Koinonia in October

October 17, 2015

Greetings from rainy Congo!  Every morning for the past week we wake up to the sound of rain.  Although we love the rain, it does become tiresome,,,especially on a night like tonight when we got stuck in it on an evening walk.  

The Fein Family and Samaritan's Purse Family

Maternity Ward Opening

This last week we had some very special visitors to Nyankunde from the US to commemorate the opening of the newly renovated maternity building.  Congo is one of the countries with the highest maternal-child mortality rates in the world.  We see this reality on a regular basis.  A young man by the name of Gabe Fein, affectionately known as the “Cakeman” and his sister Livvy have been raising money through Samaritan’s Purse by making and decorating cakes for the last year or so.  They really wanted to use their gifts to benefit others, in particular women and children.  Their story has inspired us to serve for the glory of God with whatever gifts we have.  No one is too young to be used by God.  They even were able to bake cupcakes in our wood-burning oven, which was a first.  This was an opportunity to talk about the fact that most household do not have ovens and that firewood and charcoal are commodities that are reserved for cooking meals.  Bread, and definitely cupcakes, are a bit of a luxury.  To read more about Gabe and Livvy check out their facebook page or Samaritan's Purse website:  http://www.samaritanspurse.org/gift-catalog/sweet-giving/?&utm_source=SPFacebook&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=m_Y000-SOCM_SocialMedia&utm_content=10-02-GabeLandingPage#main-story.   

Vicky, Livvy, and Gabe Fein

Baking cupcakes in a wood burning oven

opening of the newly renovated maternity building.

The inauguration consisted of a big celebration with lots of speeches, tours, and a big feast.  It felt a bit like a wedding.  The renovations included installing better lighting and an independent solar system, plumbing for several hand-washing stations, and private rooms.  There is a new sanitary block with toilets and shower facilities, as well as a new place for women to wash their clothing.  It is very timely that these changes are taking place as we are hoping that it improves our infection rates and ultimately reduces maternal-child mortality.  It is our hope that we become more and more of a   Ultimately we want to communicate to women and children that they are greatly loved by God and

Maternity nurses in matching celebratory outfits

provide a nice environment for them.

referral center for at risk pregnancies and gynecologic care.

We are becoming quite a referral center for chronic health problems, gynecologic problems included.  It amazes us to see how long people stay at home with obviously debilitating tumors, difficulty urinating, broken bones, and infections.    I think sometimes people are hoping for a miracle, a magic pill, or simply that you use a machine on them and they are suddenly healed.  Sometimes people look at us backwards when we say that there are no medical treatments to cure their condition.  This is one of the more difficult aspects of our job here.

A Book Recommendation

I would like to recommend an excellent book written by a friend of ours named, Justin Wren, called “Fight for the Forgotten.”  He is affectionately named the “Big Pygmy.”  Over the last few years he has worked in partnership with a local university in Bunia called Shalom to acquire land and drill wells for pygmy tribes in the area.  He humbly tells his life story from how he goes from a life of addiction and professional fighting to real “fighting” for one of the most oppressed people in this country.  There are people who do not believe that pygmees are humans.  Justin’s life was transformed by Jesus, or as he says God “loved the hell out of him.”  It is an excellent book.  I was reminded that God sees and advocates for these people and asks us to participate in His work.  “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:  to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke”  (Isaiah 58: 6).  He see the injustice and suffering of the pygmees and has used this man, Justin Wren and his Congolese team, to transform what is unjust.  Take a look at this book!

Our Growing Child

It is such a joy watching Emmanuel grow.  He seems to be figuring out his world more and more.  He   Occasionally I hear what sounds like a French word like, “bien.”  Most of the time I am not sure what he is saying, but he really likes to participate in the conversation.  He will grow up speaking two and probably three languages (English, French, and Swahili) as we have Congolese people in our home daily.  We anticipate that he will learn the same number of words developmentally as other kids, but that he will not know as many in one language and perhaps seem delayed.  It will be really interesting how he sorts it all out.  Here are some of his favorite activities:

makes a lot of varied sounds and says, “Momma, Daddy, and Cocoa” most consistently.

1)   Putting his toys in the oven, closing the door, and opening it again (trying to curb this one)

2)   Throwing balls for his dog Cocoa

3)   Running after Daddy around the house…or following Daddy anywhere

4)   Chasing the chickens

5)   Attempting to climb the fence

6)   Drinking out of everyone’s cups

7)   Imitating bird calls (his favorite is the crow)

8)   Taking everything out of his crib

9)   Walking to Jazira’s house wanting to play

10) Dancing to any and all music (even the chickens clucking)

Thoughts on Koinonia

What is true fellowship?  What does it mean to truly connect with another human being?  Is it simply sharing common interests (like a soccer club), hobbies, or professions?  Have you ever joined a club and still felt like an outsider after a considerable amount of time? We have been thinking a lot and struggling to build community.  Biblical fellowship is different than other fellowship.  Fellowship between fellow Christians is often referred to as Koinonia and refers to a deep connectedness.  It is a Greek word that occurs some 20 times in Scripture…so it appears to be very important to the Christian life. 

What we receive from our relationship with Christ should naturally spill over into our relationships with others.   As Paul says in Philippians 2: 1-2, “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy likeminded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.” It is very clear that if we say that we have fellowship with God the Father we can have true fellowship with one another.  If we do not stay connected to God we cannot have true fellowship with another.  “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.” 

Characteristics of this koinonia are: devotion, honor, living in harmony, acceptance, service, kindness and compassion, admonishment, encouragement, spurring on one another, hospitality, and loving one another.  We really want to work on these characteristics as we relate to our fellow missionaries and serve the Congolese.  We realize that it is difficult to have true koinonia and just how easy it is for bitter roots to develop within a fellowship.  Please pray with us that as a team we will grow in our love and devotion for Christ, and thus our love and devotion to one another.  Pray that these characteristics of koinonia would permeate our missionary community.  Thank you!

We appreciate your interest in our lives and ministry.  Enjoy these last pictures of several birthdays and a picture of community life.

Blessings,

Lindsey Cooper

Another shared birthday celebrated together

Miriam's birthday party

The Larochelle Family, celebrating Miriam's first birthday

Crossing a river to the Samaritan's Purse community gardens

Emmanuel and Lukas Folmer

Jazira's second birthday

A typical night at our house in the baby tent

Trip to Epulu & Coffee Harvest

September 20, 2015

Mapenzi’s Story

She was breathing quickly and was too weary to sit.  Her mother's brow was furrowed.  I kept looking at Mapenzi’s body and her date of birth on the intake, thinking to myself  “There is no way she is 7 years old.  She looks to be about 3.”  But the mother insisted that she was indeed 7 years old.  A few questions later we learned that Mapenzi’s grandfather had just died of tuberculosis.  My first concern was that Mapenzi also had tuberculosis.  However the mother's first concern was, "how will we eat in the hospital?  I have no one.  I have no husband and my parents are dead and my other child is sick at home with the neighbor."  The family had not eaten in over a day since arriving to the hospital. 

This story illustrates is a fairly common occurrence.  The children who enter our nutrition program have multiple social problems and are often in great need.  The children are weak.  The families are stressed.  What was uncommon about this story was the degree of this woman’s loss.  Most people have someone to look after them.  This mother was truly alone.  You could just see the stress melt from the mother’s face as we told her Mama Ruth, the nutrition program cook, would look after her needs.

In the days that followed we learned more of her story. At the urging of friends and neighbors this mother brought Mapenzi to the hospital after three days of mourning of her father’s passing.  The villagers insisted that she would be taken care of at Nyankunde.  This warmed my heart, "They will take care of you."  We learned that the woman's whole family had been killed during the war.  Her two children had been attending a local heath center for nutritional supplements, but Mapenzi in particular was not doing well.  Mapenzi has received blood transfusions to correct severe anemia. She has started on tuberculosis treatment and in the therapeutic feeding program and is gaining the strength to sit and stand again. Her cough is decreasing.  She is on the road to recovery, with her mother and brother at her side.

I feel blessed to be part of something I KNOW makes a difference.  The causes of poverty and malnutrition are deep and complex.  There is no simple

solution.  But we can carry people through really difficult times and we watch

them pick their lives back up again.  I have lost hope in some parents for their

situations to change, but I can say that I am often wrong.  Often it is the

person you least expect to change who will.  People need someone to believe in

them and to experience the love of Christ through us. 

A Trip to Epulu

We were fortunate enough to take a short trip to Epulu Nature Preserve last week.  This is a very special place dedicated to the preservation of local species including a native endangered species of DRC in the giraffe family called the okapi.  The preserve plans to re-establish a select number of okapi in captivity in the next few months so the world can see this unique animal.  We woke up to the sound of African grey parrots and monkeys in the trees.  We went on a few nature hikes and actually saw the traces of a recent troup of elephants.  There is a kind of mystique to knowing the animal been there but not actually seeing it.

Checking everybody out, looking for a friend

  

Found a buddy!

Such confidence...I don't think he knows why he is different than them

Emmanuel loved splashing in the shallow pools around the riverside.  We spent some time with our friends Jon and Cher Cadd and Rosie a Swiss woman who helps to operate the reserve.  Rosie was a wonderful host, showing us around and spoiling us with wonderful evening meals.  Jon is a MAF pilot and was doing some wildlife surveys in the area as well as looking for encroachment on the park by poaching or logging.  Conservation in this part of the world means protecting the land from misuse and attempting to re-establish populations of rare species.  The local pygmees have such a dependent relationship on what the rainforest provides…from how to extract water from plants to harvesting honey from hives high up in trees.  It is really nice to be able to get away from time-to-time in country.  We look forward to seeing more wildlife and conservation efforts in DRC. 

A Recent Visitor

We were fortunate to welcome Dr. Kimiko Sugimoto, an American surgeon, to Nyankunde Hospital this past month.  She grew up in DRC and even lived here in this village for a short time.  This was

Dr. Kimiko (front left)

her second visit to our hospital and it was a blessing to have her with us again.  The staff of the hospital is encouraged by visitors as this allows them to learn new things.  Her presence allowed Warren to work on some projects and even build a chicken coop.  She even helped him remove a cyst from our dog Cocoa.  She really looked for ways to be helpful and relieve the surgical load.  Thank you Kimiko.  We will miss you.

Chickens and Coffee

The newest addition to our household are three hens named Kim Jun, Plastic, and Flower (named by various children).  Warren designed and built a chicken coop, which looks like a treehouse about 6

This sweet boy Jebel Miller climbed up into the chicken coop thinking it was a treehouse...then got stuck

feet off the ground.  For the first few days the chickens kept flying into the surrounding trees at night to roost….then we clipped their wings.  Since clipping their wings they are sleeping in their chicken coop.  We are hoping for eggs soon.  It remains to be seen if a male chicken is needed for the females to lay eggs.  It is a learning process.  I am glad that Warren likes to experiment with new animals…a cow might be next.

We are harvesting the first coffee from Warren's coffee plants from two years ago.  He is learning all about the growing, drying, shelling, roasting process.  How fun that we will be drinking our own home grown coffee!  

Playing in the new sandbox with friends

Harvesting coffee with nanny Maziga

Fresh Milk for Pediatrics

This past week the pediatric department ran out of therapeutic milk for the re-feeding program.  We completely ran out!  For the Congolese this is a common occurrence to run out of things, but for me this is not at all normal.  This milk rupture was anticipated, as we are still waiting for the importation of more therapeutic milk through UNICEF and other organizations.  Since mid-week we are making our own F75 milk with a combination of fresh milk, sugar, oil, electrolyte solution, and water.  I am thankful that we live in a farming area where cows are in abundance.  During wartime the hospital was often lacked therapeutic milk and had to come up with local solutions.  Pray for our hospital and continued management of children with malnutrition.  Our census has decreased these past weeks which is a blessing.

Thanks for your interest in our lives and for praying for us.  As you can see by all the kid photos, this is a busy and full season.  We enjoying our life here in DRC.  

If you want to be more involved in our work here, drop us an email.

Lindsey (for the Coopers)

Community Life in a Village

August 2015

Greetings from Nyankunde!  It is a peaceful and rainy Sunday morning.  Our baby is sleeping,  Warren is roasting coffee, and I am catching up on correspondence.  We have found our lives to be very full with a very active little boy.  Emmanuel is starting to walk and is gaining strength and agility.  He is very curious about everything and seems to be decoding his world.  Here is a list of his top daily activities:

1) Open and close doors.  

2) Drop everything and then pick it up.  

3) Hide and then "pop out." 

4) Climb over and go under.

5) Eat and then spit it out (or gag oneself).  

6) Play with puppy and crawl all over her.  

7) Unplug the nightlight.

8) Turn on all the buttons on the fan.

9) Take a bath and then roll in the dirt.

10) Hide under the hamper with a flashlight
11) Splashing in the outdoor puddle pool

12) Hugs!!!  

It is a real joy to see him learning and growing everyday,  He hears Swahili everyday and has learned to wave when he hears “tutuanana” which means “we’ll see each other later.”  Now if we can only coordinate our nap times so I can get some rest too.

We have welcomed a new family, the Larochelles, and an obstetrician to Nyankunde.   They are integrating and learning about life in the village.  It has been been pause for me to think about “village life” and real community as we talk about realities of life.

Village Community Life

First in a village everyone knows everything.  It is hard (impossible even) to keep secrets and private life just looks different.  This was a reality when Emmanuel was born…everyone knew I had gone into labor and that I was having some health problems.  I could be lying in bed and hear people in the fields outside talking about my son and how I was doing.  One of the single doctors who lives alone was sick recently.  People came to her house daily to check on her, as they were genuinely concerned for her especially with her living alone.  It is nice to know that people really care and want to be involved in your life, but it can be hard to rest at times.

In a village your identity is in relation to others.  No one lives in isolation.  I am known as “Mama Emmanuel,” Warren’s wife, just as much I am known as “Doctor Lindsey.”  And it’s true- my child and my husband very much define who I am.  My relation to others is more important than what “I do.”  In a tribal society like the one in which I live, you really are who you are (customs, language, values) based on your relatives. There are a lot of orphaned children in the hospital right now so I have been thinking a lot about how their sense of identity must change.  Who do these children become?  Do they marry?

Interestingly, The Bible says that we are all orphans and aliens in this world.  So our identity in the earthly sense is less important.  Scripture tells us that there is “one body and one Spirit-just as you were called to one hope when you were called-one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all” (Ephesians 4:4-5).  We belong to God the Father, to the body of Christ, and to the Spirit.  Someone could refer to me as “Lindsey, child of God and sister in Christ.”  This fact is even more important than that I am a mother, wife, or doctor. 

In a village you really need to find a way to get along with others.  In a village you rub elbows with everyone everyday.  There are people you get along well with and people you have differences of opinion with.  Sometimes in the west I think we become good at avoiding people and situations that we don’t want to deal with.  We probably also avoid conflict whenever we can.  Extended family may be estranged to one another.  In a village this does not work and is not good for the health of the community.  Paul says, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3).   It is important to work on relationships and work through differences…this is to the benefit of the entire body. 

In a village, people need each other to survive and men and women fall into more “traditional roles.”  In this culture as a woman, you really need a man to do the hard work of field preparation for crop planting.  As a woman your role is to work in the fields, harvest, prepare food for your family, and support your husband.  Can these gender roles change?  Yes, they can adapt to the situational needs.  I fall much more into these traditional roles here.  But the fact that Warren helps me cook sometimes or that I have a Congolese man helping me in the house is unusual and definitely makes me more “western.”

In a city, you can hide easier from others, associate with whom you like, and not need to depend on  

Our growing ex-pat medical community at Nyankunde

Don’t get me wrong.  I am not saying that village life is better.  In fact sometimes I wish I could hide out a little.  But village life does illustrate life in close community which is a positive thing and very Biblical.   It takes intentional effort to create community and foster relationships.  May the Lord awaken our spirits to living in close relationships with others.

others. You might not even realize that there may be another way to live.

News from Pediatrics

Have you ever struggled to be in the “in crowd,” to feel like you are understood and belong?  Living overseas puts you out of your element on a daily basis.  But I can honestly say that I “fit in” here now.  I am a foreigner and will always be a foreigner, but I feel like I am part of the family.  As I walked into the pediatrics building the other night to check on a patient I was greeted warmly by everyone in the room with waves and “Hi Doc.”  It warmed my heart.  The room was full of people sitting on the floor, the beds, and kids walking to-and-fro.  There was a lot of interest over the patient I had come to see on a Sunday night. 

Recently I felt very appreciated by a mother for taking care of her 1year old daughter named Zawadi. She was hospitalized in May with “failure to thrive,” in other words malnutrition.  After a month of increasing her calories I could not get her to gain weight.  Then she developed pneumonia.  This led me to believe that she had tuberculosis.  After weeks and weeks of treatment for tuberculosis she began gaining weight, playing, and doing developmentally normal things.  This is why I do my job.  There are daily frustrations.  There are families that disappear from the hospital during treatment.  There are patients that continue to get so sick despite everything you do.  There are patients that you can not diagnose precisely.  There are people who simply don’t believe they have the disease and don’t follow your advice….or maybe start to believe it after the third hospital admission for the same problem.  But then there are kids like Zawadi who achieve a cure.  We give God all the glory for these victories.

A New Addition

Building a fire together

I am not sure if I announced the completion of one of Warren’s projects, a wood-burning oven.  It is outside off our back patio.  It is perfect for baking breads and pizza and would be absolutely perfect for cooking a turkey.  I like it better than my wimpy indoor oven.  This one gets so hot that it cracks the thermometer and singes the hair on your arms if you reach in too far.  There is always a new project underway for my husband.  He also just completed a geodesic dome out of metal for Emmanuel to play in.  

Warren's geodesic dome and homemade swing

That’s all for now. 

Thank you for your prayers and interest in our lives. 

Love,

Lindsey (for the Coopers)

Just having fun

  

Rehabilitation of the old maternity building at Nyankunde is underway!