Preparation

July 27, 2014
 Prayer

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:6-7.

A Baby Bedroom

Some of your have been interested in seeing our developing nursery.  So here you go...

It is quickly becoming my favorite room in the house.  We are so thankful for the many generous gifts of friends and family and for finding nice things on Craigs List.  This little one will be well provided for.  Two years ago, we packed many baby items to bring with to Congo-hoping for a baby in the near future.  We are amazed at how everything goes to good use out here.  The locally made mahogany rocking chair and cradle are our unique additions.

Our baby homecoming outfit will be made with this.
Love the vibrant colors

Nyankunde Sports Camp

We have been pleased to get to know three amazing young people from California these past 3 weeks: Sarah, Mec, and Troy.  These young people came to conduct the third annual Nyankunde Youth Sports Camp and to encourage the young people in their walks with God through the study of the teachings of Jesus in the book of Matthew.  They are a delightful bunch and so encouraging to the Congolese youth, each with a witness of how God is working in their lives.  It is amazing how they have formed strong friendships cross-culturally.

Many Congolese students from previous years’ camps have had their university studies funded with the promise of returning to Nyankunde after graduation to give back and be part of the re-building process.  It has been very encouraging to meet many of these Congolese youth.  Pray for the missions team as they return tomorrow.

Thanks for your love and support in our lives.  Stay tuned as we wait in expectation...

Lindsey and Warren

Banana bread and passionfruit juice on a Sunday afternoon

Troy, Mec, and Sarah

Youth concert at the conclusion of sports camp
(new youth center pictured in back)

July: Rhythm of Rest

July 14, 2014

Rhythm of Rest

“Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.”  Exodus 20:9-10

As an American I value being busy and getting things accomplished.  I like to look at a list at the end of

On an evening walk on the MAF airstrip

the day and feel a sense of fulfillment from what I have done.  It is much harder for me to feel that I have accomplished something by resting….Early on during our time here on the field I began to feel tired.  I felt that I had to see my patients everyday, including Sunday.  It was hard for me to consider that something bad might happen if I was not there.  It is easy to think that everything depends on you, but it is not true.  I realized on our first vacation that I couldn’t/shouldn’t keep this up.  For the last year or so we have been diligent about keeping a Sabbath day of rest every week.  This might mean taking on a different project, going for hikes, reading/catching up on correspondence, sleeping.  At first this was not natural, but now it is my favorite day of the week.  I have even tried to move my cooking to Saturday in order to not have this obligation on the Sabbath.

During this pregnancy I also have tried to be more diligent about rest.  I really feel that I am in the process of waiting, waiting for this little one to come into the world.  As the baby kicks me I am reminded of the one I will meet soon.  It is fun to wonder about what this little one will be like and to pray for the future.  I think God knew what He was doing when he made human

gestation to be 9months, during which time we are forced to slow down.  The change to parenthood is a big one and He must know that this time is needed to adjust and make me more attentive.

God seems to value rest alongside work, as He demonstrates in the Creation.  It says, “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.  And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”  Genesis 2:2-3  It doesn’t really say what God did on this day, except that he rested and it was distinctly different from work.  I can imagine that God sat back and enjoyed His creation, all things that have the breath of life.  He enjoyed what He had created.  It is my prayer that we learn to live in the enjoyment of what God is doing in our lives.

On Language

Learning a foreign language is a humbling, but fun process.  I use Swahili on a daily basis in talking with parents and children.  People are so happy that you try to speak with them, even if your pronunciation or word order isn’t quite right.  Many words that used to sound alike to me, I can now differentiate.   “Kukohoa (cough),” “kukoja (urinate),” “kukononia (breastfeed)” used to sound the same to me, but now I can hear the sounds.  The verb for breathing and passing air are the same “kupumzi.”  That makes sense if the meaning of the word is the passage of air.  Other expressions are just fun…like taking a flight somewhere is “safari ndege (bird safari)”!  There are lots of examples of this.  Often a word can be used in many different ways and just needs to be modified in context.  I can usually understand the context of what people are saying even if I don’t understand every word.  Maybe I will be semi-fluent in another year?  Half of learning a language is intentionality and simply wanting to learn and not being afraid to make mistakes.  I think God gave Africans a special facility with languages, as most people here speak a minimum of at least 3-4 languages.

One of my little patients in the malnutrition program is only 18months old or so and understands Wabira, the language of the local tribe the Bira.  He used to cry all the time and barely be able to open his eyes due to tissue edema.  He has lost his edema and is a happy little boy once again in only 4 weeks.  I have learned how to greet him in Bira, which is “Nebo.”  He seems to understand and accept me now.  Language really is paramount in relating to people, even toddlers!

A Trip to Beni

We just returned from a weekend trip to Beni, about a 3.5hour trip into the forest.  This is our probably

our last road trip before the baby is born.  The original purpose was to shop for a rocking chair at a local woodshop.  It was also an opportunity to transport a team of people to visit students from Nyankunde who have received scholarships to study in Beni.  In the US you would probably go to a nice furniture store and try out multiple chairs or special order something.  In Congo rocking chairs are

hard to come by.  We remembered one we saw a few months ago.  So now we have a beautiful mahogany cradle and rocking chair, made locally!  The cradle has even withstood the weight of Warren curling up in it.

It was inspiring to see the students who have received scholarships to study at local Christian universities with the goal of returning to Nyankunde to serve for a set period of time.  We listened to them singing and praying for one another in English and French today, and complete some interviews on their experiences.  It is true that they are the future of this village as they give back and lead.

 

The cradle appears to be solid

Machine (the woodworker) and me

Scholarship recipients studying in Beni and Butembo

Medicine

I continue to improve my clinical skills to work in this setting.  I saw an interesting case last week of a girl with chronic abdominal colic of several years duration.  Common things are common, but her story and the re-enactment of her pain suggested a more complicated etiology.  Her abdominal ultrasound

Making ultrasound gel.  Notice my funnel is a resuscitation mask.

demonstrated a pancreatic pseudocyst and stones in the pancreatic duct.  Warren operated on her this week to allow internal drainage of this cyst which should help with her pain.  I have seen similar cases in the past, but never been part of the diagnostic work-up.  In the US we would send such a patient for an abdominal CT scan and here, well, your diagnosis depends on your clinical suspicion and ultrasound skills.  It is challenging, but even fun.  It is great to work with people who can help me learn these skills.

Thank you for your financial support

We want to send a public thank you to all of our supporters, many of whom remain anonymous.  We appreciate your partnership and interest in our ministry.  These last few months we have been able to make continued contributions to the malnutrition/indigent patient fund, travel to and from Greece for continued medical education, update our nursery with some needed furniture, and do some necessary home repairs.  We have even had a new beehive built in hopes of starting a new bee colony!  A milking cow might be next!  If I were only kidding...We really would not be able to do these things without

Outdoor bathtub renovations

you.


With love and blessings,

Lindsey and Warren

June greetings from Nyankunde

June 22, 2014

Pregnancy Progresses

June is coming to a close and I am one month closer to giving birth, now 32weeks gestation.  With each passing day the baby seems to be getting bigger and stronger and making its’ presence known.  It’s amazing the little things you can know about a baby before birth, like their sensitivity to noise.  I spend my mornings rounding on kids in the hospital and any time a child cries, the little one in my womb turns and kicks.  It seems more aware of its’ surroundings.  When I am quiet, the baby is the most active…but on busy days the womb is quieter. 

Do you see the hand?

I am thankful for this pregnancy period and the time to prepare for this major life change.  This past week I painted the nursery on my day off…not sure if this is nesting behavior or not.  We have the benefit of having inherited many baby items.  Decorating the nursery will take some creativity.  We were able to bring many baby items with us to Congo 2 years ago such as a stroller, crib, changing table, rocking chair, mobile, clothing/bedding, etc.  At the time it seemed like advance planning, but now I am very thankful to have these items.  We are having a mahogany cradle made by a charming gentleman in our village named Machine.  Warren and I have been thinking about how fun it would be to design and make wooden toys…so stay tuned for this possible side hobby.

I find myself wondering more and more what this little one will be like, look like, etc.  I am looking forward to the coming chapter of motherhood and less clinical duties. 

Clinical Challenges

Speaking of clinical duties/challenges, these past few weeks I have been caring for two children with

A special patient following treatment for a jaw tumor

varied degrees of right heart failure from malformed heart valves.  Patients that would normally be referred to a specialist in the US and require expensive tests (cardiac catheterization, MRIs, echos) simply walk in the door here.  They usually come with incomplete records, an obscure history, and a complete ignorance of what medications they have been on….a table rasa.  Over the past 1.5years, I find myself doing cardiac echos on a weekly basis and slowly but surely improving my skills at performing and interpreting this test. 

Two weeks ago, a young girl came in with a large heart, dizziness, and shortness of breath.  I immediately did an echocardiogram, confirmed that she was in cardiac tamponade and needed a drain to be placed immediately to drain this fluid.  Her heart anatomy was so distorted that I could barely find her left ventricle.  She had such a large fluid accumulation around her heart (a pericardial effusion) that it was causing severe cardiac dysfunction.  With Warren’s help, I placed my first pericardial drain.  Her breathing improved immediately and she felt better.  Over the last 2 weeks we have been trying to better characterize her valve problem and manage her heart failure.  Our hospital is the closest referral center from their home 150km away, so it looks like I will be her long-standing “fill-in cardiologist.”  At what point do I send her home, knowing the risks of this fluid accumulating around her heart again?    What guidance for home do I give? I can confidently say is that she cannot carry 25L jerry cans of water on her head anymore!  I can also give practical dietary advice for avoiding anemia and to come to a hospital not a health center when she is sick with fever.  This is just a sample of one of the complex patients I am faced with everyday. 

A quick story from our malnutrition program here at Nyankunde.  About 2.5months ago a mother and

The twins, their mother and grandmother

her twins were evacuated from their home by our Samaritan’s Purse team in a state of severe malnutrition.  The mother was so weak that she had to be carried to the road.  They have been recovering in the hospital for the last few months, the babies steadily gaining weight and learning how to eat solid foods.  The mother now has the strength to work again and the courage to try again.  It is difficult to understand how someone can become so severely malnourished, but we are grateful that they are recovering.  The real work begins now as they return home to farm the fields and rebuild their lives.  It is very difficult for women to make it in this culture without a male head of household.  It seems that so much of the poverty we see is related to the lack of social support in the nuclear family.  Pray for this family as they return to their home.

Nurse Bora, twins and their family, and Rachel a maternal/child health expert with Samaritan's Purse

The nutritional program continues to expand.  We have an average of 16-20 patients at any given

Our stock of F100 and F75

time.  Just keeping up with the hours of food preparation and distribution is a full-time job.  I am realizing what a unique opportunity it is to build a rapport with these mothers and minister to their spiritual needs.

Prayer Requests

1)   Strength and rest for this last trimester of pregnancy. 

2)   For renewal in the church and family, for men to rise up as leaders of their households.

3)   For Lindsey as she wants to minister to the spiritual needs of mothers and children in the malnutrition program.  The needs are endless, but God can provide for their needs and we are part of that.

4)   It is mango season here in Congo, please pray for less injuries and an awareness of the dangers of tree climbing.

A special visitor to our home, Ed Densham

From Warren

Yes, pregnancy has been hard on me too.  The mood swings, the cravings, the fatigue and general irritability!  I've experienced it all.  I've been eating plenty of cookies in order to sympathize with the weight gain.  In a short while it will all be over and life will be back to normal again!  At least this is what I tell myself.  I suspect the reality will be somewhat different.  Fortunately for me the gender roles here in Congo are strict and well-defined.  The woman is pretty much expected to do all the work.  

Things are going well.  I continue to struggle with my series of surgical nightmares, but I promised myself I wouldn't mention any gory details.  Besides that I keep myself busy gardening, riding my motorcycle, running, and playing an addictive game on the Ipad called "Threes".  Let the reader beware, do NOT under ANY circumstances download this game.  Your life productivity will take a serious hit.  

Thanks for your interest and your prayers.  We appreciate it!

My little friend helped me to write this post!