Friday, August 29, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
We're on our way back home!
Although it is midnight at home right now, it is 8:16 am on Friday and our bus will be here any minute to pick us up and begin the long trek to Dar es Salaam and, ultimately, back to you, our friends and loved ones.
The money you so generously gave after we made you aware of our need here allowed us to do another full day of clinic Monday. We saw an astounding 75 patients!! And it may even be enough to cover all of the surgeries we identified.
Please check back after we are home—there are two wonderful videos of the worship from the Masai village that will be uploaded after we have access to a faster connection.
Bwana Asafiri! Praise the Lord!
The money you so generously gave after we made you aware of our need here allowed us to do another full day of clinic Monday. We saw an astounding 75 patients!! And it may even be enough to cover all of the surgeries we identified.
Please check back after we are home—there are two wonderful videos of the worship from the Masai village that will be uploaded after we have access to a faster connection.
Bwana Asafiri! Praise the Lord!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Worship with the Masai, Sunday
Worship with the Masai
Dr. Karen and Dr. Michael left early to be at St. Mary’s by 8 for the surgery that got bumped yesterday. The rest of the team had the luxury of sleeping in—we did not have to leave for church until 9:30—which was heaven!
The village we went to for worship was about 40 kilometers away. We arrived at 10:35 and church was supposed to start at 10:30. But, as we have been warned, this is Tanzanian time. So 10:30 means sometime after that, but before lunchtime. The service began a few minutes before 11 and lasted until 1:30. We were mesmerized and energized by the joyfulness of the service. Even our one-hour Lutheran sat through the service and was glad she came.
There were 2 choirs—a childrens choir and an adult choir. Each choir performed many songs and we enjoyed the same type of joyful procession for the offering as we witnessed last Sunday at the cathedral.
The Masai villagers did not know we were coming to join them for worship, but their welcome was overwhelming. The pastor asked Emmanuel to interpret for him during the service, when he told us they loved us and they did not want us to think of the village as our home, but that it WAS our home and we were their family. We’re pretty sure the Tanzanians were puzzled when we got the tissues out and started dabbing at our eyes. What in the world was wrong with these Americans?
After the service, the procession outside again formed a circle for the auction. Today there were only 2 items to auction: a watermelon and a green, 3 gallon plastic bucket with lid. The bucket was empty but would be used by someone to haul water. One of our members, knowing the money would go to the church, determined to buy the bucket for any price. The bidding started at $1,000 shillings (about 80 cents) and went up to about $4,000. Our team member gave Emmanual a $10,000 note and asked him to bid for us, which he did. Being a very sharp man, the pastor saw that and he upped the bid to $11,000! The man was bidding against us! Not to be outdone, we added another $10,000 note and won the auction. The congregation went wild at the price we paid for an empty bucket but we were so happy to present the bucket and the money to the pastor.
In Tanzania, hospitality is a must. There is never a time when you would visit someone and they would fail to offer you food and drink. Most people travel a long way, for a long time, so it is assumed that you are hungry and thirsty. Unlike in the US, there is no such thing as a quick visit. If you do not have time to enjoy the hospitality, you do not make the visit. So we were treated as honored guests and followed the pastor a short way to a collection of homes, called a “boma”, which are all inhabited by an extended family. In this case, it was a grandfather, his 5 wives and all their children and grandchildren. Each wife has her own identical home. We were ushered into the home of the head wife and seated with the pastor in their front room where one of the wives went to each of us with a basin and a pitcher to pour water over our hands to wash them before we ate. Remember, these people did not know we were coming and they suddenly were faced with feeding an extra 10 people. But, as the pastor said, please eat well, because there is plenty of food! We were served a simple meal of rice, beans and stew. They proudly presented each of us with a bottle of Pepsi to go with our meal and ended with the pitcher and basin to wash our hands again.
Emmanual translated conversation for us during the meal as we asked the pastor about his ministry and the congregations he pastors. The church we were at is a central church and there are many branches that are served by an evangelist. As he is the only pastor, though, he must go to the churches for baptisms, weddings and communion. The area he serves is about 120 kilometers by 40 kilometers with many branch churches, which is necessary because the Masai all walk to church, so church must be reachable on foot within a couple of hours.
Our goodbyes were heartfelt and our welcome was reinforced many times. They were so happy to have us there, and we were filled with joy to be there.
Dr. Karen and Dr. Michael left early to be at St. Mary’s by 8 for the surgery that got bumped yesterday. The rest of the team had the luxury of sleeping in—we did not have to leave for church until 9:30—which was heaven!
The village we went to for worship was about 40 kilometers away. We arrived at 10:35 and church was supposed to start at 10:30. But, as we have been warned, this is Tanzanian time. So 10:30 means sometime after that, but before lunchtime. The service began a few minutes before 11 and lasted until 1:30. We were mesmerized and energized by the joyfulness of the service. Even our one-hour Lutheran sat through the service and was glad she came.
There were 2 choirs—a childrens choir and an adult choir. Each choir performed many songs and we enjoyed the same type of joyful procession for the offering as we witnessed last Sunday at the cathedral.
The Masai villagers did not know we were coming to join them for worship, but their welcome was overwhelming. The pastor asked Emmanuel to interpret for him during the service, when he told us they loved us and they did not want us to think of the village as our home, but that it WAS our home and we were their family. We’re pretty sure the Tanzanians were puzzled when we got the tissues out and started dabbing at our eyes. What in the world was wrong with these Americans?
After the service, the procession outside again formed a circle for the auction. Today there were only 2 items to auction: a watermelon and a green, 3 gallon plastic bucket with lid. The bucket was empty but would be used by someone to haul water. One of our members, knowing the money would go to the church, determined to buy the bucket for any price. The bidding started at $1,000 shillings (about 80 cents) and went up to about $4,000. Our team member gave Emmanual a $10,000 note and asked him to bid for us, which he did. Being a very sharp man, the pastor saw that and he upped the bid to $11,000! The man was bidding against us! Not to be outdone, we added another $10,000 note and won the auction. The congregation went wild at the price we paid for an empty bucket but we were so happy to present the bucket and the money to the pastor.
In Tanzania, hospitality is a must. There is never a time when you would visit someone and they would fail to offer you food and drink. Most people travel a long way, for a long time, so it is assumed that you are hungry and thirsty. Unlike in the US, there is no such thing as a quick visit. If you do not have time to enjoy the hospitality, you do not make the visit. So we were treated as honored guests and followed the pastor a short way to a collection of homes, called a “boma”, which are all inhabited by an extended family. In this case, it was a grandfather, his 5 wives and all their children and grandchildren. Each wife has her own identical home. We were ushered into the home of the head wife and seated with the pastor in their front room where one of the wives went to each of us with a basin and a pitcher to pour water over our hands to wash them before we ate. Remember, these people did not know we were coming and they suddenly were faced with feeding an extra 10 people. But, as the pastor said, please eat well, because there is plenty of food! We were served a simple meal of rice, beans and stew. They proudly presented each of us with a bottle of Pepsi to go with our meal and ended with the pitcher and basin to wash our hands again.
Emmanual translated conversation for us during the meal as we asked the pastor about his ministry and the congregations he pastors. The church we were at is a central church and there are many branches that are served by an evangelist. As he is the only pastor, though, he must go to the churches for baptisms, weddings and communion. The area he serves is about 120 kilometers by 40 kilometers with many branch churches, which is necessary because the Masai all walk to church, so church must be reachable on foot within a couple of hours.
Our goodbyes were heartfelt and our welcome was reinforced many times. They were so happy to have us there, and we were filled with joy to be there.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Surgical day at St. Mary's, Saturday
Surgical Day at St. Marys
Emmanuel, our main interpreter, told us a story this morning that brought tears to many of our eyes. Last night, Friday night, he received 3 telephone calls (everyone here has a cell phone). Every one of the calls were from people we had treated in clinic that day and they wanted Emmanuel to tell “the American doctors” that they felt the Holy Spirit and saw Jesus standing beside our doctors during their clinic visit. That is the reason that we are here: so that others will see Jesus through us and our actions.
When we committed to 5, possibly 6 surgeries for Saturday, we knew we were committing to a long day. Although we had some concerns that the anesthesiologist and the OR tech did not understand us when we told them how late the work would go, our fears proved unfounded. We arrived at the hospital at 9 am, after a stop at the local bank to get money. All of our surgical patients were sitting on the slatted wooden benches lining the hall at St. Mary’s.
Pre-op care is very different here. When the doctors are nearing time for the surgery, the patient is taken back to a bed, told to disrobe and wrapped in a sheet. Then an IV is started. For all of you medical personnel, the IV is very simple—a tube line with a black plastic butterfly-shaped paddle at the end, followed by the needle. The needle is inserted into the vein and the butterfly paddle is taped to the arm. No syringe is used.
Once the doctors are ready for the surgery to start, the patient walks down the hall and into the OR, gets up on the table and lays down. The table is covered with a heavy green canvas, which is topped with a red rubber sheet. Almost all of our surgeries are being done with a spinal, not general anesthesia, so they are awake and alert during the surgery. Also, there is no monitoring of the patient like we are accustomed to in the US. They are not connected to any device, other than their IV. We have continued our buddy system and the person who was their buddy/helper/advocate through their clinic visit is in the OR with their patient. We stand at their head, where they can see us, and hold their hand, smooth their hair, pat their arm, and murmur to them encouragingly. Of course, they do not know what we are saying, but we believe they take comfort from having the same person with them.
After their procedure is finished, the patient is lifted onto the (only) gurney by grabbing the edges of the green canvas. The gurney is wheeled down the hall to the room where the patient will receive their post-op care and, again, lifted from the gurney and carried into the room using the green canvas. This usually requires 4-5 people: two on each side and one to hold the head if the patient is not awake. The buddy is then in charge of post-op care, taking vitals every 15 minutes, then once at 30, then a final an hour later. All of our non-medical helpers are the buddies and have been taught to take vital signs. It gives the team a strong connection to the patient. The RN or the doctor comes to the buddy to ask questions about their patient, so the buddy sticks pretty close until the final vital is taken and we know that they are doing well.
Unfortunately, Barbara’s foot worsened overnight, so she was one of the 6 procedures that we did yesterday. The general surgeon drove here from Dar es Salaam (3 hours) and we used general anesthesia for Barbara so he could lance her wound and drain it. That bumped our 6th (now 7th) case to Sunday morning, so two of our doctors are going to St. Mary’s this morning to do that procedure and to assist in the surgery for the two little boys, which the general surgeon is doing.
By the time we finished our last procedure last night and made sure all of our patients were stable, it was 8:30—far too late to get dinner at LJS. We opted to revisit the Acropol Hotel and invited the general surgeon, the anesthesiologist, Emmanual, and our driver to join us as our guest for dinner. The food was wonderful and we all enjoyed the treat of the American-style bathroom! By the time we were delivered to our beds at 11 pm, we all felt it had been a very long, but rewarding day.
Emmanuel, our main interpreter, told us a story this morning that brought tears to many of our eyes. Last night, Friday night, he received 3 telephone calls (everyone here has a cell phone). Every one of the calls were from people we had treated in clinic that day and they wanted Emmanuel to tell “the American doctors” that they felt the Holy Spirit and saw Jesus standing beside our doctors during their clinic visit. That is the reason that we are here: so that others will see Jesus through us and our actions.
When we committed to 5, possibly 6 surgeries for Saturday, we knew we were committing to a long day. Although we had some concerns that the anesthesiologist and the OR tech did not understand us when we told them how late the work would go, our fears proved unfounded. We arrived at the hospital at 9 am, after a stop at the local bank to get money. All of our surgical patients were sitting on the slatted wooden benches lining the hall at St. Mary’s.
Pre-op care is very different here. When the doctors are nearing time for the surgery, the patient is taken back to a bed, told to disrobe and wrapped in a sheet. Then an IV is started. For all of you medical personnel, the IV is very simple—a tube line with a black plastic butterfly-shaped paddle at the end, followed by the needle. The needle is inserted into the vein and the butterfly paddle is taped to the arm. No syringe is used.
Once the doctors are ready for the surgery to start, the patient walks down the hall and into the OR, gets up on the table and lays down. The table is covered with a heavy green canvas, which is topped with a red rubber sheet. Almost all of our surgeries are being done with a spinal, not general anesthesia, so they are awake and alert during the surgery. Also, there is no monitoring of the patient like we are accustomed to in the US. They are not connected to any device, other than their IV. We have continued our buddy system and the person who was their buddy/helper/advocate through their clinic visit is in the OR with their patient. We stand at their head, where they can see us, and hold their hand, smooth their hair, pat their arm, and murmur to them encouragingly. Of course, they do not know what we are saying, but we believe they take comfort from having the same person with them.
After their procedure is finished, the patient is lifted onto the (only) gurney by grabbing the edges of the green canvas. The gurney is wheeled down the hall to the room where the patient will receive their post-op care and, again, lifted from the gurney and carried into the room using the green canvas. This usually requires 4-5 people: two on each side and one to hold the head if the patient is not awake. The buddy is then in charge of post-op care, taking vitals every 15 minutes, then once at 30, then a final an hour later. All of our non-medical helpers are the buddies and have been taught to take vital signs. It gives the team a strong connection to the patient. The RN or the doctor comes to the buddy to ask questions about their patient, so the buddy sticks pretty close until the final vital is taken and we know that they are doing well.
Unfortunately, Barbara’s foot worsened overnight, so she was one of the 6 procedures that we did yesterday. The general surgeon drove here from Dar es Salaam (3 hours) and we used general anesthesia for Barbara so he could lance her wound and drain it. That bumped our 6th (now 7th) case to Sunday morning, so two of our doctors are going to St. Mary’s this morning to do that procedure and to assist in the surgery for the two little boys, which the general surgeon is doing.
By the time we finished our last procedure last night and made sure all of our patients were stable, it was 8:30—far too late to get dinner at LJS. We opted to revisit the Acropol Hotel and invited the general surgeon, the anesthesiologist, Emmanual, and our driver to join us as our guest for dinner. The food was wonderful and we all enjoyed the treat of the American-style bathroom! By the time we were delivered to our beds at 11 pm, we all felt it had been a very long, but rewarding day.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Clinic is growing Thursday and Friday
Clinic is growing
Word has spread that the American doctors are here and are helping women for free. On Thursday we saw 35 new patients and several rechecks from patients we saw on previous days. The rechecks were patients we gave medicine to who we asked to come back so we can tell if the medicine is working. Now remember, none of our patients speak English. So the exam is very long because everything said by the doctor or the patient must be repeated by our translators. And, although our translators are very good, there are many words in both languages that do not translate. For example, Swahili does not have a word for “to have”. The Swahili for that is, literally, “to be with”. So you do not have a cup of tea or a home. You are with your tea or your home. And when that is combined with the heavy accent of our translators, it is easy to see why an exam can take 45 minutes or more. It was 6:30 before we finished with our last patient Thursday and we were all very tired, but had a wonderful feeling of accomplishment. We helped 35 people! And some of those 35 people will have surgery Saturday.
Today, Friday, we held clinic only in the morning and left the hospital to go to the Faraja Trust. On of our translators, Mamma Epi, is the director of the Faraja Trust, which is dedicated to helping children and adults who are HIV positive. The children are from 1 month to 15 years old and the adults are from 25 years old and older. The youth, in between those ages, are helped by a different organization. They currently have 120 children and 70 adults they are helping. They make visits to each home bi-weekly to see how they are doing—are they taking their medicine and eating well—and to counsel them on how to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS.
We toured the simple facility and then split into three rooms to see their patients. Part of the team went with the doctors, and the others played with the children and talked with the patients waiting. Although we did not have the availability of lab or a pharmacy to dispense medicine, we met with them to listen to their problems, examined them and gave advice and wrote prescriptions. And we loved them. Mwanaisha is one of the patients we examined and she shared a story of faith with us that touched our hearts. Thursday night, she prayed that God would help her—that He would give her hope and healing. When she slept, she dreamt that she saw a lot of people and they were all doctors and, during her dream, she felt healing. She then told us that after seeing us, her dreams had come true, and she was filled with hope. God is great! All the time!
The primary source of funds for the Trust is from the batik fabric that the women make to sell. Your mission team seriously depleted their stocks, so some of you will know that the gifts we bring you are helping support these people who so desperately need our help.
Tomorrow is a very, very full day for us. We ask for your prayers as we will be performing 5 or 6 surgeries. The sixth surgery will be determined by the hospital staff—whether the anesthesiologist and the OR tech will agree to stay late and whether there are enough beds for the patients. St. Mary’s has only 8 beds for inpatients and when we left today, 3 of our surgical patients from yesterday and Tuesday had not been discharged.
Word has spread that the American doctors are here and are helping women for free. On Thursday we saw 35 new patients and several rechecks from patients we saw on previous days. The rechecks were patients we gave medicine to who we asked to come back so we can tell if the medicine is working. Now remember, none of our patients speak English. So the exam is very long because everything said by the doctor or the patient must be repeated by our translators. And, although our translators are very good, there are many words in both languages that do not translate. For example, Swahili does not have a word for “to have”. The Swahili for that is, literally, “to be with”. So you do not have a cup of tea or a home. You are with your tea or your home. And when that is combined with the heavy accent of our translators, it is easy to see why an exam can take 45 minutes or more. It was 6:30 before we finished with our last patient Thursday and we were all very tired, but had a wonderful feeling of accomplishment. We helped 35 people! And some of those 35 people will have surgery Saturday.
Today, Friday, we held clinic only in the morning and left the hospital to go to the Faraja Trust. On of our translators, Mamma Epi, is the director of the Faraja Trust, which is dedicated to helping children and adults who are HIV positive. The children are from 1 month to 15 years old and the adults are from 25 years old and older. The youth, in between those ages, are helped by a different organization. They currently have 120 children and 70 adults they are helping. They make visits to each home bi-weekly to see how they are doing—are they taking their medicine and eating well—and to counsel them on how to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS.
We toured the simple facility and then split into three rooms to see their patients. Part of the team went with the doctors, and the others played with the children and talked with the patients waiting. Although we did not have the availability of lab or a pharmacy to dispense medicine, we met with them to listen to their problems, examined them and gave advice and wrote prescriptions. And we loved them. Mwanaisha is one of the patients we examined and she shared a story of faith with us that touched our hearts. Thursday night, she prayed that God would help her—that He would give her hope and healing. When she slept, she dreamt that she saw a lot of people and they were all doctors and, during her dream, she felt healing. She then told us that after seeing us, her dreams had come true, and she was filled with hope. God is great! All the time!
The primary source of funds for the Trust is from the batik fabric that the women make to sell. Your mission team seriously depleted their stocks, so some of you will know that the gifts we bring you are helping support these people who so desperately need our help.
Tomorrow is a very, very full day for us. We ask for your prayers as we will be performing 5 or 6 surgeries. The sixth surgery will be determined by the hospital staff—whether the anesthesiologist and the OR tech will agree to stay late and whether there are enough beds for the patients. St. Mary’s has only 8 beds for inpatients and when we left today, 3 of our surgical patients from yesterday and Tuesday had not been discharged.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Working at the clinic, we’ve got our act together!
An impromptu yoga class has formed and some of the team are starting their day with a class led by Dr. Karen outside under the Baobob tree. They begin before sunrise, doing sun salutations to the accompaniment of crowing roosters and braying donkeys. And, of course, the song of African mourning doves. Dr. Andrea has even designed a custom, African mourning dove jig.
We learned so much about what not to do Monday and had a meeting Monday night where we organized and came up with a modified game plan. It’s worked!
We saw 20 patients Tuesday (with just one doctor) and did 3 surgeries (with the other 2 doctors). Our system was to buddy up one of our helpers with each patient and to triage each patient for vital signs and a description of why they want to see the doctor before they went in to see the doctor. The buddy stayed with their patient through triage, to lab, to see the doctor and to get the medicine from the dispensary that the doctor prescribed. That allowed the buddy to hear everything about the patient—remember, everything we do is going through a translator because none of us speak Swahili (although Kayla is our linguist and is learning about the language very quickly!)—and allowed the buddy to know the whole problem and help explain to the doctor. It also had the added benefit of allowing each of us to bond with our patients as we attempted very basic communication with sign language while we waited during each stage of their visit.
Tanzanians are a very beautiful and loving people and they are so grateful that we are here. They love to touch and always shake hands on greeting and on saying goodbye. When they are particularly moved, the shake involves a handshake, followed by a grasping of thumbs-kind-of handshake, followed again by a regular handshake. By the time they left, most of our patients gave their buddy the triple handshake to say good bye. We were all very moved by it.
A little explanation about how things are working here: as you all know, we came here to do surgery. Before you can do surgery, though, you must do clinic, which (for us lay persons) is basically seeing all patients and treating them for their various needs. Some of that treatment involves surgery, but some does not. Many of the patients we are seeing have needs that can be helped with some of the most basic of medicines—things we all take for granted.
There is such a need here for modern medicine and everyone is so grateful that we have taken the time to come and try to help them; that we are touching them, talking to them, looking at them, and spreading God’s love with our works. Most of the time when they need treatment, they see the “clinical officer” at the hospital who is not a doctor or a nurse, and who does not actually examine them, but listens to them and prescribes medicine. We are touching, smiling, caring, and our love for them is returned tenfold. They are just so grateful.
We arrived here with about $2,000 to spend on clinic and surgeries. Of course, our team is not being paid, but we must pay for any medicine we prescribe, for any lab that is ordered, and for the anesthesiologist and the OR tech for the surgeries we are performing. We are seeing about 25 patients per day in clinic and have 9 surgeries scheduled so far, including those we performed yesterday. It costs about $5 per patient for labs and medicine in clinic and about $175 for each surgery we perform. That seems ridiculously little for us, but it is so much more than these people can pay. Most people here live on $1 per day.
At our current rate, we will run out of money on Saturday. If God provides the funds, we can do clinic on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and we may be able to do more surgeries as well. We are asking that you open your hearts and seek God’s will in this and, if you feel moved to contribute, that you call Ida at the ELCA AR-Ok synod office at 918-492-4288 today. There is no credit here in Tanzania. We must have cash to pay for the work we are doing.
Jesus tells us that when we care for those in need, we are caring for him. That is what is happening here, in Tanzania. And it is our prayer that when we tend to their physical needs, their spiritual needs will follow.
In His service,
Your Surgical Mission Team in Africa
We learned so much about what not to do Monday and had a meeting Monday night where we organized and came up with a modified game plan. It’s worked!
We saw 20 patients Tuesday (with just one doctor) and did 3 surgeries (with the other 2 doctors). Our system was to buddy up one of our helpers with each patient and to triage each patient for vital signs and a description of why they want to see the doctor before they went in to see the doctor. The buddy stayed with their patient through triage, to lab, to see the doctor and to get the medicine from the dispensary that the doctor prescribed. That allowed the buddy to hear everything about the patient—remember, everything we do is going through a translator because none of us speak Swahili (although Kayla is our linguist and is learning about the language very quickly!)—and allowed the buddy to know the whole problem and help explain to the doctor. It also had the added benefit of allowing each of us to bond with our patients as we attempted very basic communication with sign language while we waited during each stage of their visit.
Tanzanians are a very beautiful and loving people and they are so grateful that we are here. They love to touch and always shake hands on greeting and on saying goodbye. When they are particularly moved, the shake involves a handshake, followed by a grasping of thumbs-kind-of handshake, followed again by a regular handshake. By the time they left, most of our patients gave their buddy the triple handshake to say good bye. We were all very moved by it.
A little explanation about how things are working here: as you all know, we came here to do surgery. Before you can do surgery, though, you must do clinic, which (for us lay persons) is basically seeing all patients and treating them for their various needs. Some of that treatment involves surgery, but some does not. Many of the patients we are seeing have needs that can be helped with some of the most basic of medicines—things we all take for granted.
There is such a need here for modern medicine and everyone is so grateful that we have taken the time to come and try to help them; that we are touching them, talking to them, looking at them, and spreading God’s love with our works. Most of the time when they need treatment, they see the “clinical officer” at the hospital who is not a doctor or a nurse, and who does not actually examine them, but listens to them and prescribes medicine. We are touching, smiling, caring, and our love for them is returned tenfold. They are just so grateful.
We arrived here with about $2,000 to spend on clinic and surgeries. Of course, our team is not being paid, but we must pay for any medicine we prescribe, for any lab that is ordered, and for the anesthesiologist and the OR tech for the surgeries we are performing. We are seeing about 25 patients per day in clinic and have 9 surgeries scheduled so far, including those we performed yesterday. It costs about $5 per patient for labs and medicine in clinic and about $175 for each surgery we perform. That seems ridiculously little for us, but it is so much more than these people can pay. Most people here live on $1 per day.
At our current rate, we will run out of money on Saturday. If God provides the funds, we can do clinic on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and we may be able to do more surgeries as well. We are asking that you open your hearts and seek God’s will in this and, if you feel moved to contribute, that you call Ida at the ELCA AR-Ok synod office at 918-492-4288 today. There is no credit here in Tanzania. We must have cash to pay for the work we are doing.
Jesus tells us that when we care for those in need, we are caring for him. That is what is happening here, in Tanzania. And it is our prayer that when we tend to their physical needs, their spiritual needs will follow.
In His service,
Your Surgical Mission Team in Africa
Monday, August 18, 2008
St. Mary's Hospital, Monday
St. Marys’ Hospital, Monday
Working in Tanzania is described as “letting the flower unfold”. You can look at the bud, but you do not know what you will get when it is open, or how it will open. Organization means different things to Tanzanians and Americans.
Today was spent working with our interpreters and the hospital staff as we attempted to see the patients and decide what we could do to help them. The vast majority of our patients today were from the Masai tribe and most were in traditional dress. The women are garbed in beautiful fabric tied around them sarong style, most of them with babies slung on their backs. The jewelry in their ears tells one what their status in their tribe is. For example, they do not earn the right to string heavy jewelry through their lobes, creating large swinging holes, until they have their first child. They all shave their heads and are a very beautiful people. Many, but not all, of the men wear sarong style clothing, also and have carved clubs hanging from their belts.
It did not take very long before our doctors and other team members decided to take control of the flow of patients. Because our doctors are gynecologists, there are many surgeries that are not in their skill set. Many men came to us with hernias, genital problems and health issues that were amplified after their frequent bouts of malaria. Because so many sought treatment, it became clear very early that we had to prioritize the patients and see those that had the highest likelihood of being a good match with our doctors—the women. There was a bit of confusion and stubbornness from the Masai men as we made this transition, but doing so made it possible for us to triage all the women who came to us today. We have surgeries scheduled for tomorrow and will continue to do clinic with one doctor while the other two are in surgery.
Working in Tanzania is described as “letting the flower unfold”. You can look at the bud, but you do not know what you will get when it is open, or how it will open. Organization means different things to Tanzanians and Americans.
Today was spent working with our interpreters and the hospital staff as we attempted to see the patients and decide what we could do to help them. The vast majority of our patients today were from the Masai tribe and most were in traditional dress. The women are garbed in beautiful fabric tied around them sarong style, most of them with babies slung on their backs. The jewelry in their ears tells one what their status in their tribe is. For example, they do not earn the right to string heavy jewelry through their lobes, creating large swinging holes, until they have their first child. They all shave their heads and are a very beautiful people. Many, but not all, of the men wear sarong style clothing, also and have carved clubs hanging from their belts.
It did not take very long before our doctors and other team members decided to take control of the flow of patients. Because our doctors are gynecologists, there are many surgeries that are not in their skill set. Many men came to us with hernias, genital problems and health issues that were amplified after their frequent bouts of malaria. Because so many sought treatment, it became clear very early that we had to prioritize the patients and see those that had the highest likelihood of being a good match with our doctors—the women. There was a bit of confusion and stubbornness from the Masai men as we made this transition, but doing so made it possible for us to triage all the women who came to us today. We have surgeries scheduled for tomorrow and will continue to do clinic with one doctor while the other two are in surgery.
Worship at the Cathedral, Sunday
Worship at the Cathedral
Note: the internet is hit and miss here, so although I will write about our mission daily, I can only upload to the blog when we can get access. pati
Our primary American contact here in Tanzania is Barbara Robertson, who is originally from Washington state, and is employed here as an assistant to Bishop Jacob Mameo. Bishop Mameo is the head of the Tanzanian Diocese of the ELCA, which is a sister synod to our AR-OK synod. His home church is known as the Cathedral and is in Tanzania proper. Barbara transported us Tanzanian style to worship—all eleven of us piled into her Range Rover for the 10 minute drive to the cathedral.
The cathedral is a building that is hexagonal and about 400 people worship each Sunday. The roof is suspended above the walls but there is a gap of about 12 inches for open air flow and fans are mounted on the ceiling to fight the African heat. The doors are open and inviting, welcoming all to worship. Vivid green drapes behind the altar draw the eye as you enter, accenting a white neon cross suspended behind the drapes. Although mixed seating is not taboo, the slatted wooden benches were filled on the left with women and their older children only while the right was populated with men and only a handful of women sitting next to their husbands. The younger children are in Sunday School and do not join the congregation for worship until they are confirmed. We arranged ourselves in the back on two rows so all could hear Barbara translate from Swahili to English.
Worship began with several songs of praise sung by the “youth choir”, a group of about 30 ranging in age from 18 to 35 years old. We were all uplifted by the stirring African rhythms as Barbara translated the words for us. She continued to explain the service to us, which followed familiar liturgy set to African music, including confession, the Apostles Creed, Collect, Song of Praise and the Kyrie. The psalm was 125 and the Gospel was the part from Matthew about loving your neighbor. The Assistant to the Bishop was presiding and his message was very inspiring.
Offerings are much different here. There were three during the service, each for a different purpose—the pledge, building development and then a thanksgiving offering. During each offering, the youth choir is singing and the entire congregation gets up and processes to the front to place their offering in a large woven sisal basket. When the choir goes up, they continue singing as they perform a rhythmic unison dance procession.
Bishop Mameo invited us to the front of the congregation and introduced each one of us. We were made to feel welcome and invited to come back for any reason, after which every face was wreathed with smiles as they applauded us.
As is traditional here in Tanzania, service finished with a song, during which all processed outside and stood in a group. Once we were all assembled, an auction was held. At the auction, sometimes people who are too poor to make an offering will bring something to sell at the auction and the money gained is credited to them as their pledge. Other times, people will bring something and will designate that the proceeds go to a particular fund or person. And usually the buyer does not keep the item, but gives it to someone else. At this auction, two bundles of “machici”, a spinach-like vegetable, and a bag of meat pastries were auctioned off. The comments of the auctioneer garnered much hilarity from the congregation.
After church, we enjoyed brunch at “The New Acropol Hotel”, which is very unremarkable from the exterior, but adorned with placemats, linen napkins and other similar luxuries inside. This was quite a treat before our visit to the hospital for orientation.
Dr. Lucy Nkya is the benefactor of the hospital and also holds a position in the national government. She joined us at the hospital and spoke with us for quite a while about the hospital, the people of Tanzania, and what she hopes to accomplish to help the people. We were mesmerized by her testimony to the point that we opted to turn off our ceiling fan and endure heat so we would not miss a word.
The tour of the hospital was very short as it is so small. During the tour, a patient was brought down the hall from surgery. Because the quarters were too tight for the gurney to fit into the hospital room, it was parked in the hall and a crew lifted her by grabbing the corners of the blanket and shifting her into the room and on the bed. Such challenges are going to be an example of what we will be dealing with as we begin our work tomorrow.
It was a welcome change to take a walk to the orphanage after we got back to LJS. Our walk went through a village and we were eagerly greeted by the families, and especially the children, as we passed through. Many children were eager to have their pictures taken because they delight in seeing themselves in the camera afterward. At the orphanage, we played with children and held babies. There were many tears as we had to leave and the children clung to us, making for a wrenching separation.
Note: the internet is hit and miss here, so although I will write about our mission daily, I can only upload to the blog when we can get access. pati
Our primary American contact here in Tanzania is Barbara Robertson, who is originally from Washington state, and is employed here as an assistant to Bishop Jacob Mameo. Bishop Mameo is the head of the Tanzanian Diocese of the ELCA, which is a sister synod to our AR-OK synod. His home church is known as the Cathedral and is in Tanzania proper. Barbara transported us Tanzanian style to worship—all eleven of us piled into her Range Rover for the 10 minute drive to the cathedral.
The cathedral is a building that is hexagonal and about 400 people worship each Sunday. The roof is suspended above the walls but there is a gap of about 12 inches for open air flow and fans are mounted on the ceiling to fight the African heat. The doors are open and inviting, welcoming all to worship. Vivid green drapes behind the altar draw the eye as you enter, accenting a white neon cross suspended behind the drapes. Although mixed seating is not taboo, the slatted wooden benches were filled on the left with women and their older children only while the right was populated with men and only a handful of women sitting next to their husbands. The younger children are in Sunday School and do not join the congregation for worship until they are confirmed. We arranged ourselves in the back on two rows so all could hear Barbara translate from Swahili to English.
Worship began with several songs of praise sung by the “youth choir”, a group of about 30 ranging in age from 18 to 35 years old. We were all uplifted by the stirring African rhythms as Barbara translated the words for us. She continued to explain the service to us, which followed familiar liturgy set to African music, including confession, the Apostles Creed, Collect, Song of Praise and the Kyrie. The psalm was 125 and the Gospel was the part from Matthew about loving your neighbor. The Assistant to the Bishop was presiding and his message was very inspiring.
Offerings are much different here. There were three during the service, each for a different purpose—the pledge, building development and then a thanksgiving offering. During each offering, the youth choir is singing and the entire congregation gets up and processes to the front to place their offering in a large woven sisal basket. When the choir goes up, they continue singing as they perform a rhythmic unison dance procession.
Bishop Mameo invited us to the front of the congregation and introduced each one of us. We were made to feel welcome and invited to come back for any reason, after which every face was wreathed with smiles as they applauded us.
As is traditional here in Tanzania, service finished with a song, during which all processed outside and stood in a group. Once we were all assembled, an auction was held. At the auction, sometimes people who are too poor to make an offering will bring something to sell at the auction and the money gained is credited to them as their pledge. Other times, people will bring something and will designate that the proceeds go to a particular fund or person. And usually the buyer does not keep the item, but gives it to someone else. At this auction, two bundles of “machici”, a spinach-like vegetable, and a bag of meat pastries were auctioned off. The comments of the auctioneer garnered much hilarity from the congregation.
After church, we enjoyed brunch at “The New Acropol Hotel”, which is very unremarkable from the exterior, but adorned with placemats, linen napkins and other similar luxuries inside. This was quite a treat before our visit to the hospital for orientation.
Dr. Lucy Nkya is the benefactor of the hospital and also holds a position in the national government. She joined us at the hospital and spoke with us for quite a while about the hospital, the people of Tanzania, and what she hopes to accomplish to help the people. We were mesmerized by her testimony to the point that we opted to turn off our ceiling fan and endure heat so we would not miss a word.
The tour of the hospital was very short as it is so small. During the tour, a patient was brought down the hall from surgery. Because the quarters were too tight for the gurney to fit into the hospital room, it was parked in the hall and a crew lifted her by grabbing the corners of the blanket and shifting her into the room and on the bed. Such challenges are going to be an example of what we will be dealing with as we begin our work tomorrow.
It was a welcome change to take a walk to the orphanage after we got back to LJS. Our walk went through a village and we were eagerly greeted by the families, and especially the children, as we passed through. Many children were eager to have their pictures taken because they delight in seeing themselves in the camera afterward. At the orphanage, we played with children and held babies. There were many tears as we had to leave and the children clung to us, making for a wrenching separation.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Personal notes to friends and family
We will use this message to send personal notes from team members. Check it each time you visit our blog, as this message will change from time to time.
From Andrea:
Hello family and friends! Today was our first full day here in Morogoro and we are spent- and it is only 2:30 p.m.! We awoke at 4 am to prepare for our first African safari and guided trip through Mukumi National Park. I was so excited and the day was amazing. We truly were blessed to see so many mammals- Zebras, elephants, giraffes, water buffalo, wart hogs, wildebeests, baboons, impalas and red bucks and other local antelope, hippos, crocodiles, and a ton of birds. For my husband, I have a long list of birds on my expanded “life list.” Oh my gosh, you could not believe the variety of birds. Hornbills, yellow billed storks, superb starlings, red-breasted sunbirds, pied crows, and so many others I hate to bore you all. Let me assure you that I have been working on converting my fellow travelers to be birders. And Dad, my new camera was a great idea! The telephotos of the animals were amazing! We met with our local missionary last evening and she is on her way here to take us to St. Mary’s hospital. We have been told we have enough surgeries lined up to keep us busy for a week. We will be taking all of our medical supplies and meeting with the hospital administrator. I am so pleased to be here and am looking forward to 10 more busy days. Keep us in your prayers and enjoy everyone’s stories. Peace-Andrea
From Andrea:
Hello family and friends! Today was our first full day here in Morogoro and we are spent- and it is only 2:30 p.m.! We awoke at 4 am to prepare for our first African safari and guided trip through Mukumi National Park. I was so excited and the day was amazing. We truly were blessed to see so many mammals- Zebras, elephants, giraffes, water buffalo, wart hogs, wildebeests, baboons, impalas and red bucks and other local antelope, hippos, crocodiles, and a ton of birds. For my husband, I have a long list of birds on my expanded “life list.” Oh my gosh, you could not believe the variety of birds. Hornbills, yellow billed storks, superb starlings, red-breasted sunbirds, pied crows, and so many others I hate to bore you all. Let me assure you that I have been working on converting my fellow travelers to be birders. And Dad, my new camera was a great idea! The telephotos of the animals were amazing! We met with our local missionary last evening and she is on her way here to take us to St. Mary’s hospital. We have been told we have enough surgeries lined up to keep us busy for a week. We will be taking all of our medical supplies and meeting with the hospital administrator. I am so pleased to be here and am looking forward to 10 more busy days. Keep us in your prayers and enjoy everyone’s stories. Peace-Andrea
Mikumi National Park, Saturday
Mikumi National Park
Our day began at 5am with slabs of home-baked bread and m ugs of hot tea. Although we were moving slow because of the hour, we allowed Andrea to round us up and off we went! As we drove through the dark, pre-dawn hours, we united in praise to our Lord with acapella versions of our favorite hymns. What a joy it was to fellowship together as we journeyed to Mikumi National Park.
As the sky gradually brightened, the animal life was abundant even before we entered the park. Once we reached the park, we were joined by our guide for the day, B’nina, who enriched our day with her knowledge of the animals and her ready laughter. Throughout the day, our bus was filled with oohs and aahs as we spotted elephants, giraffes, baboons, water buffalo, hippopotami, impala, crocodiles and birds and even more.
At the hippopotami pond, we made the acquaintance of a very hungry baboon. B’nina prompted our driver to feed it a banana. The greedy creature leapt for the fruit, teeth bared, as the laughter spurted from her at our reaction to his aggression.
We arrived back at LJS early afternoon and immediately dug in to begin organizing all of the equipment from our eleven team bags. Once we had sorted, categorized and inventoried, a part of our team moved our gear to the hospital to get oriented to the facility.
This evening we gathered together in the common room to view a slide show from the photography of our day and were joined by our brothers and sisters who are here studying at LJS; people from Germany, Switzerland, Tanzania, and Korea. The Swiss were a family with three small boys and their exclamations as they watched our pictures of the different animals brought smiles to our faces.
Tomorrow we are worshiping at the Bishop’s church here in Tanzania, the cathedral. We had our choice of two services and will be attending the 7 am service, instead of the 9:30 service because, as we were told, it is better attended, it will be cooler and we are guaranteed it will not last more than 2 ½ hours. Vernetta, a self-declared one hour Lutheran, cast the deciding vote.
After service, the entire team is meeting at the hospital to be briefed on the medical and surgical plan for the week. We will have an opportunity to ask questions about the resources available to us for this work. Although we were warned to expect primitive conditions, it was sobering for our doctors to actually see where we will be working. We know that you are all praying for us. We would ask now for specific prayer for our team as we move into the medical portion of our mission.
Our day began at 5am with slabs of home-baked bread and m ugs of hot tea. Although we were moving slow because of the hour, we allowed Andrea to round us up and off we went! As we drove through the dark, pre-dawn hours, we united in praise to our Lord with acapella versions of our favorite hymns. What a joy it was to fellowship together as we journeyed to Mikumi National Park.
As the sky gradually brightened, the animal life was abundant even before we entered the park. Once we reached the park, we were joined by our guide for the day, B’nina, who enriched our day with her knowledge of the animals and her ready laughter. Throughout the day, our bus was filled with oohs and aahs as we spotted elephants, giraffes, baboons, water buffalo, hippopotami, impala, crocodiles and birds and even more.
At the hippopotami pond, we made the acquaintance of a very hungry baboon. B’nina prompted our driver to feed it a banana. The greedy creature leapt for the fruit, teeth bared, as the laughter spurted from her at our reaction to his aggression.
We arrived back at LJS early afternoon and immediately dug in to begin organizing all of the equipment from our eleven team bags. Once we had sorted, categorized and inventoried, a part of our team moved our gear to the hospital to get oriented to the facility.
This evening we gathered together in the common room to view a slide show from the photography of our day and were joined by our brothers and sisters who are here studying at LJS; people from Germany, Switzerland, Tanzania, and Korea. The Swiss were a family with three small boys and their exclamations as they watched our pictures of the different animals brought smiles to our faces.
Tomorrow we are worshiping at the Bishop’s church here in Tanzania, the cathedral. We had our choice of two services and will be attending the 7 am service, instead of the 9:30 service because, as we were told, it is better attended, it will be cooler and we are guaranteed it will not last more than 2 ½ hours. Vernetta, a self-declared one hour Lutheran, cast the deciding vote.
After service, the entire team is meeting at the hospital to be briefed on the medical and surgical plan for the week. We will have an opportunity to ask questions about the resources available to us for this work. Although we were warned to expect primitive conditions, it was sobering for our doctors to actually see where we will be working. We know that you are all praying for us. We would ask now for specific prayer for our team as we move into the medical portion of our mission.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Arrival in Tanzania
God told Jeremiah, “Up on your feet! Go to the potter’s house. When you get there, I’ll tell you what I have to say.” Jeremiah 18:1-2
When God sends us, He doesn’t tell us why, or what will happen when we get there. He wants our obedience. “Yes, Lord.” And He gives us the tools to do His will.
These are some of the thoughts we shared last night, Thursday, when we finally arrived in Dar es Salaam, more than 30 hours after we began our journey early Wednesday morning.
We began the first leg of our trip from separate cities and it was a joy to have the team united in Minneapolis. And thanks to Rhonda and Andrea’s first-hand knowledge of Minneapolis, our 5 hour layover was spent making a visit to the Mall of America via light rail transit. Most of us welcomed this last chance to stretch our legs before the long flight to Africa, instead of squirming in an airport chair for 5 hours.
We want to thank all of you for your prayers for safe travel. We arrived at Dar es Salaam on time and with every one of our 22 checked bags intact, something we certainly did not expect. It was a weary wait at the airport last night for our visas to enter Tanzania, but we were so thankful to have arrived with all of our luggage that the trip to the guest house where we spent the night seemed very short by comparison.
We were greeted this morning with our first sight of the Indian Ocean as we shared a light breakfast in an open-air patio and then boarded our bus for the final leg of our trip—200 kilometers to the Lutheran Junior Seminary (LJS) in Tanzania. The 3 ½ hour drive was filled with the sights, sounds and smells of this beautiful east African country. We arrived at LJS shortly before lunchtime and will spend the afternoon unpacking and settling in. Tomorrow, Saturday, we will see Mikuni National Park, just a 2 hour drive from here. Armed with cameras and binoculars, we will have many stories of the day to bring home with us. When we return in the afternoon, we are all looking forward to our first visit to the orphanage. The following day is Sunday, when we will have the opportunity to worship our Lord with our African brothers and sisters, before we begin our preparations for our surgical mission, which starts Monday morning.
When God sends us, He doesn’t tell us why, or what will happen when we get there. He wants our obedience. “Yes, Lord.” And He gives us the tools to do His will.
These are some of the thoughts we shared last night, Thursday, when we finally arrived in Dar es Salaam, more than 30 hours after we began our journey early Wednesday morning.
We began the first leg of our trip from separate cities and it was a joy to have the team united in Minneapolis. And thanks to Rhonda and Andrea’s first-hand knowledge of Minneapolis, our 5 hour layover was spent making a visit to the Mall of America via light rail transit. Most of us welcomed this last chance to stretch our legs before the long flight to Africa, instead of squirming in an airport chair for 5 hours.
We want to thank all of you for your prayers for safe travel. We arrived at Dar es Salaam on time and with every one of our 22 checked bags intact, something we certainly did not expect. It was a weary wait at the airport last night for our visas to enter Tanzania, but we were so thankful to have arrived with all of our luggage that the trip to the guest house where we spent the night seemed very short by comparison.
We were greeted this morning with our first sight of the Indian Ocean as we shared a light breakfast in an open-air patio and then boarded our bus for the final leg of our trip—200 kilometers to the Lutheran Junior Seminary (LJS) in Tanzania. The 3 ½ hour drive was filled with the sights, sounds and smells of this beautiful east African country. We arrived at LJS shortly before lunchtime and will spend the afternoon unpacking and settling in. Tomorrow, Saturday, we will see Mikuni National Park, just a 2 hour drive from here. Armed with cameras and binoculars, we will have many stories of the day to bring home with us. When we return in the afternoon, we are all looking forward to our first visit to the orphanage. The following day is Sunday, when we will have the opportunity to worship our Lord with our African brothers and sisters, before we begin our preparations for our surgical mission, which starts Monday morning.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Tanzania Intinerary
The team for Tanzania is just 12 days from the start of our mission. We are now 11 members--3 doctors, 4 nurses and 4 helpers. The first team meeting was held last Saturday, July 26th, at Peace Lutheran Church in Rogers, AR. It was uplifting to be a part of that meeting for the eastern half of our team. All of the helpers and one of our nurses (and our leader, Cindy Pennie) were at that meeting and each expressed willingness to help the team in any way--including learning any new skills, medical or otherwise.
The second team meeting, for the western half of our team, is scheduled for tomorrow, August 2, in Edmond, Ok.
As the date nears, we are excited about this opportunity to serve our Lord and to see His will at work in our lives and in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Africa.
We invite you to join with us in lifting this mission up in prayer. So that you can pray for us specifically on each day, here is the tenative itinerary for our trip:
8/13, Wednesday--leave Tulsa, OK @ 7:10 AM Oklahoma time (2 team members will be flying out of Little Rock at about the same time and joining up with us in Minneapolis)
8/14, Thursday--arrive Dar es Salaam @ 9:40 PM Tanzania time, spend the night at the Catholic Guest House
8/15, Friday--travel to Morogoro by bus/van, arrive early afternoon, unpack, get settled in
8/16, Saturday--early morning trip to Mikumi National Park, back to Morogoro mid afternoon, possibly visit orphanage, St. Mary’s Hospital
8/17, Sunday--go to church out in one of the villages (Pr Herb will help line up), visit hospital again to get organized and prepare for Monday
8/18, Monday--through 8/23, Saturday--surgeries, maternity clinics, whatever they have for us to do, worship on Wednesday evening, more visits to the orphanage, etc
8/24, Sunday--another opportunity for worship in another village, more at the hospital
8/25, Monday--more surgery and clinics (maybe just clinics since we will be leaving soon)
8/26, Tuesday--last day to finish up at St. Mary’s
8/27, Wednesday--pack, travel back to Dar in afternoon, flight leaves @ 10:50 PM Tanzania time
8/28, Thursday--arrive Tulsa, OK @ 4:36 PM Oklahoma time
We will be in transit to Morogoro more than 33 hours. So our first prayer request is for safe travel and for all of us to arrive (and our bags) with the energy to be at full capacity when we start work on Monday, August 18.
While in Morogoro we will have access to internet so we will be able to see personal emails on the internet from time to time, as energy allows. However, you can also send us comments on this blog site and they will be shared with the team each day. Just look at the end of each blog and click on the picture of the envelope. That will generate an email that will go to Peace Lutheran Church and then be uploaded to the blog.
In His service, Tanzania Surgical Mission Team
The second team meeting, for the western half of our team, is scheduled for tomorrow, August 2, in Edmond, Ok.
As the date nears, we are excited about this opportunity to serve our Lord and to see His will at work in our lives and in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Africa.
We invite you to join with us in lifting this mission up in prayer. So that you can pray for us specifically on each day, here is the tenative itinerary for our trip:
8/13, Wednesday--leave Tulsa, OK @ 7:10 AM Oklahoma time (2 team members will be flying out of Little Rock at about the same time and joining up with us in Minneapolis)
8/14, Thursday--arrive Dar es Salaam @ 9:40 PM Tanzania time, spend the night at the Catholic Guest House
8/15, Friday--travel to Morogoro by bus/van, arrive early afternoon, unpack, get settled in
8/16, Saturday--early morning trip to Mikumi National Park, back to Morogoro mid afternoon, possibly visit orphanage, St. Mary’s Hospital
8/17, Sunday--go to church out in one of the villages (Pr Herb will help line up), visit hospital again to get organized and prepare for Monday
8/18, Monday--through 8/23, Saturday--surgeries, maternity clinics, whatever they have for us to do, worship on Wednesday evening, more visits to the orphanage, etc
8/24, Sunday--another opportunity for worship in another village, more at the hospital
8/25, Monday--more surgery and clinics (maybe just clinics since we will be leaving soon)
8/26, Tuesday--last day to finish up at St. Mary’s
8/27, Wednesday--pack, travel back to Dar in afternoon, flight leaves @ 10:50 PM Tanzania time
8/28, Thursday--arrive Tulsa, OK @ 4:36 PM Oklahoma time
We will be in transit to Morogoro more than 33 hours. So our first prayer request is for safe travel and for all of us to arrive (and our bags) with the energy to be at full capacity when we start work on Monday, August 18.
While in Morogoro we will have access to internet so we will be able to see personal emails on the internet from time to time, as energy allows. However, you can also send us comments on this blog site and they will be shared with the team each day. Just look at the end of each blog and click on the picture of the envelope. That will generate an email that will go to Peace Lutheran Church and then be uploaded to the blog.
In His service, Tanzania Surgical Mission Team
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