Warren finally writes something...

Warren here. It has been a while since I wrote a post on this blog.  Lindsey is better than me at keeping things up to date, but I thought I would add my own two cents.

The big news is that I am no longer the only surgeon at Nyankunde Hospital.  We recently saw the arrival of the Stafford family. He is a General Surgeon and she is OB/GYN.  They have two small kids.  Their arrival was the culmination of a long and circuitous journey, made possible through the Post-Residency Program of Samaritan’s Purse.  This amazing program facilitates the transition from Residency to the mission field.  It takes motivated physicians who feel the call to the mission field and provides them with the support to get there.  We met the Stafford’s several years ago and they expressed to us the call that they felt to come and serve in Congo.  Getting them out here has been like battling the Lernaean Hydra.  With every serpentine head cut off, two seemed to grow in its place.  There was Ebola, Covid, closed borders, political problems, security challenges, housing challenges, etc.  Their journey took them to Switzerland for language study.  The decision was made to send them to Togo.  Now, against all odds and all reasonable advice, they are here!  My approach to recruitment has always been to give visitors every reason not to come, and then see what happens.  I have no intention of trying to convince anyone to come here.  It just doesn’t work well.  Anyway, they are here...and now I can start slacking.  

Having two surgeons will open new horizons.  It is so great to have a young surgeon who is full of energy and ready to teach more patiently than myself.  It will elevate the standard of care and will bring a level of cooperative energy that we have sorely lacked.  Congo is in great need of surgical training.  It has been my prayer for the past decade that perhaps one day we could start a formal surgical training program here.  Having two surgeons is a significant step in that direction and I look forward to seeing what God will do in this place.  

Life in Nyankunde continues on, despite the challenges.  The hospital is in dire financial need and the level of morale is low.  At the present time, we have only two nurses working in the OR and giving anesthesia.  Salaries have not been paid in months.  Due to the security situation we do not have many patients being referred for elective surgery.  We end up doing mostly emergency surgery. This is ok, and is certainly needed, but emergency patients do not pay.  They are generally poor.  They often have complex orthopedic problems which require repeated operations and consume medical resources.  They need blood, but don’t have blood donors.  Many of them are injured as a result of tribal violence.  We do our best to save life and limb, and with every patient the hospitals sinks deeper into a financial hole.  It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad.  If we had a few elective cases such as hernias, prostatectomies, cholecystectomies, it would provide some income for the hospital.  The rumors in Bunia are that Nyankunde is very unsafe and that it is the base of operations of the militia.  These are not exactly true, but the rumors keep paying patients away, often to their own detriment.  

We are doing our best to try to counter these rumors, and help to put a positive face on the hospital.  We are working on several strategies to provide “good press”.  I’ve encouraged our administration to try to think out of the box.  We have recently had a few referrals from the outside which will hopefully help to counteract some of the negative perceptions.  I have a few ideas.  More on that subject to come.  Still, for the moment, it feels like we are in survival mode, or something less.  

Despite everything, we are doing well.  Emmanuel is making tremendous strides in school.  He is starting to read and write.  He is becoming quite the artist.  Favorite subjects are airplanes, sharks, his friends, flying snakes and other mythical beasts.  No Hydras, yet, but we will work on that.  It feels like he is in the process of working out his identity.  What we love most of all is that he is kind.  He is genuinely concerned for others.  We have to stop him from giving away all his toys.  Having a child grow up is a chance to once again experience all of the joys and sorrows of childhood that we all went through but perhaps forgot.  It is not always easy, but it is so great, and so much fun.  Lindsey is busy treating kids, planting things, harvesting soy, hosting, and basically running the household.  We are in the dry season, and we both love it.  It has its downsides; the heat, the dust, the ever-present burning, but we love the sunshine and the ability to be outside.  The sunsets are fabulous.  

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I am, of course, never without a project of some sort.  My recent one was the construction of the “Hill Hut”.  Behind our house is a steep hill with a little winding path.  On our forays we discovered the ruins of a little hut.  It is around 7x7 feet, and is located on the top of a hill that commands nearly 360 degrees of incredible views.  Apparently it was once used for communications.  It has been in ruin for the past 30 or 40 years, far as I can tell.  Most of the foundation, the floor and about 1/2 of the walls were intact.  It seemed completely logical to me that we renovate this little hut as a destination to camp and watch the sunrise, the stars and the sunset.  With a brisk clip, it takes 15 minutes to get from our house to the hut.  It made sense until we starting carrying sand, cement, bricks and water up that steep trail.  I hired a team and they made innumerable trips up and down the hill.  It was exhausting. I bought a metal door and window and we constructed the walls around these.  We carried up lumber, roofing material, nails, tools, a ladder etc.  In the beginning Lindsey thought I was crazy.  By the end I was convinced that she was right.  These “little” projects always take more time, money and effort than I would have ever imagined.  But now it’s finished, and it is marvelous.  A 15 minute hike seems to take us to the top of the world.  There is always a cool breeze and I sit up there in a camp chair and watch the sun go down.  Something about a being on the top of a mountain with a great view just does something calming to my mind.  This little endeavor is probably cementing the notion in the population that the white man has gone off the deep end, but I don’t care.  If it provides a fun way to experience the outdoors, and gives me a sense of peace and closeness to God...it’s worth it.  We should all have ridiculous projects from time to time.  

If you made it this far, we reward you with a few prayer request.

Peace in our region

Adjustment of Stafford Family

Financial situation of the hospital

A time of refreshment and renewal for our family

Warren, for the Coopers

Many blessings to you this Christmas season!

December 27, 2020

Wishing our friends, families, and colleagues a very Merry Christmas! We hope you are staying healthy this holiday season. Thanks for the many of you who have sent your holiday greetings, photos, and prayer intentions. That is something that we love about this time of the year, people re-connecting and sharing their lives more intentionally. There are several things that stand out this year from the Gospel accounts of the birth of Jesus, the many promises that He fulfills from the Old Testament. Jesus came into a dark world, a world marred by injustice and Roman dominance. People longed for injustice to end and for a good leader, a leader they could follow. They must have wanted to find someone with authority to rule, not oppress, but truly look out for all people. There is a part in all of us too that longs for a true hero like this. We are told that a child would fulfill this prophesy, which means that Jesus would grow into this kind of leader. How fascinating it would have been to have known Jesus as a child, to see how he made friends, and to hear his make believe play. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 The characteristics of Jesus are those of a strong leader: a good counselor, strong, persevering Father, and peace-loving. He was all of those things and much more! May we all grow in our understanding of Jesus with every passing year.

Hospital Work We continue to go through a challenging season of hospital leadership, financial crisis due decreased hospital visits, a community struggling to turn away from ugly realities of tribalism, armed groups, and on-going insecurity and displacement here in eastern DRC. Some serious problems. Urgh….it has been really hard. We don’t have to look very far to see that there is not peace on earth. Still the last two months have been fairly calm and there is always reason for hope that better days are ahead. We have not had hundreds of displaced people on the hospital compound, or sleeping under trees by the river. We have found ourselves asking, “should we really put a new roof on that house? Is it worth it? What is going to happen in the next few months?” But in the end, we choose HOPE and INVESTMENT. We believe that God Is still God and can turn things for good. The hospital is still a refuge and place of healing for those going through hard times. These last months we have seen miracles-people who recovered despite great odds. Many very sick children come to mind who have recovered these last months. We provide a place for children to recover from malnutrition, a warm meal, and a safe and dry place to lay their heads. The children have a special outdoor playground and staff that care about them. We thank God that we have another Congolese doctor to help us out in this challenging season! Our staffing had decreased to essentially one Congolese doctor (!), 3 missionary doctors/1 nurse practitioner, and a training doctor. Our courageous Congolese doctor, Dr. Faustin, has been spending most nights in the hospital to be there for obstructed labor and emergencies. We hope and pray that staffing will improve and that will be able to continue to provide good medical care. We’re hanging in there! Rural Life

It has been a year of trying to grow new crops: soybeans, beans, and peanuts. I have learned how to start rose plants, vanilla, and other bushes from cuttings. There is no greenhouse to buy plants and it can be difficult to find seeds. However with a little tender care, and motivation, one can propagate aromatic forest flowers! It is satisfying to live in a place that you can grow your own food. But I have a ‘romantic’ view of agriculture because I do not solely depend on what we grow. Many people here in Congo grow the majority of what they eat. A bad harvest season (ie too much rain) is absolutely devastating, paralyzing even. Then imagine being displaced from your home and fields, or being unable to reach your fields due to security concerns. These are the challenging situations people find themselves faced with. Living in the forest makes it much harder to grow traditional “crops” and so bananas and roots are real staples. I can understand why people eat a fair amount of cassava and cassava leaves, as it is hearty and keeps producing over a longer period of time. If only cassava was richer in nutrients! I like to cook with what is locally available and in season. It is good to support the women who work so hard to grow their own food! Vaccines Save Lives We are hoping to be able to receive the Covid vaccine somehow out here in central Africa. We realize that we will not be the first to receive it, as funding will be slow in coming for much of Africa. But what a blessing to be able to travel out of Africa to visit our families! We hope that the Covid vaccine will be well received by the public and some level of herd immunity achieved quickly. mRNA vaccines (including coronavirus) are not exactly new. We received the Ebola mRNA vaccine when it was still experimental in 2018, and has since been FDA approved. We were a little nervous to receive the Ebola vaccine because little was known about it, but mostly just thankful. The Ebola vaccine is what allowed us to return to DRC and safely resume work. It prevented community and hospital transmission of this very deadly disease. This was not just theoretical, WE HAD EBOLA CASES HERE DOWN THE STREET FROM OUR HOUSE! The mortality rate of Ebola varies between 60-90%! If the vaccine had not been available our community would have been devastated and our lives at risk. We hope that you will have the opportunity to receive the Covid vaccine and protect the most vulnerable in our communities. Wishing you a very Happy & Healthy New Year! We enjoy hearing from you! With love, Lindsey for the Coopers

Thanksgiving Reflections

Happy Thanksgiving from our house to yours! This year we talked about Thanksgiving is an attitude of the heart to what we have been given from God…good times and even difficult times. It is very interested that after a long first winter in America, with undoubtedly a lot of losses, the early Americans chose to give thanks to God. They could have lamented on their hardships rather than thank God for what He had done. The position of their hearts was thankfulness and we are reminded to do the same. This year we are all reminded to be thankful for our health and times together with those we love, as we can not take these things for granted. We are thankful for travel in new ways…to have recently had the opportunity to leave Congo for the first time in a year for some rest.

We traveled to Uganda for two weeks with our friends the Dimon family for some rest and relaxation. We visited Murchison Falls National Park, one of our favorite places, to go on safari and see the impressive waterfalls. It is fun to see Emmanuel growing in his understanding of the natural world. He knows firsthand elephants cover themselves in mud or why reptiles, like crocodiles, take a sunbath. It was a joy to watch the kids discover things together! We also visited a wetland on the shores of Lake Victoria and saw the shoebill stork in its’ natural environment. A shoebill is an almost a prehistoric looking water-loving bird that is impressive in its size and great patience in catching fish! There is something about nature that renews the body and spirit and we needed it!

We are living through a difficult security season here in Nyankunde and a local armed group that has formed. There are many people who are praying for and are actively looking for peaceful solutions to problems. Our hospital is suffering greatly from the insecurity with less hospitalizations and patients fearing to travel the roads, or simply refusing to come because they are not from the dominant tribe in this area. It is a critical time for negotiations and elders to be a voice for non-violence. It is not a time to say that problems do not exist or to simply cover them up. We believe that God has called us here for such a time as this, and we want to be courageous and bold for Christ, and communicate that this hospital belongs to God and not a particular tribal group. There are very sensitive issues. We are feeling hopeful, but would ask your prayers. We are happy to dialogue more with those who are interested in a different forum. We remain mostly untouched by the Covid pandemic which is ravaging the world. Whether it is the tropical climate, rural setting, or people living mostly outdoors we are not seeing large numbers of cases. That said we wear masks in clinical areas and take proper precautions. The peak of influenza seems to be different in the tropics. We are thankful for lower Covid numbers! We have all been tested multiple times, any time we need to travel or have a flu-like illness. One of the difficult things about living overseas is missing family, especially when it is difficult (if not impossible) to travel to see them. We have been hoping to get to Switzerland to visit family for the last year and we are just waiting for vaccines to be available to do so. It is hard to plan very far ahead and we live the day ahead of us.

These last few weeks many parts of Scripture have come alive for me. Somehow going through difficulty makes us yearn for the beauty that awaits us in heaven, and truth to win peoples’ hearts on earth! What is really important in life becomes crystal clear. The part of the Lord’s Prayer that has captured my attention is: “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” As things seem incredibly “messed up” around us these days, I long for the things of heaven to come to earth. Interestingly this was the first request Jesus makes in the Lord’s Prayer: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” As Christians in this world, we need to seek out things of heaven: love, peace and reconciliation in this life with God and man. These are the only things that will truly last. How lovely to experience things of heaven in this life!

The work of Nyankunde Hospital continues. Pray for us as we strive to bring truth into ethnic tensions and yearn for things of heaven. Let us pray for one another while today is called “today.” Let us know how we can pray for you. Blessings for us, Lindsey Our little boy Emmanuel then (age 2) and NOW (age 6)!

Annual Newsletter from the Coopers: Reflections in Difficult times