Recognition of Life: Its Joys, Its Pains, Its Passing

How can you measure a life? I am certainly not the first to ask this question, and although I have considered it before, this week has forced me to truly dive into it. I feel at this point I am still at the depths of it, working things out in my mind. Everyone has their own values and handles issues of life and death differently, it doesn’t take coming to a different country to know that, but being in the hospital this week has caused me to really examine my own values and the way that I view life and death. So much can happen in such a short time, and I wish I could thoroughly express in words the impact that everything this week is having on my life, but sometimes I find that difficult to do as I am constantly mulling things over in my mind and am not always sure what I think or how I feel. Even so, I hope these stories and recollections can somewhat portray to you the depth of what I know God is doing here, in me and in the people around me.

Before I get into the hospital and ministry work that has been taking place this week, I’m going to rewind for a minute to talk about the conclusion of last week, which I must say was quite exciting. On Saturday, Alisha and I decided to go to the Yankari Game Reserve along with some of the other SIM missionaries. Yankari is about a three-hour drive outside of Jos, so we left at about 6:00 Saturday morning, and Michael (a SIM driver) took us in one of the SIM vans. He also brought along his wife and three young kids, so it was a full car, and a great group of people! First thing when we got there we decided to go on a safari, because of course you can’t go to Africa without going on a safari! Also, even though it is the rainy season and the best time to see the animals is during the dry season, we were hopeful as we all piled into the vehicle and set out on our adventure.

Really quick side note: On the way to Yankari, Alisha told me she was praying and asking God to give her an elephant (well, for her to see an elephant that is). She was so sure that He would answer her prayer, so I asked her if it was ok if I prayed too, and then maybe we could get two elephants. Well, I guess God heard our prayers, because we saw about five elephants! As the first one crossed the road in front of our safari Alisha was just beaming as she elbowed me and said, “See, I knew it…God answered my prayer!” So that was definitely the highlight of the safari. However, there was more excitement to come…I’ve never viewed baboons as vicious, aggressive, or one of those animals you should really “watch out for” in life. I have actually always had a certain fondness for monkeys somewhere in my heart, but the baboons at Yankari changed my perspective considerably. They were CRAZY. They were all over the place, and their main mission in life was to steal people’s food. They would hang out around and on top of the cars, just waiting for an opportunity to snatch something. In fact, as we were finishing up lunch in the car, one of the girls in our group was holding a candy bar in her hand, when all of a sudden a baboon jumped up to the window (which was only opened about three inches), reached in and grabbed the candy right out of her hand! They were definitely professional food nabbers, and the classic moment was later on when I passed by this baboon who was sucking on a lollipop…you’ve just gotta laugh.

After the whole baboon ordeal, we commenced the final activity of our Yankari experience: swimming in the warm springs. I don’t think I’d ever been in water that clear, natural, warm, and relaxing…it was something else. I am pretty sure we stayed in the water for about three hours, just floating downstream, jumping in, climbing up rock walls (well, the other’s climbed, I was just there for moral support), and hanging out with everyone in our group…they are all such fun and amazing people!

The excitement of Yankari was then followed by the excitement of going to a cultural Hausa service on Sunday. Audu, another one of the SIM drivers, took a group of us to his home church, where the service would be done completely in Hausa and which would give us a better idea of the way in which a typical Nigerian church service is carried out. Even more excitement was added to this experience because the night before Alisha and I received our outfits back from the tailor, so we would be able to attend the service “in style!” However, no matter how “authentic” our apparel might be, we still definitely stand out in a crowd, which I’m kind of getting used to. Although I can’t exactly tell you much about the sermon, since it was in Hausa, I CAN tell you one thing: Nigerian pastors don’t speak, they yell. Literally the whole sermon was at the highest volume and passion level imaginable. Our group was sitting right under the speakers, so I pretty much jumped a little in my seat every time the pastor would pause and then start up again. It really was a fantastic experience though, and an added blessing was that after the service Audu actually took us back to his house for a minute and explained how he first came to live there. He described how the first thing he did was dedicate his house to God and His work, and explained the progression from meeting and praying each night with his first neighbor, to meeting and mentoring more neighbors, to starting a Sunday school for the kids, and eventually founding the church we had just attended. It’s so encouraging to hear stories like that…of God using a willing and humble heart to fulfill His great and perfect purpose.

Monday brought with it the start of a new rotation at the hospital, and Alisha and I were both excited to see more of Evangel. We met with the director of nursing on Monday morning and decided to spend the week in ICU and then maybe move onto pediatrics the following week. I can definitely say that working in the intensive care unit taught me a lot of things about Nigerian nursing, culture, ideals, priorities, and mindsets, and it also taught me that I still have a lot to learn. The ICU at Evangel consists of one room that holds up to four patients at a time. Although not quite sure what to do at first, we slowly warmed up to the nurses there and started learning more about what one of them called “tropical medicine.” It all started shortly after we got there and a new admission needed a catheter put in to regulate her urine output. I was going to be the one to put in the catheter, but before I started, the nurse asked me if I knew how to do it the tropical way. I wasn’t quite sure what this meant, but I had a feeling it had something to do with the fact that “sterile field” is a lot different here than in America, and things don’t come all ready for you in a nice neat package. The nurse stood back and watched to see how I would go about this tropical catheter insertion, and in the end I did it successfully, with Alisha’s assistance of course. From that point on however, Alisha and I would always joke around with the nurse about “tropical medicine” and how we wanted to learn to do things the “tropical way.”

After getting into a routine working in ICU this week, Alisha and I decided that the major difference here is the mindset. Of course there is a matter of practical application of medicine and care for the patients, and there are major differences there for sure, but overall it is the mindset that has required the most adjusting to, and there are still many things I don’t understand. It’s hard to put into words exactly what the difference is, because really it is a lot of things that all come together to make up the “Nigerian way” of nursing. I do not want to really get into all these differences, and although I can say that it has been a struggle learning and finding “my place” within this Nigerian way, it had definitely been a healthy and productive struggle. I think the biggest thing is learning when to speak up and when to sit back and let the nurses take care of things in their own way, and more importantly, in their own time. That is really the major issue: time. During my time at the hospitals while in school I’m so used to being task-oriented and doing things right away, as soon as a need arises. In America we keep busy, always trying to stay on top of things, at times smothering them under our desire to get the job done. Here, they take their time. My initial reaction used to be “Why isn’t this being done right now? There’s a need here and nobody’s meeting it…why can’t we just do this now?” However, my mindset has been slowly shifting as I learn to understand and respect the Nigerian way.

Although there was so much that happened this week in ICU, what really affected me the most and got me thinking a lot about life was something that took place Friday morning. There was a new admission that came in unconscious due to a stroke caused by his extremely high blood pressure. Everything seemed alright for a while, but then shortly after taking his vitals signs one of the nurses called us over to take them again, quickly, because there was something wrong with his breathing. I can’t even really remember the course of events, but one second he was breathing, the next he was gasping for air, and then before I knew it the doctor was pushing Atropine into his IV site as one of the nurses was attempting resuscitation. Everything happened so fast. I didn’t even have time to process the fact that the man was dying, and then he was just lying there, dead. I still haven’t quite worked through everything in my mind, but I do know it taught me a lot to see how everyone else handled the situation, whether it be the nurses, the doctors, or the family. In general, death is a much more common and accepted thing here, so I’m sure at times it’s hard for the medical staff to find a balance between sympathy and indifference. There is a certain level of callousness that is necessary to keep functioning in that kind of an environment, but there is also a certain level of humanity that requires recognition of life and consequently recognition of its passing.

Life is such a fragile thing, and being in the ICU seeing so many patients on the brink of existence, it’s hard not to wonder “Why? Why Lord did you create these people knowing they would just lie here unconscious and then die? Or maybe come out of unconsciousness and have a significantly decreased quality of life?” Deep down I know there’s much more to the issue than that, and of course there are many factors that come into play, such as the sin nature, free will, etc. However, there was a moment while staring at the face of a woman recently admitted to the ICU that really caught me off guard, because for a second I actually questioned why God would create this individual. She was an incredibly obese psychiatric patient who had been running around aimlessly in the streets and got hit by a car. She was unconscious with a serious closed head injury, and the hospital didn’t even know her name or anything regarding the whereabouts of her family. This questioning of her existence really struck a chord deep inside of me because it really disturbed me that I would have that thought. So while I was journaling the other day and trying to work through these issues I ended up writing a sort of poem, or more of just a creative free-write, called “Made For Relationship…” and I thought I would share it with you all:

Looking upon the face of ignorant oblivion, bloodied, unaware of
her surroundings, damaged by the recklessness of herself
and others, unknowingly dependant on a mind and
body out of her control, barely breathing through
the damage, no one knowing who she is,
I find myself asking a question that
I’ve never asked before regarding
human life, existence, purpose,
will, direction, meaning…
WHY?
and this question scares me,
what right have I to wonder that,
how dare I question purpose of creation,
I might not understand why some people
have to suffer through this life, and why pain
can tend to outweigh joy at times, but there’s a
soul inside that shell of flesh that cries for divine
love, that from its depths groans for a wholeness only
found in one place, she’s an image, a reflection, a mutual
desire, a need for some connection with the One who set all
things in motion, so why create this life? The answer is quite simple,
For relationship with God Most High

I wish I could explain myself better, or more succinctly (because these updates are always SO long…), but considering the amount of thoughts, ideas, stories, relationships, lessons, and questions I am working through, I hope I am adequately expressing things without overwhelming you with information.

Moving onto a little lighter topic, there has been a development in the last week or so for Alisha and I regarding working as “camp nurses” for an ECWA youth camp. It was brought to our attention a few weeks ago that there was a need for a camp nurse, and Rene (one of the long term SIM missionaries) asked if Alisha and I would like to be involved. There would be a staff training and then two different weeks of camp, one for “juniors campers” who would have an age range of 12 to about 15, and then another week for “senior campers” who would be 15 and older. Right away Alisha and I were really excited about the opportunity, but we were a little concerned about the time factor, since we are only here for six weeks (and at that point two of them had already gone by), so we told Rene we would pray about it and get back to her. After some deliberation we decided it would be best for us to just work the week of the junior camp, so that will take place the 2nd through the 7th of August. The compromise we made regarding the staff training this week was to go Wednesday through Thursday evening, and then return Saturday evening through Sunday, and despite our original doubts and uncertainty, God once again proved faithful, and we’re really looking forward to the adventure ahead of us!

Upon arrival at the camp we both felt slightly incompetent and wondering why we were even there. We were told that most of what we would be dealing with would be diagnosing malaria and typhoid, treating scrapped knees, stomach aches, and headaches, and basically allowing there to be someone for the kids to go to when they weren’t feeling well to take some pressure off the other camp staff and management. It seemed like a low-pressure job because we would only be dealing with minor issues, and if anything big ever came up we would just go with the camper to the hospital and let them deal with it there. However, we don’t really see cases of malaria or typhoid in America, so even though we can look up the symptoms to recognize them, it seemed to us that the Nigerian staff would be much more qualified for the job. As true as this may be, I know God has us there for a reason, and during the few short days I spent up at camp this week He has already started opening my eyes to so many things. Since this week was the “staff training,” we basically got to hang out with all the counselors, who are Nigerians that are in their early to mid-twenties, and they are all such amazing people. This kind of interaction is much different than our hospital work, and it has been an incredible joy to get to know the counselors, to see their passion for God and their heart for kids, and really get a taste for Nigerian culture outside of the health field. Each female counselor is called an “Auntie” and each male counselor is called an “Uncle,” so at camp I am Auntie Allison, and in a very short time I have come to know and love many of the other Aunties. Not only are the people amazing, it is an absolutely gorgeous campsite. Each time I walk out of my “hut” it is as if God is waiting there for me, bringing glory to Himself through the trees, mountains, fields and sky as He shouts out, “Here I am Allison! Soak me in, see what I have made for you, see how much I love you!”

Overall, even though there were ups and downs, and definitely times when Alisa and I just had to laugh at ourselves and our situation (such as walking in the pitch-black of night, in the pouring rain, in our flip-flops, through about six inches of rain water, across a field to the “washhouse” to go to the bathroom), it is a wonderful camp, with wonderful staff, and I’m truly looking forward to the week we’re going to spend there…and although I’m not so sure how the whole “bucket bath” thing is going to work, but I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

As God continues to lead me through each trial and pleasure, each struggle and joy, I am learning to lean on Him and trust in His ultimate wisdom and infinite strength. Sometimes, the only comfort at the end of the day is knowing that I serve a God that is greater, stronger, and more powerful than anyone or anything in this life, and His love for me is enough. I praise Him for getting me through another week, and I look forward to what He has in store for me in the weeks to come!

PRAYER REQUESTS:
-I have been trying to fight off a cold for the past couple days, and even though it’s not a very serious one, I want to be as healthy as possible, especially as I’m working in the hospital, so I would ask for prayer for a quick recovery
-For reasons unbeknownst to me, the end of my computer charger has fried through the plastic into the wire and is currently not working…it goes on and off depending on it’s positioning, but I have a feeling it’s not going to last much longer, so I would love prayer for patience with that, because right now it is a little frustrating, and although it’s not the end of the world, it will kind of be an inconvenience if I have to use Alisha’s computer to write/post these blogs or email friends and family for the rest of the trip
-That Alisha and I would be an encouragement and a help to the pediatric nurses, patients, and families as we start working there this week

The whole group at Yankari...

The first elephant we saw crossing the road in front of us!

Enjoying the beauty of God's creation...amazing!

Having fun at the warm springs...
Because I don't attract enough attention to myself
just by being white...

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." (Psalm 19:1) Well said David, well said.

I am in Nigeria + I am happy = I am a happy Nigerian

Alisha and I standing in front of the church after the Hausa service.

Some of the "Aunties" from camp...I love these girls!

On the ride back from camp...

In the market on a rainy day...
You can't really tell in the picture but I am pretty much
soaked from the waist down...good times.

Until next time...Blessings on you all!

The Broken and the Blind...

It is amazing how much can happen in one week. I sit back to think through what has taken place in just the last few days and it’s hard to know where to start. I guess I’ll just have to take Julie Andrews good advice and take it Sound of Music style as I “start at the very beginning, a very good place to start…”

Monday brought with it the commencement of Alisha and my first day in the hospital. I must admit, I woke up rather excited and quickly got dressed in my freshly ironed white dress uniform to get to morning report on time. We sat in report with all the doctors and listened to the cases of new admits to the hospital. From there we went on rounds with the doctors, which basically means we all went to the bed of each surgical patient and reviewed their case. This is quite a lengthy process, as there are probably about 30 different surgical cases in the hospital. I like being able to do this with the doctors because I get to learn about all the different diseases and conditions and hear and see how they are being treated. It took us about an hour and a half to get through all the patients and Alisha and I then concluded our first day by going to meet the head nurse (“matron”) at Evangel to talk about what we’d be doing during the rest of our trip. He is a very kind and welcoming man who has been at Evangel since long before I was even born, and he seemed very happy for us to be there. It was decided that Alisha and I would spend the first week in the OR with Bill Ardill to get some exposure to surgery, and then starting next Monday we would actually be working with the nurses on the different wards.

Tuesday brought along with it the anticipation of being in the OR for the first time (well, the first time in Nigeria that is…) and although I didn’t exactly know what to expect, things were exciting and action-packed from the moment we entered into the “Main Theatre,” the building with the operating rooms, until walking out of the hospital about seven hours later. I could go on and explain every little detail that happened, but I will restrain myself for your sake, not only because of the amount of reading time, but also for the rather graphic details that the majority of you would most likely NOT want to hear. Also, I do apologize ahead of time if I use medical terms that you don’t understand, but I’m going to try my best to explain things as simply and as clearly as possible (within reason of course…because some medical terms are just ridiculously fun to use). The very first surgery I got to see, which Alisha was actually able to “scrub in” for, was a little baby boy with a myelomeningocele. This condition is considered the worst form of spina bifida, as the spinal canal does not close properly before birth so the spinal cord is actually in a sac outside of the baby’s body…and this surgery was so fascinating to me because everything was so tiny and intricate yet had to be extremely precise at the same time. Some of the other surgeries I got to watch the first day involved drilling pins into a lady's shin to re-align her broken tibia, the debridement (getting rid of dead skin) of a man’s extremely gangrenous foot, and an inguinal hernia repair. These were all very fascinating to watch, but the one surgery that I actually got to scrub in on (which basically means I entered into the “sterile field” and was in there with the doctors) was an exploratory surgery to try and find the source of a mass that had been felt in a man’s upper abdomen. Although I of course was not really able to HELP with much, I got to actually stick my hand inside this guy's abdomen and kind of feel around to try and find the mass...which was rather exciting I must say.

Besides the surgeries, most of our time was spent changing wound dressings for patients with serious accidents, burns, or other infection complications. These are extremely extensive wounds, and almost all the patients who actually come to the OR to get their dressings changed have to receive anesthetic to knock them out while we clean and re-dress the wound. There is no way I can describe what I saw, or how it breaks my heart to see these people suffering, but more than what I saw physically it just amazes me how strong and brave the patients are in the midst of everything that’s happening. Although most of them receive the pain medication beforehand, some do not, and besides the occasional crying child, really no one complains or fusses about anything. In fact, one woman was in the room where the wound dressing changes were taking place as she waited for her surgery, and she had to have been sitting there waiting for at least an hour and a half…it was probably the best part of my day, because she was singing praises the whole time. I know she was anxious and afraid for her operation, but despite those feelings she was able to sing out to Jesus, and that is one of the most beautiful things I think I could ever hear.

Even though it hurts me to see all the pain and suffering, there is an extraordinary satisfaction in being a part of patient’s care and helping them obtain a better state of health. However, it has been shocking for me to see how many people are there because of motor-vehicle accidents…I would say that it is pretty much 80% of the patients. These people come in with the most gruesome and life-changing injuries, and of course they would be devastating no matter what the cause, but it just seems so awful to me that it is something that is so preventable. Whether it’s a pedestrian that gets hit by a car or motorcycle, or someone actually on the motorcycle or in the car that gets wounded, the overwhelming effects of these accidents has literally been shoved in my face, and it is such a hard thing to see. There are about 15 of these patients that come in for daily dressing changes, so I have been able to see and work with them each day this week, which has taken up basically all my time in the hospital. There were two other surgeries I was able to see on Wednesday, one was a skin graft and the other was the removal of a lipoma (benign fatty tumor) from a woman’s shoulder, but other than that I have just been going to morning report at 7:30 each morning and then working with the wound care patients until about two or three each afternoon. Having now come to the end of the first week working the hospital, I have to say that it was quite an amazing experience…and of course it’s tiring and gross at times, and maybe you get a stiff back from standing up all morning, but it’s honestly such a blessing to be a part of helping these people, and whether I’m actually helping them and the other medical staff around me or not (which I hope I am), I know that I am growing so much and will continue to grow through each experience.

Besides hospital work there are other medical outreach ministries here in Jos that SIM is a part of, and Alisha and I were able to go on Wednesday of this week to help out with a couple of them. First, we went to Gidan Bege, which means “House of Hope,” and is a two-fold ministry for both widows and street boys. There is a clinic for the widows where they can come to get their blood pressure checked along with a simple assessment, and then receive medication based on their symptoms. The “clinic” is basically a small room with benches along the sides, and their “pharmacy” is basically a cupboard full of medications, but they have a very efficient and effective system and are able to see and treat a lot of women. The biggest problem hands-down that is dealt with is high blood pressure, which is an issue for over half of the women seen, so most of the medications given are anti-hypertensive. Along with the medical ministry, there is also a sewing room with about 10 sewing machines that the widows can use to make clothes, purses and other accessories to sell and make some money for themselves. This “House of Hope” also acts as a home for boys that are taken in off the streets, told about the gospel, and given food and shelter. Once the boys have lived there anywhere from six months to a year, they are taken to a transition home, or if possible they are re-united with their families. It really is an wonderful ministry and it was great to help out in the clinic for a bit, seeing patients and taking blood pressures…I’m sure we’ll be going back there quite often during the rest of our trip.

Not only do the people at Gidan Bege minister at their actual building site, they go out into what is called “Blind Town” to do the same type of assessments, blood pressures, and medication distribution. There are actually a few different blind towns within Jos, which (as might be expected) are basically communities of blind people, as well as lepers, and their families. It was explained to us that these towns are probably the “roughest” places we would go within Jos, and the people there have disturbingly awful living conditions. The blind towns are predominantly Muslim, so we were told not to blatantly evangelize, and we were also warned that the children would most likely flock and cling to us while we were there. We had a rather large group of people going, so we split up into two teams of about eight people and each took one side of the town. There is no way to accurately describe what I saw, but I think it’s enough to just say that these people essentially have just enough to survive, if that. As we wound our way through the tiny maze-like alleys from “house” to “house” to take blood pressures and give medications to specific people, I was trying to think through and process everything. I came to the realization that the conditions and environment we were in didn’t necessarily “shock” or “get to me” like many people said it would. I believe it’s a good thing however, because then I can be able to minister without necessarily feeling “uncomfortable.” I think it’s mostly because I want to focus more on the people themselves than on the way they live. In fact, as I was reflecting on it in my journal I wrote, “I saw more the cute little kids, the mother nursing her baby, the old men sitting at the side of the road talking and laughing, and the closeness of the people than the fact that they live in less than sanitary conditions.”

Also, as I was talking to Alisha about the whole blind town experience, she brought up a very good point that really got me thinking. She said that what Jumaii (the Nigerian nurse leading my team) was doing in blind town basically emulated what Jesus did during his time ministering on this earth. The people were coming to Jumaii, telling her their problems, and then she would do whatever she could in her power to help them. Although Jumaii’s method of helping was through medication and Jesus’ was more often than not through miracles, the concept is still the same, and it just clicked with me…this is what we should be doing. It’s simple really. There are clear instructions in the Bible regarding the need to care for the poor, and you can find poverty in almost every corner of the world, so it is not a question of finding a way or a place to minister, it’s just a matter of opening up your eyes to the needs around you. Overall, I know it was an eye-opening experience for me, and I’m excited to make more visits there during our trip. The kids definitely flocked and clung as promised they would, and they all loved having their picture taken…in fact, one elderly man even came to his doorway and asked us to take his picture…the evident effects of leprosy on his body not at all hiding the joy in his eyes. The need for love and attention is universal, and it’s so easy to give, if only we are willing to take the time.

Well, everything outside of medical work has also been very fun and exciting and has given me plenty of opportunities to grow in other ways…like learning to cook for example. It has been so great planning out meals and being in the kitchen with Alisha as we pretend to know what we’re doing, try not to catch anything on fire as we battle the gas stove and oven, and experiment with different foods…all this of course is accompanied by some sweet tunes so we can sing and dance around as we cook. We’ve worked out a nice schedule with Tim and Dan (our neighbors) to where we’re switching off making dinners for each other alternating nights. That way we don’t have to cook EVERY day, which takes a bit of pressure off, plus it’s fun to have the evenings to hang out together. It’s funny, because Rachel (the other short-termer) has been eating with us this week as well, and since all five of us are medical students you can probably imagine what the “table-talk” has been like (or maybe you don’t want to imagine…but you get the point). Anyway, the first meal Alisha and I made was fried eggplant and potato with bread and fruit salad on the side, and then experimental granola-ish cookies for dessert (which I was responsible for, and which ended up being rock hard, literally, but oh well, that’s why they’re called “experimental,” and they still tasted pretty good). I’ve never really been much of a cook, but I have to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed cooking here, so hopefully that joy will transfer over when I get home.

I know I say it a lot, but I just want to conclude with GOD IS SO FAITHFUL! He continues to provide, protect, and care for me in every way, and I feel such a peace here knowing that I am in His will…there is no place I would rather be. Of course there are ups and downs, and Satan tries to get in every once in a while and make me ineffective in God’s kingdom, but I rest in God’s strength and wisdom, “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.” (1 Corinthians 1:25) I am praising God this week for continued good health, beautiful weather (rain and shine), and the ministries already in place here through Evangel and Gidan Bege…I know they bring a smile to His face.

PRAYER REQUESTS:
-Humility and a servant’s heart as I start next week actually working with the nurses in the hospital and caring for the patents on each ward.
-Continued growth in relationships with those already serving here…they are such incredible people!

More pictures for your enjoyment! They actually let us take pictures in the operating room, but I’ll be nice and try to spare you the really gross ones…

Capped, masked, and ready for surgery!

Three-day-old baby with a myelomeningocele.

Feeling inside a man's abdomen...craziness.

This is the strongest woman by far that I saw in the hospital...
No pain medication, and she didn't say a word as the doctor lifted up flaps of her scalp and scrubbed basically down to her skull...

All ready for work in my nice, clean, white dress-uniform!

Rachel, Tim, Dan, Alisha and I...
The short-term medical crew from Evangel.

Walking through the alleys in Blind Town...

Taking blood pressures...

You might not be able to tell, but this man was so excited to have his picture taken, and of course all the little kids loved it as well!

The children went crazy with the camera and kept reaching up for it...So adorable, and so filled with joy, it was contagious!

Thank you all so much for your continuous prayer and support...
I am so incredibly blessed by it!

Sannu!

(Which means "Hello” in Hausa)

Greetings from Nigeria! Wow, I can still barely believe I am here, and so much has happened since arriving that I don’t even know where to start. It has only been about four days, but I have experienced so many new sights, smells, sounds and places that it’s hard to sort everything out in my mind. I will start off however by saying that God is good. Every step of the way during our travels went so smoothly, and there were really no glitches at all. I mean, sure it was a REALLY long trip, but considering all the things that could have gone wrong, we were definitely blessed. Flying from San Diego to San Francisco to Frankfurt and then to Abuja was the first leg of our journey, and it took from Monday morning until Tuesday night to get that far. Once we were in Abuja, which is the capital of Nigeria, we stayed at a guesthouse overnight and then had a four-hour drive into Jos the next morning!

Since arriving on Wednesday afternoon everything and everyone has been so incredible! SIM has taken such good care of us and really made things easy as we’ve been settling in and adjusting to life here in Nigeria. We’ve had a schedule laid out for us this first week and a meal plan to eat with different missionary families here on the compound each night. SIM has six different compounds here in Nigeria, and Alisha and I are staying at Evangel, one of the bigger compounds, where the hospital is located. When we first arrived we were shown to our apartment, which is actually a really nice little place. We have a cute (ha, well I don’t know if cute is the right word, but it IS nice) little kitchen, a dining area, living area, and then our bedroom with the bathroom attached. It is clean and well furnished, and it even came with mosquito nets ready for us in the bedroom! Ha, I have to say, watching Alisha wrestle with hers the first night trying to figure it out is pretty much one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen in my life.

The first day here we had lunch and dinner with different families and were able to get started right off with some authentic Nigerian dishes. We had meat pies with Jelof rice for lunch, and then for dinner we had pounded yam, and it was all really tasty! The families here on the compound are all so sweet, welcoming, and fun to talk to. Everyone has a different story and a different role in all the amazing ministries going on here. There is however a common love for Nigeria and passion for furthering God’s kingdom through what is being done, and that passion is definitely contagious!

Thursday and Friday were our orientation, and thankfully we were able to sleep in both days and try to beat the jet lag, which I believe I have been able to do! Thursday was the “business” orientation, so we got to go to the SIM/ECWA (Evangelical Churches of West Africa) headquarters to go over travel and financial details and meet all the people on staff here in Nigeria who have helped to get us to this point and who will be working with us throughout the rest of the trip. Friday was then the “cultural” orientation, and I have to admit it was the more exciting of the two! Alisha and I went out with Kauna, a Nigerian who works with SIM, and got to experience and learn about the market, bartering for fruits and vegetables, buying fabric to make Nigerian outfits, going to the tailor to get the fabric fitted, and most exciting (or life-threatening of all), taking a taxi!

The drivers here are CRAZY…there are really no rules of the road, well at least none that are followed, and there are SO many motorbikes, which are mostly used as taxis. When you take a car as a taxi, they pile three people in the front (whether there is meant to be three people or not) and four in the back, so it is very cozy. You have to be aggressive in order to drive here, because no one waits for anyone else, there is constant honking, and literally 24-7 congestion in the streets. Everyone J-walks, it’s just how they get around, so I’ve been getting used to doing that without feeling like a felon. In fact, Alisha and I got to have our first little adventure on the way back from the tailor yesterday, because Kauna took a taxi back to the office, so the two of us got to walk back through the market to Evangel by ourselves. It was definitely very exciting! We couldn’t stop smiling at each other as we maneuvered through the people, motorbikes, and cars, both with eyes sparkling and thinking to ourselves, “Wow, we’re really here, on our own in Nigeria, walking through the market!” The people call out to us “Baturi” or “Oibo” as we walk by, which means “white person,” but it is not an unfriendly term, and we’ve actually come to find that everyone here is very kind and welcoming. Greeting the people around you is a HUGE part of the Nigerian culture, and there is a definite focus on people rather than on tasks, and on an event itself rather than on being on time…quite a contrast from life in America, and as different as it may seem, I’m pretty sure the people here have it right.

There are actually two other young medical students staying at the Evangel compound right now, Tim and Dan, who are our neighbors from Northern Ireland, and Rachel, who is at school in New York and is staying with one of the missionary families. It has really been fun getting to know Tim and Dan, and last night we all hung out, played a few rounds of the card game “Hand and Foot,” and just visited. Alisha and I couldn’t help but laugh at their awesome accents and all the different words they use…for example, one of my personal favorites is that they say, “nibbles” instead of snacks, and I can’t help but smile every time they say “just a wee bit.”

(Random funny/weird little add-in story): Last night when Alisha and I came back from dinner we got dropped off in front of our apartment, and as we were walking toward our gate we saw one of the guards kind of hunched over in the bushes. It was pretty dark, so we couldn’t quite tell what was going on, but as we got closer I saw him raise up what looked like a machete and hack down at something in the bushes. He did this a few times, just wailing on who knows what, and then as Alisha and I quite timidly made our way closer and passed him on our way to the gate, we saw him pull out of the bushes the biggest rat I have ever seen in my life…its body had to have been literally at least a foot long…and that is not just an “I’m a sissy little girl” exaggeration…it was HUGE. Well, all I have to say is it’s a good thing we have a brave guard (with a machete) to save us from gargantuan Nigerian rodents! Anyway, moving on…

Today was awesome because there was a big game of ultimate Frisbee at Hillcrest, which is the school where all the missionary’s kids attend, so we got to go and meet a lot of the other short and long-term missionaries that are here right now…and there are a lot of them! It was so much fun to see all these amazing people from all different corners of the world who have come to this place with a passion to live for Christ and share His love with the Nigerian people…and of course the game of ultimate Frisbee was super fun too!

Well, to finish off this rather long introduction to my adventures in Nigeria, I want to share with you part of a “Prayer of Surrender” that I wrote to God in my journal while on the way here…

“…I want to enter into these next six weeks with a completely open mind and heart to what You have planned, not what I want or expect to happen. So I offer to You all my expectations and trust that you are in control. You work when I don’t always see it, You move when I can’t always feel it, You speak when I can’t always hear it, and You WILL be glorified whether I give you the glory or not…so knowing that, I just ask that I would have a right heart before You, and that You would use me to further Your kingdom…in whatever way YOU have planned.”

As I finished writing that God brought to my heart Proverbs 16:3,9:
“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed…In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”

I want to say to all of you, na gode, which is “thank you” in Hausa, but really I cannot thank you all enough for taking the time to read about what is going on in my life right now and supporting me with your thoughts and prayers…Alisha and I can definitely feel them! It is so humbling to be supported by such amazing people, and I thank God for you all! Right now I am praising God for our safe travels here, good health so far, the amazing SIM missionaries and staff who have welcomed and oriented us, and of course for God’s faithfulness!

PRAYER REQUESTS:
-Continued heath for both Alisha and I
-Confidence and energy as we start working in the hospital on Monday (So exciting!)
-Patience and wisdom for the missionary doctors as they deal with the day-to-day struggles of ministry work

Here are a few pictures for your enjoyment…

On board and excited for our first flight!

The entryway to our new apartment...

My bed for the next six weeks...

The wall surrounding our compound...lots of barbed wire

In the front yard with Lovely Lish...I just adore this girl!

The weather has been beautiful but sporadic...sunny and then seconds later pouring rain!

A bird's eye view of the market...busy, busy, busy.

From inside my first Nigerian taxi!

Kauna, Alisha and I during our cultural orientation...so much fun!

That's it for now...Blessings on you all!

"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?'"

As I prepare physically, emotionally, and spiritually for the journey ahead of me, I cannot help but be blown away by God's faithfulness and constant provision. I have learned that all it takes is a willing heart and the ability to trust in Him completely, and God will take me places I never imagined going. I cannot say that I literally "heard the voice of the Lord" telling me to go to Nigeria this summer, but I can say that He is sovereign, that He opened up the doors for me to take this trip, and that His hand has been evident every step of the way.

I will be traveling to Jos, Nigeria with my friend and fellow nursing student, Alisha Gilbert, on Monday July 7th to work with SIM (Serving In Mission) at Evangel Hospital and in whatever other ways we are needed. We will be staying for six weeks in an apartment on the Evangel compound and we are both so excited to go and let God work His will through our lives.

In these last few days before I leave, I am filled with many differing emotions, but one of the most prominent is that I feel honored. It is such an honor to have the opportunity to serve the Lord, and I feel especially blessed to accomplish this through the gift and passion of nursing. I cannot think of a better way to enter into and positively effect someone's life than to meet their physical needs while being able to minister to them emotionally and spiritually. It is my prayer that God will use me to bless the people of Nigeria, whether they be doctors, nurses, patients, families of patients, other missionaries, or anyone else He brings into my path. I know God is going to do an incredible work in my heart while I am there, and it is my greatest hope and prayer that He receives the glory in everything that is said and done.

I cannot fully express how eager I am to begin this journey, and I cannot believe I will be in Nigeria in less than four days! As excited and full of anticipation as I may be, I have to recognize that whenever we as Christians strive to live out God's will and serve Him wholeheartedly, Satan gets pretty upset. However, it is through the Word of God and the power of prayer that Satan's schemes are thwarted...and this is why I ask that you please support me in prayer. I cannot stress enough how grateful I am for your involvement in this way!

I am glad to say that Alisha and I will have wireless internet while in Nigeria, so I plan to be updating this blog on a regular basis and letting you know of specific needs, praises, and prayer requests as they arise. Right now Alisha and I are praising God for getting our entry visas in on time--they just arrived this morning...He is so faithful! Immediate prayer requests would be for thorough yet precise packing, and then of course for safe, smooth, and non-stressful travels. Thank you again so much for your support and your prayers...they are greatly appreciated!