Meet Alura

Alura and his Mother in front of their new home!

I would like to introduce you to Alura and tell you his story.

Alura is 18 years old and currently an employee of the mission. He works hard in the orchard watering trees. He has the heart of a worshipper; sitting next to him Sunday morning, his joy and enthusiasm are contagious.

His life has definitely not been without hardship. Alura is epileptic with some mental dissability. His mother is blind. In this culture epilepsy is viewed as spirit possession.  Him and his mother were expelled from their compound and currently live under a mango tree. This is possible during the dry season, however it is fairly miserable when the rain comes (1-2 weeks from now)
 In spite of the physical handicaps, him and his mother have worked hard to harvest their small cashew orchard, and to make mud bricks for a new house. With the help of family and the mission, they will soon put the very last piece of zinc on the roof! Thanks to a new pill box/organizer, persistent reminders and weekly clinic appointments, he is now taking his medication regularly and his seizures are controlled. If you would see him today he has an (almost) constant smile on his face. He is very excited to move into his new house.

Church men helping to split palm trees for the roof

The inside of Alura's new home

“Poverty keeps people in moral equilibrium. Keeps hard-working families virtuous, sets limits to their desire for possessions, preserves humility in personal relationship, encourages them to be industrious, and nourishes hope.

I say “poverty” not misery.

Poverty is the happy medium between two curses. The one is wealth, which is nearly always the fruit of exploitation, injustice or extortion. The other, misery is evidence of an evil deed committed by you or a result of the sins of others." -Carlo Carrette

Here in Catel, I am forced on a daily basis to face the fact that I have much more material possessions than every person I see here. Sometimes I feel guilty, other times I don’t.

It is a constant struggle for me to find the line between misery and poverty. I often find myself applying my silly western ideals to this small village. They simply do not fit. Who says that you must have a closet full of clothes and a nice computer to have a good life?

“To have what we want is riches, but to be able to do without is power” – George McDonald

A world without television, internet, running water, electricity, cars, refrigeration…. The average American would not know how to manage, yet this is the life here in Catel and people here are happy. Don’t get me wrong. There is much suffering and misery. Lack of healthcare, mothers losing on average 1-2 children, lack of food, poor/non-existent education programs… these are all real problems that need addressing.

However, when I think of all the different small villages of GB who have never heard the gospel…. This is when my heart starts to race; this is when I feel a strong sense of urgency. This is an emergency. This is true poverty.

I pray that these stories and pictures would not evoke feelings of guilt, but they would instead raise up a sense of urgency; a realization that all is not right with the world and a yearning and striving for change. 

No, I don’t think everyone should be a missionary to Africa. But I believe as Christians, we are all called to care.

Psalm 82:3-4a

  “Give justice to the poor and the orphan;

      uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.

  Rescue the poor and helpless.”

Alura with his new home

A Time For Celebration

I am always interested in seeing how different cultures celebrate. Unfortunately there are very little celebrations in Catel. Because of the poverty, most people cannot afford weddings. Birthdays are not recognized or celebrated. (I mostly get laughs when I ask how old people are in the clinic) Funerals are the main events in Guinea Bissau.

Easter was a time of celebration for the church in Guinea Bissau. It started Thursday evening when Beryl led a “Last Supper.” We took communion while thanking God for his sacrifice on the Cross. Each person had a chance to share what Jesus’ death meant to them. The insights into what Christ’s death means for a person in Catel were truly inspiring. I wish you could have been there.

Saturday, the church women spent all afternoon cooking up a special dish made of rice, bananas, sugar, peanuts and peanut butter. Not my favorite but Jon enjoyed it and they love it.

Sunday morning the excitement was contagious. Beryl started the service with a film from the Gospel of John depicting the resurrection.  We watched the film THREE times. Each time it played you would see men, women and children sitting on hard wooden benches leaning forward with excitement. We then spent over an hour singing about every praise song we know. I’m sure Jesus was just smiling at the exuberant faces singing to him oh so loudly. When you have many people in a small space, with 100+ degrees, singing with arms raised to Jesus…  the aroma is horrific... BUT the atmosphere if sacred.

Coming out of incredible spiritual bondage, the Church of Catel truly understands and appreciates the freedom in Christ. I have learned so much from them.

The rest of the day was spent “ junbia” (Kiriol for hang out) at different compounds and roasting cashews. Which then led to a small episode of red, swollen face, itchy, angry skin reaction to the cashew smoke….. not fun… but a couple prednisone later and all is well again. (Benefits of having a pharmacy right in your bedroom)

I hope all of you had a blessed Easter. My prayer was that you would all be able to truly celebrate the incredible freedom we have in the cross. 

May this freedom never be taken for granted!

Help From a Distant Land

Cashew season has begun. Cashews are the main crop for GB and most people here have large cashew orchards. Cashew season is full of long days in the orchard collecting the nuts. Americans do not know what they are missing when it comes to cashews. Attached to every nut is a delicious juicy amazing cashew apple. They are only good for about a day once picked, so they are quickly eaten or made into a delicious sweet, tart juice.

Clinic in Bisseral

The last four weeks have been very busy with different medical teams visiting. We had two Doctors, Ron and Troy, and two Nurse practitioner students Jamie and Danielle, here for one week. This was spent traveling to different far out villages to have clinic days. We developed a pretty efficient system with Jon handing out numbers, getting vitals and main complaint and then we had three different patient care areas and a pharmacy. With this system in place we were able to see up to 60 patients a day. We were overwhelmed at most villages with many patients and sadly had to send people away at the end of the day.

This child was much more
cooperative than others

The second team was Dr. Ron and five of his medical students. They spent two weeks doing physical surveys in Catel and other villages. Measuring malnutrition, malaria and many other health indicators, we hope to take this data to the village officials, presenting the problems and helping to implement change.

With the coming of the teams came many much needed supplies! Jon and I’s bedroom is now also the most well stocked pharmacy in GB. We have everything from cough medicine to Malaria treatment.  The clinic is now also able to test for HIV, Syphilis, Malaria, TB and Typhoid fever.  Before this I was only able to advice them to travel to larger villages to be tested. Lack of finances to travel and then pay for a consultation and tests often kept people from seeking further care.

However, with the ability to test for HIV, I also have the hard task of telling individuals that they have HIV. Two weeks ago we diagnosed my friend and her five year old daughter with HIV/AIDS. The hopelessness these people feel upon hearing this diagnosis is right there with a death sentence. I cried. In one weeks time we diagnosed three people and a possible fourth with HIV/AIDS. 

Theoretically AIDS treatment is available in Guinea Bissau. This being said, no one in Catel or the surrounding area knew anything about this. So last week we took my friend and her daughter to Bissau (capital city of GB) to hunt out a treatment center. What we found was better than I even hoped for!  A very well run Aids clinic offering the latest in testing and medication. Thank God!  Even with free medication, testing and consultations, the patient dropout rate is very high. Patients get tired of taking medication and turn to traditional medicines, or they don’t have the money to pay for the trip to Bissau every month. 

Some days it is hard for me to keep going. I look at these people with real sickness, real problems, real suffering….. my heart breaks. I know they deserve so much better than a simple nurse with a cupboard and a bench. Please join me in prayer that God would raise up more medical doctors and nurses for Guinea Bissau. 

A Funeral In Guinea Bissau

Several weeks ago there was a death in Catel. No one knew the exact age, but I was assured she was “very old and needed to die.” In Guinea Bissau, when there is a death of an older person, the funeral is a celebration as opposed to the mourning of a younger death.

                The woman was the grandmother of a youth in the church. Jon and I were invited to the funeral so I grabbed my camera and we set out. Once again my eyes were opened to the extreme bondage gripping Catel. Upon arrival at the funeral, the spiritual darkness was thick enough to slice. I immediately felt extreme heaviness. The drums, the dancing, the chanting, many rituals to worship the dead…. people continued to pour in. A little after we arrived, young men placed the body on a sort of bush stretcher and took of running down a dirt path. Hundreds of people ran after them chanting, drumming and dancing.

                It is believed in the that the spirits of the ancestors live at the door of each house. They ran with the body to each relatives house and lifted the stretcher up, holding it at the top of each door so that the deceased can communicate with the ancestors to see if there was any foul play (curses) related to her death. The deceased is also supposed to communicate her coming and see who should take care of the family now that she is gone. After several hours of running from hut to hut, the procession arrived at the house of the witch doctor. He told them what sacrifices needed to be done and how they should proceed. After many more rituals, they laid the body to rest right outside the front door. Jon and I walked home, however the constant drumming and chanting over the next five days continually reminded us of the surrounding darkness. Later that night, a woman came to the clinic with a gash on her head from a large beam in the house falling on her. Over the next several days, many animals were killed, many people were drunk on palm wine and many fights broke out.

                According to the animistic belief, it is so important to give your ancestors a proper funeral because the belief is that they have much power over your life. This often causes the family to go into great debt. So many animals are slaughtered and fed to the 1000 people, when it is all over the family goes hungry.

                Please pray that there would be freedom from this darkness in Catel. 

...but what will the pigs eat?

In the Spring of 2009 I graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing from Waynesburg University. I soon started my first job as a nurse in the hospital and there was no doubt in my mind, I had received a quality education. I am very thankful for the nursing program at WU. 

However, today I feel the need to sit down with Dr. Mosser, Dr. Small, Dr. Morris and the rest of the gang. I would like to review some areas where I am fairly certain they failed to cover. Nausea, shortness of air and fever… I know these. There is a whole set of symptoms out there that I was never taught. Here are a few I have faced here in Africa:

-          “I have a worm crawling in my arm”

-          “The pigs don’t eat my feces”

-          “The bottom of my feet are hot”

-          “There is a small animal in my stomach”

-          “I have pain in my entire body” (85% of patients)

It has been said that over 80% of the sickness and disease here in Africa is preventable. Upon my arrival I have been excited about education. I love explaining to my patients how babies and pigs living together leads to skin problems and other sickness. I love explaining the importance of a balanced diet. I love going to the different compounds and explaining how to live better, healthier lives. Unfortunately I am finding that these problems run so much deeper than mere lack of education.

Upon explanation of why it is so important to have a latrine, and how these can greatly improve their lives, one compound politely refused stating “We could use latrines… but what would the pigs eat?” (Pretty certain I will never eat pork again) There is an astronomical number of various fungal and bacterial skin infections; many of them carried by the numerous animals that live in and around the mud huts. I try to explain that as long as the animals are kept with the children, they will continually be sick. A simple pen would solve this problem. They then explain how they cannot fence the animals or they will have to feed them (they currently are scavengers) and they will get stolen.

Guinea Bissau is one of the most undeveloped countries in Africa. With zero industry, no university, no electricity, no healthcare; people here survive. It is not uncommon for government workers to go months to years without being paid. This results in many of them not showing up to work including teachers. Education in GB is a travesty. Many people have speculated as to why there is this extreme lack of development. The rest of Africa has given up on them and refuses to accept immigrants from GB.

Community Health Evangelism (CHE) is a highly successful program that has taken on the task of solving these problems. This week from 8:00am-5:00pm you will find a group of young men and women sitting on hard wooden benches with no backs in the heat of up to 120˚ eagerly learning how to be educators in their own villages. CHE has prepared thousands of lessons ranging from health and hygiene to family relations to money management and agriculture. Each lesson is Biblically based and introduces Jesus to the community. Ultimately, He is the only one who can truly free these people from the bondage they are held in that is preventing development.

We have had the great privilege of having Dayo Obaweya with us from Nigeria to lead this seminar. CHE not only teaches the problems and solutions. This program has a unique way of addressing worldview and explaining the difference between relief and development. It encourages the people of Africa to stop simply wanting handouts. Dayo has truly motivated and empowered these young men to make a difference. He taught that God has given them the ability to think and to solve their own problems. He taught that they need to stop looking at the white man as the solution to their problems but to instead look to Jesus. He showed them that they do have the ability and intellect to bring about change.

There is a noticeable change in an African once the truth is revealed and believed. The bondage here is so real. They believe that they are simply impoverished and incapable of change or good because they are African. This fatalistic attitude has stunted development.

Each man has a village that he will go to and speak with the village leaders, discover the top four problems, (catel = no food, clean water, no latrines and lack of agriculture) form committees and solve the problems using the resources available. The program’s success is based on it being locally led and implemented. Once the community claims this as their own, real change happens. How different this is from white people coming for a week, building latrines and digging wells that no one cares to maintain or use and soon break. Jon and I are beyond excited about this program and how God is going to use these young men and women to spread the Gospel and aid in development.

Please pray for these CHE participants. That God would continue to work in and through them. That this excitement they have will not fade.

Dry Compost System = Best Thing Ever

Since my first large, swollen, tender spider bite on my shoulder, my fight against the spiders continues. I killed 22 in the kitchen in preparation for our guests. I am constantly greeted by them when I open the cabinet doors in the clinic. (which is actually quite handy… right by the first aid supplies if I were to be bitten). I have often debated… should I continue this fight? Or should choose to live at peace? The answer evades me.

Another area of question is faced regarding the very affectionate children. Hygiene is very different here. Without the use of diapers, what do I do when I am handed a child to hold? Do I push this fact to the back of my mind and try hard to ignore the permeating wetness in my lap? Do I pick up these babies up as they crawl to me knowing the risk I face? Do I grab the extended hand of the child smiling up at me who has just used that very hand to wipe his dripping nose? (or worse) So far my motto has been “grit my teeth and love” (needless to say I wash my hand vigilantly and was ecstatic to find antibacterial soap in the neighboring country)

Ginny and I working in the clinic

Judy (RN) was truly wonderful in the clinic!

The mission feels very oddly quiet. For the past fourteen days there have been an extra 8-13 people here. A mission team came from Pennsylvania and was much appreciated. The team included two nurses, Judy and Ginny. It was truly wonderful to have extra help in the clinic. I was ecstatic over the chance to be able to dialogue over different diagnosis and treatments. There was also a much welcomed break from the constant “on-call” status. We were able to take first aid/hygiene lessons to different compounds and talk with the women.

Along with the nurses, were several women who started a preschool (which is being continued by Mario), Lloyd and Elaine Hoover who did an excellent job assisting with the structure and leadership of the growing church of Catel; several men who worked extremely hard pouring concrete in new church buildings and worked on various other building projects; and last but most certainly not least, two amazing cooks! We had such a great time of work and fellowship… even managed to fit a couple board/card games in. Beryl, Andrew, Jonathan and I have been so blessed by each one. It is interesting to see how each person had a unique set of skills that was used in a specific way.

I try hard not to pick favorites….. Alas, I failed.  My favorite team member is Jim. He is fun-loving and full of wisdom… an all around great guy, but more importantly he is a master mason and built me an incredible new outhouse that I love dearly. No more chickens pecking at my feet, lizards in the toilet or snakes slithering on by as I sit. Beryl is excited about it because it is a dry compost system and in one year’s time should supply us with excellent fertilizer. Very progressively green. Since outhouses are quite rare in Catel, we are hoping to use this as a prototype and to get many other people excited about dry composting systems.

Jon enjoyed learning the art of pouring concrete. He quickly caught on as they painstakingly drew water from the well, mix that with gravel, cement mix and sand and then transported it on a half broken wheelbarrow (fixed with some extra rebar) and poured on the site. All of this done with no power tools… no cement mixer etc. in extreme heat. They were able to teach several other local men this art and they will be able to work on the cashew processing plant and other various jobs.

please note the knife held in the mouth.... previously used to end the life of these chickens

Everyone loves these very unnecessary knit hats 

Last week, Andrews’s hard labor and careful planning finally paid off as we slaughtered three scrumptious chickens. Jon enjoyed this entirely too much. Meat was a welcome addition to our vegetarian diet. We have now learned how to take a small chick and turn it into a delectable meal…. From start to finish… every step completed.

Last Thursday night we introduced the Leaders of the church council. Over the past months, Beryl has been teaching what the different roles in the church council look like and what kind of qualities would make a good administrator, pastor, teacher, evangelist etc... It is so exciting to see the different qualities in the different people in the church and to see how they are matched with the different roles.  Each man stood and gave his testimony and what his vision for his position was. I am continually amazed at how God has changed the lives of these people. Jon and I believe we have an exceptional group of leaders in the church of Catel.

Jon and I covet your prayers. Please pray for this new group of church leaders. Pray for the women, we have had three Bible studies and more women show up at each one. Pray that I would be able to relate to them despite very different cultural backgrounds.

We continue to enjoy Africa. As I watched the team leave, Sadja (12 year old boy) asked me if I wish I was going back to America with the others. I truthfully stated, “No, I will cry when I leave.”

                 

Dominga

Yesterday for the first time, I did not want to be here. It was a hot saturday evening I was craving some hang out time with friends. I decided to put away the many projects and relax. I was at a loss for how to relax in Africa. The children kept coming to the gate and begging for Jon and I to play with them. I wished so badly that I was home, on my couch with some popcorn, a good movie and friends. Reluctantly I started supper, potatoes and beans. We had just sat down when Mario came and asked us to come see his sister who was very ill.

This was the first weekend that both Beryl and Andrew were gone. So Jon and I gathered supplies Upon arrival at kasa de Mario, I was momentarily stunned at the conditions.  The room was dimly lit and I could barely make out dominga lying on mat on the dirt floor. Dominga was barely conscious, assessment showed a fever of 105.2, blood pressure at 58/35. I quickly called for some water to be drawn, started her on several medications including Tylenol. We sat her up and began to try to hydrate her with a recipe Jon had mixed up earlier.  Mario, Jon and I began to pray fervently that God would heal Dominga. The water soon arrived and we began stripping away the many layers she was covered with…. Several blankets and jackets…. then began to bathe her with cool water. The long night began. It was a struggle to be able to get her to eat/drink anything. Her mouth was ridden with painful blisters all the way down her throat. Because of these, and severe abdominal pain, she had not eaten or drank anything in three days. Jon retrieved my one bottle of chloraseptic spray (I had randomly packed this in case I had a sore throat) With this spray, she was able to eat and drink.

How I longed to pick her up and take her to my previous job on 7 East at University of Kentucky Hospital. The lack of resources and primitive conditions nearly got the best of me. At times my mind would wander…. Page the primary team, 2 liter bolus of normal saline, draw two sets of blood cultures, stat IV antibiotics… is there a unit bed available?

Within 2 hours of constant spooning bananas and hydration mix into her and continual bathing with cool water, her blood pressure was up to 65/50 and her temp was down to 102. With careful instructions to Mario, we headed back to the mission for a rest. Within five minutes after we sat down, four men appeared at the gate, one with blood pouring from a 3-4 inch gash in his head. Unfortunately no one spoke English. With many hand gestures and our broken Kiriol, we discovered that 30 minutes ago he had been trying to break up a fight and was smacked on the head with a large stick. My stomach turned and my vision blurred when I examined the wound and was able to see a large portion of his skull. Jon boiled water and I cleaned the wound, created as best of a sterile filed as I could, gritted my teeth and started stitching him up. Thankfully I had 1 bottle of lidocaine and several insulin syringes. By 12 am we finished cleaning up, 8 stitches successfully in place; we headed back to check on Dominga.

By 2 am her fever broke. With the sunrise, Dominga was sitting up and talking some. She and her family, along with Jon and I praise and thank God for her recovery. We continued to check on her every four hours. Her blood pressure is up to 85/60 with no fever. Praise God. Today Dominga’s father stated “God has healed Dominga.”

I am so humbled by this experience. Here I was, exhausted, wishing to be home and comfortable. It is clearer to me now than ever. God passionately loves his people in Catel. I am so privileged to be his hand and feet, to be his expression of love to Dominga and her family. Understanding Gods heart for the people of Guinea Bissau and relying on his strength is what has carried me through another night in Africa.

Life is sweeter with a renewed realization of Gods calling on my life. I challenge you. Who is God loving through you? Galations 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do what is right.”

Isaiah 40:31: “but those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint.”  I recently learned that the original Greek word for “wait” means “to wait upon, to serve”. The renewed strength isn’t for those who sit around doing nothing… it’s for the workers, those who get up every day with the purpose of showing God to the nations. What an incredible promise! I thank God for making this promise true in my life.

To all you weary workers, be encouraged. My prayer for you today is the promise that God has given. That you would run and not grow weary, that you would walk and not be faint; that your strength may be renewed.
Here is a link to our pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/100217601093466491231/ThirdImpressions?authkey=Gv1sRgCN-pnqzhhNjIFQ#