The beginning

Notice: this post is out of order, just found a way to get it from the laptop to online :)  Just a flashback to the first couple of days of the journey.   

 

July 1, 2013 - Monday

We have arrived in Rwanda safe & sound!!!  We arrived on time about 8 pm (that is 2pm Monday at home).  All of our 10 bags were waiting for us at the airport – not a small miracle!!!!  If you’re familiar with 3^rd world airports, you might remember the crowd of 100’s standing behind the barricade, peering at you just outside of customs.  Among those faces we spotted our friend, Silas, holding a sign that read “Kibogora Hospital” waiting for us.  We piled everything into his pick-up and drove to the Good News Guest House” where we spent our first African night.

 

The clean beds were such a welcome sight to us after flying all day, all night, all day.  To all of us except Annie, who experienced her first of many tears over the differences we will notice being away from home.  She was longing for her own bed.  We all slept great under mosquito nets – Levi pretended his was a sailboat, Lauren’s was a princess bed & Anna’s was a tent J

 

July 2, 2013 - Tuesday

Our flight was terrific – considering everything.  There were plenty of kid movies to keep ours happy & we all dozed a bit here & there.  When we arrived in Brussels, we were just the right balance of rested/tired to be effectively cranky & impatient – and apparently forgetful.  After walking half-way to our next gate we realized we had left a carry on bag on the plane!  Not just any old bag with stories & teddy bears, but the box containing the endoscope!

 

Joel took Lauren & ran back to the plane exit gate, leaving me with Anna & Levi in a giant chaos of lines & mobs of people speaking… not English.  20 minutes later he came running, left Lauren & grabbed his passport & said something like “this will be a miracle if it works!”  Then he ran off.

 

We waited & waited… I couldn’t look at a clock because it would have made me panic about missing our next flight.  Eventually he came back with the endoscope & a new security guard friend, Fabrice.  He had been on a goose chase through the bowels of the airport, bypassing several security check points, running through metal detectors, skipping to the front of lines miles long & racing back to us so we could just make it to the next flight.  Now you know Joel likes to point out that he is the only one in our family who has actually been to Belgium since he had to technically leave the airport & go through customs… they even gave him a stamp in his passport!

 

Many thanks to Fabrice (Fabreez) who made a stinky situation much fresher J  And all glory to our Big God who knew just where that box was the whole time!!!

 

 

July 4, 2013 - Thursday

Tuesday morning we piled back into Silas’ white pick-up (a Toyota…. Sorry Dad!).  Joel in front with Silas, the kids & I packed in the back with all the carry-on bags… no buckles, no carseats.  This began the 5 hour trek to Kibogora.  We stopped briefly at the bank in Kigali to exchange money.  As we drove out of the city, I pointed out to the kids all the different sights – there is a constant stream of people walking along the road (in the country & city).  We noticed banana trees, mud houses, gas stations, babies tied to their mothers’ backs, women carrying baskets of tomatoes on their heads, baskets of logs on their heads, baskets of pineapple on their heads … there were a few beggars – a man with 1 leg, dressed in rags with no teeth, and red dirt roads all over the hills.  The road to Kibogora is now paved the whole way – a huge relief from the old dirt, pot holed roads that used to be.  There are still many, many potholes, and crazy semi-truck drivers that cruse around the sharp mountain curves coming toward you at top speed.  Our driver, Silas, is fabulous & pulled off the road to stop nearly every time a semi was heading toward us.  He told us that sometimes those drivers have “too much beer.”

 

Highlights of that trip include a half-way stop at a restaurant for a chicken dinner & bathroom break, seeing a few monkeys in the trees or on the side of the road along the way & stopping several times to let Lauren get out & pee on the side of the road – that was a sweet mini-rest for those of us who felt car-sick from all of those hairpin curves!  The street signs literally were a picture of the capital letter N with an arrow pointing up at the end…. That’s exactly how it felt – most of the way.

 

The kids were awesome!  Lauren slept a lot of the way, by the grace of God!  But the best highlight of the trip was turning into the driveway of Kibogora!!!  We were warmly welcomed by all of the men from the garage with hugs, handshakes, smiles & loads of help to carry all those 10 boxes of heavy luggage.  They took us to our new home away from home – it’s the coolest one in our opinion J  It goes by these names:  Snyder house, white house, Ogden house.  It has a breath-taking view of Lake Kivu right out the back windows.  We have cement floors & brick walls, a large living room with a piano & fireplace, a den for toys & books, a kitchen with a stove, microwave, small fridge & sink, a dining room, 2 bathrooms & 3 bedrooms.  Lauren sleeps alone while Levi & Anna share a room with 2 twin beds.  We are spoiled!  By no means are we roughing it – especially with hot showers & yummy food prepared by the hired staff here.  I don’t even mind the highway of tiny ants that runs from beneath our dining room table to the door after each meal – they carry out all of the crumbs that Lauren drops.  I don’t love the giant carpenter ants that crack when I squish them with my flip flop or that show up unexpectedly under boxes in hoards…

 

When I asked Levi yesterday “do you like Africa so far?”  he said “No…… I LOVE it!”  That’s a great sign J  He’s been in his heaven climbing trees, staying up past dark (it’s dark at 6:30), exploring everywhere & basically running free around the mission.  Anna has loved it as well – there are chickens here that we get to collect eggs from and feed, pigs to watch & throw food to, 2 dogs to play with, lots & lots of colorful birds to watch & the best part – bunnies.  Anna loves spending time in the bunny pen.  She sits there & feeds them leaves piece by piece, talks to them, pets them, and is just quiet with them.  She was sure she was going to sleep out there with them last night but then it got dark…. And it gets really dark here.  There are few lights on around the mission & pretty much none all over the community.  You can see a few fires flickering in the darkness across the lake, but otherwise it’s just plain dark.  Lauren has also enjoyed the bunnies, but maybe her favorite thing is a chameleon that is about as long as my thumb (from head to tip of tail) she loves to hold it & let it walk all over her (I actually love the thing too!  Adorable… just like Pascal on Tangled).  She also loves to watch Levi catch geckos & swing on the swing.  I’ve been spending my days playing with the kids, learning how to live here, how to have food prepared, laundry done, where is safe & easy to go to shop for little essentials (ie toilet paper) and treats (ie Fanta pops or cookies).  I’ve been spending a lot of time with the missionary wife who has been here for a year.  Her name is Linda & her husband is Tim Berg.  He is a surgeon from Texas & Joel will be taking his place until they return in September.  They have 4 teenage kids & it has been a great year – they are a gold mine of tips & help for us as we prepare for the next several weeks.  A huge blessing!!!!!!!  I only wish they could stay here with us or we could stay when they return – it has been an easy, fast friendship.  They leave Friday morning.

 

Joel started his first full day on Wednesday – it was quite a day!  He began at 7:30am, came home for a bite to eat at 2, returned at 3 & came home at 8pm.  It was emotionally exhausting – so much to learn & so much he doesn’t normally do in the US -  & physically exhausting as well; we are still getting over a bit of jet lag.  He did 4 surgeries (1.  right colectomy 2.  ORIF of a humerus fracture 3. drained a liter of pus out of an upper arm abscess  4.  EGD)  Hopefully every day won’t be as long, though it’s difficult to walk away at the end of a day knowing some people will wait for days to see the doctor.

 

When it rains here, it rains.  I love LOVE the rain storms here & am so happy we are catching the tail end of a rainy season.  Things are still green & lush & flowery… and the storms rock the earth.  We have had a couple huge thunder storms – they are short, but intense.  I love them!

 

This afternoon, after Lauren woke up from her nap & Joel was home, we took a walk to the market down the street – about a 15-20 minute walk.  One of the Berg’s teenage kids (Ruthie) took us there.  It was overwhelming for Anna.  Levi did amazing considering…. And Lauren rode in a backpack on Joel’s back (to the many laughs of the Rwandans who think it’s hilarious to see a man carrying a baby…. It’s just not done here).  There are hundreds of little shops all selling basically the same stuff:  fabric, Fanta, butter, cooking oil, potatoes, fish, produce, phone cards, etc…  But we definitely drew the crowd in.  We were surrounded in no time by LOTS of people – many, many kids, but lots of everyone!  They were absolutely friendly & just plain curious – as if characters from a movie just stepped into their neighborhood.  I held Anna as she tried to be so brave.  Levi just popped his gum & tried to shake hands & smile.  All the women wanted to hold Lauren & Anna.  For a treat we got the kids Cokes to share – but they are served in glass bottles that generally aren’t allowed to leave the tiny store – so we had to suck them down fast & head back before it got too dark.  I don’t think I’ll be attempting the market without Joel & probably a Rwandan friend along for the walk.  But it was encouraging to see how easily it was to find the kids in the neighborhood – all we have to do is step out into the street & they flock.

 

 

 

From Anna

Dear Nana & Papa & Grandma & Grandpa,

Africa is nice. I like to visit the bunnies.  And they had 4 new babies yesterday!  Some things are different here. The church is different here because there are benches instead of seats, and no kid's room. And the roads are not with pavement. Instead they are with red dirt. And there's a few cars. Most people walk.  We can't drink the water from the sink but we can drink the filtered water from the jugs in the fridge. There's a jug in the bathroom with clean water & we put it in cups to brush our teeth. And we brought our own toothpaste. I have my own bed & I share a room with Levi. And the other thing that's different about my bed is I have a mosquito net. I like the net because it's cool.
I like watching the pigs & butterflies. I saw a blue & black butterfly. A bright blue & black one!  The birds have beautiful noises. I saw a turocco. A turocco is a very beautiful bird!  It has red wings and a purple body and a yellow face.
In the afternoons we go to the hospital. We play with the boys & girls. They are black and some girls even have short hair. And mostly all of them have almost bald hair. We can't talk to them very well because they speak another language.   We just say "hi" and color pictures & play games and one time we did a race too.
There are 2 dogs here and they are mostly nice but one ate my shoe last night. Their names are umoonyou (salt) and urucinda (pepper).
I miss Gheera & Meeko but I'm not ready to come home today - maybe tomorrow.

I love you!
Love,
Anna

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

In the States we find comfort that if something medical really has to be done, it will be done.  The Rwandan people don't have that luxury. If something medical has to be done & there isn't a qualified person to do it at the  nearest hospital, then options quickly dissolve. Most everyone is too poor to be transferred - that translates to paying for transportation, hospital stay, bringing along the family to feed & care for them, not to mention being 6-8+ hours away from home & being out of work for extended amounts of time.  So there are times when it is required that the doc here at Kibogora has to make the difficult call to transfer a patient, deny a patient, or just try. 

Today Joel chose to try. 

It was a case he has not been trained for .... He's read 15 chapters about it in the past couple days & today prayed hard knowing he is completely inadequate but that God's grace is completely sufficient.  And it was a success!  The operation was on a young man with a broken arm. Both ulna & radius were broken & misaligned.  It wouldn't be enough to just put a cast on it because it would have healed improperly & the man wouldn't have been able to rotate his arm - an important ability in a culture where everyone does  manual labor to feed the family.  Joel needed to place pins through the bones. He literally made a cut at the elbow & at the break, then used an awl to bore through the bone into the marrow.  I'm sure this is common for ortho surgeons, but joel reports it was tougher than he imagined it to be to get that awl through .... And several times he was afraid he had bored right through the other side of the bone, instead of into the marrow.   When they saw the rod poke through the marrow at the point of the break he did a celebration dance in his heart!  The final x ray showed the pins perfectly placed.  This will hopefully translate into a functional arm for the young man in the future.  Glory to God for His grace for our inadequacies! 

Also today was a baby who had an abscess on his eye that needed draining, a 7 year old with a horrible abscess on his hand to be drained, a man whose hand abscess had gone too far & Joel had to amputate his finger....  he's done over 20 cases in this first week. 

The kids & I had fun down in the pediatric unit this afternoon. Our new friend,  Yasmine, is from the UK & is a peds nurse volunteering nearly the exact length of time we are.  We joined her in going down to play with those kids who are stuck at the hospital for weeks on end - sometimes there just because their sibling is sick. So we sang silly songs with them, played ring around the rosey, duck duck goose & tried to learn a few names.  They had a lot of fun & so did we!  

Monday, July 8, 2013

Monday, July 8, 2013

Today was a little tougher. Joel is feeling a bit lost at the hospital. The procedures aren't like they are in Grand Rapids - he may not be notified of a new patient waiting to be seen until hours after they have arrived, the operating room light hasn't been working since last Wednesday, communication is difficult, there are nearly 50 patients to round on daily (he's the only surgeon), there are many orthopedic cases that he faces with very limited training in ortho - so he spends extra time reading up on what to do, and things just go more slowly in general.  But .... He is enjoying being here - there are so many ways he is able to bring relief!  The other day a 10 year old boy came in with a bowel obstruction ... After exploring his belly, Joel pulled out a whole bowl full of worms!  Disgusting. But it's the result of normal living & just drinking water that isn't clean.  There's a little baby at the hospital now with a bowel obstruction, a 50 year old lady who had a box dropped on her ankle while at work & the bones were sticking out of her skin, another lady fell while carrying her baby tied to her back - the baby's femur is broken. .... And on & on.  He actually just walked in the door ( at 9pm) - was called in during dinner to fix a 4 year of whose colon turned inside-out.  He's tired - still trying to get enough sleep, get up before the kids to have a moment to pray & prepare before the day begins, and then work a full day while being on call every night.  I don't know how the guy before us (Dr. Tim Berg) did it for a whole year by himself .... And he's returning for several more years!  God gives grace... And not a moment early. 

The kids & I have been passing the time playing with the bunnies (kept here as food for pediatric malnourished kiddos), playing with Greenie, the tiny chameleon (hopefully he makes it through the night after Lauren squeezed him all day with love!), watching the pigs who eat up the trash & feeding the chickens (whose eggs we hard boil and deliver to the peds center (again, for the malnourished kiddos). We have explored the old school house that is here & found a bunch of great books to read. We are reading the first Hardy Boys story together during the day & at bedtime. (Ultra spiritual, I know).  We take walks around the neighborhood - about once a day - it's a lot of stress on all of us to be stared at constantly. This morning we took a bag of beads & elastic string out to the entrance of the mission & made bracelets & necklaces with whoever walked by. We ran out of beads after about 1 hour - and we were too hot; Lauren's cheeks were flushed bright red from being in the  direct sun. It was fun - a whole spectrum of people found it fun to bead!  Little old ladies, teen boys, moms with babies on their backs, hospital workers, kids - everyone!  

The kids are a big hit :)  we get so many belly laughs whenever any of them speak, especially Lauren. 

Better get some sleep!  Keep praying for Joel's strength, grace & favor. And pray the kids & I find a good place to be useful. 

Love love!!!!

Internet Spotty

Sorry we haven't been able to keep up .... Just got this Internet yesterday.
To say Internet is spotty is understated. There really isn't any Internet at all at the mission & pretty much none at hospital either. We bought a great unlimited plan for an "unlocked phone" that the family before left for us to use - basically 3G so I might be able to keep up via phone.


We are doing well - the kids are loving it. Can't keep Levi out of trees or Anna out of the bunny pen.... Or peel the poor chameleon out of Lauren's hands :)

Joel worked a bit more than 12 hours Wednesday & again today. A bit tough for me. Crazy stuff he is not used to. He reads up on how to do the surgery before he heads in to actually do it!  Worms, broken bones, bad abscesses .... ick.

We are taking it slow .... Exposing the kids to the "village" (as Levi calls outside the mission) little by little. Anna is already done with the crowds & strangers pulling her out of my arms & calling her a baby. Our american friend & the one who runs the mission, Julie, returns on Wednesday so maybe we can go with her more often. I can't really carry Lauren & Anna at the same time. They do love to go to the nearest duka for cokes :)


Will keep you posted. Thanks sooooo much for all your prayers - I should be more stressed out or freaked out than I am ;)

I love you!!!!!
P