Keri and I on the plane currently!Tuesday, November 24, 2009
How cool is this?
Hey all! I am writing to you from Delta flight 1562 out of Atlanta! I am currently in the air. We are to arrive in Indy a little after 11:00. We missed our flight from Atlanta at 8:40 because our plane got in an hour late from Jo'burg and then our baggage took forever to come up on the carousel. There is free wi-fi though on the plane as a special holiday offer from Ebay and Delta i guess. So that is nice :). I 'm just enjoying my last plane ride for awhile. This flight will be one hour and 2 mins! Can't wait! Love you all :)
Keri and I on the plane currently!
Keri and I on the plane currently!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Week 10: Part 2, Livingstone
We left Choma on Thursday morning after saying all of our goodbyes and giving some small gifts to show our appreciation to the staff at the guest house. We headed out around 9:00 and stopped in Zimba at the hospital and guest house. We left 5 loaves of banana bread that we had made and tea and coffee for all the staff at the hospital. We were there about a half hour or so and got to see and say goodbye to a number of nurses and doctors. It was good to recognize many faces and give hugs goodbye. We got to Livingstone around 2:30 and I got a chocolate muffin for lunch. I had the rest of the day to relax and do whatever i liked. I watched Mission Impossible before dinner and Mission Impossible 3 after dinner. I had a chicken quesadilla for dinner. I went to bed around 10:30 after MI 3 got over.
Friday i had a lot of fun. In the morning around we went on a safari and saw giraffes, monkeys, buffalo, birds, warthogs, hippos, and crocodiles. We came back for breakfast afterward at the ZigZag where we are staying. Around 11:45 we left to go to Victoria Falls. Because of the time of year it is, with the dry season, there was not much water at all coming over the falls on the Zambia side. At the furthest point we could go we could see a lot of water coming over on the Zimbabwe side. It was a lot of fun still and i got a lot of pictures. There were several small stands set up by the falls and we had some to do a little shopping. I only needed a few more gifts and didn't have a lot of money left to spend. i did find gifts for my bridesmaids that i absolutely love! So taht was good. I got a couple other things too and ended up spending all of my money. So no more shopping in Zambia...which is okay cuz i got a lot of good stuff earlier on the trip. I did not like shopping there though. All the shop owners were very aggressive and pushy even when i told them i had no money left to spend. I'm glad the rest of my shopping experiences weren't like that. The rest of the afternoon and evening after the falls we had time to relax. I organized some pictures into a slide show and went to bed at 10.
Today so far we have just been at the ZigZag. I did try to go to the AWANA club today. Just Pam and Phoebe went with us. Phoebe is helping us while we are in Livingstone, she works for WHIZ. We had not been able to contact the pastor before but i knew the time and place so we went to the building where it was supposed to be. No one was there for the club though and we called the pastor and found out from him that they are now meeting on Sundays from 10-11:30. So i probably won't be able to go to the club. The Pastor did say i could come after 1 and he would still be there and some of the kids would be there so i may do that just to meet him and talk to him for a little bit. We came back to the ZigZag and had a debriefing meeting with Lisa for a hour and a half and now i'm sitting in the coffee shop eating a coconut lemon syrup muffin and a papaya smoothie. Pretty good for lunch. I will attach some pics soon from the safari and the falls soon! Miss you all and i will some in just 3 days :)
Friday i had a lot of fun. In the morning around we went on a safari and saw giraffes, monkeys, buffalo, birds, warthogs, hippos, and crocodiles. We came back for breakfast afterward at the ZigZag where we are staying. Around 11:45 we left to go to Victoria Falls. Because of the time of year it is, with the dry season, there was not much water at all coming over the falls on the Zambia side. At the furthest point we could go we could see a lot of water coming over on the Zimbabwe side. It was a lot of fun still and i got a lot of pictures. There were several small stands set up by the falls and we had some to do a little shopping. I only needed a few more gifts and didn't have a lot of money left to spend. i did find gifts for my bridesmaids that i absolutely love! So taht was good. I got a couple other things too and ended up spending all of my money. So no more shopping in Zambia...which is okay cuz i got a lot of good stuff earlier on the trip. I did not like shopping there though. All the shop owners were very aggressive and pushy even when i told them i had no money left to spend. I'm glad the rest of my shopping experiences weren't like that. The rest of the afternoon and evening after the falls we had time to relax. I organized some pictures into a slide show and went to bed at 10.
Today so far we have just been at the ZigZag. I did try to go to the AWANA club today. Just Pam and Phoebe went with us. Phoebe is helping us while we are in Livingstone, she works for WHIZ. We had not been able to contact the pastor before but i knew the time and place so we went to the building where it was supposed to be. No one was there for the club though and we called the pastor and found out from him that they are now meeting on Sundays from 10-11:30. So i probably won't be able to go to the club. The Pastor did say i could come after 1 and he would still be there and some of the kids would be there so i may do that just to meet him and talk to him for a little bit. We came back to the ZigZag and had a debriefing meeting with Lisa for a hour and a half and now i'm sitting in the coffee shop eating a coconut lemon syrup muffin and a papaya smoothie. Pretty good for lunch. I will attach some pics soon from the safari and the falls soon! Miss you all and i will some in just 3 days :)
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Week 10: First half
So I told you I worked all Saturday and Sunday on my paper. Monday was more of the same. But i finished my paper at 4:00 pm. Right before we went over for our Community Health final. My brain was so fried and i am still trying to recover from it. I just have two history essays left to write for work for the semester. Monday night i relaxed and watched a movie and didn't do much that night.
Tuesday morning i went to the orphanage and spent time with the younger children mostly. Jonathan stuck with me again and i got to carry him on my back for a little while. I got some really good pictures of him laughing. In the afternoon i decided i'd just go with the group that was going to the craft store to see if i could find anything i wanted. and i did find quite a bit so i was glad i went. I finished up almost all of my gift shopping. I am now just looking for two more people and i will see what i find when we go shopping in Livingstone later this week. I did some packing in the evening after watching Keri pack up all of her stuff earlier in the day. It made me excited to pack to so i started yesterday. I got all of my souvenirs packed and that left me with just clothing and odds and ends for today.
This morning before breakfast i sorted through my clothes and packed all the ones i won't need for Livingstone or coming home. I can hardly believe i will be home in only 6 days. Does not seem possible i've been here for almost three months. I have loved it so much and am going to miss it. I have seen God work in some really amazing ways in the people here and in my own heart as well. We had devotions for the last time with WHIZ staff this morning and now i'm just blogging and working on some last minute things like packing and those history essays... This will probably be my last blog from Zambia. We leave tomorrow morning to go to Livingstone and we will stay there til we fly out on Monday. While there we have plans to go on a safari on Friday morning, go to Victoria falls, and some shopping. I am also trying to arrange an opportunity to go to an AWANA club on Saturday morning.
Please continue to pray for me during these last 6 days as i pack and prepare my heart to return home. I have had an incredible journey here in Zambia. Thank you to all of you who have faithfully prayed for me and read this blog. I pray God has blessed you in some way through the experiences he has given me here. I look forward to seeing you all upon my return and sharing my time here with you all face-to-face. God bless and i will see you all very soon!
Tuesday morning i went to the orphanage and spent time with the younger children mostly. Jonathan stuck with me again and i got to carry him on my back for a little while. I got some really good pictures of him laughing. In the afternoon i decided i'd just go with the group that was going to the craft store to see if i could find anything i wanted. and i did find quite a bit so i was glad i went. I finished up almost all of my gift shopping. I am now just looking for two more people and i will see what i find when we go shopping in Livingstone later this week. I did some packing in the evening after watching Keri pack up all of her stuff earlier in the day. It made me excited to pack to so i started yesterday. I got all of my souvenirs packed and that left me with just clothing and odds and ends for today.
This morning before breakfast i sorted through my clothes and packed all the ones i won't need for Livingstone or coming home. I can hardly believe i will be home in only 6 days. Does not seem possible i've been here for almost three months. I have loved it so much and am going to miss it. I have seen God work in some really amazing ways in the people here and in my own heart as well. We had devotions for the last time with WHIZ staff this morning and now i'm just blogging and working on some last minute things like packing and those history essays... This will probably be my last blog from Zambia. We leave tomorrow morning to go to Livingstone and we will stay there til we fly out on Monday. While there we have plans to go on a safari on Friday morning, go to Victoria falls, and some shopping. I am also trying to arrange an opportunity to go to an AWANA club on Saturday morning.
Please continue to pray for me during these last 6 days as i pack and prepare my heart to return home. I have had an incredible journey here in Zambia. Thank you to all of you who have faithfully prayed for me and read this blog. I pray God has blessed you in some way through the experiences he has given me here. I look forward to seeing you all upon my return and sharing my time here with you all face-to-face. God bless and i will see you all very soon!
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| Week 10: 1st half Photos |
Week 9: Orphanage, OVC, HBC visits
Monday of this week, my team of 8 girls went with a team from Kara Counseling services to a village called Habanuga that was 30km out from Jembo Bible College. It took us about 3 hours to get to the village. The road from Jembo to Habanuga was the worst road that i have been on this whole trip. I have found i really enjoy bumpy rides though. My group had a lot of fun even though it was tiring day. We left at 8 and got back around 6. At the village where we went my team sang some songs for the men, women, and children who had come and the team from Kara Counseling did some health education with the people and covered a wide variety of topics. It was interesting to see how the people interacted and responded to the education. Before we left Marianna and i and some of the other girls ran around some chasing the children. There were so many of them, and they all just scattered when you moved towards them. I was worn out after a few minutes.
Tuesday morning i woke up to the sound of rain around 6:30. It fell steadily all morning and stopped before we had class around 11. It was very nice and helped to cool the air off here some. Later it did get pretty humid though. In the afternoon i worked on homework.
Wednesday afternoon i finally got to go to the orphanage. I went to the one closet to our guest house. It is run by a German couple and there are several young girls from Germany who volunteer to come over for 6 months at a time to work with the children. I was only there about two and a half hours but it was a really good time and i got to hold another baby on my back. I also had Jonathan with me the entire time. It was a good day.
Thursday our whole group got to go out on OVC visits (orphan, vulnerable children). We met with four families and their children and got to hear from them about how they are providing for the children and what their struggles are. Then we got to pray for each family. We also gave each family a bag of mealy meal, salt, sugar, cooking oil, and kapenta (little dried fish). A few of the girls gave some extra clothing they had with them to some of the families.
Friday we all went on HBC visits (home-based care). We met with two men who are HIV positive and are currently on ART therapy. We sat with them at their homes and heard from them their story about how AIDS has affected them and how they are doing with their medicine and if they are able to work to make a living for themselves. Both men that we saw the caregivers were encouraged by them because they were doing much better than when they had last seen them. We also gave them food and a bag of clothing and some other small gifts. Thursday night we made up gifts to each of the families from yesterday and to the families we visited today. I really enjoyed both days of visits and getting to meet with the different families.
Before Saturday of this week i had finished all my work expect for my research paper for Community. So that was my project all day Saturday and Sunday. Saturday night we also had a time of washing each others feet and praying for one another. That was a very powerful time for me and just brought some healing to my heart. Sunday we had a meeting with Megan from World Hope International to start our debriefing process.
Enjoy the pictures!
Tuesday morning i woke up to the sound of rain around 6:30. It fell steadily all morning and stopped before we had class around 11. It was very nice and helped to cool the air off here some. Later it did get pretty humid though. In the afternoon i worked on homework.
Wednesday afternoon i finally got to go to the orphanage. I went to the one closet to our guest house. It is run by a German couple and there are several young girls from Germany who volunteer to come over for 6 months at a time to work with the children. I was only there about two and a half hours but it was a really good time and i got to hold another baby on my back. I also had Jonathan with me the entire time. It was a good day.
Thursday our whole group got to go out on OVC visits (orphan, vulnerable children). We met with four families and their children and got to hear from them about how they are providing for the children and what their struggles are. Then we got to pray for each family. We also gave each family a bag of mealy meal, salt, sugar, cooking oil, and kapenta (little dried fish). A few of the girls gave some extra clothing they had with them to some of the families.
Friday we all went on HBC visits (home-based care). We met with two men who are HIV positive and are currently on ART therapy. We sat with them at their homes and heard from them their story about how AIDS has affected them and how they are doing with their medicine and if they are able to work to make a living for themselves. Both men that we saw the caregivers were encouraged by them because they were doing much better than when they had last seen them. We also gave them food and a bag of clothing and some other small gifts. Thursday night we made up gifts to each of the families from yesterday and to the families we visited today. I really enjoyed both days of visits and getting to meet with the different families.
Before Saturday of this week i had finished all my work expect for my research paper for Community. So that was my project all day Saturday and Sunday. Saturday night we also had a time of washing each others feet and praying for one another. That was a very powerful time for me and just brought some healing to my heart. Sunday we had a meeting with Megan from World Hope International to start our debriefing process.
Enjoy the pictures!
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| Week 9 Photos |
Monday, November 16, 2009
Week 8: Last week at Zimba and trip to Lusaka
Happy November to everyone! I realize it's been November for awhile but this is the first blog about Novemeber :) I am so excited for what God has done this week. A really incredible time and i hope you enjoy reading about it.
Monday of this week i was in Peds and OB at Zimba. There were a few women in the maternity ward but no one was in labor the whole day. So i spent my time checking on the children in Peds and on the babies and mothers in maternity. It was good day to spend with the patients and i had some good discussions with the nursing staff.
Tuesday i was in the theatre all day. It was a really good experience and i was glad I got to go back to spend more time in the OR after my experience there last time. This week there was a team of American Surgeons from Memphis, TN. They came over for 2 weeks to spend time at Zimba doing lots of different surgery cases. I got to see a couple more major surgeries in the morning and then in the afternoon i saw some dressing changes and more minor procedures. I was really excited in the morning because the surgeon let me scrub in on one of the surgeries he was doing. The doctors weren't sure what to really expect with the patient so i watched for the first part and then I got to help tie the stitches the doctor made and cut them when he was finished. He told me I was a natural at it and couldn't believe i'd never done it before. I really enjoyed it and it will be interesting to see if God will lead my life into surgical nursing at some point. I am open and ready for whatever He has and so excited to follow where He leads me!
Wednesday morning we left for Lusaka, the capital city. We left around 7 and arrived around 1. It was so strange to be pack in a city and see tall buildings and stop lights!! what are those?!? I kept thinking to myself why are we stopped there's no one coming...:) We went to a fast food place for lunch where i got a chicken burger and chips (fries in America). In the afternoon we had two speakers come and then we had dinner at the guest house we stayed at. The guest house was really nice. I shared a room with Janna again. We had air conditioning and a nice bathroom with a hot shower! I have felt so blessed with all the housing arrangements God has provided for us on this trip. I did get some work done while watching a movie with some other girls and then went to bed before 11.
Thursday we went to St. John's Medial Centre for a tour. It is a private hospital in Lusaka. It was very nice. Then we drove around the city in our bus for a little while and Mrs. Sianchapa pointed out some of the government buildings and other interesting sites to us. We then went to a shopping complex where i had a chicken and mushroom pizza wrap and a chocolate mint ice cream spinner for lunch. In the afternoon we went to a Kumbyah Community School. The children sang and welcomed us and one of the teachers sang for us and performed a drama with some other men. Then we helped serve them lunch of a bowl of porridge. I ended up passing out most of the bowls and it was so good to see the gratitude on their faces but hard also as i wished i could give them more. We weren't not at the school very long but it was still an awesome experience. We went to dinner at a sit down restaurant and i had chicken cordon bleu. Then in the evening Janna and I watched National Treasure and i tackled some homework.
Friday I went back to St. John's from 10:30-12:30 to help at the under 5 clinic and to rotate through some of the other units too. The nurses there were so kind and willing to talk to us and answer any questions we had. I really enjoyed it there. In the afternoon after lunch we went to the Churches Health Association of Zambia for a short time to hear what they are all about and then we had a brief time at the General Nursing Council to meet with them and ask a few questions. In the afternoon we went to Mother Theresa Hospice and saw the patients there. They care for many children there in addition to patients who have AIDS. I really enjoyed our time there. We got to hold babies for a little while and then we went and saw both the female and the male wards. At the female ward we were greeted by all the patients who were well enough to be up which was a lot probably 40 or so. They sang to us and then shook all of our hands. The same was true when we went to the male ward. I really enjoyed the time there. I got pizza for dinner when we got back and a grape fanta. Before bed Janna and I watched A walk to remember and i did some more homework.
Saturday morning was when we got to do some shopping. We went to a craft market area where they had a lot of carved things. I found quite a few good gifts for people back home and i enjoyed the bartering. Overall i was satisfied with what i was able to get. After shopping there we went to a mall that had a movie theater and ate lunch there. I had chicken and chips. We went to see A Christmas Carol at 3. We left the mall around 6 and went to eat dinner. I got a hamburger and chips. When we got back to the guest house Janna and I watched the wedding planner and i did more homework! I went to bed at 12:30.
Sunday we had planned on going to church in the morning and then some more shopping before we left to come back to Choma. However, Pam and Kara were not doing well and were quite sick so we left to come home right away on Sunday morning. We got back to Choma around 3 and both Pam and Kara made it okay. They rested the rest of the day and within a few days were doing much better. We did not have internet in Lusaka so when i got back i checked my email and got to talk to Kirk for a little bit. I did some more homework in the evening after dinner but we had so many bugs in the house and flying ones so they kept attacking me and my computer screen. I got stuff done and then went to bed trying to keep them out of my net. I'll attach pictures below from this week!
Monday of this week i was in Peds and OB at Zimba. There were a few women in the maternity ward but no one was in labor the whole day. So i spent my time checking on the children in Peds and on the babies and mothers in maternity. It was good day to spend with the patients and i had some good discussions with the nursing staff.
Tuesday i was in the theatre all day. It was a really good experience and i was glad I got to go back to spend more time in the OR after my experience there last time. This week there was a team of American Surgeons from Memphis, TN. They came over for 2 weeks to spend time at Zimba doing lots of different surgery cases. I got to see a couple more major surgeries in the morning and then in the afternoon i saw some dressing changes and more minor procedures. I was really excited in the morning because the surgeon let me scrub in on one of the surgeries he was doing. The doctors weren't sure what to really expect with the patient so i watched for the first part and then I got to help tie the stitches the doctor made and cut them when he was finished. He told me I was a natural at it and couldn't believe i'd never done it before. I really enjoyed it and it will be interesting to see if God will lead my life into surgical nursing at some point. I am open and ready for whatever He has and so excited to follow where He leads me!
Wednesday morning we left for Lusaka, the capital city. We left around 7 and arrived around 1. It was so strange to be pack in a city and see tall buildings and stop lights!! what are those?!? I kept thinking to myself why are we stopped there's no one coming...:) We went to a fast food place for lunch where i got a chicken burger and chips (fries in America). In the afternoon we had two speakers come and then we had dinner at the guest house we stayed at. The guest house was really nice. I shared a room with Janna again. We had air conditioning and a nice bathroom with a hot shower! I have felt so blessed with all the housing arrangements God has provided for us on this trip. I did get some work done while watching a movie with some other girls and then went to bed before 11.
Thursday we went to St. John's Medial Centre for a tour. It is a private hospital in Lusaka. It was very nice. Then we drove around the city in our bus for a little while and Mrs. Sianchapa pointed out some of the government buildings and other interesting sites to us. We then went to a shopping complex where i had a chicken and mushroom pizza wrap and a chocolate mint ice cream spinner for lunch. In the afternoon we went to a Kumbyah Community School. The children sang and welcomed us and one of the teachers sang for us and performed a drama with some other men. Then we helped serve them lunch of a bowl of porridge. I ended up passing out most of the bowls and it was so good to see the gratitude on their faces but hard also as i wished i could give them more. We weren't not at the school very long but it was still an awesome experience. We went to dinner at a sit down restaurant and i had chicken cordon bleu. Then in the evening Janna and I watched National Treasure and i tackled some homework.
Friday I went back to St. John's from 10:30-12:30 to help at the under 5 clinic and to rotate through some of the other units too. The nurses there were so kind and willing to talk to us and answer any questions we had. I really enjoyed it there. In the afternoon after lunch we went to the Churches Health Association of Zambia for a short time to hear what they are all about and then we had a brief time at the General Nursing Council to meet with them and ask a few questions. In the afternoon we went to Mother Theresa Hospice and saw the patients there. They care for many children there in addition to patients who have AIDS. I really enjoyed our time there. We got to hold babies for a little while and then we went and saw both the female and the male wards. At the female ward we were greeted by all the patients who were well enough to be up which was a lot probably 40 or so. They sang to us and then shook all of our hands. The same was true when we went to the male ward. I really enjoyed the time there. I got pizza for dinner when we got back and a grape fanta. Before bed Janna and I watched A walk to remember and i did some more homework.
Saturday morning was when we got to do some shopping. We went to a craft market area where they had a lot of carved things. I found quite a few good gifts for people back home and i enjoyed the bartering. Overall i was satisfied with what i was able to get. After shopping there we went to a mall that had a movie theater and ate lunch there. I had chicken and chips. We went to see A Christmas Carol at 3. We left the mall around 6 and went to eat dinner. I got a hamburger and chips. When we got back to the guest house Janna and I watched the wedding planner and i did more homework! I went to bed at 12:30.
Sunday we had planned on going to church in the morning and then some more shopping before we left to come back to Choma. However, Pam and Kara were not doing well and were quite sick so we left to come home right away on Sunday morning. We got back to Choma around 3 and both Pam and Kara made it okay. They rested the rest of the day and within a few days were doing much better. We did not have internet in Lusaka so when i got back i checked my email and got to talk to Kirk for a little bit. I did some more homework in the evening after dinner but we had so many bugs in the house and flying ones so they kept attacking me and my computer screen. I got stuff done and then went to bed trying to keep them out of my net. I'll attach pictures below from this week!
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| Week 8 Photos |
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