"We can do no great things; only small things with great love." Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
Contents:
~Greetings
~Niakhar outreach report (modified for this post)
~Tim's difficult observations
~Brief update since Niakhar
~Stories with no time to tell:
---the boy who shot off his finger
---the boy whose body expanded until he literally burst open and died
---the new Christian girl who suffered beatings and ran for her life
---the 32 passenger "bus" accident w/ 50 on board and disabled ambulance
---the difficult and deadly experiences in the ill equipped clinic
---the mal-treated patients in the unnamed hospital
---bad decisions and hard times
---extortion at the border and crossing The Gambia the long way
---abandoned by people; never by Him
---the people who have given up everything for Jesus
---the Jesus Film and the animistic sacrifices
---witnessing the wonders of lives changed
---tears of appreciation over a single egg
---Mauritania and the slave economy
---more
Note: "Real life" here is not unlike "real life" at home in that not everything fits into a neat little bow-tied package. Not to worry however; God is good. The Lord is our Savior and redeemer; His love endures forever.
Hello All,
Yes, we're still alive. Barely, it sometimes seems.
Our outreach time in the village of Niakhar was stretched to six weeks. We were largely out of touch most of this time. Our phone almost never worked to receive out of country calls. We've been out and about working in villages and traveling across this country for humanitarian reasons in the weeks since Niakhar. We were involved in things and/or away from internet access for much of the time, so logistics, technology and opportunity have worked against our getting this post out sooner.
The events and experiences in Niakhar and the surrounding villages are too numerous and complicated to elaborate in this short post, but we would like to detail one outstanding story that, in a sense, stands to symbolize our purposes here. With your indulgence, we'll let Lin's APHC school "report" tell the story. (Tim's observational addendum attached to Lin's report was not submitted to the school.)
To add dimension to this story, you can find a bunch of new pics, including some of Astou and Francois in a new album (#5) at the site pasted below (just click on it).
Niakhar Report Regarding Astou and Francois:
The first day the malnutrition program team weighed children at the clinic in Ndoss (Tuesday January 30, 2007), Dr. Adamson and nurse Vivian walked through the village visiting the people. In one thatched hut they encountered a young mother holding a very small baby boy who had the look of an undernourished primee with wrinkled leathery skin. Adamson guessed his weight at one kilogram and asked our team to return the following day with the infant scale.
When we arrived at the family's hamlet the next day, we were invited into the tiny hut where the little boy and his family slept. There on the bed forming a small bump under the covers lay this miniscule child. In his malnourished condition he looked more like a wizened old man than a baby of approximately six weeks. On the scale with his large blanket wrapped tightly around him, he weighed 1.7 kilograms suggesting a much lighter naked weight.
Conversing with the family across languages from English to French to Serer and back again, we discovered a lot about the mom and baby, Astou and Francois. Apparently Astou had been following the custom of feeding the baby only when he cried. By this time Francois had become almost too weak to cry. The Muslim concept of inchalla, "god wills it," was already at work draining the life of this child as the family had accepted the apparently inevitable. We tried to instill hope. Lin encouraged the mom to manually express her breast milk in order to cup or spoon feed Francois without waiting for his cries because, even though his condition was dire, we had hope that a deliberate change in course could do wonders.
Nine days later (February 9) we returned with the scale, and weighed the unclothed baby at 1.3 kg. Lin began showing Astou how to make the WHO (World Health Organization) F-75 Catch-Up formula and how to feed this through a syringe in order to supplement breastfeeding. We encouraged this young mother to breastfeed on demand, at least every two hours, to awaken Francois through the night to feed, and to follow breastfeeding with 10cc of the F-75 formula. Lin observed the mom breastfeeding the child, and he showed good attachment with a strong suck and audible swallowing sounds.
Six days later (February 15) we returned to weigh Francois and check on his progress. Although he had gained 200 grams in six days (now weighing 1.5 kilos), it was clear to me (Lin) that we could be doing more to help him and his mom if the two were in closer geographic proximity to our base at Niakhar. As it was, they were living 40 to 45 minutes away by horse drawn cart. Since we had only about a week of outreach time to go in this area, we invited Astou to bring Francois back to Niakhar where we could be more readily available to help her with feeding issues.
Bringing outside villagers to the Niakhar base was not a common outreach practice, so the idea met with considerable resistance by non-native staff, but we persisted as a step of faith that we believe was prompted by the Lord's leading. Would time prove this right?
Because room at the base was not allowed, Lin had arranged through Ferdinand (Godly native evangelist and base worker) that Astou could sleep at a neighbor's home. Although her six by eight sleeping space was nothing more than a windowless storage room, we made it as comfy as possible, Astou seemed please with our efforts. We suspended a borrowed mosquito net over the foam pad bed we had laid out on the concrete floor, and we sprayed the room with insecticide to discourage the literally hundreds of mosquitoes (Tim made a count) occupying the space before she arrived.
This tiny space was located just a short walk from the base, so Astou and Francois had only to spend their nights in that little room. They spent their days and took their meals on base in the generous little home of Ferdinand and Koumba.
We checked on the mom and babe numerous times each day and night, to coach Astou in the use of our homemade syringe-and-feeding tube apparatus and to encourage timely feeding -- this as a supplement to breastfeeding. Originally my desire was that Francois would get the F-75 through a small feeding tube taped near Astou's nipple, so that he would get the formula even as he took needed nourishment from the mamma. However, this technique was disturbing to his breastfeeding, so instead we asked Astou to always breastfeed first, after which she was to offer approximately 20 cc of F-75 through a feeding tube tucked inside Francois' cheek. After gravity feed proved to fast for this little guy, we began manipulating the syringe to slowly push the formula into the tube while Astou held the tube in his mouth.
After THREE more days (on February 18) we weighed Francois; he had gained 200 grams, the same amount that he had gained in twice that time before he came to Niakhar! He now weighed 1.7 kilos. We were encouraged, and we commended Astou on the marvelous job she was doing. Initially these feedings were painfully slow, for the most part due to the difficulty in awakening Francois, and keeping him awake throughout the feeding. However, within the first few days, he started waking up voluntarily, and staying awake longer.
During these ever lengthening periods of alertness Francois began to respond with head and eye movements to noises and activities around him. For long moments, his eyes studied the one whose arms held him. The bond grew stronger between mother and child as hope for his recovery and survival brightened. Gradually this little person began initiating demands on his own (e.g., awakening in the night to feed, fussing when becoming wet, and simply insisting on staying awake longer). Astou adjusted happily and naturally to these welcome changes.
Three days later (February 21) we weighed Francois again to discover that he now slightly exceeded 2 kilograms! Rejoicing filled our hearts! At this point we bumped his supplemental formula up to F-100. He tolerated the change well and his mom continuing to breastfeed. By now Astou had learned to make the F-100 recipe and feed Francois using the feeding tube in his mouth on her own. Tim had made a simple picture recipe for her to follow using drawings of common measuring instruments that I provided. Along with this we had emphasized hand washing before formula prep and feeding, and had also worked with demonstrating burping Francois.
On February 22, during our team's regular morning worship and intersession time, Lin prompted Tim to go see if Astou and Francois would come to our meeting for special prayer. Astou's pleased response told Tim that she was enamored with the idea. Carrying Francois in her arms, she walked with Tim to the meeting. The team gathered round the two, and we prayed for them in English, French, and Serer.
After that, because we were scheduled to leave Niakhar the following day, we all climbed on the horse drawn cart to take Astou and Francois back to their home in Ndoss.
As we stepped down from the cart in front of Astou's hamlet at Ndoss, we were greeted warmly by the old grandfather who welcomed us with extended arms and repeated phrase in French, "Merci, merci, merci." After the papa was reunited with his wife and son, Tim and Lin gathered the family in their hut and prayed again for them all -- especially for this little one, dedicating and entrusting his life to the heavenly Father.
That day at the Ndoss clinic, Lin spoke with the village health care worker about instructions we had left with Astou concerning bi-weekly visits to the clinic for weight checks. There we left four months worth of F-100 supplies and vitamins (thank you Toledo First Baptist Church), to be distributed to Astou by the health care worker at regular weight checks, immunizations, etc.
Medically, our goal was that Francois would make it to two kilograms before he left Niakhar, and that his mom would be able to independently make the formula, and give it to him while continuing the breastfeeding regimen. Gratefully, this goal was met. We intended to provide a sustainable nutrition program designed to bring Francois to six months of age at which time he should be able to continue breastfeeding while progressing to solid foods.
Establishing sustainability was very important because we knew the team would be leaving Niakhar soon. And so, if his weight gain continues at the current rate, we believe that his Z-score could move into the green range within the next few months.
Although we could not communicate directly in words, it was becoming clearer to Astou that her son lived because we cared, and that we cared because of the One we love and serve. This gives us hope that, with the continued guidance of Ferdinand and Koumba, Astou and her family would come to know the love of Jesus, not vicariously, but personally. The love without which Francois would certainly have died.
Considerations that motivated our endeavors with respect to Astou and Francois:
Astou proved a very motivated and able first-time mom. In the process she was compelled to make personal adjustments on a number of levels: physical, spiritual, and emotional. Over time as her baby was becoming more normally demanding, Astou began to really believe that her son was indeed NOT destined to die, and the possibility of his survival grew from rekindled hope into happy expectation.
We had been informed that when a Muslim child appears exceptionally small and weak at birth, and continues to weaken over time, it is typical for the parents to believe that this unfortunate condition is simply the will of God ("inchalla"), and that his death is fatefully inevitable. It appears tragic to foreigners that, in an effort to make this unhappy process more palatable, parents in these circumstances are known to address their dying ones in very derogatory terms, such as "worm" or "pig." And this was to be Francois' destiny. As the family resigned themselves to the inevitable they had discontinued feeding him with sufficient regularity and quantity to sustain life, and he was simply being allowed to die.
But there is hope in the Lord.
As the days progressed in Niakhar, Francois' life indicators grew steadily stronger. His physical "awakening" to life was a real and metaphorical rebirth. He started responding to voices on the other side of the room, turning his head and eyes toward the source. He started moving his body in new ways, in particular by stretching his arms and shaking them free of constraints. We are all blessed to be a part of this new little person's emergence from the sleep of death to the light of life.
This is the story of a new beginning, not unlike your and our own salvation story. He who had been so close to death and considered hopeless by those who were closest to him, was now being infused with life-giving nutrition and nurturing. When we were dying in our sins, someone pushed through the resistance and brought to us the nurturing light of the Gospel through which we discovered new life in the forgiving love of Jesus.
~ "In His great mercy, He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade... " 1 Peter 1:3
~ "For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:13
~ "We know that we have passed from death unto life..." 1 John 3:14a
During this process, Tim took photos of Astou and and Francois with some of the team. Lin arranged a few of these pics on several memory-pages which she sent back to Astou via Vivian. Lin wrote the following blessing to accompany the photos (it was translated into Serer), accompanied by all of the team members' signatures:
"Dear Francois,
May Jesus be the Light that shines in your heart throughout all eternity."
This, of course continues to be our prayer for Francois and his mother.
-------------------------------------------
Tim's difficult observations:
Francois' story probably represents the best outcome of our purposeful intentions on APHC school outreach. There are many other stories -- some still in the making -- and a few with outcomes that are difficult to understand. We will not elaborate on these here for reasons that are beyond easy explanation. "Real life" here is not unlike "real life" at home in that not everything fits into a neat little bow-tied package. Not to worry however; God is good. The Lord is our Savior and redeemer; His love endures forever.
It's true that tenacity and perseverance in the face of opposition saved a life. It's true that had we not vigorously pursued this case against resistance, no doubt Francois' little body would now be buried. But it's important to note that no one in this story is claiming or pursuing special recognition or hero status. Everything that was done for Francois could have been done and should have been done by any member of our team faced with the Francois dilemma -- a dilemma not unlike that faced by our APHC school model, The Good Samaritan. The help provided (e.g., sizing up the situation, developing a plan, researching approaches, gathering supplies, calculating formula, monitoring changes, arranging and paying for transportation and homestay, etc.) had been implied as standard procedural expectations in the APHC school.
The difference for the life of Francois lay in the tenacity and perseverance of one or more of the team members who pursued assessing the situation, gathering medical and non-medical resources, arranging for both room and board for mother and child, and doggedly and personally giving the day to day mundane and loving care necessary to help young Astou know what to do for Francois and to help Francois do what he needed to do for himself.
It is unpleasant but important to report that, ironically, all of this Good Samaritan "go and do likewise" effort that ultimately saved a baby's life and brought a shining witness of the love of Jesus to a young Muslim mother, was in no way encouraged by everyone. Well trained APHC students pressed forward against both active and passive resistance from unexpected quarters. In particular, housing and care for Astou and Francois was provided against the express will of at least one key individual. Some reasons for these obstructions are better understood in the context of deep cultural bias which took generations to develop, and, without miraculous intervention, may take generations to heal.
Nevertheless, in the Niakhar outreach, there is no greater example of students modeling our APHC motto, "Go and do likewise" in the spirit of Jesus' Good Samaritan. But there are no heroes here. Those stoic students who participated in the life saving efforts that were extended to Francois rightly reject hero status because, though their actions may appear heroic to some, they correctly consider themselves no more than people following their Savior, their calling, and their training..
This event serves as a dramatic real-life demonstration of the power of love taught in Jesus' Good Samaritan model. Perhaps, ultimately, no one will appreciate this more than Francois himself.
-----------------------------
Brief update of time following the Niakhar outreach:
Planning had to be worked around unexpected circumstances that split the team into three parts. A group of five went south, by ocean going transport, around the Gambia to the Casamance region to serve in a small clinic located in the village of Diattakounda (dee-ah-tah-koon'-dah). A second group headed north by road to the closed country of Mauritania to do survey work preceding the introduction of medical teams and to encourage the local "underground" church. The third group is assigned work at Hospital Barthimee' in Thies with surgeon, Dr. Ted Sugimoto. Dr. Ted is leading this group out to day-drive villages for work among the child street beggars (a story in itself), orphanages, and needy village clinics.
Lin and our good friend and fellow worker from Lewis County, Dana Smith (nurse practitioner at NWPC) have been working with Dr. Ted as mentioned above. Additionally, they plan a two-day trip back to Niakhar to check on the progress of Francois and other fragile patients there.
Tim is blessed with opportunities to participate a little bit with each group. He got to tramp around in the desert dunes near the orphanage (where Lin and Dana were working) where he discovered some fascinating places and objects too elaborate for this post.
He got to take vital signs at one village clinic where he learned that you can't hear blood pressure pulse sounds if you've left the end of the stethoscope lying on the table.
He, with our good friend, Aloyse Ndour, rode public transport (another story in itself) south through Senegal, across The Gambia, and into Casamance to take needed support and encouragement to the team working there in Diattakounda. They were on the wild and crazy roads of Senegal and the Gambia for 23 hours out of 48. He didn't learn until later that they had taken a longer and more difficult alternate route to avoid recent highway banditry south of the Gambia. When Tim got home from that trip, he said he was tired.
Finally, after yet another grueling trip to Dakar for his Mauritania visa (thanks again Toledo First Baptist Church), he is set to depart by public transport tomorrow for Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania. There he hopes to meet up with the Mauritania team that now includes our good friend Connie Cline who has returned to Africa after a quick but important trip home to Centralia.
So there you have it as things stand at the moment. We're VERY happy that you faithful friends have kept in touch with us as much as possible, have encouraged us, and have supported our efforts here in surprising and touching ways. Thank you sooooooo much for being who you are in Jesus and for expressing His love to us in all these ways.
We will try to write a final post in two or three weeks. Meantime, please go to our picture site at: (sorry, link is disfunctional; looking for replacement). Also note: the focus function on Tim's camera broke down in the dusty air of Niakhar -- so no pics of places and events since then, -- so sad. God bless you. Thank you all so much. See you soon.
Tim and Lin.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Greys in Africa #4
First week in January, 2007
Sorry, sporadic internet disconnects and numerous power outages have delayed posting. Nevertheless we, Tim and Lin, hope that your Christmas was merry and your New Year is happy. One of our gifts to you: shorter blog post.
Contents:
Shorter post this time; more pics.
The night before Christmas.
Christmas morning.
Outreach recon.
Tim's funny new "cousins."
Dust.
Post-outreach post.
Klines depart.
Tim's THREE encounters with police.
Lin's APHC Summaries 9, 10, and 11.
So, that's it for now.
Pic link.
Blog post is a bit shorter this time.
We're working on answering back-burnered emails instead of spending a lot of time on the post. We've suffered power shortages and disconnects, but we're underway again. You might want to check out our new pics in Album #4 (link below).
The Night Before Christmas.
So how are you guys? Was your Christmas as enjoyable as ours? We sure missed family and friends, but how often do you get the chance to celebrate Christmas among Christians, Muslims, and animists in Africa? People from all these groups were in attendance at the program presented by kids and adults of the Baptist church in Thies on Christmas Eve.
It was a wonder-hoot -- both instructing and enrapturing. Wish you all could have been here. You would have loved the rhythmic African renditions of familiar Christmas carols, and the grin-muscles in your jaw would have been aching before the kids were done with their own version of the Christmas story.
Ghostly angels, flapping arm-length wings under white sheets, brought news of great joy, and five year old Mary proceeded toward Bethlehem teetering along on the costumed back of her human-on-all-fours "donkey" as 10 year old Joseph offered unsteady support alongside. The bleating sheep that followed were easily as convincing as Mary's donkey while herders urged them along to the manger where baby Jesus was then presented to the awestruck crowd.
An adult skit, set on board a jetliner, depicted a humble Christian store keeper reading his Bible in the presence of hostile questioners. His energetic testimony sparked angry gestures and verbal responses from passengers representing various religious, economic, and social groups -- right up until the moment severe turbulence "incompatible-with-flight" threatened the lives of all on board. In those desperate moments EVERYONE was heard calling out to God. A followup showed two of the "non-believing" passengers discussing their personal reactions to this experience. All in French, but explained later.
The Muslims and animists in attendance listened along with the Christians as Pastor Adama spoke of Christ the prophet AND Savior coming to earth in human form to bring us all the LIGHT of his Gospel and the comfort of the HOLY spirit.
The Holy Spirit is a lot more comforting than the spirits some of these folks have encountered.
A Senegalese traditional Christmas potluck dinner rounded out the evening with plenty of boisterous jocularity to balance all serious talk. When we left around 11:00 pm the fellowship was still underway.
Christmas Morning.
Two meals were scheduled for Christmas day with Klines claiming breakfast duties. At 10 a.m. the meal time knock-on-the-door came, and we all gathered round a sumptuous multicultural spread including sweetened oatmeal, French bread, scrambled eggs with a nice cheese sauce, and fresh fruit salad served in a Senegalese watermelon shell. Craig had brought over Starbucks Christmas Blend so the coffee was really good too.
T-shirts were offered as Christmas gifts for APHC students and staff from the Klines who had had them printed at Awards West, Centralia, and then hauled over in the luggage of daughter Jody (thanks Jody; yer a champ). On the pics page you'll see that the shirts are emblazoned across the front with the words, "Go and do likewise" (Jesus' famous command regarding the actions of the Good Samaritan, and APHC challenge-motto).
Translator, Jean Baptist, noting that Tim's nightly duty involves kitchen work, suggested that HIS T-shirt should read, "Go and do DISHES!"
We hope that your Christmas was as joyful as ours. If you had been here, it would have been -- guaranteed. Well, there's always NEXT YEAR, eh?
Upcoming outreach.
End of next week we'll be heading over to the village of Niakhar (pronounced like "nYAH-hahd") for a month or so of work in a medical clinic there and among the people in one or more of the walking-distance hamlets -- doing a lot of pediatric nutrition and immunization work -- kind of thing Lin likes. Tim will be working with a career missionary from Switzerland on building projects (see pics link below).
Niakhar is located about halfway between Fatick and Bambey (here's a map: http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=thies+senegal&ie=UTF8&z=10&ll=14.534403,-16.505585&spn=0.651374,1.322479&om=1&iwloc=addr ).
Tim and Craig, along with Dr. Adamson, did a bit of reconnaissance to the place a while back, and they managed to get some pics of some of the surrounding area so you can have an idea where we are when we get there.
That trip took about 4.5 hours one way by public transport via Sindia, Mbour, Tiadaye, and Fatick (click on that map link in the paragraph above). The northern route is shorter -- as demonstrated on our return trip in the back-woods vehicle from The Gambia driven by that young YWAM fellow who seemed bent on proving that the vehicle could take more high-speed bad-road punishment than Tim would have bet on (can't deny it was carnival-ride fun though!).
The village of Niakhar is blessed in that it's so far from asphalt and traffic. The nearby hamlets are connected by footpath across open country about 20 to 40 minutes brisk walk one to another. The sand-dirt drive-track between hamlets is negotiable by car when driven by the daring and the experienced (see pics). All in all it looks to be a rewarding time for the tubabs, and the local people seem glad to know we're coming. Drawbacks: salty drinking water and no internet.
Tim's funny new "cousins."
In Niakhar they gave Tim yet ANOTHER name (new clan, you see) as part of an underhanded little verbal ambush designed to "legally" separate Tim from some of his possessions -- all in good humor of course. It has to do with certain what's-mine-is-mine-and-what's-yours-is-mine-too "claims" that new "cousins" can make under "special" circumstances. These people are such practical jokers!
But that story is for another day. For now, simply note that Tim (aka Ahmed Fall) may also now be referred to as Michelangelo Faye (pronounced like "Fry" without the "r"). Wanna join the Faye clan? (FYI, the "Michelangelo" part has to do with Tim's pots-n-pans-and-various-sundry-utensil-items Christmas tree creation assembled dramatically in the "Sistine" kitchen on Christmas Eve eve... sorry, it went away before the camera arrived.)
Post-Outreach Post.
We'll probably not get another post out until a few days after we get back from Niakhar, if we still have internet access here in Thies at that time. Note: it is possible that we will have a chance to get an email comment or two out some weekend(s) during outreach, if we can manage a ride from Niakhar into Fatick or Bambey. So, if you don't hear from us for a while, don't worry too much; we're probably OK. Probably.
Dust.
We have it. Wind whipped and blowing. Fine powdery dust in the air, the eyes, the throat, the lungs. Red and brown, it filters through screens, under doorways, settling on every surface. We truck it in on our feet, hair, and clothing. We sweep, we mop, we clean, we "dust!" It's not a battle, it's a war -- and the dust, for now, is winning. As they say, "Welcome to (sub-Saharan) Africa!" (See Senegal dust satellite image: http://www.intute.ac.uk/sciences/worldguide/html/image_1230.html). The broncs, lungs and throat suffer most, and some folks show asthmatic symptoms -- but, hey! we're not freezing to death or being blown (or floated) away in the Great Northwest! You guys please take care of yourselves there! We worry about you.
Missing the Klines already.
Jody flew home Saturday and the rest of the Kline clan will be heading home in a week or so (see Kline picture/blog link below). These tubabs will be sorely missed!!!! We're mourning already. (Connie, PLEASE come back SOON, and bring the rest of the clan back--especially Jack Bauer-- too if possible!!)
Tim's THREE encounters with police.
The two in the street involved traffic "violations" on the motor scooter and were not serious, and the one in the hardware store involved accidentally setting off that honking-flashing alarm system. Well, the hardware store policeman was really some rich dude's gun-toting body guard who probably enjoyed seeing wide-eyed Tim back against the wall with his hands up... but no time for details here. Maybe later. Just remember: innocence can be such a blessing.
Lin's APHC classes are going well:
APHC Week 9, December 11-15, 2006
SUMMARY: This week Beatrice, an RN working at the mission health care clinic in Dakar, taught about vaccinations. She discussed how the humoral system and the cellular system interface to create immunity in our bodies. Regarding this process, she addressed the role of immunizations and diseases that are commonly vaccinated against in Senegal.
We spent quite a bit of time going over the steps involved in setting up and running a one day vaccination session at an outlying site (village setting), as well as "things" that can go wrong in this effort. A multitude of obstacles (some also common to stateside practice) were examined and the class "brainstormed" for solutions.
Another topic, monitoring data, encompassed vaccine counts, anticipating needed vaccines month by month, reporting diseases that are vaccine preventable, estimating vaccine coverage and drop out rates, and tracking the vaccine refrigerator temperatures and status. Many of these considerations are not limited to country and culture; they are exactly what we document at Northwest Pediatric Center in the U.S.
THINGS I LEARNED Week Nine:
~ vaccine schedule for Senegal
~ national vaccination campaigns as they relate to the Senegalese vaccine schedule
~ Pentavalent (five-in-one: Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Hepatitis B, and HIB) vaccine
~ BCG vaccine (tuberculosis, not given in U.S.)
~ methods of maintaining the "cold chain" for vaccine preservation in Senegal
~ VVM (vaccine vial monitor
~ theoretically, how to work with local (village) infrastructure
APPLICATION: Beatrice gave an excellent review/overview of how the human defense system responds with antibodies to pathogens, whether they are introduced naturally or artificially, especially as this relates to the function of immunity producing vaccines. Obviously Beatrice's teaching was pertinent and applicable to the practical considerations regarding aspects of the use of vaccines from storage to administration.
For example, it is essential that health care workers check and double check to be sure that the correct vaccine in hand before it is injected. I particularly appreciated her spiritual application of Ephesians 6 and the "armor of God" to the role of vaccines in that vaccines are unpleasant and temporarily painful, but necessary for protection against life crippling and/or fatal diseases.
The Lord's design is that we are able to recognize, stand strong, and defend ourselves against the spiritual forces of evil because of the armor He provides (belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, sword of the Spirit).
Analogously, the armor of God is the spiritual antibody with which we fight and defend ourselves against attack. "Trials," like pathogenic inoculations, serve to "immunize" us and make us stronger. This is why it is so important to be clothed in the armor of God AND be found in Him. Beatrice pointed out that Westerners (Christians in particular) who enter a two-thirds-world culture are prime targets for many attacks. By this statement, I think Beatrice means that responding in a spiritually appropriate and Christ-like manner to stressful circumstances can be especially challenging in unfamiliar cultures, and for this we are wholly dependent upon His grace.
Reflections on this thought have heightened my awareness of the power of the enemy to trip us up with "everyday stuff." The subtle power inherent in problems that are not themselves "spiritual" in nature has tremendous potential for generating negative spiritual impact. The Lord's Word to me is: (Lin), "…GUARD what has been entrusted to your care…" (1Timothy 6:20), and "…GUARD the good deposit that was entrusted to you…guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us." (2 Timothy 1:14).
APHC Week 10, December 18-22, 2006
SUMMARY: This was an excellent week with Dr. Bryan, as well as Dr Ago, Dr. Ted, and Dr. Allain. teaching our classes. Dr Bryan taught for 3 days on the physical examination. He carefully went through the body systems from head to toe, pointing out the normal limits as well as conditions/diseases that could be the reason for deviations from that norm.
Dr. Bryan also taught from the WHO model on tuberculosis which included transmission, distribution, diagnoses, reactivation, treatments, complications, drug resistance, and diagnostic tests. Since this is a disease that I have never dealt with in the U.S. other than administering and reading PPD tests, I appreciated learning this information.
Dr. Bryan's faith is evident throughout his teaching and his practice of medicine. His conscientious and compassionate approach to people paints a clear picture of faith in action. Dr. Bryan also led a morning devotion entitled "Finish Well," which was an inspiring talk about keeping our faith strong and four important ingredients (passion for Jesus, discipline, accountability, evaluation) in accomplishing that goal.
Dr. Ago continued teaching on identifying and treating dental problems with the highlight of the week being instruction and "hands on application" involving pulling a tooth from the jaw of a deceased goat head (!)
We continued Dr. Ted's surgical lectures this week on these topics: intestinal recession, bowel obstructions, and colostomies. Using the cuff ends of two socks, he demonstrated two methods of suturing them together as one would suture an intestinal anastomosis, starting at the back side and working toward the front. I found this class very interesting because of my background in sewing including the similarities that exist between the "mechanics" of sewing skin and sewing fabric!
Friday afternoon wrapped the week up with Dr. Allain's return (after a month of being gone) to teach on hypertension; it was great to have him back! He defined hypertension and classifications of hypertension along with how to diagnose complications and evaluate risk factors. He also taught the fundamental elements of responsible treatment.
THINGS I LEARNED Week Ten:
~ excellent review of systems in studying the physical exam
~ clinical signs of TB in children and adults; complications, and treatments
~ encouragement to be strong in faith and finish well
~ how to make a colostomy "bag" from a small empty food tin can (top and bottom lids removed) and a few other inexpensive and easily accessed items…fascinating, functional, and so creative!
~ suturing techniques
~ practical and critical steps in assessing/evaluating hypertension
PRACTICAL APPLICATION: It seems the practical application of things I learned this past week is fairly evident: it's all about using medical knowledge in the place that the Lord directs us. The information of the past week is in the process of being deposited in my "medical knowledge account," with the prayer that the Lord will make it practical, available, and applicable when it is needed to extend His hand of healing through me to others…
APHC Week 11, December 26-29, 2006
1. SUMMARY: This week Adamson taught on the WHO IMCI (World Health Organization model of Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses) as it applies to the clinic and first referral (hospital) levels. In the IMCI process, children under five are first evaluated and then separated into two age group categories (one week up to two months, and 2 months up to 5 years). Each child is assessed for general danger signs ( e.g., convulsions, lethargy/unconsciousness, inability to drink/breastfeed, persistent vomiting) and then for main symptoms (e.g., cough/difficulty breathing, diarrhea, fever, ear problems, HIV/AIDS complications), as well as for malnutrition/anemia, immunization status, and feeding issues (if the child is under two years and small for his age).
The key word in IMCI is "integrated" which means that the child is evaluated for multiple maladies and treated for EACH classification of illness. We also looked at emergency triage and treatment on the referral level which included assessment for emergency and priority signs in airway and breathing, circulation, and the presence of coma or convulsions, severe dehydration, severe malnutrition, or severe anemia. We considered emergency procedures such as inserting a needle into the external jugular vein for IV infusion (when not possible through a peripheral vein or scalp vein), intraosseous infusion, and lumbar puncture, especially for the purpose of differentiating between cerebral malaria and meningitis.
Pastor Maiga also came from Dakar and spoke with us during morning devotions four days this week. His talks were so spiritually impactful that the Lord Himself seemed to speak directly to me through the Pastor's words and message.
THINGS I LEARNED:
~ theory behind IMCI, and what it "looks like" in practice
~ recipes for severely malnourished children, including ReSoMal, F-75 (starter and cereal-based) and F-100
~ the cost of following Jesus is sometimes not having all that you may need; this is sometimes due to another believer disobeying God's call
~as wheat must be ground into flour in order to make bread, so we must be spiritually broken and ground like wheat to represent the Bread of Life ("Seek ye first…").
~ if failure is not a possibility, success means nothing
~ if you can accomplish something easily, it is probably not divine
~ children of Israel preferred Pharaoh's enslavement rather than God's "unknown"
~ feelings of inadequacy to accomplish what He has called you to is evidence your calling is true…go in the strength that you have and the Lord will enable you
~ the mission is the Lord's and we are in the hands of Him who is never troubled ~ good works are at the center of God's heart; "Go and do likewise."
~ as medical practitioners, we cannot touch someone's heart unless we touch them physically first
~ our faith must trigger us into action toward those suffering in the world
APPLICATION: This week's health care teaching as well as spiritual teaching points directly to our upcoming outreach -- and beyond. My prayer is that, despite my frequent feelings of inadequacy, I will respond in quick obedience to all that the Lord calls me to do.
Recently I had a dream. In this dream I saw myself standing on the edge of the widest and busiest street I had ever seen, and I knew that I had to get across to the other side. Suddenly the arterial light "turned green," and it was time to make my move. I knew that the green light would remain on for only so long, the street was frighteningly wide, the traffic only momentarily stopped, and that I needed to run immediately. It seems to me that the Lord is telling me in this dream that APHC outreach is a window of opportunity. The path is clear, the time is now, and to succeed I must respond with quick obedience. The dangerous path to my place of safety seems time-pressured and frightening, but my sense of security lies in quick and decisive obedience. The path is clear, and I must respond with quick obedience. The place of safety may appear frighteningly far away, but quick obedience holds the promise of security.
So, that's it for now; sorry we are only able to give you a small look at a few mountain peaks and "through a glass darkly" with our little blog post and pics page. We're always very glad to hear from you -- about your joys, hardships, needs, and blessed service in mission -- and we're very intentionally trying to answer your much-appreciated emails between now and outreach departure date too! Meantime, we continue praying for you on your various missions at home and abroad, and we thank you for remembering to pray for us as well.
And, as Tiny Tim says, "God Bless Us Everyone!"
Tim and Lin
Find some pics of Niakhar and surrounding area in TimLin in Africa #4 here: (sorry, link is disfunctional; looking for replacement).
Also, if you're in the mood for a bit of rollicking homemade Chirstmas carolling in Senegalese French by the students and staff of APHC -- DONE JUST FOR YOU -- click here: APHC and here: APHC 2 (yes, some people are still in their jammies).
Check out the Kline's blog (if you DARE): http://www.klinefamilytravels.blogspot.com/
First week in January, 2007
Sorry, sporadic internet disconnects and numerous power outages have delayed posting. Nevertheless we, Tim and Lin, hope that your Christmas was merry and your New Year is happy. One of our gifts to you: shorter blog post.
Contents:
Shorter post this time; more pics.
The night before Christmas.
Christmas morning.
Outreach recon.
Tim's funny new "cousins."
Dust.
Post-outreach post.
Klines depart.
Tim's THREE encounters with police.
Lin's APHC Summaries 9, 10, and 11.
So, that's it for now.
Pic link.
Blog post is a bit shorter this time.
We're working on answering back-burnered emails instead of spending a lot of time on the post. We've suffered power shortages and disconnects, but we're underway again. You might want to check out our new pics in Album #4 (link below).
The Night Before Christmas.
So how are you guys? Was your Christmas as enjoyable as ours? We sure missed family and friends, but how often do you get the chance to celebrate Christmas among Christians, Muslims, and animists in Africa? People from all these groups were in attendance at the program presented by kids and adults of the Baptist church in Thies on Christmas Eve.
It was a wonder-hoot -- both instructing and enrapturing. Wish you all could have been here. You would have loved the rhythmic African renditions of familiar Christmas carols, and the grin-muscles in your jaw would have been aching before the kids were done with their own version of the Christmas story.
Ghostly angels, flapping arm-length wings under white sheets, brought news of great joy, and five year old Mary proceeded toward Bethlehem teetering along on the costumed back of her human-on-all-fours "donkey" as 10 year old Joseph offered unsteady support alongside. The bleating sheep that followed were easily as convincing as Mary's donkey while herders urged them along to the manger where baby Jesus was then presented to the awestruck crowd.
An adult skit, set on board a jetliner, depicted a humble Christian store keeper reading his Bible in the presence of hostile questioners. His energetic testimony sparked angry gestures and verbal responses from passengers representing various religious, economic, and social groups -- right up until the moment severe turbulence "incompatible-with-flight" threatened the lives of all on board. In those desperate moments EVERYONE was heard calling out to God. A followup showed two of the "non-believing" passengers discussing their personal reactions to this experience. All in French, but explained later.
The Muslims and animists in attendance listened along with the Christians as Pastor Adama spoke of Christ the prophet AND Savior coming to earth in human form to bring us all the LIGHT of his Gospel and the comfort of the HOLY spirit.
The Holy Spirit is a lot more comforting than the spirits some of these folks have encountered.
A Senegalese traditional Christmas potluck dinner rounded out the evening with plenty of boisterous jocularity to balance all serious talk. When we left around 11:00 pm the fellowship was still underway.
Christmas Morning.
Two meals were scheduled for Christmas day with Klines claiming breakfast duties. At 10 a.m. the meal time knock-on-the-door came, and we all gathered round a sumptuous multicultural spread including sweetened oatmeal, French bread, scrambled eggs with a nice cheese sauce, and fresh fruit salad served in a Senegalese watermelon shell. Craig had brought over Starbucks Christmas Blend so the coffee was really good too.
T-shirts were offered as Christmas gifts for APHC students and staff from the Klines who had had them printed at Awards West, Centralia, and then hauled over in the luggage of daughter Jody (thanks Jody; yer a champ). On the pics page you'll see that the shirts are emblazoned across the front with the words, "Go and do likewise" (Jesus' famous command regarding the actions of the Good Samaritan, and APHC challenge-motto).
Translator, Jean Baptist, noting that Tim's nightly duty involves kitchen work, suggested that HIS T-shirt should read, "Go and do DISHES!"
We hope that your Christmas was as joyful as ours. If you had been here, it would have been -- guaranteed. Well, there's always NEXT YEAR, eh?
Upcoming outreach.
End of next week we'll be heading over to the village of Niakhar (pronounced like "nYAH-hahd") for a month or so of work in a medical clinic there and among the people in one or more of the walking-distance hamlets -- doing a lot of pediatric nutrition and immunization work -- kind of thing Lin likes. Tim will be working with a career missionary from Switzerland on building projects (see pics link below).
Niakhar is located about halfway between Fatick and Bambey (here's a map: http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=thies+senegal&ie=UTF8&z=10&ll=14.534403,-16.505585&spn=0.651374,1.322479&om=1&iwloc=addr ).
Tim and Craig, along with Dr. Adamson, did a bit of reconnaissance to the place a while back, and they managed to get some pics of some of the surrounding area so you can have an idea where we are when we get there.
That trip took about 4.5 hours one way by public transport via Sindia, Mbour, Tiadaye, and Fatick (click on that map link in the paragraph above). The northern route is shorter -- as demonstrated on our return trip in the back-woods vehicle from The Gambia driven by that young YWAM fellow who seemed bent on proving that the vehicle could take more high-speed bad-road punishment than Tim would have bet on (can't deny it was carnival-ride fun though!).
The village of Niakhar is blessed in that it's so far from asphalt and traffic. The nearby hamlets are connected by footpath across open country about 20 to 40 minutes brisk walk one to another. The sand-dirt drive-track between hamlets is negotiable by car when driven by the daring and the experienced (see pics). All in all it looks to be a rewarding time for the tubabs, and the local people seem glad to know we're coming. Drawbacks: salty drinking water and no internet.
Tim's funny new "cousins."
In Niakhar they gave Tim yet ANOTHER name (new clan, you see) as part of an underhanded little verbal ambush designed to "legally" separate Tim from some of his possessions -- all in good humor of course. It has to do with certain what's-mine-is-mine-and-what's-yours-is-mine-too "claims" that new "cousins" can make under "special" circumstances. These people are such practical jokers!
But that story is for another day. For now, simply note that Tim (aka Ahmed Fall) may also now be referred to as Michelangelo Faye (pronounced like "Fry" without the "r"). Wanna join the Faye clan? (FYI, the "Michelangelo" part has to do with Tim's pots-n-pans-and-various-sundry-utensil-items Christmas tree creation assembled dramatically in the "Sistine" kitchen on Christmas Eve eve... sorry, it went away before the camera arrived.)
Post-Outreach Post.
We'll probably not get another post out until a few days after we get back from Niakhar, if we still have internet access here in Thies at that time. Note: it is possible that we will have a chance to get an email comment or two out some weekend(s) during outreach, if we can manage a ride from Niakhar into Fatick or Bambey. So, if you don't hear from us for a while, don't worry too much; we're probably OK. Probably.
Dust.
We have it. Wind whipped and blowing. Fine powdery dust in the air, the eyes, the throat, the lungs. Red and brown, it filters through screens, under doorways, settling on every surface. We truck it in on our feet, hair, and clothing. We sweep, we mop, we clean, we "dust!" It's not a battle, it's a war -- and the dust, for now, is winning. As they say, "Welcome to (sub-Saharan) Africa!" (See Senegal dust satellite image: http://www.intute.ac.uk/sciences/worldguide/html/image_1230.html). The broncs, lungs and throat suffer most, and some folks show asthmatic symptoms -- but, hey! we're not freezing to death or being blown (or floated) away in the Great Northwest! You guys please take care of yourselves there! We worry about you.
Missing the Klines already.
Jody flew home Saturday and the rest of the Kline clan will be heading home in a week or so (see Kline picture/blog link below). These tubabs will be sorely missed!!!! We're mourning already. (Connie, PLEASE come back SOON, and bring the rest of the clan back--especially Jack Bauer-- too if possible!!)
Tim's THREE encounters with police.
The two in the street involved traffic "violations" on the motor scooter and were not serious, and the one in the hardware store involved accidentally setting off that honking-flashing alarm system. Well, the hardware store policeman was really some rich dude's gun-toting body guard who probably enjoyed seeing wide-eyed Tim back against the wall with his hands up... but no time for details here. Maybe later. Just remember: innocence can be such a blessing.
Lin's APHC classes are going well:
APHC Week 9, December 11-15, 2006
SUMMARY: This week Beatrice, an RN working at the mission health care clinic in Dakar, taught about vaccinations. She discussed how the humoral system and the cellular system interface to create immunity in our bodies. Regarding this process, she addressed the role of immunizations and diseases that are commonly vaccinated against in Senegal.
We spent quite a bit of time going over the steps involved in setting up and running a one day vaccination session at an outlying site (village setting), as well as "things" that can go wrong in this effort. A multitude of obstacles (some also common to stateside practice) were examined and the class "brainstormed" for solutions.
Another topic, monitoring data, encompassed vaccine counts, anticipating needed vaccines month by month, reporting diseases that are vaccine preventable, estimating vaccine coverage and drop out rates, and tracking the vaccine refrigerator temperatures and status. Many of these considerations are not limited to country and culture; they are exactly what we document at Northwest Pediatric Center in the U.S.
THINGS I LEARNED Week Nine:
~ vaccine schedule for Senegal
~ national vaccination campaigns as they relate to the Senegalese vaccine schedule
~ Pentavalent (five-in-one: Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Hepatitis B, and HIB) vaccine
~ BCG vaccine (tuberculosis, not given in U.S.)
~ methods of maintaining the "cold chain" for vaccine preservation in Senegal
~ VVM (vaccine vial monitor
~ theoretically, how to work with local (village) infrastructure
APPLICATION: Beatrice gave an excellent review/overview of how the human defense system responds with antibodies to pathogens, whether they are introduced naturally or artificially, especially as this relates to the function of immunity producing vaccines. Obviously Beatrice's teaching was pertinent and applicable to the practical considerations regarding aspects of the use of vaccines from storage to administration.
For example, it is essential that health care workers check and double check to be sure that the correct vaccine in hand before it is injected. I particularly appreciated her spiritual application of Ephesians 6 and the "armor of God" to the role of vaccines in that vaccines are unpleasant and temporarily painful, but necessary for protection against life crippling and/or fatal diseases.
The Lord's design is that we are able to recognize, stand strong, and defend ourselves against the spiritual forces of evil because of the armor He provides (belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, sword of the Spirit).
Analogously, the armor of God is the spiritual antibody with which we fight and defend ourselves against attack. "Trials," like pathogenic inoculations, serve to "immunize" us and make us stronger. This is why it is so important to be clothed in the armor of God AND be found in Him. Beatrice pointed out that Westerners (Christians in particular) who enter a two-thirds-world culture are prime targets for many attacks. By this statement, I think Beatrice means that responding in a spiritually appropriate and Christ-like manner to stressful circumstances can be especially challenging in unfamiliar cultures, and for this we are wholly dependent upon His grace.
Reflections on this thought have heightened my awareness of the power of the enemy to trip us up with "everyday stuff." The subtle power inherent in problems that are not themselves "spiritual" in nature has tremendous potential for generating negative spiritual impact. The Lord's Word to me is: (Lin), "…GUARD what has been entrusted to your care…" (1Timothy 6:20), and "…GUARD the good deposit that was entrusted to you…guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us." (2 Timothy 1:14).
APHC Week 10, December 18-22, 2006
SUMMARY: This was an excellent week with Dr. Bryan, as well as Dr Ago, Dr. Ted, and Dr. Allain. teaching our classes. Dr Bryan taught for 3 days on the physical examination. He carefully went through the body systems from head to toe, pointing out the normal limits as well as conditions/diseases that could be the reason for deviations from that norm.
Dr. Bryan also taught from the WHO model on tuberculosis which included transmission, distribution, diagnoses, reactivation, treatments, complications, drug resistance, and diagnostic tests. Since this is a disease that I have never dealt with in the U.S. other than administering and reading PPD tests, I appreciated learning this information.
Dr. Bryan's faith is evident throughout his teaching and his practice of medicine. His conscientious and compassionate approach to people paints a clear picture of faith in action. Dr. Bryan also led a morning devotion entitled "Finish Well," which was an inspiring talk about keeping our faith strong and four important ingredients (passion for Jesus, discipline, accountability, evaluation) in accomplishing that goal.
Dr. Ago continued teaching on identifying and treating dental problems with the highlight of the week being instruction and "hands on application" involving pulling a tooth from the jaw of a deceased goat head (!)
We continued Dr. Ted's surgical lectures this week on these topics: intestinal recession, bowel obstructions, and colostomies. Using the cuff ends of two socks, he demonstrated two methods of suturing them together as one would suture an intestinal anastomosis, starting at the back side and working toward the front. I found this class very interesting because of my background in sewing including the similarities that exist between the "mechanics" of sewing skin and sewing fabric!
Friday afternoon wrapped the week up with Dr. Allain's return (after a month of being gone) to teach on hypertension; it was great to have him back! He defined hypertension and classifications of hypertension along with how to diagnose complications and evaluate risk factors. He also taught the fundamental elements of responsible treatment.
THINGS I LEARNED Week Ten:
~ excellent review of systems in studying the physical exam
~ clinical signs of TB in children and adults; complications, and treatments
~ encouragement to be strong in faith and finish well
~ how to make a colostomy "bag" from a small empty food tin can (top and bottom lids removed) and a few other inexpensive and easily accessed items…fascinating, functional, and so creative!
~ suturing techniques
~ practical and critical steps in assessing/evaluating hypertension
PRACTICAL APPLICATION: It seems the practical application of things I learned this past week is fairly evident: it's all about using medical knowledge in the place that the Lord directs us. The information of the past week is in the process of being deposited in my "medical knowledge account," with the prayer that the Lord will make it practical, available, and applicable when it is needed to extend His hand of healing through me to others…
APHC Week 11, December 26-29, 2006
1. SUMMARY: This week Adamson taught on the WHO IMCI (World Health Organization model of Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses) as it applies to the clinic and first referral (hospital) levels. In the IMCI process, children under five are first evaluated and then separated into two age group categories (one week up to two months, and 2 months up to 5 years). Each child is assessed for general danger signs ( e.g., convulsions, lethargy/unconsciousness, inability to drink/breastfeed, persistent vomiting) and then for main symptoms (e.g., cough/difficulty breathing, diarrhea, fever, ear problems, HIV/AIDS complications), as well as for malnutrition/anemia, immunization status, and feeding issues (if the child is under two years and small for his age).
The key word in IMCI is "integrated" which means that the child is evaluated for multiple maladies and treated for EACH classification of illness. We also looked at emergency triage and treatment on the referral level which included assessment for emergency and priority signs in airway and breathing, circulation, and the presence of coma or convulsions, severe dehydration, severe malnutrition, or severe anemia. We considered emergency procedures such as inserting a needle into the external jugular vein for IV infusion (when not possible through a peripheral vein or scalp vein), intraosseous infusion, and lumbar puncture, especially for the purpose of differentiating between cerebral malaria and meningitis.
Pastor Maiga also came from Dakar and spoke with us during morning devotions four days this week. His talks were so spiritually impactful that the Lord Himself seemed to speak directly to me through the Pastor's words and message.
THINGS I LEARNED:
~ theory behind IMCI, and what it "looks like" in practice
~ recipes for severely malnourished children, including ReSoMal, F-75 (starter and cereal-based) and F-100
~ the cost of following Jesus is sometimes not having all that you may need; this is sometimes due to another believer disobeying God's call
~as wheat must be ground into flour in order to make bread, so we must be spiritually broken and ground like wheat to represent the Bread of Life ("Seek ye first…").
~ if failure is not a possibility, success means nothing
~ if you can accomplish something easily, it is probably not divine
~ children of Israel preferred Pharaoh's enslavement rather than God's "unknown"
~ feelings of inadequacy to accomplish what He has called you to is evidence your calling is true…go in the strength that you have and the Lord will enable you
~ the mission is the Lord's and we are in the hands of Him who is never troubled ~ good works are at the center of God's heart; "Go and do likewise."
~ as medical practitioners, we cannot touch someone's heart unless we touch them physically first
~ our faith must trigger us into action toward those suffering in the world
APPLICATION: This week's health care teaching as well as spiritual teaching points directly to our upcoming outreach -- and beyond. My prayer is that, despite my frequent feelings of inadequacy, I will respond in quick obedience to all that the Lord calls me to do.
Recently I had a dream. In this dream I saw myself standing on the edge of the widest and busiest street I had ever seen, and I knew that I had to get across to the other side. Suddenly the arterial light "turned green," and it was time to make my move. I knew that the green light would remain on for only so long, the street was frighteningly wide, the traffic only momentarily stopped, and that I needed to run immediately. It seems to me that the Lord is telling me in this dream that APHC outreach is a window of opportunity. The path is clear, the time is now, and to succeed I must respond with quick obedience. The dangerous path to my place of safety seems time-pressured and frightening, but my sense of security lies in quick and decisive obedience. The path is clear, and I must respond with quick obedience. The place of safety may appear frighteningly far away, but quick obedience holds the promise of security.
So, that's it for now; sorry we are only able to give you a small look at a few mountain peaks and "through a glass darkly" with our little blog post and pics page. We're always very glad to hear from you -- about your joys, hardships, needs, and blessed service in mission -- and we're very intentionally trying to answer your much-appreciated emails between now and outreach departure date too! Meantime, we continue praying for you on your various missions at home and abroad, and we thank you for remembering to pray for us as well.
And, as Tiny Tim says, "God Bless Us Everyone!"
Tim and Lin
Find some pics of Niakhar and surrounding area in TimLin in Africa #4 here: (sorry, link is disfunctional; looking for replacement).
Also, if you're in the mood for a bit of rollicking homemade Chirstmas carolling in Senegalese French by the students and staff of APHC -- DONE JUST FOR YOU -- click here: APHC and here: APHC 2 (yes, some people are still in their jammies).
Check out the Kline's blog (if you DARE): http://www.klinefamilytravels.blogspot.com/
----------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Greys in Africa #3
Second week in December, 2006
Contents:
Mac and Dell speak.
Wonderful Wolof.
EFL takes off.
Career missionaries needed.
Tim’s picture problem.
Picture site highlights.
Things we can’t tell you about.
Before you go…what Lin learned.
Some links you might be looking for.
Mac and Dell speak without saying a word:
There’s a big thank you coming to the quick-responders who jumped right on the how-can-we-help email request from our last post. Dana Smith, NWPC nurse practitioner who was on her way to join us here, happily repacked her bags and extra bags to accommodate all the goodies that you all provided on the instant. Somehow she managed to haul almost everything you gave. Y’all are beautiful.
The care-package edibles-and-more (thank you Loretta!) are immeasurably comforting to the culturally uprooted tubabs (“too-bob” means Caucasian in Wolof) immersed here in Senegal. Now, don’t get me wrong, immersion is a good thing, but every good deep-water Baptist knows that unrelieved immersion can be suffocating. So, thanks for all the good things great and small.
A couple of major items you all sent really stand out: one very cool Del laptop, and one very very cool (sorry, Tim is a MacAdict) Macintosh laptop. Our fearless leader, anesthesiologist Dr. Adamson Phiri, who, if he were practicing MEDICINE instead of MISSIONARY could buy us ALL a new Mac for Christmas, expressed great happiness and joy upon opening this precious and practical gift. Thank you Mac-giver from Chehalis (Chip!). Then the speed and alacrity of the super Del Inspiron that Dana delivered from our dear friends in Longview (Buddy and Jerri!) is now available to students who heretofore have struggled with two vintage desk models the size and weight of museum-worthy 27 inch TV. Thank you SO much EVERYONE. And thanks again Dana for making the long haul to Senegal with ALL the stuff. Heroes all.
[Editor‘s note: apparently there is a secret motive for the Grey‘s repeated encouragement to friends to come to Senegal. Can you guess what it might be??? hmmmm…]
Another note of thanks to all you most generous friends and family at Toledo First Baptist for the unsolicited but much appreciated funds of some weeks ago. With your help many more APHC students now appear able to enter Mauritania for outreach -- now scheduled for March 07.
Additionally, you participated in the purchase of a much needed motorcycle for Dr. Adamson. Now he can make calls to remote places and return in a single day. [And Tim-n-Friends have had a bit of fun on the motor bike as well, when the chance presented (see pic highlights below).] AND the little black scooter (purchased by missionary, Eben, and “rented” for five months by Tim) is now providing quick and cheap transport into the city for various sundry items of necessity for school and “boarding house.” With temperatures recently reaching 104 F mid-day, you can appreciate how much better it is for Tim to zip into town in just 12 of the 50--60 grueling minutes it takes to walk there -- one way. Tim says “Thank you!” with a tip of the helmet.
And finally, another unsolicited gift of $145.00 from TFBC arrived just in time to purchase a much needed voltage converter, a wireless device for the new Dell laptop, and some replacement tools and supplies for the building maintenance supervisor. Thank you generous friends.
Wonderful Wolof -- the people’s language:
Wolof, the native language of the Wolof people, about 40% of Senegal’s population, is the most widely spoken language in Senegal and, with some dialectic variations, in neighboring countries Mauritania and The Gambia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolof_language). French is a more broadly spoken FOREIGN language, but Wolof is far more powerful for speaking to the heart of these wonderful people. They LOVE their language. The few words and phrases that Tim uses regularly always always always bring smiles and handshakes. Using Wolof is like saying, “I love you,” and y’all know how good that is to hear when spoken from the heart.
In addition to typical greetings and good-wish exchanges, and a few other words and phrases, Tim has learned to say, “God loves you,” “God loves Senegal,” and “I am a disciple of Jesus.” All of this is greeted joyfully, and all Wolof dialog is bonding. It’s especially bonding when Tim answers the “what’s your name” question with, “My name is Ahmed Fall.” If you’re surprised and a little confused by this last statement, read on:
His first week in Thies, Tim was tramping around the city with friend and SIM missionary Eben Burger from South Africa. As Eben and Tim approached the gate leading to SIM headquarters, they were stopped and put through a friendly interrogation by the genial old gate guard, Aliou Fall. After introductions, this man said that Tim needed to be adopted into a Senegalese family, and that he needed to have a Senegalese name.
With his hand on Tim’s arm and looking intently into his eyes, Aliou explained through Eben's translation, that the name, Ahmed, belonged to both his father and his son, and that Tim now belongs to the Fall family and will henceforth be known by his Senegalese name, Ahmed Fall. Ahmed has since become Tim’s alter ego as taxi drivers, store keepers, and people on the street have come to recognize this talkative tubab and are often heard calling out his name and inviting him over to exchange greetings, “set a spell,” have a Coka Cola, or to sip Senegalese tea sweetened to the thickness of syrup and served hot and foamy in a shot glass (see pic link below).
Incidentally, Ahmed is short for Mohammad. SIM missionary Mark Tanquist suggested that Tim consider a more cross-religion first name like Moses or Solomon, but TOO LATE -- Ahmed stuck. It’s just as well, because, although Moses was old enough to match well, he really had too great a following. And Solomon? Well, why speak to the obvious?
Some weeks after Ahmed came into being, a taxi driver with the last name, Fall, named Ahmed’s wife (that would be Lin), Ama Fall. So there you have it. Tim is now concerned that we may have to get special visas just to visit our home in the US. We’ll see.
EFL (English as a Foreign Language) takes off:
After suffering scheduling setbacks ranging from the birth of a baby, to an attack of malaria, to an unexpected funeral, the EFL classes are underway at last. All but two of Tim‘s 18 students are Bartemee hospital staff, MIS missionary headquarters personnel , or John Huffman elementary school teachers. The two exceptions are MKs (eight and 10 year old sisters) from Portugal. They speak three languages already, and now they need English too! Their parents are terrific missionaries specializing in nutrition and nursing.
The four groups, from beginning to advanced, meet a total of eight times a week. With having to create nearly all of his own curricular material, Tim is being kept a busy boy -- and loving (almost) every minute of it. The sense of humor, comedy, practical joking, and all-in-fun teasing that pervades this culture means that Tim finds it nearly impossible to NOT have fun!
Spanish with Brit:
The daughter tutors the papa in yet another language via Skype on Tuesday mornings. Tim enjoys the cyber-interaction between Senegal and South Korea where Britt and good Seth are themselves teaching English to Korean speakers in a private school. Thanks for helping with Spanish Sweet Daughter!
Career missionaries needed:
Don’t misunderstand, Dr. Adamson DOES appreciate short-term missionaries because it’s true that many medical, educational, and construction needs can be addressed rather effectively in a matter of days by short-termers. The greater need, however, is for life-commitment missionaries. Life-long changes take place through relationship building -- especially in the cultures of the spiritually blinded (2nd Corinthians 4:1--18). And relationships are not built in a day. What’s your calling? Or, if we may be so bold, what’s your excuse? Your age and life circumstance aren‘t the hurdles they appear to be. Search your heart.
Tim’s picture problem:
At first glance, the whole scene here appears desperate and hopeless, and many of the two dimensional digital representations captured by camera support that impression. But to actually walk relationally with living people through their normal mundane routines of life in an environment, which appears to them as neither desperate nor hopeless, is to uncover something about them and their lives that the photographer’s camera cannot see, smell, feel, taste, or touch -- and, consequently, cannot share. Tim says there are pictures that you will have to COME TO SENEGAL to get -- not to TAKE, but to “GET” -- to experience, interact with, and be a part of. And he adds, “Please come!”
Picture site highlights (link to pics at end of this post):
On the photo site linked below find a series of pictures taken at an aluminum pot foundry. A few days ago, Tim and Eben were in town looking to buy a helmet for the scooter driver (there’s a new helmet law in the city and Tubab-Tim (aka Ahmed Fall), having no license to drive, wants to NOT attract attention of traffic cops [sorry, Jerry…] ) …so Tim and Eben saw these cast aluminum pots for sale in the village market and Tim asked how the pots were made. An invitation to visit the must-see foundry followed, and of course, Tim and Eben followed the inviter directly there. It’s a remarkable thing to see such practical items so skillfully made -- recast from broken car parts using tools made from “nothing of value.” There‘s genius here.
Moto pics. After repairs to the motorcycle throttle cable and carburetor (it broke down as Tim was driving Dana over to the hospital for duties there), AND after reinstallation of the drive sprocket with proper lock washers, the big red motorbike is on the road again. All this rebuilding was done by Dr. Adamson (anesthetist), Dr. Ago (dentist), Tim (just another tubab), and Ed (traveling-through handyman) all working together -- as in an ER episode. Tune in again next week…
And the famous scooter… On the road again ALSO is the little black Piaggio scooter with Tim as pilot in command -- now that Thies is re-supplied with gasoline after a dearth lasting nearly FOUR days.
Incidentally, for SAFETY, Tim had stated that 1) he would NOT drive the scooter at NIGHT (it has a faint-glow headlight and no working taillight), and 2) he would NOT drive the scooter on the Thies-Dakar HIGHWAY. However, the day of the maiden voyage, some needed adjustments prevented Tim departing Eben’s house on the little moto before nightfall AND since the thing was almost completely dry of fuel in a petro-less Thies, Tim had to drive the shortest route home -- on the highway, of course! Crazy, seat of the pants crowded-highway night-flight. But all went well as he sped along in the wake of a better equipped moto sporting visible lights! -- and so, happily, he made it home without raising any hair.
Tim’s hair-RAZING haircut with Lin at the clipper controls. Too bad the haircutter’s battery died before Lin could finish. Not a serious problem because Tim has a hat, and it only took the battery all day to recharge. After that it was BUZZ time! It looks different, but now Tim has a real excuse for not combing his head.
Goat head stew. Lifting the lid on a stovetop cook pot, Tim‘s best Senegalese friend, English student, and fellow dishwasher, Aloyse Ndour, looked right at Tim and asked good naturedly, “Why Americans always make face when see cooking head of goat?” Need more be said?
Things we can’t tell you about:
~ “Someone” climbing over the shower room wall after “friends” “accidentally” locked him in there…
~ Craig’s nightmarish night that woke the neighbors, but not Connie!
~ The lizard in the laundry and all that screaming…
~ Problems with the people who splash themselves…
~ “small things” and where you cannot hang them…
~ Jean Baptist’s problems translating Dr. Ted’s gynecology lecture…
~ Tim on the wrong bus with the “voodoo” man…
~ The sickening power of the practitioners of witchcraft…
~ Tim and Lin escaping “Bad Louie” in a taxi…
~ Connie‘s spiritual growth because of “that woman”…
~ Why Dr. Adamson hears, “can you…” and thinks, “Kenya…”
~ The men’s group and the “secret handshake”…
~ The sight that shocked Craig on the road to Dakar…
~ Rustling bushes and the RAT as big as Arnold’s forearm with tail to match…
~ No water days. No power days.
~ The next unexpected thing that may happen any minute…
Before you go to the pic site, check what Lin’s been learning:
APHC Week 6 - November 20-24, 2006
1. SUMMARY: instructor Annette Courvoisier, three decade veteran mid-wife missionary to Angola, taught about normal pregnancy, stages of labor, and childbirth, recognizing complications and managing emergency situations surrounding pre-natal care, and aspects of the birthing process. Breech births, mal-presentations, cephalopelvic disproportion, along with post partum care of Mom and baby were also reviewed. We discussed pre-natal consultations, and appropriate questions to ask in order to gain a meaningful patient history. For the most part Annette worked from a power point presentation with documents prepared by WHO, with the French manual on the wall, and the English speakers following along on their laptops from their CD’s.
2. POINTS I LEARNED:
-- an overview/review of the birth process
-- a review of preemie care
-- a review of complications during pregnancy, delivery, and post partum phase
-- a review of newborn complications
-- the use of the partograph
-- measuring the descent of the fetal head using the five finger method
-- p r a y always
3. APPLICATION: The most practical hands on tool that I took away from this week is the use of the partograph. The partograph is a user friendly chart/graph in which the birth attendant/midwife plots critical information including heart rates of mom and baby, state and color of amniotic fluid, dilatation of the cervix compared to descent of the head over time, number and intensity of contractions per 10 minute periods, drugs administered, blood pressure, temperature, and urine output. All this information is recorded on one sheet which includes a “normal zone” whereby one can judge the overall picture of how the labor is progressing, with zones that are labeled “alert” and “action.” In theory, I also learned the use of the 5 finger approach to evaluate fetal head descent, which, with practice, seems to be a simple, non-invasive means to gain valuable information.
I appreciated Annette’s wealth of years of practical experience in midwifery and childbirth across Africa -- she painted pictures in which I found myself “there with her.” Regarding accidental death due to mal-practice, I believe that the Lord spoke directly to me concerning God’s grace and provision in the extremely complex area of unknowingly erring and causing a patient’s death. I would rather never visit this topic in theory or practice, but it is part of the cost that I must face and deal with. Adamson’s words were, “Do not let the threat of a mistake pull you back into your professional boundaries.” The Lord continues to remind/command me to “take courage” (Joshua 1:9) and to reassure me that He will counsel me when I call to him (Jeremiah 33:3). Annette reminded us over and over again to p r a y, and ask the Lord for His wisdom.
APHC Week 7 (November 27 - December 1, 2006)
SUMMARY: This week Beverly Timgren, a Canadian dental hygenist and medical missionary with a public health emphasis (decades long resident of Southern Lebanon, and Israel) taught us about oral care, hygiene, disease, and infection. She started the week by providing us with a foundation in oral anatomy, including supporting structures. We learned what to expect in the normal, healthy mouth of a child and adult, including number and arrangement of primary and permanent teeth, and the optimum condition of the gingiva, soft and hard palate, oral mucosa, and tongue. This teaching was followed by proper personal oral home and professional care, and complications that arise when this very important oral care is not maintained. Beverly also covered complications/results of lack of care, diseases and infections that affect the teeth and gums. She gave us instruction on how to perform a dental hygiene exam, with an extensive explanation of the purpose of different dentistry instruments. Beverly’s “hands on” teaching included an oral exam on one another to check for cancer using a mouth mirror, and the “feel” of scaling teeth and gums, using a curette applied to a sand/sugar mix glued onto the shell of a hard boiled egg.
POINTS I LEARNED:
-- excellent review of tooth anatomy
-- chain of decay
-- principles of preventative care and ways to creatively teach them
-- steps in strengthening teeth and the importance of fluoride
-- result of improper dental hygiene habits, from dental caries to periodontal disease
-- the long term implications of periodontal disease
-- signs and symptoms of certain diseased states of the mouth including oral cancer, Karposi’s sarcoma, Vincent’s infection, and Noma or cancrum oris
-- uses of dental hygiene instruments including the periodontal probe, explorer, curette and scaler
APPLICATION: …a valuable and practical study as many health programs do not address oral health issues. … useful in promoting a simple preventative dental hygiene program with instruction in brushing, flossing, and fluoride treatments, in a school, village, public health arena, or other group setting. …utilizing the book, Where There Is No Dentist.
APHC Week 8 (December 4 - December 8, 2006)
SUMMARY: This was a very f u l l week! Our main speaker was Dr. Bryan, who is a physician with YWAM in Dakar. We covered approximately 160 drugs from the WHO list of essential medicines. Our study involved drug generic and trade names, drug classes, dosages, methods of administration, indications and contraindications, warnings, precautions, side effects and drug interactions. I appreciated Dr. Bryan’s careful and conscientious approach to practicing medicine, and his ongoing emphasis of our responsibility before the Lord to make wise and educated choices on behalf of our patients. He emphasized the importance of questioning why a medication was not having the desired effect, and using our minds to think, reason, and ask questions as to why this was the case, and to search out the reason.
Dr. Ago presented 3 evenings of dental philosophy and care. From a WHO report on oral disease, we ascertained facts on current global dental problems and some possible solutions. Dr. Ago taught us to define and recognize dental emergencies including broken teeth, dental abscesses, deep dental caries, painful gums, and sensitive wisdom teeth. He also discussed how to tell similar dental problems apart, and the steps involved in administering medication and extracting teeth. We viewed slides of some former village patients of Dr. Ago’s in which certain dental problems were reviewed, which was extremely helpful. Dr. Ago is an animated teacher, with a passion for helping people suffering from oral disease. A profound remark he made was “Nothing is lost, only transformed.” For me, this comment has powerful physical as well as spiritual application.
The week ended with our own Connie Kline teaching IV skills, followed by students practicing these skills by inserting an IV needle in each other’s veins. I have been a friend of Connie’s for a long time, and in recent years since I became a nurse, she has become my own “nurse mentor.” She is a gifted teacher with the ability to convey information and demonstrate good practice techniques in an organized and straight forward manner.
POINTS I LEARNED:
~ multiple facts about a variety of medications
~ introduction to recognizing dental emergencies and how to treat them
~ increasing knowledge regarding the world wide need for dental care
APPLICATION: Studying and learning the uses of different medications is an ongoing process, and each experience with and exposure to a medication helps me build a broader foundation and framework around that medication. Gaining and maintaining familiarity with the many new and existing medications will continue to be a challenging and ongoing process of learning for the obvious purpose of serving people better.
Since my background in the subject is limited to my own life-long dental care along with what I learned in Beverly Timgren’s class, the bulk of Dr. Ago’s presentation contained information new to me. The slides of different people’s dental conditions made the problems very real in the classroom, and helped me visualize what I will be evaluating to determine whether it is a situation that I can/should deal with or not.
As far as I am concerned I can never “practice” enough in IV therapy; it is a skill as well as an art. There is a “feel” that goes with introducing an IV needle and cannula into a vein that comes with lots of attempts, successes as well as failures, in order to learn the skill. Every attempt helps to improve skills. Various shades of skin color present their own problems regarding skin toughness as well as access to target veins.
There’s always more to tell of course. But most of us don’t want to read a novel in a single sitting, so we’ll draw it to a close here. Shorter weekly posts have been recommended, so we’ll see what we can do about that. Until then, stay in touch, remember us when you pray.
God bless,
Ahmed and Ama Fall
Senegal West Africa
Here are some links you might be looking for:
Please check out our new pics at: (sorry, link is disfunctional; looking for replacement). (read picture site highlights in post above)
Craig Kline's picture blog at http://www.klinefamilytravels.blogspot.com/ (changes daily)
Rob and Elyn’s photo site: http://web.mac.com/robnollan/ (great pics of forced vacation)
Quote Dr. Ago, “Nothing is lost; it’s only transformed.”
--------------------
Contents:
Mac and Dell speak.
Wonderful Wolof.
EFL takes off.
Career missionaries needed.
Tim’s picture problem.
Picture site highlights.
Things we can’t tell you about.
Before you go…what Lin learned.
Some links you might be looking for.
Mac and Dell speak without saying a word:
There’s a big thank you coming to the quick-responders who jumped right on the how-can-we-help email request from our last post. Dana Smith, NWPC nurse practitioner who was on her way to join us here, happily repacked her bags and extra bags to accommodate all the goodies that you all provided on the instant. Somehow she managed to haul almost everything you gave. Y’all are beautiful.
The care-package edibles-and-more (thank you Loretta!) are immeasurably comforting to the culturally uprooted tubabs (“too-bob” means Caucasian in Wolof) immersed here in Senegal. Now, don’t get me wrong, immersion is a good thing, but every good deep-water Baptist knows that unrelieved immersion can be suffocating. So, thanks for all the good things great and small.
A couple of major items you all sent really stand out: one very cool Del laptop, and one very very cool (sorry, Tim is a MacAdict) Macintosh laptop. Our fearless leader, anesthesiologist Dr. Adamson Phiri, who, if he were practicing MEDICINE instead of MISSIONARY could buy us ALL a new Mac for Christmas, expressed great happiness and joy upon opening this precious and practical gift. Thank you Mac-giver from Chehalis (Chip!). Then the speed and alacrity of the super Del Inspiron that Dana delivered from our dear friends in Longview (Buddy and Jerri!) is now available to students who heretofore have struggled with two vintage desk models the size and weight of museum-worthy 27 inch TV. Thank you SO much EVERYONE. And thanks again Dana for making the long haul to Senegal with ALL the stuff. Heroes all.
[Editor‘s note: apparently there is a secret motive for the Grey‘s repeated encouragement to friends to come to Senegal. Can you guess what it might be??? hmmmm…]
Another note of thanks to all you most generous friends and family at Toledo First Baptist for the unsolicited but much appreciated funds of some weeks ago. With your help many more APHC students now appear able to enter Mauritania for outreach -- now scheduled for March 07.
Additionally, you participated in the purchase of a much needed motorcycle for Dr. Adamson. Now he can make calls to remote places and return in a single day. [And Tim-n-Friends have had a bit of fun on the motor bike as well, when the chance presented (see pic highlights below).] AND the little black scooter (purchased by missionary, Eben, and “rented” for five months by Tim) is now providing quick and cheap transport into the city for various sundry items of necessity for school and “boarding house.” With temperatures recently reaching 104 F mid-day, you can appreciate how much better it is for Tim to zip into town in just 12 of the 50--60 grueling minutes it takes to walk there -- one way. Tim says “Thank you!” with a tip of the helmet.
And finally, another unsolicited gift of $145.00 from TFBC arrived just in time to purchase a much needed voltage converter, a wireless device for the new Dell laptop, and some replacement tools and supplies for the building maintenance supervisor. Thank you generous friends.
Wonderful Wolof -- the people’s language:
Wolof, the native language of the Wolof people, about 40% of Senegal’s population, is the most widely spoken language in Senegal and, with some dialectic variations, in neighboring countries Mauritania and The Gambia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolof_language). French is a more broadly spoken FOREIGN language, but Wolof is far more powerful for speaking to the heart of these wonderful people. They LOVE their language. The few words and phrases that Tim uses regularly always always always bring smiles and handshakes. Using Wolof is like saying, “I love you,” and y’all know how good that is to hear when spoken from the heart.
In addition to typical greetings and good-wish exchanges, and a few other words and phrases, Tim has learned to say, “God loves you,” “God loves Senegal,” and “I am a disciple of Jesus.” All of this is greeted joyfully, and all Wolof dialog is bonding. It’s especially bonding when Tim answers the “what’s your name” question with, “My name is Ahmed Fall.” If you’re surprised and a little confused by this last statement, read on:
His first week in Thies, Tim was tramping around the city with friend and SIM missionary Eben Burger from South Africa. As Eben and Tim approached the gate leading to SIM headquarters, they were stopped and put through a friendly interrogation by the genial old gate guard, Aliou Fall. After introductions, this man said that Tim needed to be adopted into a Senegalese family, and that he needed to have a Senegalese name.
With his hand on Tim’s arm and looking intently into his eyes, Aliou explained through Eben's translation, that the name, Ahmed, belonged to both his father and his son, and that Tim now belongs to the Fall family and will henceforth be known by his Senegalese name, Ahmed Fall. Ahmed has since become Tim’s alter ego as taxi drivers, store keepers, and people on the street have come to recognize this talkative tubab and are often heard calling out his name and inviting him over to exchange greetings, “set a spell,” have a Coka Cola, or to sip Senegalese tea sweetened to the thickness of syrup and served hot and foamy in a shot glass (see pic link below).
Incidentally, Ahmed is short for Mohammad. SIM missionary Mark Tanquist suggested that Tim consider a more cross-religion first name like Moses or Solomon, but TOO LATE -- Ahmed stuck. It’s just as well, because, although Moses was old enough to match well, he really had too great a following. And Solomon? Well, why speak to the obvious?
Some weeks after Ahmed came into being, a taxi driver with the last name, Fall, named Ahmed’s wife (that would be Lin), Ama Fall. So there you have it. Tim is now concerned that we may have to get special visas just to visit our home in the US. We’ll see.
EFL (English as a Foreign Language) takes off:
After suffering scheduling setbacks ranging from the birth of a baby, to an attack of malaria, to an unexpected funeral, the EFL classes are underway at last. All but two of Tim‘s 18 students are Bartemee hospital staff, MIS missionary headquarters personnel , or John Huffman elementary school teachers. The two exceptions are MKs (eight and 10 year old sisters) from Portugal. They speak three languages already, and now they need English too! Their parents are terrific missionaries specializing in nutrition and nursing.
The four groups, from beginning to advanced, meet a total of eight times a week. With having to create nearly all of his own curricular material, Tim is being kept a busy boy -- and loving (almost) every minute of it. The sense of humor, comedy, practical joking, and all-in-fun teasing that pervades this culture means that Tim finds it nearly impossible to NOT have fun!
Spanish with Brit:
The daughter tutors the papa in yet another language via Skype on Tuesday mornings. Tim enjoys the cyber-interaction between Senegal and South Korea where Britt and good Seth are themselves teaching English to Korean speakers in a private school. Thanks for helping with Spanish Sweet Daughter!
Career missionaries needed:
Don’t misunderstand, Dr. Adamson DOES appreciate short-term missionaries because it’s true that many medical, educational, and construction needs can be addressed rather effectively in a matter of days by short-termers. The greater need, however, is for life-commitment missionaries. Life-long changes take place through relationship building -- especially in the cultures of the spiritually blinded (2nd Corinthians 4:1--18). And relationships are not built in a day. What’s your calling? Or, if we may be so bold, what’s your excuse? Your age and life circumstance aren‘t the hurdles they appear to be. Search your heart.
Tim’s picture problem:
At first glance, the whole scene here appears desperate and hopeless, and many of the two dimensional digital representations captured by camera support that impression. But to actually walk relationally with living people through their normal mundane routines of life in an environment, which appears to them as neither desperate nor hopeless, is to uncover something about them and their lives that the photographer’s camera cannot see, smell, feel, taste, or touch -- and, consequently, cannot share. Tim says there are pictures that you will have to COME TO SENEGAL to get -- not to TAKE, but to “GET” -- to experience, interact with, and be a part of. And he adds, “Please come!”
Picture site highlights (link to pics at end of this post):
On the photo site linked below find a series of pictures taken at an aluminum pot foundry. A few days ago, Tim and Eben were in town looking to buy a helmet for the scooter driver (there’s a new helmet law in the city and Tubab-Tim (aka Ahmed Fall), having no license to drive, wants to NOT attract attention of traffic cops [sorry, Jerry…] ) …so Tim and Eben saw these cast aluminum pots for sale in the village market and Tim asked how the pots were made. An invitation to visit the must-see foundry followed, and of course, Tim and Eben followed the inviter directly there. It’s a remarkable thing to see such practical items so skillfully made -- recast from broken car parts using tools made from “nothing of value.” There‘s genius here.
Moto pics. After repairs to the motorcycle throttle cable and carburetor (it broke down as Tim was driving Dana over to the hospital for duties there), AND after reinstallation of the drive sprocket with proper lock washers, the big red motorbike is on the road again. All this rebuilding was done by Dr. Adamson (anesthetist), Dr. Ago (dentist), Tim (just another tubab), and Ed (traveling-through handyman) all working together -- as in an ER episode. Tune in again next week…
And the famous scooter… On the road again ALSO is the little black Piaggio scooter with Tim as pilot in command -- now that Thies is re-supplied with gasoline after a dearth lasting nearly FOUR days.
Incidentally, for SAFETY, Tim had stated that 1) he would NOT drive the scooter at NIGHT (it has a faint-glow headlight and no working taillight), and 2) he would NOT drive the scooter on the Thies-Dakar HIGHWAY. However, the day of the maiden voyage, some needed adjustments prevented Tim departing Eben’s house on the little moto before nightfall AND since the thing was almost completely dry of fuel in a petro-less Thies, Tim had to drive the shortest route home -- on the highway, of course! Crazy, seat of the pants crowded-highway night-flight. But all went well as he sped along in the wake of a better equipped moto sporting visible lights! -- and so, happily, he made it home without raising any hair.
Tim’s hair-RAZING haircut with Lin at the clipper controls. Too bad the haircutter’s battery died before Lin could finish. Not a serious problem because Tim has a hat, and it only took the battery all day to recharge. After that it was BUZZ time! It looks different, but now Tim has a real excuse for not combing his head.
Goat head stew. Lifting the lid on a stovetop cook pot, Tim‘s best Senegalese friend, English student, and fellow dishwasher, Aloyse Ndour, looked right at Tim and asked good naturedly, “Why Americans always make face when see cooking head of goat?” Need more be said?
Things we can’t tell you about:
~ “Someone” climbing over the shower room wall after “friends” “accidentally” locked him in there…
~ Craig’s nightmarish night that woke the neighbors, but not Connie!
~ The lizard in the laundry and all that screaming…
~ Problems with the people who splash themselves…
~ “small things” and where you cannot hang them…
~ Jean Baptist’s problems translating Dr. Ted’s gynecology lecture…
~ Tim on the wrong bus with the “voodoo” man…
~ The sickening power of the practitioners of witchcraft…
~ Tim and Lin escaping “Bad Louie” in a taxi…
~ Connie‘s spiritual growth because of “that woman”…
~ Why Dr. Adamson hears, “can you…” and thinks, “Kenya…”
~ The men’s group and the “secret handshake”…
~ The sight that shocked Craig on the road to Dakar…
~ Rustling bushes and the RAT as big as Arnold’s forearm with tail to match…
~ No water days. No power days.
~ The next unexpected thing that may happen any minute…
Before you go to the pic site, check what Lin’s been learning:
APHC Week 6 - November 20-24, 2006
1. SUMMARY: instructor Annette Courvoisier, three decade veteran mid-wife missionary to Angola, taught about normal pregnancy, stages of labor, and childbirth, recognizing complications and managing emergency situations surrounding pre-natal care, and aspects of the birthing process. Breech births, mal-presentations, cephalopelvic disproportion, along with post partum care of Mom and baby were also reviewed. We discussed pre-natal consultations, and appropriate questions to ask in order to gain a meaningful patient history. For the most part Annette worked from a power point presentation with documents prepared by WHO, with the French manual on the wall, and the English speakers following along on their laptops from their CD’s.
2. POINTS I LEARNED:
-- an overview/review of the birth process
-- a review of preemie care
-- a review of complications during pregnancy, delivery, and post partum phase
-- a review of newborn complications
-- the use of the partograph
-- measuring the descent of the fetal head using the five finger method
-- p r a y always
3. APPLICATION: The most practical hands on tool that I took away from this week is the use of the partograph. The partograph is a user friendly chart/graph in which the birth attendant/midwife plots critical information including heart rates of mom and baby, state and color of amniotic fluid, dilatation of the cervix compared to descent of the head over time, number and intensity of contractions per 10 minute periods, drugs administered, blood pressure, temperature, and urine output. All this information is recorded on one sheet which includes a “normal zone” whereby one can judge the overall picture of how the labor is progressing, with zones that are labeled “alert” and “action.” In theory, I also learned the use of the 5 finger approach to evaluate fetal head descent, which, with practice, seems to be a simple, non-invasive means to gain valuable information.
I appreciated Annette’s wealth of years of practical experience in midwifery and childbirth across Africa -- she painted pictures in which I found myself “there with her.” Regarding accidental death due to mal-practice, I believe that the Lord spoke directly to me concerning God’s grace and provision in the extremely complex area of unknowingly erring and causing a patient’s death. I would rather never visit this topic in theory or practice, but it is part of the cost that I must face and deal with. Adamson’s words were, “Do not let the threat of a mistake pull you back into your professional boundaries.” The Lord continues to remind/command me to “take courage” (Joshua 1:9) and to reassure me that He will counsel me when I call to him (Jeremiah 33:3). Annette reminded us over and over again to p r a y, and ask the Lord for His wisdom.
APHC Week 7 (November 27 - December 1, 2006)
SUMMARY: This week Beverly Timgren, a Canadian dental hygenist and medical missionary with a public health emphasis (decades long resident of Southern Lebanon, and Israel) taught us about oral care, hygiene, disease, and infection. She started the week by providing us with a foundation in oral anatomy, including supporting structures. We learned what to expect in the normal, healthy mouth of a child and adult, including number and arrangement of primary and permanent teeth, and the optimum condition of the gingiva, soft and hard palate, oral mucosa, and tongue. This teaching was followed by proper personal oral home and professional care, and complications that arise when this very important oral care is not maintained. Beverly also covered complications/results of lack of care, diseases and infections that affect the teeth and gums. She gave us instruction on how to perform a dental hygiene exam, with an extensive explanation of the purpose of different dentistry instruments. Beverly’s “hands on” teaching included an oral exam on one another to check for cancer using a mouth mirror, and the “feel” of scaling teeth and gums, using a curette applied to a sand/sugar mix glued onto the shell of a hard boiled egg.
POINTS I LEARNED:
-- excellent review of tooth anatomy
-- chain of decay
-- principles of preventative care and ways to creatively teach them
-- steps in strengthening teeth and the importance of fluoride
-- result of improper dental hygiene habits, from dental caries to periodontal disease
-- the long term implications of periodontal disease
-- signs and symptoms of certain diseased states of the mouth including oral cancer, Karposi’s sarcoma, Vincent’s infection, and Noma or cancrum oris
-- uses of dental hygiene instruments including the periodontal probe, explorer, curette and scaler
APPLICATION: …a valuable and practical study as many health programs do not address oral health issues. … useful in promoting a simple preventative dental hygiene program with instruction in brushing, flossing, and fluoride treatments, in a school, village, public health arena, or other group setting. …utilizing the book, Where There Is No Dentist.
APHC Week 8 (December 4 - December 8, 2006)
SUMMARY: This was a very f u l l week! Our main speaker was Dr. Bryan, who is a physician with YWAM in Dakar. We covered approximately 160 drugs from the WHO list of essential medicines. Our study involved drug generic and trade names, drug classes, dosages, methods of administration, indications and contraindications, warnings, precautions, side effects and drug interactions. I appreciated Dr. Bryan’s careful and conscientious approach to practicing medicine, and his ongoing emphasis of our responsibility before the Lord to make wise and educated choices on behalf of our patients. He emphasized the importance of questioning why a medication was not having the desired effect, and using our minds to think, reason, and ask questions as to why this was the case, and to search out the reason.
Dr. Ago presented 3 evenings of dental philosophy and care. From a WHO report on oral disease, we ascertained facts on current global dental problems and some possible solutions. Dr. Ago taught us to define and recognize dental emergencies including broken teeth, dental abscesses, deep dental caries, painful gums, and sensitive wisdom teeth. He also discussed how to tell similar dental problems apart, and the steps involved in administering medication and extracting teeth. We viewed slides of some former village patients of Dr. Ago’s in which certain dental problems were reviewed, which was extremely helpful. Dr. Ago is an animated teacher, with a passion for helping people suffering from oral disease. A profound remark he made was “Nothing is lost, only transformed.” For me, this comment has powerful physical as well as spiritual application.
The week ended with our own Connie Kline teaching IV skills, followed by students practicing these skills by inserting an IV needle in each other’s veins. I have been a friend of Connie’s for a long time, and in recent years since I became a nurse, she has become my own “nurse mentor.” She is a gifted teacher with the ability to convey information and demonstrate good practice techniques in an organized and straight forward manner.
POINTS I LEARNED:
~ multiple facts about a variety of medications
~ introduction to recognizing dental emergencies and how to treat them
~ increasing knowledge regarding the world wide need for dental care
APPLICATION: Studying and learning the uses of different medications is an ongoing process, and each experience with and exposure to a medication helps me build a broader foundation and framework around that medication. Gaining and maintaining familiarity with the many new and existing medications will continue to be a challenging and ongoing process of learning for the obvious purpose of serving people better.
Since my background in the subject is limited to my own life-long dental care along with what I learned in Beverly Timgren’s class, the bulk of Dr. Ago’s presentation contained information new to me. The slides of different people’s dental conditions made the problems very real in the classroom, and helped me visualize what I will be evaluating to determine whether it is a situation that I can/should deal with or not.
As far as I am concerned I can never “practice” enough in IV therapy; it is a skill as well as an art. There is a “feel” that goes with introducing an IV needle and cannula into a vein that comes with lots of attempts, successes as well as failures, in order to learn the skill. Every attempt helps to improve skills. Various shades of skin color present their own problems regarding skin toughness as well as access to target veins.
There’s always more to tell of course. But most of us don’t want to read a novel in a single sitting, so we’ll draw it to a close here. Shorter weekly posts have been recommended, so we’ll see what we can do about that. Until then, stay in touch, remember us when you pray.
God bless,
Ahmed and Ama Fall
Senegal West Africa
Here are some links you might be looking for:
Please check out our new pics at: (sorry, link is disfunctional; looking for replacement). (read picture site highlights in post above)
Craig Kline's picture blog at http://www.klinefamilytravels.blogspot.com/ (changes daily)
Rob and Elyn’s photo site: http://web.mac.com/robnollan/ (great pics of forced vacation)
Quote Dr. Ago, “Nothing is lost; it’s only transformed.”
--------------------
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Greys in Africa #2
See Greys in Africa #1 immediately below this post
14 November, 2006; one month in Africa
Contents:
--Mosquito TERROR alert.
--Word to special people.
--Personal thank you to all.
--Comments on blessing.
--“Special needs” contact info.
--TFBC E-ministry link
--What’s a “Timmitude?” (note: MSWorks spell-check's first suggestion for timmitude is “immature”)
--APHC school study (4 weeks already!)
--Dakar street hustlers and pickpockets
--Photo link.
Mosquito TERROR alert:
Immediately after Connie tested positive for malaria, “greyfam” security moved the mosquito terror alert up from bothersome-nuisance to SEVERE-RISK -- actually it was TIM who needed the nudge; Lin was on it from the start. Connie, by the way, setbacks aside, is medicating toward recovery and, most of the time, seems her old humor-full self (link to Connie’s online photos below).
Breaking news: Tim just tested positive for malaria (could explain why he‘s been so cranky lately)! Doc Adamson considered administering typhoid test as well based on following symptoms: “stupor, muttering, delirium, and twitching of muscles,” so, if this post starts getting a bit rambly or off on rabbit trails… but the doc quickly ruled against the typhoid test because Tim was inoculated just before coming over here (other possible reasons for above symptoms subject to debate).
And now a word to some special people:
To you guys who have put your faith in NO-GOD-is-true, or EVERY-GOD-is-true, or IF-GOD-is-true-then-WHY..., or in one of the many expressions of secular (or extra-Biblical) faith, we say thank you for hanging in with us who are convinced Christians. And thank you for honoring our good intentions here in Africa in spite of your misgivings, questions, and doubts -- for keeping a little corner of your heart open to the possibility that we are here because He is for real. We are encouraged by the positive sentiments we hear in your email/blog responses. Please keep the questions and comments coming.
…and a “personal thank you” to all:
Most of you guys have seen and tasted at least a piece of the developing world. You know that most of us Westerners are immeasurably blessed simply by the fact that we were born into one of the world's resource rich cultures.
There are times when some of us don't quite know what to do with it all. We look around at our friends, family, and neighbors in need, and we give. We share, and we're blessed more for it. Sometimes we’re blessed sufficiently to share our abundance beyond the neighborhood. We volunteer to serve at the community food bank, clothing exchange, and homeless shelter. Sometimes we reach still further through our churches and charities extending ourselves and our resources to other states and other countries through NGOs, medical/evangelical missions, and small specialty outreach groups from our local communities and churches (e.g., youth missions, and construction teams). When we ourselves can go, we go; when we can’t go, we send.
Over the years, the Greys have been privileged to participate on both ends of the give-send/receive-go spectrum with some of you guys -- with our church and missions friends near to home and others literally around the world. Together we share the truth of Jesus’ words: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” This is a personal thank you to so many for being a part of this sharing with us.
Here in Senegal (particularly at the APHC school) there are a few select areas of need that we believe some of you will want to help resolve. In fact, some of you guys have directly said exactly that. You want to know about specific needs and what you can do to help. For you “good Samaritans,” we’re writing up a “special needs” summary that we’ll send to you who ask for it. Just send a “I wanna know” comment to greytim@gmail.com and we’ll respond accordingly. Thanks for asking.
(High speed readers, skimmers, and scanners note: Please slow-read the above section.)
One more quick point here: occasionally we send a quick note to the Toledo First Baptist Church E-Ministry editor, Bill Crepeau, at tfbc-emin@tds.net. Some things that make it into TFBC E-Ministry don’t make it into our bolg comments (e.g., the recent “Open Letter to Pastors and Church). If you want to know more about the TFBC E-Ministry periodic email, just say so to Bill at the above address, or, better, click on this link to subscribe: suscribe-tfbc-emin@tds.net .
So what’s up with the Greys these past couple of weeks? The answers start here:
Timmitude.
One of Lin’s new favorite rhetorical refrains: "Why don't you just get over it?" has been easier for one of us to say than for Tim to hear, but, typically, events repeatedly prove this advice good. Causes: an occasional “timitude” might be triggered by one of our “adjustment challenges.” These “challenges” are probably better left un-described simply because “reporting” can sometimes sound a lot like “complaining” and we don’t want to expose too much of our petty side. Just know that we each have our difficulties with the mundane and ordinary things of “other-culture” life to such an extent that inner feelings occasionally express themselves attitudinally. We just have to be patient and forgiving, while we make our little adjustments. Funny thing is: we don’t seem to have a lot of use for a term like “linnitude.” Why is that?
FYI, the most fascinating trip-to-Dakar story (featuring non-tourists, street hustlers and pickpockets) has been moved to the end of this post. Also, because of the post length (he says), Tim doesn’t want to talk about his recent excuse-me-gotta-go digestive problem or what it’s like dealing with the itchy-scaly fungus he picked up somewhere (he’s so sensitive about some things).
So… on to more pleasant topics.
A glimpse at Lin’s study highlights:
Week one:
--orientation
--Dr. Ted Sugimoto, general surgeon begins Essential Surgical Care classes
--Dr. Alain Affangla, cardiologist, introduces anatomy and physiology of the heart
--Dr. Adamson Phiri, anesthesiologist and APHC school director, defines primary health care and describes experiences in missions that brought him to his global perspective on health care
--Dr. Christian, PhD speaks on Jesus as Light, names of God, the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives, as well as medicine and the occult
--Senegalese Baptist Pastor Adama, speaks on the history of Thies, and how God views cities according to the Bible (emphasis on Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan, “go and do likewise,” and the “cost” of “helping“)
--Deuteronomy 31: 6-7 "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified, for the Lord your God goes with you, He will never leave you or forsake you...the Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you."
--Isaiah 41:13: "For I am the Lord your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, "Do not fear, I will help you."
Quote Lin regarding Week One:
“Throughout this past week, prompted by various teachings, the Lord has brought these scriptures to mind over and over again. From Dr.Christian's comments on the names of God, and how the Lord
changes our name, I sensed the Lord truly changing my name. This new name is a vision of how the Lord sees me, and how he will enable me, by HIS GRACE, to accomplish the work he has prepared for me. My human response can be based in fear: "how can I do this....I don't know enough....I might hurt somebody more than help, I could be responsible for someone's death..."
“The Lord's response to me this week is, "Do not be afraid, Lin, I am your shield, and your very great reward." (Genesis 15:1) Based on His words to me, I choose to believe and trust that He goes before me, He will never leave me, and He understands my nature and my fears..., by His grace, I take courage, knowing that He will show me what it means in my life to "go and do likewise." …I will learn and do as much as I possibly can in the next 6 months...and when I sense fear within, I will remind myself that by His Grace, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).
“The Lord reaffirmed His Word to me through today's message at church. It was when Gideon withdrew from God's grace that he exposed himself to evil. How important for me, in the face of fear, to ALWAYS call on the Name of the Lord, because, by His grace, He will provide (Yahweh Jireh).”
Week Two:
--Karen Lingo, 2x year African missionary veteran from Louisiana, lectures on malaria* (Connie’s favorite subject), and the "village teaching plan"
--lab testing techniques making thick and thin malaria blood slides
--Dr. Ted on various forms of sterile technique and sterilization, the operating room, and surgical instruments.
--Dr. Alain on anatomy of the heart, three types of heart pain, classifications of dyspnea, and aspects of general cardiac exam.
Quote Lin regarding Week Two:
“Topics that I learned about include:
~ parasite life cycle
~ the 4 kinds of parasites that cause malaria
~ recognizing the signs and symptoms of the clinical disease
~ making thick and thin smear blood slides
~ diagnosing malaria through parasitological recognition on thick and thin blood slides
~ treatments
~ prevention measures
~ how to teach about malaria to a group of villagers using pictures
~ I learned the differences in diagnoses in the 3 kinds of heart pain:
~ coronary insufficiency
~ pulmonary embolism
~ aortic dissection (aneuyrism)
~ 4 levels of dyspnea per the New York Heart Association which progress from less serious to more serious:
~ level I: dyspnea that occurs with intense physical activity (sports for example)
~ level 2: dyspnea that occurs after walking on level ground or climbing 1 flight of stairs
~ level 3: dyspnea that affects activities of daily living
~ level 4: dyspnea that occurs at rest or sleep with cough and frothy saliva
“…being able to diagnose, treat, and teach about malaria can be a powerful tool in my future in providing health care.
"The application of Dr. Alain's cardiology lecture is again more information to help diagnose potentially life threatening and immediate problems. Understanding the differences in heart pain and dyspnea are tools to help individuals get the proper care, some of which is needed immediately. Knowing the right questions to ask in order to efficiently assimilate the necessary information in a timely manner is imperative, and Dr. Allain's talk was very helpful in this area.”
Week Three:
--Marielle Bemelmans, MA in Health Care Project Management, veteran nurse and project manager for three years Darfur before and during the ongoing genocide there, on Public Health and Practical Health Care Management; first two phases of the five phase project cycle: research and survey; developing a “problem tree,” whole village, small group, and individual interviewing, baseline survey; determining/distinguishing perceived from actual needs
--Dr. Ted continued surgical talk, spoke about the organs of the abdomen and the nine abdominal areas
--Dr. Alain continued cardiology lecture
Quote Lin regarding Week Three:
“…great importance of determining if health project is feasible, needed, helpful, or appropriate
~knowing when to use closed-end verses opened-end interview questions
~distinguishing qualitative and quantitative data and when to use.
~ data collection methods/tools
~ auscultation points of the heart, and the purpose of listening to each site
~ abdominal review …excellent drawing…of the layout of the organs
“This (health care project management) is a "must learn" for future work in missions much of which is immediately applicable to a very real village, Chuicutama, Guatemala, where Tim helped build houses with Habitat for Humanity this past summer.
“Dr. Ted's abdominal diagram was a very simple way to map out basic abdominal anatomy, providing an excellent mental diagram for future physical exams and diagnosing. Dr. Alain's auscultation sites, drawn on Stephen's chest, were a tremendous help for future cardiac exams, and I am hoping especially, for identifying murmurs.”
Week Four:
--Marielle Bemelmans, continued healthcare project management lectures; lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS); using the decision rule table; random sampling methods; logical framework pattern as a planning and management tool (Logframe); public health terminology; report on treating trachoma patients in Darfur (http://www.naturalhistorymag.com/master.html?http://www.naturalhistorymag.com/1204/1204_feature2.html )
-- Dr. Ted’s and Dr. Alain’s lectures on surgery and cardiology (respectively), continue to be excellent.
Quote Lin regarding Week Four:
“The project cycle is an invaluable tool in starting or even joining an existing project. The future will tell where and how Tim and I will utilize this instrument. I am so grateful that Tim also had the opportunity to attend Marielle’s classes…thank you Adamson! Since we heard the information together, we can discuss it further and fill in the learning gaps for each other as we perhaps encounter it in future work. I am also grateful that I was required to attend these lectures and that they were a part of this APHC because I never would have realized the value of the topics covered, and probably would not have chosen these lectures if the choice had been available, thereby missing out on so much useful and critical information. The overview of Marielle’s trachoma project was fascinating, and once again the impact of dealing with a preventable, life altering infection, was profound in my heart. I do not know where this heart stirring will lead, but we continue to pray. The time we spent outside of class with Marielle was very special, and we definitely feel like we could contact her anytime in the future for her expertise, and that we have started a new friendship.
“I was particularly moved by Tim’s group devotion on Thursday morning on prayer, requests, and opportunity. Tim’s comments on making requests of the Lord resound in my mind and heart, as I am reminded again of this incredible OPPORTUNITY that the Lord has given me to learn so that I can love Jesus more, and in turn be better equipped to serve those He loves.”
Dakar street hustlers and pickpockets:
Last Saturday, while the nurses stayed home to study, Tim and Connie’s husband, Craig, along with 11 year old daughter, Taylor, made a day-trip to Dakar. Ultimate destination: the “slave island,” Gorée ( http://webworld.unesco.org/goree/ ), the westerly most point of land in all of Africa. The island was quite a fascinating place although its use as a send-off point for slaves to the Americas is apparently grossly exaggerated simply to attract visitors to boost the tourist industry -- continuing exploitation (see photo link below). The island is probably worth seeing -- once.
The big events of the day in Dakar involved a street hustler named Alpha, a long walk to a “recommended” restaurant (“It‘s not far.”), and a shouting match between Alpha and a group of would-be pickpockets.
The short version of the story remembers Alpha catching up with the Tim/Craig/Taylor tour group, hereinafter called “we” and “us,” as we departed the ferry terminal having just arrived back from Gorée Island. Alpha’s friendly, charismatic, sometimes pushy style played alternately on our sympathies and irritabilities, as well as our collective sense of humor as he followed us up the hot dusty street hawking his hats and pressing us to consider him tour guide, guardian, and friend.
Tim, for one, found the man entertaining and pleasant for the most part, and enjoyed speaking with him in Spanish, English, and a tiny bit of Wolof as we moved up and away from the “tourist” markets and into the busy city streets.
When Alpha wasn’t directly in our space, he was hovering nearby, disappearing and reappearing as it seemed to serve him best. As Craig, for example, shopped for a school show-n-tell item with Taylor, Alpha came on the scene just in time to describe this-or-that item and to offer his streetwise advice as to quality, purpose, and value, promising to make sure that we didn’t have to pay “white man’s” prices (see photo link below).
On the longer-than-it-should-have-been walk up to Alpha’s “recommended” restaurant (it was almost one o’clock and we hadn’t had breakfast!) as well as during the meal there, Alpha revealed more of himself, his family, and his faith. During this entire episode the man refused to accept gift, charity, free meal, or tip, although, as it turned out, he really was very helpful to us. Street hustler, yes; beggar and freeloader, no. He was a working man. He was earning his own keep and taking care of his wife and mother as well. Behind all this he was a good Muslim, helping out his fellow man in need (that would be us).
Alpha had his chance to prove his real worth halfway back on our long walk to the wharf area as two Senegalese fellows crossed the street toward us, shuffled along side, and began a grim-faced and heated dialog with our guide. Alpha, shouting back at these guys in not-English, seemed to be winning the debate as we moved along and away from the trouble makers. When it looked like we had escaped them Tim asked what the discussion was about. Alpha said that these guys were pickpockets expressing their unhappiness with him for not cooperating in some scheme they wanted to carry out regarding us.
“I would fight those guys to protect you,” Alpha declared to Tim who, by now safely out of range of immediate fisticuffs, responded, “And I would fight them right alongside you, Alpha. Back to back. Thanks for helping us.” And he meant that statement, but he hoped he’d never have to prove it.
Before we drove away from Alpha in the taxi he had hailed for us (he also negotiated the price and instructed the driver as to his duty toward us), we each bought one of Alpha’s hats. Well, not exactly. We really didn’t want a hat, but we really DID want to give something to Alpha and we wanted to have an excuse to look the man up again next time we hit Dakar, so we came up with an idea: buy hats on lay-away.
A mystified Alpha accepted our 1/3 down payment and our promise to return soon to make a second payment on condition that he would hold the blue hat for Tim and the red hat for Craig. We’re sure that he had never been faced with this kind of business arrangement, and could think of no other response than to accept.
It made it possible for him to gain a bit financially without having to beg, try to force a sale, or accept payment for simply doing the right thing. He befriended us when he could have taken advantage and we wanted to show our immediate appreciation. The look on his face told us that a mutual admiration society was forming here, between white and black, young and old, culture-strange and culture-curious, Muslim and Christian.
We fully intend to locate Alpha again (he won’t be hard to find in his neighborhood near the wharf -- if we’re there, he’ll find us!) and continue our discussions and interactions with him, a fascinating man fluent in four languages learned on the same streets that draw him to work for his daily bread.
We will pray for Alpha. He told us that he too will pray for us to God and to Jesus, and that his family would not be displeased should he decide to become Christian. If God wills, we will see Alpha again.
And we hope to see all of you again as well! But not for a while. Meantime, please keep praying for us and communicating with us. You’ve blessed us so much and made it possible for us to be present and future blessing to people here in Africa -- our brothers, sisters, and fellow human beings.
Please check out our new pics at: (sorry, link is disfunctional; looking for replacement). There is a picture of Alpha “doing his thing” there, as well as some other interesting pics of our near and far surroundings.
Gotta go (not in the sense express under “timitude“ above).
God love you.
Tim and Lin Grey
p.s. You might want to have a look at Graig Kline's picture blog at http://www.klinefamilytravels.blogspot.com/ where that "death-warmed-over" pic of Tim has been replaced by something from outer space????
14 November, 2006; one month in Africa
Contents:
--Mosquito TERROR alert.
--Word to special people.
--Personal thank you to all.
--Comments on blessing.
--“Special needs” contact info.
--TFBC E-ministry link
--What’s a “Timmitude?” (note: MSWorks spell-check's first suggestion for timmitude is “immature”)
--APHC school study (4 weeks already!)
--Dakar street hustlers and pickpockets
--Photo link.
Mosquito TERROR alert:
Immediately after Connie tested positive for malaria, “greyfam” security moved the mosquito terror alert up from bothersome-nuisance to SEVERE-RISK -- actually it was TIM who needed the nudge; Lin was on it from the start. Connie, by the way, setbacks aside, is medicating toward recovery and, most of the time, seems her old humor-full self (link to Connie’s online photos below).
Breaking news: Tim just tested positive for malaria (could explain why he‘s been so cranky lately)! Doc Adamson considered administering typhoid test as well based on following symptoms: “stupor, muttering, delirium, and twitching of muscles,” so, if this post starts getting a bit rambly or off on rabbit trails… but the doc quickly ruled against the typhoid test because Tim was inoculated just before coming over here (other possible reasons for above symptoms subject to debate).
And now a word to some special people:
To you guys who have put your faith in NO-GOD-is-true, or EVERY-GOD-is-true, or IF-GOD-is-true-then-WHY..., or in one of the many expressions of secular (or extra-Biblical) faith, we say thank you for hanging in with us who are convinced Christians. And thank you for honoring our good intentions here in Africa in spite of your misgivings, questions, and doubts -- for keeping a little corner of your heart open to the possibility that we are here because He is for real. We are encouraged by the positive sentiments we hear in your email/blog responses. Please keep the questions and comments coming.
…and a “personal thank you” to all:
Most of you guys have seen and tasted at least a piece of the developing world. You know that most of us Westerners are immeasurably blessed simply by the fact that we were born into one of the world's resource rich cultures.
There are times when some of us don't quite know what to do with it all. We look around at our friends, family, and neighbors in need, and we give. We share, and we're blessed more for it. Sometimes we’re blessed sufficiently to share our abundance beyond the neighborhood. We volunteer to serve at the community food bank, clothing exchange, and homeless shelter. Sometimes we reach still further through our churches and charities extending ourselves and our resources to other states and other countries through NGOs, medical/evangelical missions, and small specialty outreach groups from our local communities and churches (e.g., youth missions, and construction teams). When we ourselves can go, we go; when we can’t go, we send.
Over the years, the Greys have been privileged to participate on both ends of the give-send/receive-go spectrum with some of you guys -- with our church and missions friends near to home and others literally around the world. Together we share the truth of Jesus’ words: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” This is a personal thank you to so many for being a part of this sharing with us.
Here in Senegal (particularly at the APHC school) there are a few select areas of need that we believe some of you will want to help resolve. In fact, some of you guys have directly said exactly that. You want to know about specific needs and what you can do to help. For you “good Samaritans,” we’re writing up a “special needs” summary that we’ll send to you who ask for it. Just send a “I wanna know” comment to greytim@gmail.com and we’ll respond accordingly. Thanks for asking.
(High speed readers, skimmers, and scanners note: Please slow-read the above section.)
One more quick point here: occasionally we send a quick note to the Toledo First Baptist Church E-Ministry editor, Bill Crepeau, at tfbc-emin@tds.net. Some things that make it into TFBC E-Ministry don’t make it into our bolg comments (e.g., the recent “Open Letter to Pastors and Church). If you want to know more about the TFBC E-Ministry periodic email, just say so to Bill at the above address, or, better, click on this link to subscribe: suscribe-tfbc-emin@tds.net .
So what’s up with the Greys these past couple of weeks? The answers start here:
Timmitude.
One of Lin’s new favorite rhetorical refrains: "Why don't you just get over it?" has been easier for one of us to say than for Tim to hear, but, typically, events repeatedly prove this advice good. Causes: an occasional “timitude” might be triggered by one of our “adjustment challenges.” These “challenges” are probably better left un-described simply because “reporting” can sometimes sound a lot like “complaining” and we don’t want to expose too much of our petty side. Just know that we each have our difficulties with the mundane and ordinary things of “other-culture” life to such an extent that inner feelings occasionally express themselves attitudinally. We just have to be patient and forgiving, while we make our little adjustments. Funny thing is: we don’t seem to have a lot of use for a term like “linnitude.” Why is that?
FYI, the most fascinating trip-to-Dakar story (featuring non-tourists, street hustlers and pickpockets) has been moved to the end of this post. Also, because of the post length (he says), Tim doesn’t want to talk about his recent excuse-me-gotta-go digestive problem or what it’s like dealing with the itchy-scaly fungus he picked up somewhere (he’s so sensitive about some things).
So… on to more pleasant topics.
A glimpse at Lin’s study highlights:
Week one:
--orientation
--Dr. Ted Sugimoto, general surgeon begins Essential Surgical Care classes
--Dr. Alain Affangla, cardiologist, introduces anatomy and physiology of the heart
--Dr. Adamson Phiri, anesthesiologist and APHC school director, defines primary health care and describes experiences in missions that brought him to his global perspective on health care
--Dr. Christian, PhD speaks on Jesus as Light, names of God, the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives, as well as medicine and the occult
--Senegalese Baptist Pastor Adama, speaks on the history of Thies, and how God views cities according to the Bible (emphasis on Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan, “go and do likewise,” and the “cost” of “helping“)
--Deuteronomy 31: 6-7 "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified, for the Lord your God goes with you, He will never leave you or forsake you...the Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you."
--Isaiah 41:13: "For I am the Lord your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, "Do not fear, I will help you."
Quote Lin regarding Week One:
“Throughout this past week, prompted by various teachings, the Lord has brought these scriptures to mind over and over again. From Dr.Christian's comments on the names of God, and how the Lord
changes our name, I sensed the Lord truly changing my name. This new name is a vision of how the Lord sees me, and how he will enable me, by HIS GRACE, to accomplish the work he has prepared for me. My human response can be based in fear: "how can I do this....I don't know enough....I might hurt somebody more than help, I could be responsible for someone's death..."
“The Lord's response to me this week is, "Do not be afraid, Lin, I am your shield, and your very great reward." (Genesis 15:1) Based on His words to me, I choose to believe and trust that He goes before me, He will never leave me, and He understands my nature and my fears..., by His grace, I take courage, knowing that He will show me what it means in my life to "go and do likewise." …I will learn and do as much as I possibly can in the next 6 months...and when I sense fear within, I will remind myself that by His Grace, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).
“The Lord reaffirmed His Word to me through today's message at church. It was when Gideon withdrew from God's grace that he exposed himself to evil. How important for me, in the face of fear, to ALWAYS call on the Name of the Lord, because, by His grace, He will provide (Yahweh Jireh).”
Week Two:
--Karen Lingo, 2x year African missionary veteran from Louisiana, lectures on malaria* (Connie’s favorite subject), and the "village teaching plan"
--lab testing techniques making thick and thin malaria blood slides
--Dr. Ted on various forms of sterile technique and sterilization, the operating room, and surgical instruments.
--Dr. Alain on anatomy of the heart, three types of heart pain, classifications of dyspnea, and aspects of general cardiac exam.
Quote Lin regarding Week Two:
“Topics that I learned about include:
~ parasite life cycle
~ the 4 kinds of parasites that cause malaria
~ recognizing the signs and symptoms of the clinical disease
~ making thick and thin smear blood slides
~ diagnosing malaria through parasitological recognition on thick and thin blood slides
~ treatments
~ prevention measures
~ how to teach about malaria to a group of villagers using pictures
~ I learned the differences in diagnoses in the 3 kinds of heart pain:
~ coronary insufficiency
~ pulmonary embolism
~ aortic dissection (aneuyrism)
~ 4 levels of dyspnea per the New York Heart Association which progress from less serious to more serious:
~ level I: dyspnea that occurs with intense physical activity (sports for example)
~ level 2: dyspnea that occurs after walking on level ground or climbing 1 flight of stairs
~ level 3: dyspnea that affects activities of daily living
~ level 4: dyspnea that occurs at rest or sleep with cough and frothy saliva
“…being able to diagnose, treat, and teach about malaria can be a powerful tool in my future in providing health care.
"The application of Dr. Alain's cardiology lecture is again more information to help diagnose potentially life threatening and immediate problems. Understanding the differences in heart pain and dyspnea are tools to help individuals get the proper care, some of which is needed immediately. Knowing the right questions to ask in order to efficiently assimilate the necessary information in a timely manner is imperative, and Dr. Allain's talk was very helpful in this area.”
Week Three:
--Marielle Bemelmans, MA in Health Care Project Management, veteran nurse and project manager for three years Darfur before and during the ongoing genocide there, on Public Health and Practical Health Care Management; first two phases of the five phase project cycle: research and survey; developing a “problem tree,” whole village, small group, and individual interviewing, baseline survey; determining/distinguishing perceived from actual needs
--Dr. Ted continued surgical talk, spoke about the organs of the abdomen and the nine abdominal areas
--Dr. Alain continued cardiology lecture
Quote Lin regarding Week Three:
“…great importance of determining if health project is feasible, needed, helpful, or appropriate
~knowing when to use closed-end verses opened-end interview questions
~distinguishing qualitative and quantitative data and when to use.
~ data collection methods/tools
~ auscultation points of the heart, and the purpose of listening to each site
~ abdominal review …excellent drawing…of the layout of the organs
“This (health care project management) is a "must learn" for future work in missions much of which is immediately applicable to a very real village, Chuicutama, Guatemala, where Tim helped build houses with Habitat for Humanity this past summer.
“Dr. Ted's abdominal diagram was a very simple way to map out basic abdominal anatomy, providing an excellent mental diagram for future physical exams and diagnosing. Dr. Alain's auscultation sites, drawn on Stephen's chest, were a tremendous help for future cardiac exams, and I am hoping especially, for identifying murmurs.”
Week Four:
--Marielle Bemelmans, continued healthcare project management lectures; lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS); using the decision rule table; random sampling methods; logical framework pattern as a planning and management tool (Logframe); public health terminology; report on treating trachoma patients in Darfur (http://www.naturalhistorymag.com/master.html?http://www.naturalhistorymag.com/1204/1204_feature2.html )
-- Dr. Ted’s and Dr. Alain’s lectures on surgery and cardiology (respectively), continue to be excellent.
Quote Lin regarding Week Four:
“The project cycle is an invaluable tool in starting or even joining an existing project. The future will tell where and how Tim and I will utilize this instrument. I am so grateful that Tim also had the opportunity to attend Marielle’s classes…thank you Adamson! Since we heard the information together, we can discuss it further and fill in the learning gaps for each other as we perhaps encounter it in future work. I am also grateful that I was required to attend these lectures and that they were a part of this APHC because I never would have realized the value of the topics covered, and probably would not have chosen these lectures if the choice had been available, thereby missing out on so much useful and critical information. The overview of Marielle’s trachoma project was fascinating, and once again the impact of dealing with a preventable, life altering infection, was profound in my heart. I do not know where this heart stirring will lead, but we continue to pray. The time we spent outside of class with Marielle was very special, and we definitely feel like we could contact her anytime in the future for her expertise, and that we have started a new friendship.
“I was particularly moved by Tim’s group devotion on Thursday morning on prayer, requests, and opportunity. Tim’s comments on making requests of the Lord resound in my mind and heart, as I am reminded again of this incredible OPPORTUNITY that the Lord has given me to learn so that I can love Jesus more, and in turn be better equipped to serve those He loves.”
Dakar street hustlers and pickpockets:
Last Saturday, while the nurses stayed home to study, Tim and Connie’s husband, Craig, along with 11 year old daughter, Taylor, made a day-trip to Dakar. Ultimate destination: the “slave island,” Gorée ( http://webworld.unesco.org/goree/ ), the westerly most point of land in all of Africa. The island was quite a fascinating place although its use as a send-off point for slaves to the Americas is apparently grossly exaggerated simply to attract visitors to boost the tourist industry -- continuing exploitation (see photo link below). The island is probably worth seeing -- once.
The big events of the day in Dakar involved a street hustler named Alpha, a long walk to a “recommended” restaurant (“It‘s not far.”), and a shouting match between Alpha and a group of would-be pickpockets.
The short version of the story remembers Alpha catching up with the Tim/Craig/Taylor tour group, hereinafter called “we” and “us,” as we departed the ferry terminal having just arrived back from Gorée Island. Alpha’s friendly, charismatic, sometimes pushy style played alternately on our sympathies and irritabilities, as well as our collective sense of humor as he followed us up the hot dusty street hawking his hats and pressing us to consider him tour guide, guardian, and friend.
Tim, for one, found the man entertaining and pleasant for the most part, and enjoyed speaking with him in Spanish, English, and a tiny bit of Wolof as we moved up and away from the “tourist” markets and into the busy city streets.
When Alpha wasn’t directly in our space, he was hovering nearby, disappearing and reappearing as it seemed to serve him best. As Craig, for example, shopped for a school show-n-tell item with Taylor, Alpha came on the scene just in time to describe this-or-that item and to offer his streetwise advice as to quality, purpose, and value, promising to make sure that we didn’t have to pay “white man’s” prices (see photo link below).
On the longer-than-it-should-have-been walk up to Alpha’s “recommended” restaurant (it was almost one o’clock and we hadn’t had breakfast!) as well as during the meal there, Alpha revealed more of himself, his family, and his faith. During this entire episode the man refused to accept gift, charity, free meal, or tip, although, as it turned out, he really was very helpful to us. Street hustler, yes; beggar and freeloader, no. He was a working man. He was earning his own keep and taking care of his wife and mother as well. Behind all this he was a good Muslim, helping out his fellow man in need (that would be us).
Alpha had his chance to prove his real worth halfway back on our long walk to the wharf area as two Senegalese fellows crossed the street toward us, shuffled along side, and began a grim-faced and heated dialog with our guide. Alpha, shouting back at these guys in not-English, seemed to be winning the debate as we moved along and away from the trouble makers. When it looked like we had escaped them Tim asked what the discussion was about. Alpha said that these guys were pickpockets expressing their unhappiness with him for not cooperating in some scheme they wanted to carry out regarding us.
“I would fight those guys to protect you,” Alpha declared to Tim who, by now safely out of range of immediate fisticuffs, responded, “And I would fight them right alongside you, Alpha. Back to back. Thanks for helping us.” And he meant that statement, but he hoped he’d never have to prove it.
Before we drove away from Alpha in the taxi he had hailed for us (he also negotiated the price and instructed the driver as to his duty toward us), we each bought one of Alpha’s hats. Well, not exactly. We really didn’t want a hat, but we really DID want to give something to Alpha and we wanted to have an excuse to look the man up again next time we hit Dakar, so we came up with an idea: buy hats on lay-away.
A mystified Alpha accepted our 1/3 down payment and our promise to return soon to make a second payment on condition that he would hold the blue hat for Tim and the red hat for Craig. We’re sure that he had never been faced with this kind of business arrangement, and could think of no other response than to accept.
It made it possible for him to gain a bit financially without having to beg, try to force a sale, or accept payment for simply doing the right thing. He befriended us when he could have taken advantage and we wanted to show our immediate appreciation. The look on his face told us that a mutual admiration society was forming here, between white and black, young and old, culture-strange and culture-curious, Muslim and Christian.
We fully intend to locate Alpha again (he won’t be hard to find in his neighborhood near the wharf -- if we’re there, he’ll find us!) and continue our discussions and interactions with him, a fascinating man fluent in four languages learned on the same streets that draw him to work for his daily bread.
We will pray for Alpha. He told us that he too will pray for us to God and to Jesus, and that his family would not be displeased should he decide to become Christian. If God wills, we will see Alpha again.
And we hope to see all of you again as well! But not for a while. Meantime, please keep praying for us and communicating with us. You’ve blessed us so much and made it possible for us to be present and future blessing to people here in Africa -- our brothers, sisters, and fellow human beings.
Please check out our new pics at: (sorry, link is disfunctional; looking for replacement). There is a picture of Alpha “doing his thing” there, as well as some other interesting pics of our near and far surroundings.
Gotta go (not in the sense express under “timitude“ above).
God love you.
Tim and Lin Grey
p.s. You might want to have a look at Graig Kline's picture blog at http://www.klinefamilytravels.blogspot.com/ where that "death-warmed-over" pic of Tim has been replaced by something from outer space????
Greys in Africa #1
Editors note: on the above date Tim copied this Greys in Africa #1 post from http://www.timlingrey.wordpress.com. The plan is to continue using http://www.timlingrey.blogspot.com instead of wordpress.
Hi Y’all,
We’re here: stationed in a village area on the outskirts of Thies (pronounced like “chess”), Senegal, West Africa. Lin and our good friend Connie Kline from NWPC, along with nine other students from around the world, have already started their ”where-there-is-no-doctor” advanced medical training, and Tim… well, more about Tim in a minute. So we’re off to a pretty good start.
Sorry about delayed communication. Internet connection arrived late, and a multiplicity of complicating conditions prevented early contact.
Much to be told about travel adventures in a future post… (e.g., broken plane gave us a 12 hour delay in DC where we we’re put up at the Hilton of all places — ever stay at the Hilton?? — with all we could eat of some pretty amazing dishes!). And more to tell about our first four days here ( e.g., what made Tim think that he could wander out into this sprawling African city alone and NOT get lost???)
But for now… We’re here. And we’re well and happy — a little scared sometimes, but happy.
Where are all YOU guys? Y’all OK? We’d like to hear what’s going on in your hearts and minds — your lives. Are you well? Are you blessed beyond measure?
Are you thinking, “Hey, I thought Tim was in South America — or some place like that – studying Spanish since school let out in June…” or “Wait a minute, last I heard Tim was 9,000 feet up some mountain in Guatemala helping Habitat for Humanity build houses for poor Mayans…” and, “…what’s the deal with Africa all of a sudden? Huh?? I don’t get it.”
Well, you’re not alone in all that head scratching, so here’s how we got here in a nutshell (well, we actually got here in an airplane, but to keep the story short…):
At the end of second service a couple of Sundays ago (right after Tim got home from 14 study-filled weeks south of the border), Joe invited us up front to explain ourselves to the congregation. There we told how we felt that the Lord was NOT in favor of Tim returning ALONE to Latin America for more language study at this time, and that He had demonstrated this by making the following against-all-odds things happen on unprecedented short notice:
1) Arranged for and acquired seven inoculations against some pretty spooky deceases (at a Safeway store in Tumwater of all places!).
2) Discovered financing in unexpected ways (e.g., with Tim having his camera, spending money on a new camera for Lin would not be necessary — ching-a-ling: $300; with Tim in near perfect health, the doctor and dentist appointments were not considered necessary — ching-a-ling: $200).
3) Arranged for and acquired tickets (thanks to Christian travel agents and FedEx) with only one week’s notice on the VERY SAME planes Lin was flying — note: these three planes to three cities were nearly all FULL, but Tim got seats anyway — and NEXT TO LIN too!
4) There’s more, but a blog post should only be so long.
So what are we up to now that we’re here?
Highlights:
– Tim rode into the city with a South African SIM missionary to shop for a used motor scooter today (no NEW motor scooters in Senegal) to be used by the school’s new building maintenance supervisor so that he doesn’t have to walk the 30 or 40 minutes in the blazing heat to the “bus station” on the “highway” to pay for a ride the rest of the way into the city for the purpose of buying a replacement this-thing-or-that for the school building.
By the way, Tim IS the new building maintenance supervisor. Oh, don’t feel sorry for him. He has only one person to supervise: HIMSELF. Tim expects to be teaching ESL classes to hospital staff — and probably to a few of the Wolof speaking locals as well – in the not-to-distant future. Meantime he has a building to take care of.
Lin has started school. It’s a long day with first meetings at seven in the morning and last classes finishing up at ten at night. With morning worship, classes, daily work duties, and study time, Lin is already going full speed from dark to dark. In short, this very important medical training is very rigorous and very intensive. This is university level small group education taught by doctors currently active in their specialities. More details in the future.
A bit about our area:
It’s different.
REALLY different.
Spiritually, the city is very dark. The ratio of Christian to Muslim is so lopsided that statistically Christians do not exist inThies. The biggest church in this city of half a million people has a congregation of 30 locals. Thirty. There are other smaller churches though.
Two.
Thies has three Christian churches and far fewer than 100 known believers. The grip of religion built on fear is spiritual prison. Many people have expressed the will and desire to discover Jesus, but few are willing to risk the consequences. To openly respond to the life changing Spirit of Christ is, in a many cases, the same as inviting violent rejection from family and friends; like painting a target on the chest with the words, “I’m a convert to Christ; you have the right to kill me.”
The Gospel is brought to the Muslim here by means of an ancient proven approach: that of the Good Samaritan. This man bound the wounds of a stranger and gave to him as Jesus would give, requiring nothing in return — nothing — not even a comment.
Jesus himself was with his disciples for three years and most of them still didn’t “get it” until after they saw him dead and alive again. These Muslims will not be hurried — all in God’s time. Our call is to faithfully serve.
Topographically, the Dakar-Thies area lies mostly FLAT as it spreads back from warm Atlantic beaches. The sandy soil, red brown and dry, supports a variety of scattered trees and natural shrubbery. A few hard-scrabble garden plots struggle against the blazing sun.
At this time the rainy season is just about over. The near hundred degree weather should begin to cool some as we approach December (something to look forward to). With less rain comes more dust. If SMOG is smoke+fog, then I suppose what we’re seeing here could be called SMUST.
Our diet has changed since the foods to which we are accustomed are generally not available here. We’re trying to develop an appetite for Senegalese preferred flavors, textures, and eating styles. Adjustments are challenging, but fish and rice are the staples, and, the good news: we love fish and rice. Preparation and serving details are… shall we say, “different,” but the end result can be surprisingly satisfying to the open minded.
We’re quartered in a “cozy” clean unfurnished room on the ground floor of a leased school building that is so new it’s still under construction. The entire second floor is every-day busy with noisy Muslim workers mortaring block on block and spreading a thin finish coat of concrete over all. The end result, though simple, is really quite satisfactory, functional, and practical.
After the tile floor and trim are down, the windows in, and the electrical loose ends tied together, we’ll see a final coat of paint turn this concrete cavern on the second floor into a beautiful work space for teaching and learning.
You construction guys would find the building techniques here something to be admired. It’s amazing how unimportant the concepts “square” and “symmetric” become where there are no tools to measure such things and no pressing need to be concerned about it anyway — unless you’re one of those visually-stressed geometry-buffs unable to resist straightening pictures on other people’s walls. For you guys, working here would be a true growth experience.
For “big game” we have lizards, ants, grasshoppers, frogs, and toads (just like back home). Some of the critters they call “crickets” look more like locust.
Since the interior of the building is completely exposed to the great outdoors through barred steel doors and glassless screened windows, we’ve got a pretty good variety of big hopping “crickets” occasionally inviting themselves into our room along with happily singing mosquitoes – some exceeding three inches in length (the “crickets,” NOT the mosquitoes).
Local people generally take all this in stride, explaining it simply with a bright eyed smile and a warm open invitation, “Welcome to Africa!”
Such is the every-day stuff for us here in Senegal.
But don’t get the wrong idea. With this little email we’ve tried to express our to-date experiences and observations here in light hearted tones, and we hope you are able to read them that way. We have no REAL complaints, and are very very joyful that the Lord has chosen to bring us here.
Other students, from Canada, Australia, Cameroon, Togo, South Africa, and Senegal share marvelous, awe inspiring, and sometimes hair raising stories telling how God has brought them to this place and to where He is leading them from here. It’s a most wonderful thing to behold — and the needs are unimaginably great.
One last point, and then we’ll hang up for now – something we hope you will keep in mind when you think about us and when you pray for us:
We are exactly like you in that we are excited to see what the Lord has in store for us in the days ahead. We are exactly like you in that we are praying that He will show us how to be His hands and His heart to all those we encounter in the place He has called us to study and serve. We are exactly like you in that we seek to be over-comers in the mundane and unique challenges of daily life. We are exactly like you in that we love our brothers and sisters in the Lord and hold them (read: you!) up in prayer, just as they (read: you!) hold us and each other up in prayer. We are exactly like you in intention and goal and purposeful service. Thanks for remembering us to Him whom we all serve.
And thanks for writing to us. Please share with us your burdens, your cares, your concerns and your questions. We’re as close as the nearest internet connection, and we look forward to your comments (see “p.s.” below) and your emails.
Blessings in His service,
Tim and Lin Grey
greytim@gmail.com
p.s. Click on “comment” below or use the email link to respond.
pp.s. JUST ADDED: link to photos! Click here: (sorry, link is disfunctional; looking for replacement)
Hi Y’all,
We’re here: stationed in a village area on the outskirts of Thies (pronounced like “chess”), Senegal, West Africa. Lin and our good friend Connie Kline from NWPC, along with nine other students from around the world, have already started their ”where-there-is-no-doctor” advanced medical training, and Tim… well, more about Tim in a minute. So we’re off to a pretty good start.
Sorry about delayed communication. Internet connection arrived late, and a multiplicity of complicating conditions prevented early contact.
Much to be told about travel adventures in a future post… (e.g., broken plane gave us a 12 hour delay in DC where we we’re put up at the Hilton of all places — ever stay at the Hilton?? — with all we could eat of some pretty amazing dishes!). And more to tell about our first four days here ( e.g., what made Tim think that he could wander out into this sprawling African city alone and NOT get lost???)
But for now… We’re here. And we’re well and happy — a little scared sometimes, but happy.
Where are all YOU guys? Y’all OK? We’d like to hear what’s going on in your hearts and minds — your lives. Are you well? Are you blessed beyond measure?
Are you thinking, “Hey, I thought Tim was in South America — or some place like that – studying Spanish since school let out in June…” or “Wait a minute, last I heard Tim was 9,000 feet up some mountain in Guatemala helping Habitat for Humanity build houses for poor Mayans…” and, “…what’s the deal with Africa all of a sudden? Huh?? I don’t get it.”
Well, you’re not alone in all that head scratching, so here’s how we got here in a nutshell (well, we actually got here in an airplane, but to keep the story short…):
At the end of second service a couple of Sundays ago (right after Tim got home from 14 study-filled weeks south of the border), Joe invited us up front to explain ourselves to the congregation. There we told how we felt that the Lord was NOT in favor of Tim returning ALONE to Latin America for more language study at this time, and that He had demonstrated this by making the following against-all-odds things happen on unprecedented short notice:
1) Arranged for and acquired seven inoculations against some pretty spooky deceases (at a Safeway store in Tumwater of all places!).
2) Discovered financing in unexpected ways (e.g., with Tim having his camera, spending money on a new camera for Lin would not be necessary — ching-a-ling: $300; with Tim in near perfect health, the doctor and dentist appointments were not considered necessary — ching-a-ling: $200).
3) Arranged for and acquired tickets (thanks to Christian travel agents and FedEx) with only one week’s notice on the VERY SAME planes Lin was flying — note: these three planes to three cities were nearly all FULL, but Tim got seats anyway — and NEXT TO LIN too!
4) There’s more, but a blog post should only be so long.
So what are we up to now that we’re here?
Highlights:
– Tim rode into the city with a South African SIM missionary to shop for a used motor scooter today (no NEW motor scooters in Senegal) to be used by the school’s new building maintenance supervisor so that he doesn’t have to walk the 30 or 40 minutes in the blazing heat to the “bus station” on the “highway” to pay for a ride the rest of the way into the city for the purpose of buying a replacement this-thing-or-that for the school building.
By the way, Tim IS the new building maintenance supervisor. Oh, don’t feel sorry for him. He has only one person to supervise: HIMSELF. Tim expects to be teaching ESL classes to hospital staff — and probably to a few of the Wolof speaking locals as well – in the not-to-distant future. Meantime he has a building to take care of.
Lin has started school. It’s a long day with first meetings at seven in the morning and last classes finishing up at ten at night. With morning worship, classes, daily work duties, and study time, Lin is already going full speed from dark to dark. In short, this very important medical training is very rigorous and very intensive. This is university level small group education taught by doctors currently active in their specialities. More details in the future.
A bit about our area:
It’s different.
REALLY different.
Spiritually, the city is very dark. The ratio of Christian to Muslim is so lopsided that statistically Christians do not exist inThies. The biggest church in this city of half a million people has a congregation of 30 locals. Thirty. There are other smaller churches though.
Two.
Thies has three Christian churches and far fewer than 100 known believers. The grip of religion built on fear is spiritual prison. Many people have expressed the will and desire to discover Jesus, but few are willing to risk the consequences. To openly respond to the life changing Spirit of Christ is, in a many cases, the same as inviting violent rejection from family and friends; like painting a target on the chest with the words, “I’m a convert to Christ; you have the right to kill me.”
The Gospel is brought to the Muslim here by means of an ancient proven approach: that of the Good Samaritan. This man bound the wounds of a stranger and gave to him as Jesus would give, requiring nothing in return — nothing — not even a comment.
Jesus himself was with his disciples for three years and most of them still didn’t “get it” until after they saw him dead and alive again. These Muslims will not be hurried — all in God’s time. Our call is to faithfully serve.
Topographically, the Dakar-Thies area lies mostly FLAT as it spreads back from warm Atlantic beaches. The sandy soil, red brown and dry, supports a variety of scattered trees and natural shrubbery. A few hard-scrabble garden plots struggle against the blazing sun.
At this time the rainy season is just about over. The near hundred degree weather should begin to cool some as we approach December (something to look forward to). With less rain comes more dust. If SMOG is smoke+fog, then I suppose what we’re seeing here could be called SMUST.
Our diet has changed since the foods to which we are accustomed are generally not available here. We’re trying to develop an appetite for Senegalese preferred flavors, textures, and eating styles. Adjustments are challenging, but fish and rice are the staples, and, the good news: we love fish and rice. Preparation and serving details are… shall we say, “different,” but the end result can be surprisingly satisfying to the open minded.
We’re quartered in a “cozy” clean unfurnished room on the ground floor of a leased school building that is so new it’s still under construction. The entire second floor is every-day busy with noisy Muslim workers mortaring block on block and spreading a thin finish coat of concrete over all. The end result, though simple, is really quite satisfactory, functional, and practical.
After the tile floor and trim are down, the windows in, and the electrical loose ends tied together, we’ll see a final coat of paint turn this concrete cavern on the second floor into a beautiful work space for teaching and learning.
You construction guys would find the building techniques here something to be admired. It’s amazing how unimportant the concepts “square” and “symmetric” become where there are no tools to measure such things and no pressing need to be concerned about it anyway — unless you’re one of those visually-stressed geometry-buffs unable to resist straightening pictures on other people’s walls. For you guys, working here would be a true growth experience.
For “big game” we have lizards, ants, grasshoppers, frogs, and toads (just like back home). Some of the critters they call “crickets” look more like locust.
Since the interior of the building is completely exposed to the great outdoors through barred steel doors and glassless screened windows, we’ve got a pretty good variety of big hopping “crickets” occasionally inviting themselves into our room along with happily singing mosquitoes – some exceeding three inches in length (the “crickets,” NOT the mosquitoes).
Local people generally take all this in stride, explaining it simply with a bright eyed smile and a warm open invitation, “Welcome to Africa!”
Such is the every-day stuff for us here in Senegal.
But don’t get the wrong idea. With this little email we’ve tried to express our to-date experiences and observations here in light hearted tones, and we hope you are able to read them that way. We have no REAL complaints, and are very very joyful that the Lord has chosen to bring us here.
Other students, from Canada, Australia, Cameroon, Togo, South Africa, and Senegal share marvelous, awe inspiring, and sometimes hair raising stories telling how God has brought them to this place and to where He is leading them from here. It’s a most wonderful thing to behold — and the needs are unimaginably great.
One last point, and then we’ll hang up for now – something we hope you will keep in mind when you think about us and when you pray for us:
We are exactly like you in that we are excited to see what the Lord has in store for us in the days ahead. We are exactly like you in that we are praying that He will show us how to be His hands and His heart to all those we encounter in the place He has called us to study and serve. We are exactly like you in that we seek to be over-comers in the mundane and unique challenges of daily life. We are exactly like you in that we love our brothers and sisters in the Lord and hold them (read: you!) up in prayer, just as they (read: you!) hold us and each other up in prayer. We are exactly like you in intention and goal and purposeful service. Thanks for remembering us to Him whom we all serve.
And thanks for writing to us. Please share with us your burdens, your cares, your concerns and your questions. We’re as close as the nearest internet connection, and we look forward to your comments (see “p.s.” below) and your emails.
Blessings in His service,
Tim and Lin Grey
greytim@gmail.com
p.s. Click on “comment” below or use the email link to respond.
pp.s. JUST ADDED: link to photos! Click here: (sorry, link is disfunctional; looking for replacement)
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