Thursday started off with 7:30am devotions with the hospital staff. Dr. Keir, the surgical resident and I went on rounds which was made more interesting than usual by checking in on the man who had the big gastro surgery on Tuesday.
Thursday was basically my administrative duties day…After rounds, Keir and I collected records of all the deliveries within the past year from maternity. My job was to calculate the % c-sections/month based on the maternity records. I then cross-referenced their records with the surgical records. It was a somewhat nerve-wrecking task because the staff in maternity are not the most meticulous record-keepers…to put it mildly, but that is how you learn flexibility and patience. By the end, my mind was spinning…Finished up another spreadsheet Keir needed done for the PAACS program and visiting surgeons.
The PAACS residents just received a shipment of donated medical textbooks, so I unpacked those and sorted those into the very mini surgical library at Bongolo…It doesn’t sound like an intense day, but that all took quite a bit of time, especially calculating the % c-sections.
Finished off the day by passing out when I got back at like 4:30ish. Lame, I know…Later on, Lisa, Rachael, Alexia (a Gabonese girl) and I made papaya-chocolate shakes…That is the first bit of chocolate I’ve had since I left. SOOooooooo good…
It always fun to watch Lisa experiment in her kitchen. Talked to Alexia a little bit. She is in the Gabonese equivalent of highschool and has a big test (with English on it) coming up, so I may help her study this coming week.
This morning I helped Meladee with medical supplies down at Depot #5. It was a good day, we got a lot done and did not encounter any mice ;-) …I ran some errands at the hospital, grabbed lunch and my lesson stuff and then taught the Thelander kids from 1-4pm. Today was our last official lesson on cultures. We learned all about Cuba today including its history, famous people, etc.
Cuban geography:
Spanish matching game:
Luke & Sarah came over around 5:30pm so Joanna & Keir could have a “date” night. Love those kids! Rachael Thompson joined us for dinner. After dinner we watched Wall-E, made banana smoothies, ate popcorn and cookies…I’m stuffed!!! We finished off the evening with some coloring...another successful day in the jungle.
Friday night coloring with Sarah & Luke:
The plan for tomorrow is to scrub orthopedic supplies til around 1pm. Then, I have to start baking…Afoussa, Christine, Neni, Rachelle, Micheline, Lisa and Joanna are all coming over at 3pm to bake. The goal is to teach the African women how to bake the oh-so American treat: chocolate chip cookies. That’s right, I found chocolate chips in the jungle!!! Pretty much made my day!!! …We’ll see how baking in the jungle goes. The humidity here messes with baking, so we will just have to see how this goes!
…All of this is a great opportunity to learn patience (definitely not my strength) and flexibility. Whether it is sorting through records, waiting for slow internet, coming up with lesson plans or battling with ants in the kitchen, patience is being cultivated. I’m reminded of the fact that 1 Corinthians 13 (the “love passage”) starts out with, “Love is patient” …so true. We show our love to others and we reflect the love of Christ when we are patient. Being impatient serves no purpose except to aggravate and frustrate.
Jungle Adventures:
1.On our way back from lessons, we’re walking through the jungle and I tell Luke who is playing with a ball, “Be careful, you don’t want to lose your ball in the jungle”…Just how many can say that? Its not every day that you could lose your ball in the JUNGLE.
2.Just how many of you look up from your laptop to see this little guy crawling across the wall and eventually into an electrical socket (probably not the best idea for the gecko).
No comments:
Post a Comment