Zambia update on day of October 5th

What a day yesterday was for the whole team. It was was physically and emotionally exhausting, let me explain our day. We left for Macha in the morning around 9:30 am, the travel there was going fine and we were about 45 minutes into the trip. Well this charter bus (you know the big buses that transport mass numbers of people) that we had passed, then passed us. About 5 minutes after they passed us, I heard Dr. Bee yell “Close your windows”, when I looked ahead I saw a wall of dust ahead of us. I thought it was just a dust storm, but soon realized that it was not when I saw a tree down and the charter bus off the road with the left side smashed and wide open. I saw a woman and a child laying a few yards behind the bus. We yelled for our driver to pull over as we saw a man waving for help. We instantly pulled gloves out not knowing what we would find when we went to the crash site. We were the first responders. It was slow motion for me until I ran across the road. We ran through the grass. The first passenger I saw was a worker on the bus, his head was seeping blood and his face was covered as well, it looked as though he had a broken arm. A few stayed with him, and I ran up to the bus where all you could hear as you approached was screaming and yells for help. Our adrenaline was instantly pumping. It was like something you see in the movies, but this time it was real. There were two ladies severely injured in the front of the bus. Both with broken legs and severe gashes on their heads and arms. Some how the bus was still upright. People were filing out through the broken windshield and glass. I was standing there helping whomever. People were coming out with gashes and various other injuries. At one point this grandma came and I knew she wasn’t going to be able to get down. I don’t know where the strength came from but I just lifted her down as if she was light as a feather. It was chaos. We were running around assessing wounds, trying to stop bleeding. Using our water bottles to wash the wounds and see how severe they were. We lifted the women with the broken legs out and had to set them with poles from the buses, sticks, chitenges whatever we could find. It was triage care, doing our best to assess who was injured the worst and who needed to be transported first to the hospital. The woman who jumped from the bus was carried up, somehow she survived with only a few gashes and a broken leg, her child was unharmed only by God’s protection. Some how there were no unconscious people or serious abdomen wounds. In the end there were no fatalities either.The team just worked together, we carried many people and loaded them into trucks to be transported. We worked together to get everyone off the bus, and God protected us all from the possibility of gas leaks and other danges. He protected us from the bus tipping over. The timing of everything is so unreal, we were possibly going to have class that morning, if so we wouldn’t have been there to help, we were going to leave later but the bus got their on time for once and we left on time, the charter bus passed us right before their tire blew, but there was enough distance that we weren’t involved in the crash as well. I ran from person to person , lifting people out of the bus when needed, putting pressure on gashes when I saw one. Carrying people to the trucks, giving sips of water to people , keeping those awake with head injuries. It is a blur now. The fact that we were only 15 minutes from choma hospital was another God thing. After everyone whom was seriously injured was on route to the hospital, we filed back to our vehicle and instantly everything that we experienced hit us. As we prayed to God for the people injured and heading to Choma we cried together. God protected us, He had us in place at just the right time to be at the scene of the crash, literally moments after it happened. Processing is still occurring but we are all humbled and thankful that God would use us to help in such a situation. We are safe at Macha now and no one from our group was injured. Just some soreness today with some minor scratches. Please continue to keep this team in your prayers as we continue to follow Christ in the path that He has laid for us. “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.” - Isaiah 43:1b-2

Zambia update from October 5th

What a day yesterday was for the whole team. It was was physically and emotionally exhausting, let me explain our day. We left for Macha in the morning around 9:30 am, the travel there was going fine and we were about 45 minutes into the trip. Well this charter bus (you know the big buses that transport mass numbers of people) that we had passed, then passed us. About 5 minutes after they passed us, I heard Dr. Bee yell “Close your windows”, when I looked ahead I saw a wall of dust ahead of us. I thought it was just a dust storm, but soon realized that it was not when I saw a tree down and the charter bus off the road with the left side smashed and wide open. I saw a woman and a child laying a few yards behind the bus. We yelled for our driver to pull over as we saw a man waving for help. We instantly pulled gloves out not knowing what we would find when we went to the crash site. We were the first responders. It was slow motion for me until I ran across the road. We ran through the grass. The first passenger I saw was a worker on the bus, his head was seeping blood and his face was covered as well, it looked as though he had a broken arm. A few stayed with him, and I ran up to the bus where all you could hear as you approached was screaming and yells for help. Our adrenaline was instantly pumping. It was like something you see in the movies, but this time it was real. There were two ladies severely injured in the front of the bus. Both with broken legs and severe gashes on their heads and arms. Some how the bus was still upright. People were filing out through the broken windshield and glass. I was standing there helping whomever. People were coming out with gashes and various other injuries. At one point this grandma came and I knew she wasn’t going to be able to get down. I don’t know where the strength came from but I just lifted her down as if she was light as a feather. It was chaos. We were running around assessing wounds, trying to stop bleeding. Using our water bottles to wash the wounds and see how severe they were. We lifted the women with the broken legs out and had to set them with poles from the buses, sticks, chitenges whatever we could find. It was triage care, doing our best to assess who was injured the worst and who needed to be transported first to the hospital. The woman who jumped from the bus was carried up, somehow she survived with only a few gashes and a broken leg, her child was unharmed only by God’s protection. Some how there were no unconscious people or serious abdomen wounds. In the end there were no fatalities either.The team just worked together, we carried many people and loaded them into trucks to be transported. We worked together to get everyone off the bus, and God protected us all from the possibility of gas leaks and other danges. He protected us from the bus tipping over. The timing of everything is so unreal, we were possibly going to have class that morning, if so we wouldn’t have been there to help, we were going to leave later but the bus got their on time for once and we left on time, the charter bus passed us right before their tire blew, but there was enough distance that we weren’t involved in the crash as well. I ran from person to person , lifting people out of the bus when needed, putting pressure on gashes when I saw one. Carrying people to the trucks, giving sips of water to people , keeping those awake with head injuries. It is a blur now. The fact that we were only 15 minutes from choma hospital was another God thing. After everyone whom was seriously injured was on route to the hospital, we filed back to our vehicle and instantly everything that we experienced hit us. As we prayed to God for the people injured and heading to Choma we cried together. God protected us, He had us in place at just the right time to be at the scene of the crash, literally moments after it happened. Processing is still occurring but we are all humbled and thankful that God would use us to help in such a situation. We are safe at Macha now and no one from our group was injured. Just some soreness today with some minor scratches. Please continue to keep this team in your prayers as we continue to follow Christ in the path that He has laid for us. “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.” - Isaiah 43:1b-2

Weeks 3 and 4 - Choma, Zambia - "Its the simple things"

For the past two weeks the team and I have been in Choma, Zambia. It has been a stretching, rewarding, God-filled two weeks. I think its fair to say that we have been stretched over the past two weeks. We have had opportunities to complete skills that we have never before. I got to attempt to insert a catheter and draw blood!! I was able to assist in delivering a baby, I was blessed to sit and hold hands of patients suffering with illnesses, I got to be in the OR and see a 5 pound tumor removed. Through these two weeks we have seen a lot of suffering, but we have seen hope as well. The staff at Choma General Hospital are giving the people here hope. There is hope in the times when you can sit and hold a patient’s hand and pray over them. There is hope when you can crack a smile to a suffering patient and they smile back. There is hope when parent’s faces brighten up when they see someone who cares walking over to their child’s bed. God has taught us a lot this week in the nursing field. He is shaping each of us to become the nurse He wants us to be. During our time here in Choma we have had time to do various other things as well. We have walked to town and explored markets. When we walked to the market the other day we actually ended up dancing in the middle of the market with a group of Zambians, it was a moment I will cherish forever. I have tried fried dough from the market here in Choma. As a group we participated in the “Zambian Olympics” one Friday evening. One of my team member’s grew up in a town nearby here called Jembo. We were blessed to go there and explore. When were in Jembo we attended the chapel at the Bible College, we ate some GOOD mexican food, we ate lemons fresh off the tree, we walked to “prayer rock” - which was a beautiful view out across the bush. I may have chased a rooster as well in front of a group of Zambians. At one point I stood on a line of rocks, with hands raised and said loudly “I love Africa”, and then looked over to find a group of Zambian men laughing at the Mezungu girl standing on rocks with her arms raised, I can’t imagine how crazy they thought I was. These past two weeks have been so good. We have learned much and I have so many things that I could share with you but the main thing that I have learned these two weeks is that “its the simple things.” Life can be so complex, so hard, so overwhelming at times. “Its the simple things” that have been impacting me the most, the things that I am so thankful to have, they aren’t huge but they are important to me. I have started a list of the “the simple things” that are standing out to me. Here are a few from the list -- “Its the simple things” -- a cool breeze in the heat of the day, cold water to wash your feet with, having dirty, dusty feet after walking, a cold ice cream cone, a sunset, dancing in a market with a group of beautiful Zambian people. Life doesn’t need to get so complicated with the complex things. God is teaching me more and more each day how it is just the simple things. I love it. I know this blog may be rambling but its an update :)

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I will hope in him.” - Lamentations 3:22-24

We are traveling back to Zimba today, where we will be for a week and then onto Macha for three weeks!!! Please continue to keep this team in your prayers!! Love and Miss you all!!!

Week 2 - Zimba, Zambia - Psalm 103

This past week we were in Zimba, Zambia, a small town out in the middle of nowhere. If you have ever been to Africa or a third world country, it was like one of those little towns you drive through when you are driving along a main road. On Sunday we had to split up into smaller groups to go to church. I was with the group that went out into the bush to attend church. It was a 3 mile walk out into the bush. We arrived at Sianakanga Wesleyan Church around 10 am. The children’s service was still going on, so we sat in for the end of it. Then the main service started around 11 am. The service started with some singing, announcements, offering, and then worship. The worship was so beautiful, since there was no electricity it was just african drums and our voices. We worshipped in the local language which is Tonga, even though I couldn’t understand what we were singing it still touched me in a deep way. It was so nice to just close my eyes and feel God’s presence around me with the mixture of voices lifting up to our great God. There is something about the worship here that soothes the soul, it is pure, it is genuine, its refreshing. Next the pastor came up to preach, he talked about overcoming trials and tribulations, which was exactly what I needed to hear that morning. After service we filed out as we were dismissed. Here in Zambia the pastors file out first and then an usher dismisses each aisle. As you walk out you greet everyone that has previously filed out by shaking their hand, once you get to the end of the line you join it and continue to greet the rest of the congregation until everyone has emptied the church. It was such an amazing time of fellowship. On Monday the 10th we started our clinical experience in Africa. We were all nervous but excited to get into the hospital. We were working at Zimba Mission Hospital it is an amazing place of hope in Zimba. ZMH has many wards consisting of male/female, pediatrics, OB, TB, outpatient clinic, HIV counseling, physiotherapy, operating room, lab, and a pharmacy. I started my week in the registration, and it was so overwhelming. It wasn’t what I was expecting to start my clinical here in Africa but it was a humbling morning. I was assisting Jackson in registering new patients and filling out the log book. I signed them into the log book and was also in charge of filling out the rest of the patients files, including adding certain numbers to come up with the patients health card number. I soon learned that this was only half of Jackson’s job. He usually did it all by himself, to think I was only doing half and near tears humbled me. People pushing slips into your face, crowding the counter, speaking in a language that I couldn’t understand. Although it was not what I had hoped for to start my clinical that morning, it was what I needed to start clinical here in Africa. By the end of the morning I was laughing and enjoying myself. One of my favorite parts of that morning was when Jackson had me start calling names out, let me tell you the names here in Africa are not easy for a white girl to pronounce. Whenever I would yell a name the whole waiting room would start laughing, I in a sense became their entertainment as they waited to be called. That afternoon I went to the male/female ward, which was where I was going to be for clinical the next day. I assisted with vitals and worked with many different patients. As I was doing vitals I came upon patients with malaria, HIV, meningitis, and various other illnesses. One man whose vitals I took was so weak that he couldn’t even lift his arm for me to put the blood pressure cuff on, his arm was so small that I had to apply pressure to get the blood pressure cuff to get a reading. All I could do was hold onto his hand and just pray for him, its all I knew to do. After finishing vitals we went to pediatrics to see the little ones who were admitted. My heart broke as I saw a young baby who had meningitis, she was so small, her little head could fit in my palm. With her mother talking with other moms and the baby crying all I could do to maintain composure was pray.. I quickly learned that each day would be draining emotionally and physically. The next day I was in the male and female ward. Again I worked with patients with malaria, HIV, meningitis, and even a young man with TB. It was another humbling day, trusting God to protect the team from various illnesses that we are being exposed to. On Wednesday we had classes and then a game night with the team. Then on Thursday I went out with 4 others to assist with a measles vaccination clinic. It was 16 kilometers out in the bush and when we pulled up there were already hundreds of people waiting. A team performed a skit to educate the people on TB and how it is spread. Next we went into the health post and the children started filing in to the building. They got vitamin A to protect their eyes, a tablet for prevention of worms, and then the vaccination. I have never heard so many screams and seen so many little faces filled with fear and tears. I got kicked, bit, and hit many times throughout the day as we wrestled the children to give the vaccination. By the end of the day we had vaccinated 709 children! We were worn out but headed home with high spirits. Then today we ventured to our next destination and are now safely in Choma, Zambia. We will be here for two weeks going through clinical and classes!!! Thanks for all the prayers and please continue to lift us up! “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee.” - St. Augustine-

WEEK 1 - crazinessss/ transitioning

Hello everyone, We have officially been in Zambia for a week!!! Its been a challenging, eye-opening, humbling, adventurous week. I am so glad to be here and the team is amazing. The first few days were spent in Lusaka, which is the capital of Zambia. We attended our first church service, visited various hospitals and NGOs (non-governmental organizations), and had time to just explore/transition. Each of the meetings that we had with the hospitals helped us see into the structure of how the hospitals are run here in Zambia. It was an eye-opening experience each day. Out of all the visits we had during our days in Lusaka one made a larger impact than any of them. The hospital was called Beit Cure Hospital, it is a Christian mission hospital. They treat mainly neuro and orthopedic pediatric patients. A few of the conditions that are most commonly treated at Cure Hospital are hydrocephalus, spina bifida, club foot, and myelfmenigenocele. As we toured we saw the colorfully painted walls, we noticed the loving and positive work environment, we saw hope through this place. At one point the nurse supervisor giving us the tour, stopped and started explaining that they did not just treat the patients physically but also spiritually. She explained that they wanted to make sure that the patient’s felt loved. That the world gets so caught up in appearances of people that they are often overlooked or seen as “not safe to touch”. She stated that they wanted to get down and love on those who the world seems to ignore or push to the side. This is the type of environment I am called to, this is the type of hospital I want to work in. I have been praying for God to show me an example of where I am called to work and I have not been so excited about a hospital than I was about this one. After many meetings in Lusaka, on Thursday the 6th we were on our way to our next destination which was Zimba!! We left after breakfast Thursday morning embarking on what was said to be a 5 hour drive, but little did we know that it would be a little bit longer. During the drive we had two hours of Leadership class on the bus. Shortly after we ended class we were making our way up a hill and the bus broke down. While our bus driver, Potifer worked on cooling the engine down we sang songs, played some games, and had our first experiences using the “restroom” in the bush :) A short 60 minutes later we continued our journey to Zimba, we stopped for lunch at a bus station on the way and had some “fast food”. It was quite the experience, when one of my teammates, ordered fish and got a whole fish including, scales and fins. Our bus continued to struggle the rest of the journey and after 9 short hours (the trip normally takes 5 hours), literally rolled into Zimba, 50 feet from where we were staying. We were all very thankful that God had protected us and allowed us to get to our destination before our bus broke down. Zimba is a small little town along a road. Its quiet, its peaceful, it allows you to reflect on alot. We had a tour of the hospital on Friday and we start clinical Monday! We are all excited but a little anxious as well. Please continue to keep our team in your prayers. Sorry this is such a rambling blog. We are all still transitioning and settling into life here in Africa. Pray for team unity, pray for protection against sickness, pray for God to work through us and for the people we come into contact will feel His love. Till next time. :)

4 days till Zambia

In 4 short days, I will be heading to Zambia, Africa with 11 other nursing students and 5 leaders. During our time there we will be in Lusaka, Macha, Zimba, Choma, and Livingstone. We will be taking classes while over there and completing clinical hours as well. We have the opportunity to educate birthing assistants in villages on how to help babies breathe when they are born. Our schedules have been full of classes and meetings since being back on campus but today we have nothing scheduled for us. Its allowed me to stop in the midst craziness and evaluate the past few days and how I am feeling about our upcoming departure. I have had so many different emotions ranging from pure excitement, to anxiousness, to fear, to anticipation, to joy, to inadequacy. Satan has been at work to try and keep me distracted and to attempt to fill me with fear. I have felt inadequate for this trip, that I don't have what it takes for this trip. He has stirred up past hurts, He has ATTEMPTED to keep my focus on the lies and not on what God is doing. Though I am nervous about different aspects of the trip, I know I am exactly where God wants me to be. I know He has been preparing my heart, mind, and soul for this trip for quite sometime. I know He is faithful. I know this is the next step in the path He is leading me on through life. I have an amazing team, with Godly leaders embarking on this trip with me. But best of all I have a God who is faithful, who never leaves me, who will be by each of our sides through every struggle, through every day, through everything. Please keep our team in your prayers. 4 days till Zambia.

"Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of deer, he enables me to go on the heights." - Habakkuk 3:17-19. He is faithful.

Summer 2012 and all its craziness...

This summer has been a loaded summer. I have literally been living out of suitcases. I started the summer by working 50-60 hours a week at the greenhouses, this was my 6th or 7th year working for my awesome boss. I was a manager this year and it was great season full of hard work, laughs, sweat, and encouraging words from my fellow employees and boss. I am blessed to work with such amazing people on a yearly basis. Before the season was over I embarked on a trip to Kenya.

I have dreamed of going to Africa since I was much younger. There have been many opportunities throughout my life that I could have gone to Africa, but each time after praying and thinking about it, I had never felt a peace about the trips. But after battling emotions, I finally felt God say yes to the Kenya trip with the Engage ministry that I am apart of. We left on June 7th and traveled till June 9th when we arrived in Nairobai, Kenya. During those few days of traveling we flew alot, attempted to sleep on dusty floors in the London airport, toured Windsor castle, laughed from lack of sleep, and I may have had a man fall over and start seizing in front of me on the plane ride to Kenya right as I was about to fall asleep. But after all that we arrived safely in Kenya. Once in Kenya we hit the ground running. Within the first hour and a half of being in Kenya we found ourselves walking through the Mathare Valley. To this day I still can't put into words what I felt as I walked through the slums that was filled with the trash, feces, urine, dirty water running through living areas, shacks, animals running around, children playing in the trash, no shoes, ripped clothes, a smell that hits you, beautiful people that are tucked into a little area to hide from the rest of the world. You can look at the pictures but until you are walking in the middle of it and see the children sitting in the trash and see the adults staring at you as you walk through the place they call home, it doesn't sink it to the full extent. It was a humbling experience. One that I pray on a daily basis that God keeps fresh and present in my mind, so that I do not forget how blessed I am, so that I do not forget to tell people of these conditions that people are living in, that they have to actually pay to live in.

The next day we were picked up by Bishop James, a godly, loving, man of God from Kenya. He took us to church. The church is so alive in Kenya. You can feel the Holy Spirit's presence. The worship was inspiring, raw, and real. One of my favorite things about the church service was that in the little room that we were packed into there were at least 3 tribes that used to be at war with each other and were now worshiping and praising the one true God together as the Church. After church we ventured out to the Bush. The rest of the trip consisted of sharing the Gospel, praying, skits, medical work, VBS, song singing, volleyball, crafts, loving, adding onto the family, bonfires, laughing, goat slaughtering, bumpy bus rides, and life changing experiences. God stretched me in so many ways. He used trials and hurts to show me that missions is not going to be an easy path, but that His steadfastness will guide me and sustain me. That things WILL happen back at home and that I will not always be able to return back to them. That it will hurt but He will provide the strength needed and use fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to comfort me and encourage me. He strengthened me. He deepened me. He stretched me. I will be going back to Kenya, I know that for a fact. (If you want to hear more details on the trip, hit me up). Transitioning back from Kenya was one of the hardest things I have ever done, and in some aspects I still am. A few weeks after Kenya it was time for church camp, I was praying for no pink eye this year and God answered that prayer. We talked about the kingdom at camp and man oh man did I see the kingdom alive and active during this week at camp. I loved seeing the students in the heart of worship, I loved seeing them embrace and include the special needs students that came this year, God was and is moving through the younger generations. Don't count them out, they are rising up, they are an amazing group of kids, pray for them , encourage them, serve with them, love them. I got back from camp and quickly packed and was off to Nashville to visit my roommate. It was a great week of laughs, relaxation, and talking. Now I am home again. I am entering into a new season of life, a season of healing. I have pushed a lot down for a long time. Its time I start working through things and taking steps to heal. The path ahead is scary and something I never thought I would walk down. But I have been blessed with so many people in my life that are encouraging me, loving me, praying for me, walking along side me, and pushing me. Thank you to all who are taking me in, loving me for me, doing life with me. I know its going to be a hard trail but I have a God who will never leave me and loves me steadfastly, people who are blessing me more than I deserve. "For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the Lord who has compassion on you." - Isaiah 54:10 Oh one more minor thing... I LEAVE FOR ZAMBIA IN 19 DAYS!!!! Praying for God to prepare me, to stretch me, to grow me closer to Him. I have alot to do within the next week before I head back to IWU, but am so stoked to see what God does in the next few months. Stay tuned folks, God is alive and He is amongst us.