Hello dear friends, sorry for the long lapse in communication- we have been without internet for most of February and so posting hasn’t been possible, but we are still getting along just fine out here!
We have said goodbye to harmattan and “le chaleur” has hit- and boy is it ever HOT. I take at least three showers a day and am so thankful for my bedroom ceiling fan! The rain is coming soon, and with it (I am hoping) some cooler temperatures.
We are finding lots of fun things to keep us busy- recently we bought a football (soccerball) in Parakou and have had our first game with colleagues from the hospital- le Benin vs. le Canada! It was a lot of fun, nobody took themselves too seriously and it resulted in a tie. We already have the next game scheduled for this week.
We have also discovered “les collines”- the big hills behind our house. Not sure why it took us so long to venture beyond the gate, but I’ve been enjoying running the many trails and going hiking, and it’s really quite beautiful- last week I noticed wild blue orchids growing all over.
At the beginning of February, Ryan, a former peace corps worker who lives near Parakou, granted a long-awaited wish and provided us with kittens! We took the two kittens into our home, an interesting cross between the domesticated cat and the wild borgu bush cat. We named them Baloo and Bagheera and they were incredibly entertaining little friends.
Unfortunately we underestimated the amount of work these cats would be, and with our busy nursing schedules and small home, it was only three weeks before we decided to find them new homes! Please don’t think we’re heartless- Bagheera went to the new Canadian missionary, Miriam, and Baloo went to our colleague Adam whose young kids are enjoying the cat very much.
I’m also greatly enjoying the deepening relationships with the locals here, especially fellow colleagues, a huge answer to prayer and something that I know often comes only with extended time.
Feeling much more settled in Chirurgie, although the things I see there never cease to amaze me. The other night we had a whole family come into Chirurgie at 4:30am after a driver had hit their house in the middle of the night, causing all the walls and roof to collapse on them. Two children under the age of five and a baby, all crying on a gurney. One of them was seriously injured and needed surgery for internal bleeding. A far cry from Canada, where building inspectors won’t approve living spaces they are not built “to code”!
One night an 8 year old child came in after being gored by a bull. One man (a thief, apparently) had been shot in the hands, then waited 4 days before coming into the hospital. By then one hand was gangrenous and had to be amputated. Lots of young men with compound fractures from moto accidents, lots of peritonitis, and lots of children with full body burns from spilled cooking oil or hot water.
Many difficult cases, but I’m somehow struggling my way through dealing with even the gory traumas.
One of my colleagues also suffered a serious moto accident- if he had not been wearing a helmet he would have died, but as it was he suffered a broken arm and badly broken jaw (the helmet didn’t cover his chin). He came into the hospital and I could not recognize him except for his eyes, his face was so swollen. It was quite a chilling feeling, to see someone I see and work with all the time have such a close brush with death.

And so, the fragility of life is much more visible here. And I do say ‘visible’- because even in Canada, for all our safety measures and accident prevention, medications and advanced lifesaving treatment, it is a lie (and from the Devil himself, make no mistake) to believe that we are somehow in control. We are finite- like grass that grows and then dies. I don’t say this to be depressing, but only because it helps remind me to not waste this life of mine that is so quickly gone. God is over all, and I am in His hands. But we have a hope greater than this world around us and our fragile bodies, because our God is not only in control, He is good.

The long-anticipated arrival of my dad and brother finally came, something we had been talking about nearly since we arrived here. They made a quick stop in Benin on their way back from my dad’s Medical conference in Kenya and where they also visited with good friend Charles Mully and spent time at the Mully Children’s Family (Quite a remarkable organization- check it out at www.mullychildrensfamily.org).
Amy and I made the long journey down to Cotonou again so that we could get our visas at the same time, and a huge highlight was definitely the hotel pool! We spent one day in Cotonou, then spent two days in Bembéréké. It was short, but so nice to be able to spend some time with them and be able to show them my life here.
Their visit also has marked the half-way point of our time here in Benin- how strange! I am truly falling more and more in love with this place and these people every day.

It’s funny how at the beginning the French was so difficult, while now it’s like a breath of fresh air to find a patient who understands French- less than twenty percent of our patients do. So now I am actually trying to add more Bariba words to my vocabulary each day, and the patients always meet these efforts with laughter and surprise over the “baturi” who can “speak Bariba”. Such beautiful and special people, I feel blessed for this opportunity to work with them and learn from them.

Please pray for the hospital, for more Christian staff. There is a great need for personnel and not enough people to hire to fill all the spots. Pray that this would not result in the compromise of hiring non-Christians, but that the hospital would remain evangelical, with the focus of meeting the spiritual needs of the people, not only their physical needs. Pray for faith to grow- belief that our great God can truly provide for all our needs, even when it seems desperate or impossible. 

As the result of the limited staff, the hospital has had to begin decreasing the hours for the dispensary, which means that the patients are sent directly to the units for the consults... and this obviously greatly increases the workload, and can cause tension in the staff. Please also pray for unity and love between our existing Christian staff, that the Holy Spirit would work in hearts to a common purpose and goal.

Thank you, my Christian family! I am incredibly grateful for your prayers and for your love and concern for me.
With love,
Charity

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We drove down to have our visas renewed in Cotonou- it was very humid! I had gotten used to the cool Bembéréké mornings which required a sweater for the short walk to work and make the cold showers now near unbearable to get into... but the air is so dry anything wet you hang will dry in half a day. Cotonou is next to the ocean, a very different life from our tiny village of Guéré at the hospital.

Amy and I laugh that we are becoming the African version of a “country bumpkin”, used to the small town life, as we come to the city wearing our matching traditional clothes and find everyone wearing jeans and t-shirts.

Funny how quickly one forgets the things one has been used to- things like a big crowded city or having a grocery store with many varieties of jam, actual coffee, chocolates, even strawberries and peaches! In Bembéréké we can get nescafe, powdered milk, flour, eggs, canned tomatoes, soap, matches, onions, garlic, hot peppers, some other canned vegetables, and that’s pretty much it. We also have a vegetable lady who drives up from Parakou (2 hours) each Wednesday with some vegetables. Anything packaged (ie nescafe or powdered milk) is very expensive, so we try to buy those in Parakou. At any rate, going to Cotonou and having so much selection in the stores was very exciting! We enjoyed time with Manassé and Béatrice, playing in the waves at the beach and seeing some of the markets. Saying goodbye was sad, but we have planned to pass through Switzerland on our way home in August so we will be able to see them and Anja again before the year is out, which we look forward to very much.

How does one celebrate Christmas in Africa? The festivities began for us in early December when the missionaries gathered on the stone porch behind one of the houses and lit candles and listened to Handel’s Messiah under the stars. I am already a pretty big fan of the Messiah, and this was a pretty awesome way to listen to it. So great to sit and contemplate the incredible promises and prophesies of God, the enormity of what the Messiah coming to earth meant, the person of Jesus Christ.

Being in Africa and surrounded by a different culture can make certain biblical stories come more alive to me- for instance it was interesting when one missionary commented that she wondered if Mary carried Jesus around on her back like the women here do. Or seeing anew the compassion of Jesus in sending the angels to simple shepherds with the message that the messiah had come... I work with people groups who care for livestock as their means of survival, literally having next to nothing, seemingly insignificant in the grande, global scheme of things... but Jesus’ heart is so beautiful, he loves each person so individually and so deeply and he reached out to the marginalized and forgotten. Truly revolutionary in his compassion and love, unlike any the world had ever seen before. And the world has nothing like it. Nowhere to be found apart from Him.

Christmas Eve the hospital had a big fête with all the churches in the area- the francophone, Peuhl, Bariba, and Ditamarie congregations- and each had choirs who sang. The missionaries- aka the four of us- sang “Hark! the Harold Angels Sing” with only my guitar to accompany us. It seemed to come off okay, although stood in hilariously stark contrast to the lively, rhythmic African chorales... but the Africans were very generous and seemed to think it was great.

Amy and I decided to work on Christmas Day, so Christmas had a very different feel to it. This was my first Christmas not being with my family, and as I worked the shift at the hospital I reflected on how different it was from the Christmases I had become accustomed to- having breakfast together, opening gifts, dinner with extended family- I was really struck with thankfulness over being able to spend 22 uninterrupted Christmases with my incredible family, that my family was still safe and well and loving God in Canada. What a huge blessing.

I was able to have a Christmas brunch with Amy, Katrin and Marta during my break, which was really wonderful.

January has brought some changes in the staff at the hospital- I am now working in Chiurgie (Surgery), and Katrin is the new Chief in this department. I am really looking forward to working with her and learning even more. Surgery acts as the emergency room during the night shift, so this will be a new area of learning for me, as well as dressings and drains and prepping people for surgery. I will also be working with children as well as adults, whereas previously I was only working with adults.

Please pray for this new transition, that it would be smooth and would improve many things for the hospital.

Please pray for the Bariba church. The pastor has resigned under grave circumstances. Our friend Caleb has stepped in as pastor for the next three months or so until they find a replacement, and the church is currently searching for a new pastor. Pray for healing, pray for wisdom, pray for God’s word to prevail and for God’s people to be united.

The French is coming much, much better! Thank you for your prayers in this, God is truly answering them.

With love and gratitude,

Charity

SLC conference

Dear friends,
time again for a little update. Our internet stick lapsed and so we have been without internet for a little while, so I’ve been unable to post until now.
The hospital work is improving for us as we are getting the handle of things- IV starts that were once impossible for me I can now almost always get on my first try (which is great because I usually have to do at least 4 a day)! Our French is also getting better and better and we are able to communicate with our colleagues more easily.
Amy and I have also joined the hospital chorale, it is called “Shalom”. There are about twelve members, and so far it is a lot of fun! We are learning African songs or familiar songs with African rhythms, and we might teach them one of our own English Christmas carols next week. We will have a concert at the end of December.

The SLC conference was a wonderful time meeting such interesting, amazing people and being able to intensively study the word. Steve Schmidt (a Canadian/American), the SIM director in Niamey, Niger was the speaker for the conference. He preached on Romans 12 and he did an excellent job. He is such a humble man, and it is so evident that he is a lover of God’s word. I helped with worship with Walter and Bonnie Aebi (he is Swiss and she is American); throughout the week it was a mix of French and English! At the conference there were 40 adults and 15 children (all boys- only one was a girl!) coming from Togo, Benin and Niger.
We also had a lot of fun activities: for example one day we played a big game of baseball, one night there was a campfire, and one day we went to visit widows in the community with groceries and gifts. It was such a blessing to see the church meeting the needs of these widows as the bible so clearly instructs!
The death of Christopher Cherry, the 10 year old son of one family of missionaries, was still very fresh on everyone’s minds. He passed away from cerebral malaria just this past September. The Cherry’s have gone home for 6 weeks to be with family but will be returning soon. Their cousins, the Kauffman’s (they have 4 children), were at the conference and the loss has weighed heavily on them. The Cherry’s and the Kauffman’s work with the Dendi people in northern Benin, a very closed and as-yet unreached group of Muslims with in translation and evangelism. Please pray for them, for encouragement and for peace.
One night the group had an extended worship night and the opportunity to share songs. Paul Kauffman arranged a men’s quartet to sing an old hymn that had spoken to him, and he shared a story of missionaries who had been 40 years on the mission field and returned home on a ship. Theodore Roosevelt, who enjoyed very much to hunt, was returning home after a hunting expedition and when they arrived at the harbour the red carpet was rolled out and many people were celebrating his arrival. The missionaries arrived and found that no one had come to meet them, and the man said to his wife, “It’s not fair. He has gone hunting for a few weeks and the whole city comes to welcome him home, while we have given forty years in service and not even one is here to see us home.” His wife turned to her husband and said, “Dear, we are not home yet.”
Some words from the hymn that they sang:
“He bears from the fetters of darkness... Resplendant in glory to live and to save... Jesus hath risen and made us immortal to heaven ascend. Lift then your voices in triumph on high, for Jesus hath risen and man shall not die.”

What was really impressed on my heart throughout the conference was the incredible blessing it is to be a part of the family of God. To see the missionaries and their families who each have made great sacrifices of comfort and safety in order that they might bring the gospel to people who have never heard or understood the message of Jesus- how incredible to share in their lives! To be able to be challenged and strengthened by them, and also to pray for them and encourage them... that they are our brothers and sisters in Christ. The earnestness and the beauty of believers holding fast to Christ in the midst of suffering profoundly touched my heart. What a blessing, praise be to God.

For now we are back in Bembéréké. The Hegemans left this Thursday for New York and we are preparing for the parting of Anja on December 9th and Manassé and Béatrice on the 21st. Many goodbyes, but God will be faithful in providing many friends and things to be involved in for us, I am sure.
Thank you for your continued prayers, I need them! And also send me your prayer requests, I love to pray for everyone at home.

With lots of love,
Charity

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

Settling in

Hello everyone!

Sorry for the delay, it is very difficult to get a connection here!
It’s hard to believe it has only been 22 days since I left Canada, it feels like it has been much longer- so much has happened in such a short amount of time!
Amy and I arrived in Cotonou at 7:15pm last Thursday night, wrestled for our baggage in the crowded ariport and spent the night in Cotonou. The next morning we drove with Martha and Dorothy (Doddy- “doe-dy”) the long drive up to Parakou. It was an 8 hour journey, but there was a lot to see- even in the cities, the women carry huge loads on their heads and every time the car stops people run up to sell things. “Black market” petrol is sold on the side of the road from large glass bottles and many of the villages consist of little more than a few huts. There are motorcycles everywhere- and plenty of motorcycle taxis called zemi-johns take you wherever you want to go, it’s common to see women with enormous baskets filled to the brim on their heads and both hands holding on to the edges of the basket while they ride on the back of these motorcycles! Amazing. The road is another adventure, with enormous potholes and areas where the road has simply washed away. Lorries piled sky high and motorcycles alike zigzag across the road to avoid rough areas. It certainly keeps one on their toes.

The compound in Parakou is beautiful, with many flowers and trees and lovely buildings (the missionaries attribute this to the Swiss missionaries who apparently are particularly gifted in gardening). Immediately we were taken under the wing of the Hegemans, Christine and Benjamin. Benjamin is a professor at Houghton College in New York, and he teaches the spring semester there and then teaches at the bible school near Bembereke the other five months, so they are back and forth. Wonderful people, very kind. Christine took Amy and I into town and to purchase our food and groceries, and later we went to buy pagnes (pan-ya) which are the beautiful printed fabrics the women wear as skirts, from the market. Bartering is very much a part of the culture.

French is the official language and is widely spoken, but did you know that there are over 50 languages spoken in Benin?! One of the most common is Baraba, and there are accepted responses to certain questions- “O-o” means yes, and “alafia” means peace. If we make any effort to respond to them in Baraba, they are very pleased! The French has been African-ized as well, for example, “bonne arrivee” is what everyone greets you with wherever you go, and then "et la travail?" to which you respond "oui" or "ca va bien" and then "et la fatigue?" to which you again respond "oui" or "ca va", and then "et la maison?", "et les parents?", etc.

Wearing matching everything is considered being “dressed up” to the Beninese, whereas a skirt and tshirt is seen as quite casual. Modest women must always have their knees and shoulders covered. In the market or at work, married women wear scarves (un fulard) to indicate their status and most do not wear wedding bands.

The food has been no challenge! Milk is made from powdered whole milk (which is actually not bad when it is cold), coffee is instant nescafe (don’t worry, I brought my own, and a french press!), tea is only lipton, and there are oranges, green apples (sort of golden delicious, imported from France), eggplant, large zucchini, tomatoes, onions, garlic, lettuce, carrots, cabbage, etc. Potatoes and yams (the yellow variety) and rice are common starches. Chicken and beef and eggs are also available in the market.

The currency is the West African Franc. Amy and I had to get used to buying things for thousands of francs- it sounds like so much- but it really works out to less than 20 dollars.

Last Tuesday afternoon, after visiting the north station and radio centre, we left for Bembereke! We travelled with Beatrice, a Swiss nurse who married a Beninese man in February, and took a taxi. The taxi was a 1970s sedan that seated 7. In order to save money, Beatrice suggested we take other passengers with us. So we went to the taxi station, and picked up SIX other men! That brought us to 10 people, and it was a long, sticky 2 hour drive over the worst bit of road we’ve seen thus far. I was in the front middle seat, on an angle to allow the driver to switch gears and still make room for the man on the other side! What a hilarious ride.

But finally, we arrived in Bembereke! It is beautiful. I was amazed when I saw it! it’s a very large compound in the middle of a forest/jungle, with lots of different buildings and centres. We got to our house, a beautiful white house with a red door. We were told it is the nicest missionary house! We are so excited to have our own place and settle in after so much travel (we tallied it all up- 24 hours!!!).
The short-termer liason, Katrine, has been so welcoming and helpful. She is a petite Swiss lady who works in pediatrie and has LOTS of energy! There is also another Swiss nurse, Anja, who is staying until December 12. She is very sweet!

We are being oriented to the hospital over this week and next. It is very impressive, with many wards and centres. Then, Amy will be starting on the Pediatric ward with Katrine and I will be on the Medicine ward for the first six months. Apparently this is because I speak more French than Amy- as you can see, there aren’t very many English speakers here!

Please pray:
-for swift learning of French... we are extremely outnumbered here! But the Africans are extremely kind and patient with us, which helps a great deal.

-for us newly graduated nurses, to be of good courage! Pray that we will have confidence in our skills and not be afraid of the things we will see and experience.

-for Christ’s love to grow in our hearts daily, hearts of service that never tire of doing good!

The internet connection has been hilariously impossible, but I think we have something together at this point! Hopefully the posts from now on will not be so long!

Contact info:
In case anyone feels inclined, I have a landline and a cell phone here in Benin. Would love to hear from everyone!

Landline for my house -
00229/ 23 62 11 66
wait for dial tone, then dial 53
apparently this takes a few tries!

Cell phone -
(00229 I think is the country code?)
94 05 86 07

texting works too :)

Mailing address -
Charity Dowdell
HEB UEEB/SIM
B.P. 28
BJ - Bembéréké
République du BENIN
Mail will take at least 3 weeks to get here, but it would be great to receive mail!

With love,
Charity

posting here from now on

Hello to my friends and family,

from now on I will be posting here, I found the wordpress site too difficult to navigate.

For those of you who haven't heard, my departure date is fast-approaching: Wednesday, September 21st!

7 more days in Canada. I am so excited to be getting on that plane, after all the planning and preparations are finally taken care of!

The Ben(in)efit concert was a wonderful success. I was so encouraged by the support of our friends and family, we succeeded in raising the needed funds and had a lot of fun. I think that God was truly glorified by the event- the united effort to give to the needy and the many Christ-centred songs that were sung. God is so good. All glory to Him.

I will most likely post next when I'm overseas, thank you to you who are reading. I am not a blogger, so I will do my best to make this an enjoyable read! :)

To those who are praying, please pray that this week would be one of smooth travel preparations, but that I would also be preparing myself spiritually for the coming months. Pray that I would protect my quiet time and not feel too busy to make time for it.

I so appreciate, and need, your prayers!

Looking forward to some quality time with my family and friends this week before leaving. Take care everyone!

With love,

Charity