Tuesday, July 6, 2010

We woke up early and gathered on the front porch of the guys house for devotions. Zukiswa gave us a message about the broad and narrow paths in Matthew chapter seven. After personal prayer and devotion time we exercised. Most of my respiratory symptoms had cleared but I had a persistent cough and could not breathe when I tried to jog. We had breakfast and walked down to the riverfront to see Zukiswa, Muyereka, and several other missionaries off. Erin and I were given Zambian names. Lovemore decided to call me Michelo (pronounced “Me-jello”) which is a Tonga name that I was told means fruit. The local people had a hard time saying Erin, so they called her Ellen.

An eye surgeon and his team from Lusaka had come to provide free cataract removal for the people of Chilubi Island. Erin, Daniel Park, and I were asked to assist the eye team at the hospital in Santa Maria. A vehicle came to take the eye team, their equipment, and us the 15Km to Santa Maria. When we arrived we were reunited with Lily, she took us to the missionary houses and we left our bags there and returned to the hospital. Dr. Mumba and the two nurses who had come with him where already setting up for surgery. We changed into scrubs, washed our hands and joined them in the operating theater. It was a little surprising to see such a modern OR in such a rural place.

Dr. Mumba explained how he would perform the surgery and quizzed us on the anatomy and physiology of the eye. That was my first experience watching eye surgery and it was fascinating. First the ocular muscles were paralyzed and the pupil dilated. The opaque lens was then removed through the dilated pupil and a new lens was inserted. The entire process took about 30 minutes. We assisted with five surgeries and then took a late lunch break.

After lunch, another 7 surgeries were performed. One man came in wearing a shirt that was full of holes; it was so bad the shirt was practically falling apart. Before we took him into surgery we gave him a new shirt. I have never seen someone so thankful for a shirt. He cheered, clapped his hands and said “natotella mukwai” (thank you) over and over again. It was such a sweet experience to be able to contribute something to someone else. I thought of the words in Acts 20:35 “I have shown you all things, that working in this way we ought to help the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, it is more blessed to give than to receive.”

I helped the nurse with the pre and post-op patients. The main problem was finding a place for the patients to sleep for the night. The wards were all full and I had to ask the administrators for beds several times before they decided to help me. It was after 9pm when all the eye surgery patients had mattresses and blankets for the night. We walked back to the missionary houses and went right to bed.

Monday, July 5, 2010

I kept dreaming that the other missionaries were waking me up to see patients during the night. “Michelle, this woman’s baby is very sick, you have to come NOW!” I had to smile when I woke up; it took almost a year of working at the hospital before I started to have dreams about my job, but in just over a week the needs of the people in Bukotelo had become so heavy on my mind I was already dreaming about them. We sang together (my voice was back!) and had morning devotions. Muereka and Zukiswa were supposed to leave Bukotelo that day so Busiku went to make arrangements for transportation.

Muyereka, Panji, and I headed over to the school at 8:00am to see the rest of the people who needed medical care. When we saw the last person we went back to the house, only to have more people come to the house. A few of the women had walked from a village several Kilometers away to see the doctor. They sat on the front porch and in the grass in front of the house waiting for Muyereka to assess them and their children. It was afternoon when the patients left the house and Busiku returned to tell me that I would be leaving with Muyereka and Zukiswa. I packed my suitcase and then went for a walk into the village with Panji. We stopped at a tiny store and said goodbye to some of our Bible study contacts.

Back at the house we had lunch and waited for transportation to come. We waited until it was time to prepare for the crusade. Once again, the generator would not start. We sang and I told the children a story before the crusade began. Just as Nelson and Gift were standing to give the message, a vehicle arrived to take us back to team Matthew in Muchinshi. We were quite a distraction as we left the crusade site, I still remember the children saying “bye-e!” and shaking my hands. We climbed into the vehicle with our luggage and started the bouncy ride. We were making good time until we had a “puncture.” There was no spare tire so we had to walk the last 8Km to Muchinshi. I was glad that the others knew the way; everything looked unfamiliar in the darkness.

In Muchinshi, we went to the houses where the missionaries were staying and waited for them to return from the crusade. There were lots of hugs and smiles when the misionaries returned; it was nice to be back with team Matthew and Erin. We went to bed tired but very happy.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

We woke up before 5:00am. I tried to say good morning to Zukiswa and Mirriam and realized that my voice was gone; all I could do was whisper. It was easy enough to deal with the sore throat, runny nose, cough, and increased respiratory effort but not having a voice was going to be rather inconvenient. We had morning devotions by flashlight. Panji and I were assigned to breakfast duty; we drew water from the well and started cooking as the blush of dawn lightened the sky. We cooked nshima, soya chunks, and greens for breakfast. After breakfast, we prepared to go out into the village to give Bible studies until noon.

We prayed together and then Panji and I went into the village. As we walked past the first house we stopped to talk to the men standing outside; rather, Panji talked to them in Bemba and I waited for him to summarize the conversation for me in English. He told me that when they heard we were giving Bible studies they asked why we passed their house so we sat and studied the Sabbath with them for close to an hour. One of the men, named Mwaansa, said that he wanted to keep the Sabbath and he asked Panji if he could come with us to give more Bible studies. First, he took us to his mother-in-law and family, they were sitting outside pounding cassava root. Panji and I studied with them and went on to several more houses. All the people we studied with were happy to hear about the Sabbath and had questions about the Bible. The last men we studied with were full of questions. They wanted to know how they could find the true church, they asked if going to a church was necessary, and one wanted to know what happened to Jesus sandals when he was crucified. We were sorry to end our Bible study time but we had to go back to the house to prepare for the health fair at 2:00pm.

Mwaansa came back to the house and talked with us until it was time for the health fair. Muyereka, Panji, and I went to the school, a small group of people had already gathered for treatment. Muyereka was fluent in Bemba and he was able to do a lot for the people who came that afternoon. He dictated notes to me and we sent some people to the hospital at Santa Maria for treatment. We saw patients until the sun set then we returned to the house for dinner.

That evening, the generator would not start. A large crowd had gathered to see the rest of the Jesus film. We decided to go on with the service without the PA system. Nelson and Gift preached a dynamic sermon on the Sabbath; the Lord really blessed their voices. When the service ended, we carried all the equipment back to the house and had evening devotion. It had been a full day. I whispered goodnight to Mirriam and Zukiswa and prayed my voice would be back in the morning.

Sabbath, July 3, 2010

It was cold Sabbath morning. This time of year is the “cool dry” season in Zambia which is approximately equivalent to winter in the USA. At night the temperature dropped to around 40 ^oF but during the day when the sun came out it was often 80-90 ^oF. We woke up at 6:00am for group prayer and devotions then we spent time alone in prayer and Bible study. We ate breakfast quickly and then carried the equipment to the crusade site to set up for Sabbath School and Divine Worship. The sound system we were using allowed us to reach countless people in the village who did not come to the crusade site. Many people said that they listen to the messages from their home.

There was no Adventist church in Bukotelo but a group of Adventists from a village 7 or 8 Km away walked over to join us for Sabbath services. They provided special music and assisted with translating the services from English to Bemba. David, Mirriam, and I did Sabbath School for the children. Mirriam and David taught them 1 John 4:8 and several songs, then I told them the story of Joseph. We re-joined the adults at 11am for Divine Worship. Panji preached a sermon about Zacchaeus. After lunch we had a Bible study on the three angel’s messages of Revelation 14. Daniel led the Bible study and Gift translated.

In the afternoon, some of the team members held a baptismal class. They met every day in the afternoon to study the teachings of the Bible and prepare interested persons for baptism. Zukiswa, Muyereka, and I talked about the ministry on college campuses in South Africa and in Zambia. We spent some time with the children and then made preparations for the crusade. Tonight, we would be showing the first part of the Jesus film in Bemba.

Attendance was at an all time high that evening because of the film we were going to show after the sermon. Nelson gave a message about the family and love with Gift translating. The message was very well received, I laughed when I heard the loud “amen” from the women when Nelson encouraged the men to continue courting their wives… There was another loud “amen” from the men when he encouraged wives to respect their husbands. After the message we showed the first part of the Jesus movie. People were heated when we stopped it but they all promised to return to see the rest. We carried the equipment back to the house and had a short meeting to evaluate the success of the programs we had. After an encouraging devotional message and some popcorn we went to bed.

Friday, July 2, 2010

The day started around 4:30 am with group devotion. We sang and prayed together before separating for personal devotion. During exercise it became apparent that the previous day’s sore throat had progressed to some sort of respiratory infection, but there was no time to be sick. We had potatoes and imana for breakfast, imana was similar to some of the vegetarian meat substitutes we eat in the USA. We had a debriefing after breakfast where we reviewed the Bible study for the day and split into teams. I packed my medical equipment into my backpack and joined Busiku and Panji walking to the village.

In the village, we went to see the chief who was not feeling well. Busiku and Panji gave me a crash course in greeting officials and how to show proper respect. People are so casual in the USA, kneeling in front of the chief was a new experience. I conducted a brief physical exam on the chief and recommended follow up at Santa Maria then we prayed with him before leaving.

We stopped to study the Bible with several young men and they guys spoke to them in Bemba. I was able to turn to the scriptures they used but I had difficulty following the rest of the Bible study. Based on the things I had heard the previous day, I was expecting that we would have a difficult time, but things went well and people were receptive at each place we stopped.

Around noon we returned to the house and met up with all the other teams, we shared our stories from the morning and prayed together. Everyone had good reports about the Bible studies they gave and their reception in the community. God was definitely warming the hearts of the people to us; it was wonderful to see that answer to prayer. We began preparation for Sabbath which primarily involved cooking the meals we would eat on Sabbath. While we were cooking two people arrived on bicycles, Daniel Cho (one of the missionaries from Canada) and Muyereka Nyirenda (a 6^th year medical student from Lusaka).

We made plans for the Sabbath program and ate lunch. Muyereka and I had a long conversation after the meal. He was familiar with the medications they had handed to me the previous day and he told me what they were for and explained the standard doses. We also talked about the practice of medicine in rural Zambia. Before the sun set, we carried the generator and sound system to the crusade site and set up all the equipment. People began to gather and we had song service before the sermon. Nelson preached in English about the law of God and Gift translated into Bemba. We retired to the house for evening devotion and prayer and went to bed.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

I woke up with a sore throat, lamentable yet undeniable evidence I was getting sick—but there was no time to be sick and so much work to be done… We had devotions together about casting our cares upon Jesus; little did I know how much that message would mean to me later. We exercised and had breakfast. Derek said that I would be leaving for another village after breakfast so I packed my suitcase and waited. We were trying to find transportation from Muchinshi to Bukotelo, the number of vehicles on the island was rather limited and procuring one could take time. Derek said that if we could not find a vehicle we would have to bike the 27Km to Bukotelo. I was actually hoping we would get to bike but a vehicle became available.

Michael, Derek, and Chama rode with me across the island. As we bounced over the dirt roads Michael told me a little about team Pentecost in the village of Bukotelo. He explained that it is one of the most remote sites and that the people there rarely see foreigners. It was close to noon when I was dropped off in Bukotelo. I was greeted by Zukiswa and Nelson; all the other missionaries were out in the village. As they cooked lunch Zukiswa told me about the ministry. When the missionaries first arrived in the village the rumor went around that they were Satanists and so ministry had been difficult. I was told that people would run from them and some people even threw rocks at them and chased them with sticks. There were lots of medical needs in that area and the people were expecting a doctor to come. In fact, people were already gathering to see the doctor at the school across from the house where we were staying.

The rest of the team returned from the village and we ate a quick lunch before going to the school. We organized a “health fair” similar to the one in Muchinshi. When they brought me a bag of medications to dispense I was rather startled. They were all medications I had never given before, I recognized some of the names (that was an antibiotic, this was for pain, etc) but I had no idea what would be a standard dose. I decided not to hand out medications. I would pray a lot and use my limited knowledge to do what I could. As I unpacked my Bible, stethoscope, aneriod sphygmomanometer, thermometer, and pen light I wanted to kick myself for not being better prepared.

Panji graciously translated for me, but it was difficult to get a history of present illness. Some people would change their story as I asked questions. Panji would shake his head and say “things are bad!” every time someone changed their story. Everyone seemed to have pain; head pain, back pain, abdominal pain, leg pain… and many people had eye problems. Zukiswa checked people for cataracts and I did basic physical assessments. I recommended diet and lifestyle changes, many people were not drinking enough water or eating a balanced diet. I wrote people notes to take to the nearest medical center for further assessment, diagnosis, and treatment. From 2:00pm until the sun went down around 5:45pm we talked to between 30 and 40 of the people who had come for treatment. As I packed my Bible, stethoscope, aneriod sphygmomanometer, thermometer, and pen light I thanked God for being with me.

Panji and I joined the rest of the missionaries at the crusade site. Children were gathered there and we sang with them and Mirriam told them the story of Jonah before the evangelistic crusade began. David led the song service and I gave an impromptu health talk before Nelson (and Gift) preached (and translated). When the message was over we packed up the equipment and carried it back to the house. We had evening devotional and gave reports about the events of the day. I was surprised when I heard the other missionaries talking about how well the health fair went. We prayed together and then I went outside to pray.

All day I had been holding back tears, tears of frustration with myself and my inadequacy. As I looked up at the stars the tears rolled down my cheeks and I cried to God finally casting on Him the burdens of my heart. I prayed for each person who had come to see me that day. I prayed for His special intervention on their behalf. I prayed that they would experience His blessing as they followed the instructions given. I prayed that they would come to know His love and be drawn to Him. That morning the Lord had reminded me of my need to cast my cares on Him, why I waited so long to do it? With a light heart and peaceful mind I went to sleep.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

We were up before sunrise for morning devotion and prayer. This was the best way to start the day! God always provided a word of encouragement or a challenge that stayed in my mind the whole day. After devotional time and exercise we had breakfast and got ready for the day. Erin, Daniel, and I were going to the clinic with Dr. Tim to assist the nurses. There is one doctor for the entire island of Chilubi and he was taking a few days off because he was sick. Two nurses were responsible for keeping the clinic in Muchinshi open and they saw about 50 patients on an average day.

We arrived at the clinic at 9:00am; there were already about thirty patients waiting to be seen. Erin and I triaged and took vital signs on the patients in the waiting area until noon. We saw about fifty people. During the morning a critically ill child was brought to the clinic. She had severe anemia, dehydration, hypothermia, and possibly sepsis. Dr. Tim took over her care since the Island physician was unavailable. He ended up transferring with the child to Santa Maria, the main hospital on Chilubi, in the afternoon. Erin, Daniel, and I stayed at the clinic doing what we could to help the nurses there.

Around 4:00pm we returned to the house for lunch. The group members were making preparation for the health fair to continue and asked me to stand in for Dr. Tim. Nurses in rural Zambia routinely diagnose patients and prescribe medication so the IMPACT team thought that I was prepared to do that as well. I explained my scope of practice and that I was not comfortable acting as a physician so we ended up canceling the health fair scheduled for that afternoon. I wish I had been more prepared to meet the medical needs of the community.

The children were waiting for us, so we hurried to the crusade site to sing, teach Bible verses, and tell stories. I told the children the stories from Daniel chapters 1-2 and Chama translated for me. There were more children than the previous night, I did not count but I would estimate about 50 were there. Chama, Erin, and I were asked to sing a “special song” for the crusade so we sang “What a Friend we have in Jesus.” Erin and I sat with the children on the ground and just before the sermon the children started to scatter and scream. I turned to see what was causing the commotion; a plump toad was hopping towards me. I grabbed it and handed it to Chama before it could cause further disturbance. The children and I enjoyed a hearty laugh and then turned our attention to the sermon about the signs of Christ’s return. After the sermon more children asked me to pray for them. I was exhausted when I crawled into my sleeping bag that night.