Dear friends,
first of all, thank you for your continued support and prayer. I am so grateful to you and feel so loved and supported during my time here thus far.
Amy and I finished up our orientation and now are into the hospital rotation, Amy in Pediatrie and me in Medecine. They are very different units and we are learning a lot. And being humbled a lot at the same time.
Being new nurses, we are still learning to think critically as we are gaining experience... what I mean by that is that sometimes it is difficult to know what is the best action to do first in each situation. We are also learning treatments for illnesses we have had little exposure to or have never seen- such as snake bites, malaria, meningitis, etc.
Then there is the French- there are times when I might know exactly what the nurse is talking about, but when they say “lombargie” or “insufficience cardiaque” it can take time to explain and understand.
Many procedures are quite different, much of the equipment is strange to me and takes time to adjust to. One example is that they use glass ampules for their injectable medications, and these are not scored beforehand like they are in Canada. Cracking them safely can be quite a challenge- I have been injured twice on these dangerous things!
Please pray for me as I try to learn quickly and become a useful and helpful nurse. My French is steadily improving and I have been receiving positive feedback but there are always ups and downs.
One night as I was out walking after a particularly discouraging day, I was feeling quite helpless and frustrated at all I had to learn. Suddenly, I caught sight of the sky. The stars here are unbelievable, so brilliant and different than the stars I know in Canada. It’s difficult to describe and it might sound cliché, but as I looked at these bright stars I felt God saying to me,
“Do you see? I will take care of you.”
Remembering that the God who made those stars walks with me brought such tangible comfort and peace to me.
You can always be praying for the work environment and the unity of the staff at the hospital- here we have the challenge of combining medical work of limited resources, employing Christians, and mixing many different cultures. Our God is great and I am expectant that He will do incredible things. Pray that I will walk in His Spirit and that I will be dependent on Him in all things.
A sad and interesting observation for me is that the people here, because of the difference in language, the lack of education and tribal superstitions, have a very limited knowledge of health. One of the missionaries told us that over 50% of the patients here first try traditional medecine (a.k.a. witch doctors). As a nurse coming from a country where healthcare is considered a basic right, with many laws ensuring that people are made aware of their health status from healthcare practitioners at all times, it is difficult to see these people, wide-eyed and in many ways at the mercy of the workers here.
It has been a real blessing to see the Gospel preached everywhere at this hospital. Every morning there is a presentation for the people waiting to be seen. The students from the bible school sing and preach in every room every Friday. The surgeons pray with every patient before putting them under anesthetic for an operation.
God is giving me a real compassion for these people. Please pray that many would hear the Gospel and receive Jesus Christ, so that they can experience true freedom and life eternal.
Church in Benin- the Beninois love to sing! There are some songs that have the same melody as familiar hymns, so if I don’t have a Botonou (Bariba) hymn book I can just sing the English words along with them. There are also fun songs like “Combien de fois”- literally a song saying “How many times should I forgive my brother? Jesus recommends 77x7 times”.
A few times I have seen spontaneous songs break out, someone wanting to thank God for a surgery that went well or a marriage walking to the front and beginning a song, the congregation singing a response, then others getting up and joining in dancing or dancing in their place. Then all of a sudden it’s over and they resume the service. It’s quite exciting and I find the culture so interesting and beautiful.
Other things- benches that I would have thought seated only 5 actually seat 8 here. :) Every Sunday the church is filled with pagnes of every pattern and style, the most vibrant and colourful prints you can imagine. All of the sudden my Canadian clothes seem very dull and plain and I find I much prefer to wear their clothes, you really don’t feel like you are very dressed up otherwise. An interesting cultural trend that I mentioned before is matching- so Amy and I recently had outfits made in the same pagne as 3 other friends for a wedding. So strange to us westerners, but everyone here loves dressing the same.
French comprehension is continuing to come slowly. Having one on one conversations is much easier then listening to French lectures, a.k.a. sermons. It literally takes all of one’s concentration to catch the message. But it is improving. Thankfully I put many sermons on my computer (Tim Keller, Robbie Symons, Matt Chandler, Alistair Begg, etc.) so I can also hear good bible teaching in English.
This past weekend Amy and I had the opportunity to go to a Beninois wedding in Parakou. There are two couples here who have “adopted us”- Caleb and Aïsa (along with Aïsa’s younger sister Yapenno, who lives with them), and Manassé and Béatrice (Béatrice is the Swiss nurse I had mentioned previously). Caleb is a pastor here, and his brother was getting married. He invited Amy, Anja and I to come to the wedding. Such a wonderful, fun experience! We truly felt submerged in the culture and our friends here are such welcoming and encouraging people. God is so good.
Next week we have our Spiritual Life conference in Parakou with all the missionaries from Benin and Togo. We are really looking forward to it. The theme is “Restoration” and is a study on Romans 12. You can be praying that it will be a time of encouragement and refreshment for all the missionaries.
Finally I just wanted to update my cellphone number, my number here is now:
96-53-20-44
I think the country code is 011 so you would dial that beforehand.
My family and some friends have been able to make calls using skype to my cell, this is much cheaper. I also have been able to send and receive texts.
I love hearing from everyone and staying updated on your lives! Please continue to let me know how I can be praying for you.
With love,
Charity
