4 Stitches our team mate needed to close a wound over his eye on Saturday when he bent over to fix a water pump in his storage room and was rudely stopped by a protruding wooden paddle used for stirring matoke. Perhaps the first team injury directly attributable to matoke?
13 Number of team mates who happened to drop in for other reasons during the Saturday afternoon suture session on our kitchen table, and watch with interest. No privacy here.
25 Number of kilometers on a spectacular hilly dirt road mountain bike loop that six women on our team rode together on Saturday morning.
24 Number of those kilometers that seemed to be straight uphill . . .
7 The number of women who began the ride that six finished—one slipped in loose sand and gravel and got pretty scraped up, though she’s fine now. We had to call our ambulance, Scott for a rescue. This was unrelated to the 4 stitches. We get lots of injuries here . . .
3 The number of stitches Jack will have removed tomorrow, amazingly not infected and still holding together in spite of serious wrestling and other wildness. He even managed to write left-handed all week, though a back-log of homework did nearly push him over the edge on Friday.
4 The number of HIV positive people who stood up to give public testimonies in church this morning, encouraging others to be tested, to access care, and calling on the community to stop discrimination against positive people. Unexpectedly, the first one asked an elder in the church to stand up and pray for Scott, me, and Pamela to have the strength to care for them! It was a meaningful moment for me, to be prayed for in this way. We have had lots of dramas about AIDS, but I have rarely seen this kind of public courage to be identified as infected.
4/11 The proportion of the university sponsorship quota for students graduating from A-level (Senior 6) in Bundibugyo that went to CSB students! The results were announced Friday.
49, and 62 The number of people (including team) who were at our house for dinner on Thursday night . . And the number of pizzas we turned out of our oven to feed them. We had a short visit from a US Naval Academy student group on a short term missions trip. Though they only had 16 people compared to the last team of 21 . . . It shows that midshipmen have a healthier appetite than Charismatic Episcopals?
? 6 Hours of desk time I feel like I need to even begin to catch up on life after this intense week (i.e. Clean up, plan, write emails)
0 Hours so far accessed for above (but we have had some good family time, good food, and good sleep!).
I save the best for last:
5/12 The proportion of months that people have already pledged to cover for nutrition costs!!! Amazing. Another blog commenter says she’s pulling 32 people together to each give $50 . . . If she manages that will be half the year. Still holding out for six (or seven) more!!
Well, the good news is that I did my first day of rounds on the new ward and it was so lovely. Instead of 20 patients crammed into a 10 bed ward the size of most people’s living rooms . . . They were dispersed over a 25 bed ward, each with their own bed, mattress, shelf, plenty of air, light, windows . . . Of course the fact that this motherless child has lost 2 kg since graduating at age 1 from the nutrition program and is back in desperate shape, this baby’s Kwashiorkor is related to AIDS and a severe case of malaria to boot, this mother’s family is telling me there is no one to help her, etc. does not change. The world is still a broken place, but now at least those who are suffering the most severe effects have a clean place to lay their heads. We even turned on the generator power to run an oxygen concentrator for a child who arrived gasping her last breaths . . . Blue and weak, she probably has a congenital heart defect, but the oxygen staved off death this hour at least. We could not have done that on the old ward. I’m grateful.
The sad news is that the nutrition program is completely out of funding. We lost WFP food last year, and we were denied our UNICEF grant proposal this month. Stephanie rushed to get in another grant, but in the meantime Karen got milk on credit this week and we are struggling to feed about five seriously malnourished inpatient children as well as three premature babies. I know that churches and Sunday school groups, student fellowships, etc. often look for a worthy cause. So I had the idea that if we got 12 groups to cover particular months (one takes August, another takes February) then we could manage another year while we try to work on the more sustainable aspects of the program (seeds, milking goats, an agriculture extension worker) that we’ve applied for grants to fund.
$1600 a month covers:
Boxed Milk - $400 (Kwashiorkor and severe malnutrition)
Formula - $400 (prematures and initial care for motherless)
Breastfeeding Stipends - $400 (motherless)
Peanut Butter Paste and Misc - $400 (mostly for HIV+kids)
It’s a lot of money, but this budget helps about 50 kids/month at the cost of 1$/kid/day.
If anyone who reads this has a group that wants to commit to a month, let me know!
This morning it was back to normal life, patients who had accumulated in plenty during the celebratory pause, team issues, kids, homework, cooking etc. (Did I mention that Jack played with a pocket knife during some of the Ambassadorial hooplah and gashed his hand, which we wrapped up with the scarf I was wearing over my shoulders until we could put in three stitches about half an hour after the guests departed?). When I arrived at the hospital I met the mother of one of our premature babies gallantly trooping her small baby and bag of possessions from the old ward to the new as Maternity officially shifted. Pediatrics is flowing onto the floor and out the doors of the old ward, but that will be more complicated to move, so we are going bit by bit. By the the time I finished seeing patients at 1 pm there was a mother in labor, so I told the staff to inform us when the first baby was born in the new delivery room. Sure enough, within the next two hours, that mom “produced” as they say here. So while the interns hung out with the kids Scott and I zipped back down on the motorcycle in the late afternoon to present a blanket that friends of Annelise had sown for patients, a hugely luxurious and clean and colorful soft covering.
What a fun time: the mother was delighted, proudly aware of her status as first to deliver in the new place. It turned out that she was a Kwejuna Project mom, someone who was identified as HIV positive through our PMTCT program and she and her baby received the life-saving doses of Nevirapine to prevent transmission of the virus. Even more fun: when we greeted her, she displayed her strapping male infant and told us with excitement that his name was, of course: Scott (pronounced Scotty). So Dr. Scott and baby Scott had their picture taken together with the new blanket and the beaming mother. Who knows, after all the attention yesterday, there may be a run on the name Scott (which is not, shall we say, popular in Uganda, in fact virtually non-existent). We thank God for yet another unnecessarily fun affirmation of the new ward.
Today’s dedication and hand-over of the new Maternity/Paediatric ward was a day of celebration from start to finish. Every prayer was answered, from the clear dawn which grew into the first sunny day we’ve had in two weeks, allowing the airplane to safely come and go and allowing hundreds of people to comfortably watch the festivities. Every major district leader personally attended, including the LC5 (governor) with his entire executive counsel, the Resident District Commissioner, the Chief Administrative Officer, both Members of Parliament, the Director of District Health Services, the UPDF Battalion Commander, and dozens of other local officials. No one quarreled, the major political combatants laid aside their differences for the day. Our American Ambassador spoke with grace, highlighting the powerful impact of individuals who give and serve, and the partnership between citizens and government. The primary school choir sang welcomes, and two excellent dance and drama groups performed skits encouraging women to use the new maternity services. There were traditional flutes and belled ankles, gyrating hips in grass skirts, painted faces and booming drums to give the African sense of celebration, combined with lovely tent shades and flowers and dignified protocols to give the sense of decorum. We unveiled two plaques, one giving credit to our major donors (Mr. Cheung of Daeyang Shipping in South Korea, James Kern, my family and Scott’s family, and our friends the Hanleys). The other commemorated the Hon. Ambassador Stephen Browning as guest of Honour. The Ambassador cut a ribbon and toured the new buildings, Scott dramatically handed the keys to Jonah. Several hundred people ate a feast. We even managed to get the Ambassador and the Honorable Jane, our women’s member of parliament, to tour Christ School, greeting staff and students. There was just the right amount of time for all the hosting we had planned, and the Ambassador even commented that in all his years (?30 or more) of service this was the warmest welcome he had ever received.
But the best part of the day was to bask in the pause, the stepping back to give glory to God, enjoying acceptance from the community, the appreciation and sense of team work all around. Many thanked us and the mission for “sticking with them through thick and thin” as they recalled the hard and dangerous years of the ADF insurgency. The member of parliament called us citizens of Bundibugyo as well as America. The RDC compared Scott to the Good Samaritan, who saw a need and did not walk by but stopped to help women and children who were dying. I know we should do everything we do just because it is the right thing . . . But it is a blessing to spend a day hearing that the people we serve do appreciate our presence. Scott delighted people by dancing with the dancers. Our whole team turned out to support us, and the Ambassador even spent some special time with the interns as a gesture of encouraging young American volunteers.
This day was truly one of the milestone days of our time in Bundibugyo. I wish that all of you our family and supporters and friends from the US could have also heard the thanks that people poured out for you! It was a true answer to prayer that everything went so well. I think we would like to sleep for a few days . . . But life will go on tomorrow. For tonight we can rest and rejoice.
This evening we dedicated the new ward in prayer. The official hooplah all starts tomorrow; pomp and circumstance, food and drink, crowds and music. But first we gathered to pray, which in my heart it the real dedication. A good portion of our team, all the elders from our church, and a representation of hospital staff all came together, about 35 people, and an encouraging intersection of our ministries. We stood in the labor and delivery room and read from 1 Kings 8 where Solomon dedicates the temple. No building can contain the Lord of Heaven and Earth . . . But like Solomon we could pray for Him to hear the pleas of the people when they cry out to Him in this place. God with us, not in a temple or a hospital, but in the presence of the hungry, the sick, the naked, the prisoner (Matthew 25). If these are the people through whom we now encounter Jesus . . Then this ward is a bit like the Temple, the representative dwelling of God. We prayed for the mothers who will labor, the babies who will take their first breaths, the midwives who will make tough decisions, the nurses who will lose sleep and struggle over IV’s, the clinical and medical officers who will diagnose and prescribe, the children who will be fed and helped. We prayed that healing and hope would abound within these new walls.
The sermon this morning came from Luke 17:20-21 . . . .where Jesus tries to counter political expectations of the coming Kingdom by emphasizing that the Kingdom of God is not visible, and will be accompanied by conflict and suffering as much as by victory. Amen to that, we clearly see that we are not part of a conquering force, and the last two weeks have had their share of conflict and suffering to be sure. On the other hand when John’s disciples ask if Jesus is the Coming One, he answers with concrete and visible Kingdom effects: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the poor have the Gospel preached to them. And that aspect is also clear here in Bundibugyo over the last ten days.
It was not until this morning that I reflected on why we might be iron-deficient in our souls: this has been an amazing stretch of Kingdom progress! Consider that in the space of ten days the book of ACTS was dedicated, the student/parent meetings at CSB were completed and school resumed, the Butogho water line was completed, and tomorrow the Paediatric/Maternity Ward is slated for dedication and handover! That is four major milestones of the Kingdom in the four major areas of our ministries here, all very public and visible. And as expected most involved significant opposition, struggle, last-minute crisis, and conflict. For instance Michael spent days this week dispelling rumors and reconciling with communities over water line issues that threatened to derail the project in the 11th hour. But by God’s faithfulness, TEN THOUSAND people now have clean and safe water for the first time, in the lowest most distant populations centers where we used to get most of our cholera outbreaks.
Tomorrow’s dedication will also serve the poor and sick, more visible but less important really in the public health sense than the water line. But even that has been threatened with last-minute conflict as various politicians yesterday squabbled over the order of honor and put Scott in the middle of their jockeying for position. The last thing we want to do is make enemies. We have a truce of sorts and everyone is supposed to come, but you can keep praying the day will be one of joy and celebration and glory to God, not an opportunity to settle political scores.
Bukama Bwawe Bwise: Thy Kingdom Come.
Kabajungu Margaret (whom I erroneously have been calling Kabugho Margaret) heads back to Kampala for her second round of chemotherapy tomorrow. She came smiling shyly to our kitubbi today, and Scott showed her father how the tumor had shrunk from filling most of her lower abdomen to a manageable 4 x 9 cm. I’m daring to hope that she can be cured, that a few hundred dollars could mean the difference between life and death for her. I heard a Lubwisi proverb today that the stone that is not on your road should not bother you . . . . But this little girl became a stone in my path, something God called me to act upon in faith, and through me perhaps a handful of blog readers who are praying for her. She has far to go, but there is hope.
It is Thursday, which I suppose is a bit past mid-week, but since the event-of-the-year (for us) is planned for Monday the week seems to stretch ahead until then. For the first time in days I’m at my desk, and with so many things to do it seemed wise to start with gathering prayer. So here is a posting of a prayer request email, for any readers who would be willing to pray. Thanks.
Let my cry come right into your presence, GOD;
Provide me with the insight that comes only from your Word.
Give my request your personal attention,
Rescue me on the terms of your promise.
Let praise cascade off my lips;
After all, you’ve taught me the truth about life!
Invigorate my soul so I can praise you well,
Use your decrees to put iron in my soul.
Psalm 119:169ff (last section, tau), The Message
Dear Praying Friends,
I rarely get to the end of Psalm 119, its length is rather intimidating. But this week these verses jumped off the page for me. I need iron in my soul! My tired heart needs invigorating in order to praise! Please pray these verses for us, and for yourselves, with the same attitude of desperation and aggressive expectation that the psalmist uses. Because the last few weeks have been a weary struggle, and we are far from the rest time of late August! Pray for souls of iron.
- PRAY for the dedication of the Paediatric/Maternity Ward on Monday. The American Ambassador, some Ugandan members of parliament, our district leadership, health center staff, choirs, drama groups, and probably a couple of hundred people from the general public, will all gather for this event. It is an opportunity to give testimony to God’s faithfulness and care, and to appeal to the government for justice and mercy in the health system. Pray that Scott would speak clearly and in a way that glorifies God. You can also pray for SUN (we’ve heard it still exists but haven’t seen it all week, so the place is a sopping muddy mess) to dry the airstrip, for enough food to go around, and for the general delicate dance of empowering the health center staff to take charge of the party yet being on top of details enough that we feel WHM is well represented by the outcome.
- PRAY for Christ School: peace, reconciliation, maturity. Today is the first day of normal class after the two-week process of closing, meeting with the board, investigating, interrogating, testifying, meetings with parents, etc. In the end 8 students were dismissed as instigators of violence and instability; one suspended temporarily; and the rest are back in class. I sat through 2 1/2 of the 4 day-long meetings with parents. There was a lot of sadness for me as the problems were described again and again, and some encouragement as parents thanked Kevin and the board for averting disaster. The students were roundly chastised by all, so there may be some sense in which the events increased community support for the staff and administration, and showed students that their demands and threats will not achieve their goals. But pray now for real growth, real maturity, on all sides, for a sense of unity between teachers and students, rather than being enemies. In the last meeting a young man who is now in university lamented the lack of parenting in the culture as a root of the problems (amusingly his example of good parenting was describing Scott taking to task a speeding motorcycle driver who endangered our kids as they rode up the road together on bicycles, because he was a father who was with his kids, aware of the dangers, and willing to step in!). Pray for wisdom as the Pierces and Bartkoviches in particular ponder discipling staff to be real leaders, able to discipline in love, able to exercise authority without damaging displays of power. Pray for all the staff and team who interact with students in class and cell groups, to encourage their hearts in godly directions. And praise God with us that the school could re-open, and that none of my children’s good friends had to leave, which would have been devastatingly difficult for us and them.
- PRAY for our TEAM to be gracious and invigorated souls as we move through a challenging summer. With nearly 40 people to care for and be aware of . . . Scott and I need some of that soul iron just to love and lead our team. We have five great interns and you can join us in praying that their final few weeks will open their eyes to God’s character in new ways, and confirm any call He may have upon their futures. Pat Abbott returns from her six month HMA later today (YEAHHH!!!!). Last week we were visited by a team of 21 Americans on a mission trip through another church; plus a group from SIL launching the book of Acts newly translated into Lubwisi. Next week we have another student group from the US Naval Academy (Pierce’s connection) visiting for a couple of days. Others have had family and friend visitors. In a place where transportation and food and basic necessities of life require hours of planning and effort, the visits do take a toll. On the other hand we are thankful for the blessings these people are bringing to us and others and thankful to be able to facilitate. But you can pray for stamina. All of this activity also comes in the context of transition for our team as the Massos pursue leading a new team into Sudan about 18 months from now. Pray that we would have faith to wait upon the Lord as things around us change.
- PRAY for PROVISION of food for children who are sick and hungry. Since World Food Program pulled out of Bundibugyo, thanks to Karen, Pamela, and Stephanie’s efforts and many of your responses we’ve managed to continue to provide nutritional supplements to the neediest: babies whose mothers have died, children infected with HIV, families with few resources who just can’t manage to get enough calories. However this week two significant things happened to make us pretty desperate on this front: UNICEF officially rejected a funding request that had been in their hands for many months, and we used the last of our current resources. Stephanie is frantically working on another proposal for The Stewardship Foundation, but that is far from certain. It costs our mission about 30 thousand dollars/year to buy peanut paste, milk, oil, and sugar for high-calorie rescues and milking goats and egg-laying chickens for sustainable change. We know God cares more for the orphans and poor than we do, so pray that we would see how He wants us to proceed.
- PRAY for teachers—we’re looking for two young men!! Praise God that we have Ashley Wood and Sarah Reber coming to teach at Rwenzori Mission School in the Fall, and their support-raising is in full swing. John and Loren Clark with baby Bryan (development) and Heidi Lutjens (nurse) were also approved for apprenticeships to begin in early/mid 2008. But we still have a need for a full-time RMS and a full-time CSB position, and want to pray that God would send us two young men. Perhaps they would both teach both places half-time? Pray.
Let these cries come right into God’s presence as you plead for Him to act. We’d like to see an amazing dedication party, real spiritual growth at CSB, a thriving team, surprisingly abundant food funds, and the sudden appearance of two young men who want to come and teach. But if not . . . .pray that we would still praise the One who invigorates our souls, who gives us the iron to endure and wait.
With gratefulness and love,
Jennifer for the team
This may be the largest ever number of Americans to gather at one time in Bundibugyo District . . . Our growing team (32 of 34 present), summer interns (5), the Tabb family (3) back for a weekend visit, a visiting nurse-pracitioner friend (1) of Pamela’s from NYC named Sonja, then who would have predicted but a team of (21) men and women from Selma, Alabama, who came for about a week to visit the Charistmatic Episcopal church directed by our friend Hannington Bahemuka. We invited them to come for pizza and praise, a taste of home and an opportunity to pray for us and join us in worship. Our industrious team came to our aid, we made 54 pizzas, and no one left hungry. But better still we shared our hearts and prayed for each other, then ended in a lively time of singing together. It was powerful and encouraging. I don’t think we could handle these numbers for a solid week, but for a night we managed to all fit in our house together!
