Sadness and Joy

The last few days have been a mix of sadness and joy. There have been so many emergencies in the clinic, it's hard to keep track of them. Many times, cases come that we are not equipped to handle. When that happens we have to refer them to Wau, the nearest city with a hospital. It is three hours away on a bumpy road. When they get to Wau, they have to pay for the procedure before it will be done. A lot of people die while waiting for someone to bring the funds. We have had many cases lately that have been referred to Wau. Usually they end up staying in the clinic overnight while they figure out how to get to Wau and how to get the money for the treatment. Travel at night can be dangerous so they wait until the morning to leave.

One such case we received on Thursday was a boy named Ngor. He was (approximately) sixteen years old with congestive heart failure. That is not something we are able to treat. Unfortunately on Friday morning he passed away. I arrived at the clinic shortly after he died and found his mother, Ajok, on the floor crying. I didn't know what to do. What do you say to a mom who has lost her son? It's hard enough when you speak the same language. When you don't, it's even harder. So, I just sat down on the floor with her and held her. Sabet and Jon (who does registration) came in and helped translate. She told us a little of her story. She had ten children and six have died. She didn't understand why it kept happening to her. We did our best to console her and we prayed for her. Ajok had another son with her, Madhieu, who gave his life to the Lord that day. Please pray that God will comfort Ajok during this sad time.

Thursday night we watched some of Sabet and Suzy's home videos. We watched their wedding in Kenya. It was really fun. I was holding Jed and he kept saying “I don't want to see them kiss” and buried his head in my neck.

Friday night, we had a bomb. No, not one from the sky, one on the dinner table. Dinner was terrible! It was my first complete disaster! We were going to have baked potatoes and baked beans. You would think that after five hours in the solar cooker and one and a half in a charcoal oven, the potatoes would be done. Nope, they were rock hard. They were hot, but not soft. And the beans... apparently I burned the beans. I should have known something was up when Jed came in the kitchen and said “what's that smell?” I couldn't smell anything, so I just said, “oh it's just the smell of dinner cooking.” I noticed some of the beans were stuck to the bottom of the pan, but I just left them there and poured the rest into the hot pot. I didn't know something was up until Suzy said “the beans are a little smokey.” I tasted them and sure enough, they were very smokey! I couldn't even eat them. I could barely smash my potato enough to eat it. In the past, I would have been crushed and discouraged. This time, however, I could join in and laugh at the situation. I remembered Suzy telling me, no matter how bad food is, people will eat it. And they did. Poor things. And no one was sick today. Hallelujah.

Today (Saturday) we had a low key day. It was really nice. After breakfast, Sheena and I went to the market with Mabior. It was the first time I didn't feel nervous or anxious about going. We had a nice time. I had to get a new white elephant gift. There was a glitch in mine. I'll tell you more about it after Christmas. Usually I go nuts with Christmas. I love Christmas so much and I love to buy presents. I really missed going out on Black Friday this year. Here, their focus is on Jesus (as it should be) instead of presents. I love that, but I couldn't resist doing a little shopping! So today, I got a little trinket for everyone (10 people) for less than 20 Sudanese pounds (less than $8). Not too bad! After lunch, we got to rest. It was nice to read and sleep for a few hours.

After dinner, I went to the clinic to see what was going on. Sheena and the doctors weren't at dinner so I knew they must have had emergencies. When I got there, it was a madhouse! There were tons of people there. We only see emergencies at night and on the weekends, so there usually aren't a ton of people there. Tonight, there were many emergencies. All malaria related. With each emergency, you had six people from their entourage so it was very crowded. Since there wasn't much I could do, I just tried to help out where I could. I took some temperatures and got the weights of a few children, held the flashlight when needed, held a child during a shot and paracheck (malaria test), and just visited with them. It was nice being there in the midst of chaos and seeing the work the doctors do. Even though we aren't set up to keep people overnight, there are five people staying the night. They need IV medication. God is doing amazing things here. So many people would die from treatable, preventable sicknesses with out this clinic.

Mayual is still with us and his burns are continuing to heal. We had hoped he would be able to go home by now, but he still has areas that need treatment. The biggest concern when he goes home is infection. We are being extra cautious because we know his family won't be able to keep his skin clean when he goes home. He is a sweet boy and I'll miss him when he leaves.



(Suzy and Jed with Mayual. Jed gave him one of his toys.)

On Tuesday we are going to Safari Style for two days of R&R. It's in a town called Rumbech. It's about four hours away and it's where Sheena is flying home from. She is leaving on Wednesday. We are all going to see her off and stay another night at Safari Style. They have a pool and AC. Plus I don't have to cook for two days. :) I can't wait!

The more I am here, the more I am getting used to life in Sudan. When I was here in February, I hardly slept. Nature is so loud (as well as the army, drums, people yelling, etc.) When I first got here in October, I had to listen to my Ipod before falling asleep. I would either watch the IT Crowd or listen to Joel Weldon's "Cross the World" album. Old School Hume Lakers know who that is. It's so random, but I came across it and found it very soothing. Maybe the nostalgia made me happy and it felt like home. However, now I fall asleep right away and stay asleep most of the night. It's great. I also freaked out at all the nasty creatures there are (lizards, frogs, bugs, etc.) Now, I don't freak out as much. If I see a lizard or spider on my wall, I don't call for someone to kill it, I just ignore it. I still HATE the giant grasshoppers, preying mantis, centipedes and other creepy crawlers. But, if they aren't on me, I don't panic. I will admit to seeing a giant grasshopper on my bed and calling Agum to kill it. After the shirt incident, I am a little jumpy. I also am comfortable walking around without a flashlight at night. Another thing, I am eating things I would never eat at home like lentils, eggplant, spinach, quiche and other stuff. My family may pass out from shock, but I can make and will eat Spaghetti (sometimes Spaghetti Bolognaise if I'm fancy). I know, crazy stuff is happening here!

Until next time...

P.S. Go Chargers!