December 15, 2005

  • Write A Book

    Wednesday, December 14, 2005

     

    Today Mike and Linda left to return stateside for a month leaving Sal, Terry, JoAnne and I a list of assignments to handle while they are gone. I have the pool to take care of…funny, I told my kids I didn’t want a pool in our Maryland yard because it would be too much work and I would get stuck doing it all!  Well, I guess you have to watch what you say, because here I am for the next month taking care of an inground pool!! J   My answer is still NO, kids!!!

     

    Christmas is fast approaching but it’s quite a different feeling without snow and below zero weather.  I did put up a small wire tree with lights and handmade ornaments and ribbon and a nativity set that I brought from the US, but it’s just not the same.  The Zambians obviously don’t celebrate with all the commercialism…no Santa, no gifts, no decorations etc.  They do have a church service, sometimes all night long and a Christmas meal afterwards of shema, goat and rape. Sometimes they do special songs or skits for Christmas, but JoAnne said last year they didn’t even sing any Christmas songs.  So we will see what this Christmas holds...in any case the celebration of the birth of Jesus will take place in our hearts and our home.

     

     It has rained over 10 inches already…. Another Bible revelation about the early and latter rains!  Things are green. wet and muddy most of the time.  We had a missionary night last night….my cooking has improved or should I say my improvising is getting better!  Beef stir fry with teriyaki sauce and rice and death by chocolate were my contributions.  I didn’t bring home too many leftovers….good sign.  We had a very nice evening with a Christmas devotional, prayer and then singing Christmas songs.  Two of the women had composed a song about Africa…it was all about bugs and very funny but so true.  It was good to know bugs are found in the homes in town too!!!

     

    Well, we have had a barrage of HIV positive patients and many people coming in for the test, relieved when they are negative.  Sal said he can only do what he knows to do…what God is putting in front of him,  So, we have loaded up the vehicle two weeks in a row now to take these village people without resources or transport to Livingstone Hospital for bloodwork and clinic visits to get free ARV therapy(HIV meds). Our total HIV patient population includes 8 adults and the 10 children at Sons of Thunder’s Children’s Home. We are seeing 1 positive patient in every 3 tested.  For a village person to get medical help after we have seen and tested them for free, involves approximately 4 trips into the hospital at a cost of 16,000 kwatcha per day for transport, 10,000 kwatcha for registration to be seen in the Outpatient Department, 56,000 kwatcha for required bloodwork …all to get on the government program. Total cost would be 120,000 kwatcha or $30.00 US.  Now I know that doesn’t seem like much to all of you, but for a village person it could be an entire month’s salary IF the person had a job which most do not. Most villagers are farmers living in huts and eating off the land…..it reminds me of Indians in teepees or the Israelites in tents.   This HIV plague is enormous, most due to multiple wives or sexual immorality or positive pregnant women giving birth to positive babies.  It feels like a big Pandora box that we are just peeking into.  The pregnant woman in the office two days ago tested negative, but her husband had syphilis and was HIV positive.  You do the math…what a mess to have to get them both in a room and give them the news!  God’s plan and direction are very much coveted.  Without Him and changed hearts, there is no hope.  We have been told that we are providing the people hope, so as we are showing the love of Jesus, I’m looking for and expecting God to do great things. 

     

    We are becoming well known at the lab, registration desk, cashier’s office Outpatient Department and Pharmacy at Livingstone Hospital.  People don’t know what to make of us….we don’t go away and just keep on coming back with more people to help.  Everyone wants a job with us…the lab techs have all asked us if we are hiring.  One of the lab techs has contacts for sales and is going to look for and put together pricing for a working lab.  We have already made our own lab requisitions cutting out one of the steps in the process and may soon draw our own patient blood samples at the clinic on the farm on Tuesday mornings and then drive the specimens into the lab the same day. That would eliminate another step for the patients.  They would only have to travel in on Thursdays with us to be seen at the Outpatient clinic after we pick up their respective lab results.  It still would cost us 66,000 kwatcha per patient but would bypass a lot of wait time and eliminate one day in town with patients.

     

    We were supposed to have a meeting this week with an HIV specialist from the University of Maryland working here in Zambia, but unfortunately it has not occurred and we haven’t been able to reach him by phone for the last three days.  Please pray whatever God is up to that no plan of His can be thwarted. 

     

    Here at the church on the farm, Sal has been asked by Mike to “run the church” until a new Pastor is found.  So far he has met twice with the church board, helped set up a church budget, required applications for positions such as Sunday School teachers, Praise Team and Choir, has purchased and distributed both English and Tonga Bibles, has preached his first sermon, is going to teach the next 6 weeks of Sunday School on authority, and is praying about train the trainer sessions in January for all the selected Sunday School teachers in order to prepare them to teach the curriculum “Building on Firm Foundations” for both adults and children starting in February.  Yes I’m talking about Sal!!!!  God can do and is doing marvelous things here in Zambia!!!!

     

    So you ask what am I doing?….oh I’m right at Sal’s side most of the time in the midst of it all….bush trips, home visits, HIV patient transports, overnight patients in the clinic, delivering babies, most of the wound care…etc.  I also find myself doing a lot of writing.  Besides the updates, newsletters and most of the e-mails, I have also made the lab requisitions and have started writing procedures for a lab manual.  Thoughts of protocols and other necessary forms are stirring in my brain waiting for the time to sit and type.  In my morning Scripture reading, Jeremiah 30:2 said…”Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you.”  There have been a number of you that have encouraged me with similar words recently….O Lord, what are you saying?