Falling In
Today we went to the same remote village we were at yesterday with the medical team to provide medical consultations for the kids.
We learned today that some of the health issues these remote villages have originate from lack of local medical facilites and the lack of transportation to the next larger town. We also learned that most of the kids living remotely in Africa suffer from malaria 8 to 10 times a year. The only reason they are alive (apart from the grace of God) is that they develop a certain immunity to it early in their life when they get it the first few times. So, their symptoms are a little unusual and hard to diagnose. We all feel so blessed and happy to be able to provide the much needed assistence - and our prayers and thoughts go back home to those that continue to pray for us and have made this trip possible. One of the main challenges is that the doctors prescribe the medication in Spanish, which needs to be interpreted by the nurses at the pharmacy in English and explained in Twi (Ghanaian language) to the locals... Today, this worked flawlessly... except one time when Fernando (physician from Ecuador) prescribed pneumonia to one of the patients... We all had a good laugh at the debriefing time this evening...
We were much better organized today and things fell in right from the beginning. Some of us took care of the kids this morning while others helped the medical team and the pharmacy. After lunch, we swapped roles. The heat was brutal - it seemed like every day it has been hotter by a few degrees. Actually, it has stayed constant at 91-92 F - likley over 100 in the sunny spots. But the Lord has blessed all of us with high tolerance to heat and the conditions in Ghana - and with the exception of Willi's heat stroke last week, we have had no health issues at all.
Nate came up with a cool tip-top mechanism to wash our hands - an empty gallon of milk container, hanging from a palm tree with a swinging wooden stick underneath for leaning on to tip the water - with a perforated soap hanging from the tree as well for practical reasons... Very ingenious !!! we and the medical team used it a lot today. Thank you, Nate, for all that you do and for not ignoring your spiritual gift.
I don't know how many children our medical team have seen today, but Mike and Louis had to use tackling to be able to keep them from trembling against each other and piling up in the pre-screening room.
Too much excitement, we figured... It does not take much for these kids to get excited... they begged us for empty plastic water bottles in the afternoon and they showed so much happiness when they got one as if was made of gold.
Two more events are worth noticing today: first, the tribal chief and his staff came to thank us for all the work we've done. They also prayed (they are Christians) and thanked the Lord for our work and for the way they were blessed by the health care provided.
The second is that we visited the recently opened HCJB/Theovision Christian radio station in Assin Fosu (2 days old). Sheila, the chief medical HCJB doctor, and I got the honor of being interviewed live about our experience in Ghana and the reasons for being here.
Tomorrow we are moving on to another village - we have received word today that they are extremely excited to see us over the next couple of days.
Dear Lord, it is hard to keep up with so many blessings - please keep us humbled and under your protection as we move on tomorrow to another place. We thank you for giving the medical gifts to Sheila and her team from Ecuador and thank you so much for allowing our Colorado Springs team to make such a difference. Amen.
Today we went to the same remote village we were at yesterday with the medical team to provide medical consultations for the kids.
We learned today that some of the health issues these remote villages have originate from lack of local medical facilites and the lack of transportation to the next larger town. We also learned that most of the kids living remotely in Africa suffer from malaria 8 to 10 times a year. The only reason they are alive (apart from the grace of God) is that they develop a certain immunity to it early in their life when they get it the first few times. So, their symptoms are a little unusual and hard to diagnose. We all feel so blessed and happy to be able to provide the much needed assistence - and our prayers and thoughts go back home to those that continue to pray for us and have made this trip possible. One of the main challenges is that the doctors prescribe the medication in Spanish, which needs to be interpreted by the nurses at the pharmacy in English and explained in Twi (Ghanaian language) to the locals... Today, this worked flawlessly... except one time when Fernando (physician from Ecuador) prescribed pneumonia to one of the patients... We all had a good laugh at the debriefing time this evening...
We were much better organized today and things fell in right from the beginning. Some of us took care of the kids this morning while others helped the medical team and the pharmacy. After lunch, we swapped roles. The heat was brutal - it seemed like every day it has been hotter by a few degrees. Actually, it has stayed constant at 91-92 F - likley over 100 in the sunny spots. But the Lord has blessed all of us with high tolerance to heat and the conditions in Ghana - and with the exception of Willi's heat stroke last week, we have had no health issues at all.
Nate came up with a cool tip-top mechanism to wash our hands - an empty gallon of milk container, hanging from a palm tree with a swinging wooden stick underneath for leaning on to tip the water - with a perforated soap hanging from the tree as well for practical reasons... Very ingenious !!! we and the medical team used it a lot today. Thank you, Nate, for all that you do and for not ignoring your spiritual gift.
I don't know how many children our medical team have seen today, but Mike and Louis had to use tackling to be able to keep them from trembling against each other and piling up in the pre-screening room.
Too much excitement, we figured... It does not take much for these kids to get excited... they begged us for empty plastic water bottles in the afternoon and they showed so much happiness when they got one as if was made of gold.
Two more events are worth noticing today: first, the tribal chief and his staff came to thank us for all the work we've done. They also prayed (they are Christians) and thanked the Lord for our work and for the way they were blessed by the health care provided.
The second is that we visited the recently opened HCJB/Theovision Christian radio station in Assin Fosu (2 days old). Sheila, the chief medical HCJB doctor, and I got the honor of being interviewed live about our experience in Ghana and the reasons for being here.
Tomorrow we are moving on to another village - we have received word today that they are extremely excited to see us over the next couple of days.
Dear Lord, it is hard to keep up with so many blessings - please keep us humbled and under your protection as we move on tomorrow to another place. We thank you for giving the medical gifts to Sheila and her team from Ecuador and thank you so much for allowing our Colorado Springs team to make such a difference. Amen.
Awaiting Consultations:
Donelles pre-screening Kids:
Emily taking a much-deserved break:
Chief HCJB doctor, Sheila:
Kids Day for Consultations:
John teaching football:
Organizing a Soccer Game:
Nate invented a "tip-top" for washing:
Tribal Chief and Staff praying and thanking God for our work:
Sheila and I gave a live interview on radio:
Two-day-old operational radio station:
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