Choosing to live an undaunted Life... Issue #2

the Greatness of our God.

Little Shakira was really tired this morning and it was evident that her breathing was more labored than it should have been.  After listening to her lungs, it was decided that she should go to the hospital for further evaluation.  Her little lungs were "wet" (full of fluid).  She was brave for the needle stick and sat patiently as the doctor listened to her lungs and heart.  She perked up at the end and started dancing to some music she heard.  It was hard for my heart today to see this little girl struggling.  I don't know what her prognosis is.  This little girl with absolute spunk and enthusiasm for life is really sick.  My heart was feeling the pang of it today and yet, I am absolutely choosing to put my feet firmly in the ground.  My Jesus knows exactly what He is doing with this young girl and whether or not her days are limited here on earth... has no bearing on the greatness of our God.  Holding on to that tonight as I process the day.  What a stretching day it was.... so thankful to have been able to be present with her today... and to just love on this sweet girl!

I think you need to eat chocolate three times a day....

Several posts back, I introduced you to a sweet little girl names Shakira.  She is just shy of three years old and is one of those kids that just makes you smile.  She is ADORABLE.  She is the size of a one year old.  Every day at the clinic, she greets me with either a "I'm too busy to acknowledge your presence" as she goes off in another direction or with a sheepish little smile and arms up ready to be held. No matter what language you speak to her in, her usual response a repeat of what you just said.  She is still living at the clinic with her mom and with her baby sister.  Shakira came down with malaria last week and her recovery to those little parasites has been somehow slow.  It is clear that her body is tired and that recovery takes her a little longer than it does for most.  Don't get me wrong... she still has spunk and she still has the energy around to explore, investigate, and interact.  On Friday, I lifted her up on my lap and gave her a pen and showed her how to write.  She took right to it.  I captured a few fun pictures of her.  This coming week, we will go into the city and spend the day at Mulago hospital.  There, the prayer is that, she will have a semi-complete assessment and we will have a more clear idea of what is going on with her body.  I'll keep you posted! 

"So tell me about your owie?"

"Um, I think you need to have some chocolate three times a day for 2560 days"

It has been nearly a month since I have started working in the clinic full time.  And it has been an adventure.  There have been parts of it that have been very challenging and other parts that have been absolutely amazing.  I have fallen in love with seeing patients.  Someone comes in sick... and it's a process to problem solve looking at the hints to figure out how best to help the person in front of you.  Sometimes, it's simply listening... other times, it involves acting quickly. It has been an absolute honor to take care of the individuals, both young and old, who have walked through the doors of the New Hope Clinic.  Some days, I feel as small as I did standing up against that tree.... and the reality is, I am that small.  But, the bigger reality is that my God is right there with me and as I lean into Him, He is filling me with His wisdom, His direction, His leading... In Him, I am finding peace and a keen awareness of HIS presence in this process.  This process that comes with a lot of joy and challenges all packaged together.  The challenges of learning how to work together with other medical care professionals that have learned so differently than myself.  We come with different backgrounds, yet with a strong desire to help those who come across our paths.  And while there are bumps as we merge, my prayer is that God will lead each one of us.... so that as we continue to work together, it would be the merging of a team... each learning from each other and using the different skills that God has given us.  He has brought us together, and I choose to rest in that.  Will you pray that we would become more united?  that I would know when to speak up and when to be quiet? Sounds simple enough... but it's not and I yearn for your prayers in this area.  

"For it is you who light my lamp, the Lord my God lightens my darkness." Psalm 18:28

Last month, I said hello to a friend who I first met in kindergarten and said goodbye to a friend that I met in January shortly after arriving.  Leigh came to Uganda for a conference and Anna and I were able to hop a boda and see her shortly after she arrived.  We joined up with her and her team and walked through the botanical gardens.  What a sweet time it was!  So great! Anna and I spent the remainder of the day together and then we headed to the airport.  It was hard to say see you later to such a dear friend.  We may never see each other again on this earth....but we will fo sure see each other again in heaven one day..  So thankful for that. Anna returned back to the Congo. Wherever we are, we are committed to "Live Free". 

 And since I have not been so good at keeping you all in the loop this last month (my apologies), I figure I will just keep sharing. There is so much to share and my fingers are just lining up with my soul tonight.  It's now Sunday night (writing a blog post happens in stages) and I am finishing up my first weekend of being on call.  Yep, on call.  I can still to this day clearly remember hearing the phone ring in the middle of the night at my house growing up.... my dad often fumbling for the phone... and his barely awake voice talking.  I don't ever remember him being unkind to the nurses on the other end of the phone...and having been the nurse calling the doctor in the middle of the night... I am thankful for that.  Thankfully, the phone hasn't rung in the middle of the night... yet.  It's mostly been visits to the house or phone calls throughout the day.  A cut hand, sprained ankle, malaria, and a young boy struggling to breathe.... which despite a steroid shot and antibiotics resulted in his admittance to the hospital here.  Thank you for letting me love on these sweet children and amazing staff members.  Thank you for journeying along with me.... it is a gift and I am so thankful to Jesus for His bringing me here and for walking this journey with me.  Hand in Hand.  Yesterday, as I was trying to help a child struggling to breathe with no albuterol and only steroids and antibiotics... I found my insides nervous.  If I was in the states, I would have had a doctor directing me.  The little boy would have been having breathing treatments back to back and here I was watching a young boy struggle and I was calling the shots.  The wrong shot called and the consequences could be so bad.  And as I stood beside the little guy.. I just sensed God saying, "I've got him..." And my internal posture relaxed.  I am His hands and I am not doing this alone.  He is at my side.  Thank you Jesus. 

A positive one of these.... 

usually means the person feels like this....

but with TLC and God's healing touch... the end result is usually a smiling face

It's Friday night and I am chilling.  I am watching three children tonight and have enjoyed it.  They are all tucked in under their mosquito nets getting all the sleep they need for a full day tomorrow.  It's the end of a week here and the music from the neighboring village is just now beginning to float through the air. A somehow steady rhythm coupled with different bugs competing to be heard.  Surprisingly, it's a calming combination.  The phone is laying beside me.  It's my first night on call.  Somehow exciting.  The phone has rung twice.  From the same person.  It was a really easy first call.  The man calling was calling concerning his wife.  She is seven months pregnant and is having intense abdominal pain.  As soon as he informed me of those two key points, I directed her to the hospital.  The second time I talked with him, he was telling me she was being admitted.  My prayer is that both she and her baby will be ok.  It's been a full week.  A week of saying goodbye to dear friends and a week of diving into full time  hours at the clinic.  It's been a week full of malaria, wounds, and opportunities to learn, learn, and learn some more.  There is so much learning to do.  So much.  Many of the kids from my family group are down with malaria. Today, Phionna came in with a fever, body aches, and just not feeling well.  I talked with her, assessed her, and the walked over to a bed so that she could rest.  A little while later, I brought her some paracetamol (tylenol), Lumartem (malaria treatment), and some water.  standing beside her, I put a watered down washcloth on her forehead.  I prayed for her and then assured her that I would check on her.  I checked on her a short while later.  I saw two little tear drops just hanging below her right eye.  She didn't want me to know she was crying.  I asked and then drew her near.  I just hugged her for a few extra seconds.   Thankful to be able to stand with Phionna.  And when the time is right.... to be able to walk forward with her as she journeys on in life.  She is a beautiful girl with a heart hungry to know love.  Excited to be able to love her and journey with her as she comes to know the love of our God more and more.  

Linda, me, and Phionna

I tried multiple time to upload a video yesterday... a slide show of sorts to share with you in pictures, words, and song the theme of my life over the last five months.  Despite strong internet connection, it failed to upload  Sorry! I will try again tonight.  It's Sunday morning and I am laying on a mat underneath a big tree.  There is such a mixture of sounds around me (cars, owls, birds, etc.) and I am just resting.  In a few short hours, I will hop the back of a motorbike and zoom over to a pool.  So looking forward to getting some rays, listening to some music, and thinking through the last 5 months.  I came out to Entebbe on Thursday evening and am returning back to New Hope tomorrow.  On Thursday, I graduated from the training that I started back in January.  It's the ending of one season here at New Hope and the beginning of another.  A chapter that I am looking forward to starting.  My time in the institute was stretching and good.  We were a class of twenty-two.  We came as strangers and we left as dear, dear friends.  We learned together, we cried together, and we laughed together.  We even said "Holla, Holla" together.... thanks to yours truly.  I just wanted to give them a little of my wanna be Chicago soul culture! ( c : Thank you for supporting me these last five months. The things that I have learned have been and will be used by God daily as I interact with those around me (more later on that!).  One of the highlights for me these past five months has been knowing Anna.  Anna is a young woman from the Congo.  It has been so neat watching God work in heart in amazing ways.  We both shared a love for God and for Coca Cola.  Nearly every week, we would sit together and she would just share her heart.  What she was learning, what she was thinking, etc.  She is a woman that will undoubtably be used by God in HUGE ways.  We spent some time on Friday before she left to pray together. She closed her eyes nervous and unsure and opened them up a short while later empowered, encouraged, and acutely aware that she was not alone.

   "But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel; Fear not for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name,you are mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you' and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire, you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.  For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." Isaiah 43:1-2

From Left:Betsy, Betty,.Anna, me

Anna Friend, you are loved and I so look forward to the day that we will meet again.  For now, little sista cling to Jesus and know that you are NOT alone.  

None of us are alone.  And that's part of the amazing gift of being able to be here and share with those around me.  Adults and children, those from the west and from Uganda... that none of us are alone.  So thankful for that! 

Give a child a camera...

Give a child a camera and you will more than surely see life from their eyes... literally.  And that's exactly what happened when I let Lawrence use my camera.  Lawrence lives in the Worcester Family.  The family group that I am coming to love more and more.  Lawrence is a young boy hungry for love.  He is quiet with a very sweet disposition.

Slashing the compound.
The most common way to cut grass is to slash it.
 It takes muscles and time.  

Kasava is a common food here.  The roots of the Kasava
tree are dug up and then prepared.  

Working hard with Harriet. It's early Saturday morning and
we are preparing the food for dinner that night.   

Peeling the Kasava Roots.  The root is then cooked and eaten.  

It's a long process and a little dirty.... but the end product is worth it.  

Edmund is on washing duty.  Handling it like a champ! 

Dishes drying in the sun.  The yellow container is called a jerry can.  This is one of the main
containers for collecting and storing water.  Children travel far to water pumps where they gather the water
and bring it back home.  It's a HARD job.  Thankfully, the water pump here at New Hope is not too far.  It is about a five minute walk.  A little longer when you have a FULL jerry can of water.  

This blue container is water is stored.  As the children bring the filled Jerry can's of water,
they dump them in the blue container.  Rain is also collected through the gutter and saved in this blue
container.  This water is NOT safe for drinking, but is used for washing and cooking.  

one of the Bandas (huts).  Anywhere from 3-4 children live in each one.  

dishes drying

Little Dan.  

Check out the clouds.  Seriously, the clouds here are absolutely amazing.

Breakfast.  porridge is a staple breakfast here.  

Little Derek... turning a tree into maybe a horse?  or a car?

The sky.... 

Thanks Lawrence for taking us all on a tour of your family.  So thankful to be part of it! ( c :

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever.  Amen.  

Ephesians 3:20-21

I would love to introduce you to my new little friend, Shakira.  When I first met her, she was timid and reserved.  She came when I reached out to pick her up, but it was clear that she was not sure of what she thought about this lady who not only had a different shade of skin, but also didn't speak her language.  After a few more interactions, she has warmed up.  This afternoon in the clinic as I was treating another patient, she came into the room.  She just wanted to make her presence known.  No objections there.  Picked up her cute little self and just loved on her.  She is living at the clinic with her mom and her baby sister.  Her heart has a defect and she is waiting to have heart surgery to repair it.  She is three years old living life in a body that is barely the size of an 18 month old.  It was interesting because the other day, I was listening to her heart and to be really honest, I didn't hear any overt irregularity to the rhythm of her heart.

The only hint to me that something was not right was how loud her heart was beating.  I didn't really need the stethoscope to really hear her heart beat.  A wave of uneasiness came over me in that moment.  How many kids hearts had I listened to and missed a serious heart issue?  We had just finished school assessments of kids from the school last month... what if I missed something? And just as quickly as the uneasiness came, the awareness that this little girl had been seen by a doctor, had had tests to confirm what was going on, and was in a place ensuring that her needs would be taken care of.  God has her.  And pulling myself further away for a second, I was reminded by the hints.  Yes, obvious at some level, but hints nonetheless.  God has given me a mind that has been trained medically and HIS wisdom and leading often come to me.  

This afternoon when a young boy came in clutching his neck, I paused.  His sore neck was too tender and it has been hurting him for 10 days.  I sensed that more was going on.  A whispering of a thought and before I realized it, I knew that I needed to check his ear.  Before coming here, I was able to spend time with my doctor and fellow colleague, and was able to see lots of little eardrums.  

Taking the otoscope, I peered into the ear on the opposite side of his hurting neck.  His ear looked normal to me.  And then I peeked into the ear adjacent to his sore neck. The eardrum did not look the same at all.  It was bulging.  And so little Richard was treated with some antibiotics and some pain medicine and after praying with him, he went on his way.  I may have gotten on a plane alone four months ago, but I rest in knowing that I am NOT alone.  I am here because God has led me here and I rest in knowing that He has HIS children.  He is guiding me continually each and every day as  He uses me to love on His people here.  Sometimes, He uses my training, sometimes He uses colleagues here, sometimes it is calling a colleague back home, and sometimes, I believe, He whispers a hint to me.  It is neat watching Him take care of His people and it's also sweet watching Him show me that He has led me here and He will impart His wisdom to me as He leads me.

I pray and ask Jesus to keep leading me.  That He would keep me flat on my face in dependance to Him.  He is the Jehovah Rapha... The God who Heals.  His healing takes on different forms, but no matter how He chooses to heal, I choose to rest in knowing that He has His children.  

Thank you for coming alongside with me on this journey.  There are more blog posts coming..... ( c :  So thankful to have you all at my side.  It's a GRAND adventure.