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354593528803188110.post-15752002102550571522007-11-19T01:39:00.000+00:002008-12-09T18:51:16.759+00:00Day 1: Akwaaba!<strong>Akwaaba (welcome) from Ghana!</strong><br /><br />Amara and I just arrived in Accra, the capital of Ghana a couple of hours ago (11pm GMT local time) and were pleasantly greeted by Jimmy, a missionary worker at the Ghana Baptist Mission. It's cool to be greeted at the airport with a person waiting with your last name on it. Made me feel special.. heh<br /><br />It's been a long journey so far, but we're almost there! Here's a recap of our travels until now..<br /><br /><em>Friday </em>- Send off pizza dinner with Chanda, Heather, Heidi & Mike; hit the road at 10pm, leaving from Portland, OR on our way down to Union City, CA.<br /><em>Saturday </em>- Arrived at Jerki's home in Union City at 8:30am, had breakfast, got cleaned up, had lunch together with Jerm and Vince (our last meal on U.S. soil), and then whisked off to the airport. Departed from SFO at 4:15pm heading towards Heathrow airport in London, UK.<br /><em>Sunday </em>- Arrived in London at 10:00am, walked around the airport shops, had a yummy lunch at Pret A Manger (I had a Swedish meatball wrap and Amara had a five-bean cassoulet), then departed for Ghana at around 3:00pm (our flight was delayed about an hour). Got here at 11pm, spent a long time going through immigration, but made it through customs, got our luggage, and got a ride to the Accra Guesthouse here.<br /><br />Tomorrow, we'll be leaving bright and early at 5am to go back to the airport and take a flight to Tamale (in Northern Ghana). Then, we'll be driving a few hours to get to our final destination, the Baptist Medical Centre in Nalerigu.<br /><br />Please continue to pray for us as we finish our travel, get acclimated/oriented to a new place, meet new people, and begin our work. Thanks!<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R0IEXgrWViI/AAAAAAAABLs/11FKtLvDpLw/s1600-h/IMG_0945.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/R0IEXgrWViI/AAAAAAAABLs/11FKtLvDpLw/s320/IMG_0945.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5134671327111042594" /></a>Alberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13192437345028972071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354593528803188110.post-36729473330563308962007-11-11T07:08:00.000+00:002008-12-09T18:51:17.333+00:00Day (minus)-7: Packing UpWe started packing up stuff today to see how everything would fit together.<br /><br />Thanks to our friend Rachel who helps with the REMEDY program (Medical Equipment for the Developing World) here, we were able to collect a large amount of donated medical supplies to bring with us. Our friends Carolyn & Jim from church helped give us some candy, stickers, and ribbons to bring for the kids in Ghana. In addition, since hearing about our trip, we've been receiving packages from various people wanting to send stuff to Nalerigu. We'll be bringing letters from a class of 4th graders in Missouri, art supplies, DVDs, and other small gift items.<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/RzarizWi1uI/AAAAAAAABK4/CK4dbPtf9EY/s1600-h/IMG_0937.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/RzarizWi1uI/AAAAAAAABK4/CK4dbPtf9EY/s320/IMG_0937.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5131477439823927010" /></a><br /><br />Amara's mom brought us a very cool and expandable piece of luggage (tall, shiny black piece in the middle) that was able to fit most of the medical supplies.<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/RzarvTWi1vI/AAAAAAAABLA/vR0NBdb7Yd8/s1600-h/IMG_0938.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/RzarvTWi1vI/AAAAAAAABLA/vR0NBdb7Yd8/s320/IMG_0938.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5131477654572291826" /></a><br /><br />At an Adidas warehouse sale, we were able to pick up matching caps to protect our noggins from the blistering sun for only $3 each!<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/Rzar5DWi1wI/AAAAAAAABLI/hJQpHbxVg_8/s1600-h/IMG_0942.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyJy9mmpV74/Rzar5DWi1wI/AAAAAAAABLI/hJQpHbxVg_8/s320/IMG_0942.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5131477822076016386" /></a>Alberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13192437345028972071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354593528803188110.post-79889679776051892122007-11-09T07:27:00.000+00:002007-11-09T07:29:21.986+00:00Welcome!We will be posting pictures and stories from our trip here. Thanks for visiting!Alberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13192437345028972071noreply@blogger.com0