Between packing up my clothing and attending several good bye parties, I have made it to Dar es Salaam, for my last few days in Africa. A wonderful welcome from my Mom happened about a week ago and we have spent the last 10 days enjoying each other's company. I was off work and was able to plan different activities throughout the day. Mom met many of my new friends and we even planned an Easter Party for the neighbourhood kids. In the end over 35 kids came, listened to the Easter Story in Kiswahili presented by my friend Lisa Newland, enjoyed wonderful snacks, and lively worship music to praise the Lord!
As I have been preparing to come home, buying gifts for family and hugging friends at the airport have been on my mind, but understanding how the Lord will use this period of my life when I am back in Ontario has been in the forefront. It is my prayer that as I make the journey home, that the Lord will continue to reveal to me different aspects of this trip and help me articulate all that I have learned. With the grace that He provides, I will trust in His plan.
Many friends asked when I will return to Tanzania, often my answer has been, I am not sure, only God knows. I have faith in that promise, He knows.
In this Easter season, I was reading the story of Christ's death and Resurrection and the book of Matthew in Chapter 28 ended in this way,
"And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age," (vs 20)
I am sure of that, He is always with me, everywhere I go.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Sunset over Lake Victoria
Tonight, we had the opportunity to travel to a treasure of a spot in Mwanza, a spot that not many people know of, but what a sight. We got to the top of a hill, covered in rocks just as the sun was setting and I sat down. I knew that as I soaked in the beauty of a daily event, happening all around the world, for everyone to experience, that God had put me in Mwanza, right now for so many reasons. My heart was filled with joy as a few friends surrounded me and the beauty of our Father, the Creator of all, was set right in front of us. The awe of the Lord, in a visible reality! Praise the Lord.
It has been several weeks since I have given an update. Time is flying by and as I sit in my room tonight, preparing to head to bed I look at my calendar, March 2009 already! I have been to Kenya and back in the last three weeks, for a nursing conference. During the sessions the Lord really put it on my heart, the desire to continue with my nursing career. As we went to different talks ranging from neonatal resuscitation to daily caring for patients with HIV/AIDS, I was overwhelmed with information but also a sense of yearning to learn more. There are many problems that many people can see all around the world, not issues that just people in Africa face. The Lord has blessed each and every one of us with a heart and a mind, to figure out what to do in situations and how best we can bring Him glory and honour. By the end of the conference, I was facing some challenges that I didn’t know how to work through. Supportive family and friends helped, prayer was essential and through that time I was able to seek out the Lord, finding peace in not fully coming to a ‘right’ answer. In my journal I wrote down Jude 20-21, “But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.” People from all over were able to help and built me up, through encouragement and prayer. Asante sana, thank you very much.
A short weekend in Nairobi ended the few weeks of traveling with debriefing. Amy Thompson, a staff member with the CRWRC, was able to walk the Tans and myself through a few questions that will help us as we prepare to go home. Before we knew it, we were driving down the road in Mwanza, getting back to the routine of Tanzania.
The next day it was back to the clinic, where things are continuing well. Back to rounds on the inpatient unit, documenting in charts, filling medication orders, interacting with beautiful young ones in the children’s room, laughing with staff members over our broken Swahili, and enjoying the last few days of work. Margaret and I are preparing a small presentation of information for staff from the clinic that will sum up a few sessions of the conference in the coming week.
The following days will be spent preparing for my mother’s visit to Tanzania. We are all excited for her to come to see Mwanza, my friends and my life here! I thank the Lord that we were able to arrange all the details that she could come. Please pray for a safe journey.
It has been several weeks since I have given an update. Time is flying by and as I sit in my room tonight, preparing to head to bed I look at my calendar, March 2009 already! I have been to Kenya and back in the last three weeks, for a nursing conference. During the sessions the Lord really put it on my heart, the desire to continue with my nursing career. As we went to different talks ranging from neonatal resuscitation to daily caring for patients with HIV/AIDS, I was overwhelmed with information but also a sense of yearning to learn more. There are many problems that many people can see all around the world, not issues that just people in Africa face. The Lord has blessed each and every one of us with a heart and a mind, to figure out what to do in situations and how best we can bring Him glory and honour. By the end of the conference, I was facing some challenges that I didn’t know how to work through. Supportive family and friends helped, prayer was essential and through that time I was able to seek out the Lord, finding peace in not fully coming to a ‘right’ answer. In my journal I wrote down Jude 20-21, “But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.” People from all over were able to help and built me up, through encouragement and prayer. Asante sana, thank you very much.
A short weekend in Nairobi ended the few weeks of traveling with debriefing. Amy Thompson, a staff member with the CRWRC, was able to walk the Tans and myself through a few questions that will help us as we prepare to go home. Before we knew it, we were driving down the road in Mwanza, getting back to the routine of Tanzania.
The next day it was back to the clinic, where things are continuing well. Back to rounds on the inpatient unit, documenting in charts, filling medication orders, interacting with beautiful young ones in the children’s room, laughing with staff members over our broken Swahili, and enjoying the last few days of work. Margaret and I are preparing a small presentation of information for staff from the clinic that will sum up a few sessions of the conference in the coming week.
The following days will be spent preparing for my mother’s visit to Tanzania. We are all excited for her to come to see Mwanza, my friends and my life here! I thank the Lord that we were able to arrange all the details that she could come. Please pray for a safe journey.
Monday, March 16, 2009
A snapshot into life in Tanzania
Here are a few shots from the last two months of my time in Tanzania.
The Lord has provided me with so many opportunities and as I wake up each morning, I am overwhelmed with His love for me.
In devotions today we sang the song "Give Thanks"
Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks for the holy one.
Give thanks because He's given, Jesus Christ, His son.
And now, let the weak say 'I am strong', let the poor say 'I am rich' because of what He has done for us.
Give thanks!
Thank you for all your continued prayers and support.
Let us all give thanks today for all that He has done in our lives.
Erin
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=66333&id=509603902&l=ae7d7e32a6
The Lord has provided me with so many opportunities and as I wake up each morning, I am overwhelmed with His love for me.
In devotions today we sang the song "Give Thanks"
Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks for the holy one.
Give thanks because He's given, Jesus Christ, His son.
And now, let the weak say 'I am strong', let the poor say 'I am rich' because of what He has done for us.
Give thanks!
Thank you for all your continued prayers and support.
Let us all give thanks today for all that He has done in our lives.
Erin
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=66333&id=509603902&l=ae7d7e32a6
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
February News
The month of February has brought many adventures and memories. From counting the numerous ant bites on my ankles and arms to starting a new schedule at work including working nights, I have cherished each moment. On Valentines day, the Tans, Lisa and myself headed out on a four day camping trip to the Serengeti. We spent the first night right in the middle of the National Park and then the last two nights at a camping resort just on the edge of the park. The days were filled with wonderful experiences of seeing animals close up and in person! A highlight was when a herd of over 35 elephants came right in front of our car. Seeing little elephants clinging to their mothers and enjoying the slow saunter of the massive animals was breath taking. I was able to get pictures of several animals in action with my camera, including a group of zebras startled by a noise far off, feeling the stare of a male lion and his pride up close beside our safari truck, capturing the glide of a cheetah as he made his way across the plain, and many unique shots of giraffes eating leaves from way up in the trees! The second evening at Kigereshi, our camping site, proved to be quite the experience as Lisa and I were preparing to get into our tent. We were faced with several hundred biting ants in the dark of the night and soon found ourselves running all over with these little ones crawling up our dresses! The night was quite eventful as Isaac, our cook, poured kerosene around the tents and allowed us to take his place to ensure we would not have to go anywhere near the ants again! In the morning, they were no where to be seen. The trip was a success. It was a nice rest from our routine here in Mwanza and allowed for many moments of growth in friendships! Praise the Lord!
At the Makongoro Clinic, many changes have occurred. Renovations of the private room and washrooms were finally finished and they look great! With money that I was able to gather from family and supporting churches, we together were able to support the clinic in an area that they found the most necessary. This will allow for them to generate income for months and years to come. Ensuring that this project was sustainable, we talked with the staff and were able to come up with an idea on how to use approximately $700. It is a blessing to be able to continue to impact this place even after I leave. Thank you everyone for your support in these months, people here at Makongoro have truly felt your support and love.
In about two weeks, the Tans and myself will head to Kenya for a week long nursing conference and some debriefing with a CRWRC staff worker. I am really looking forward to this time and pray that the Lord would continue to speak to me as I learn about tropical nursing and what this trip to Tanzania means for my future career in Nursing.
As you hold me up in prayer please join together with me in the following areas:
At the Makongoro Clinic, many changes have occurred. Renovations of the private room and washrooms were finally finished and they look great! With money that I was able to gather from family and supporting churches, we together were able to support the clinic in an area that they found the most necessary. This will allow for them to generate income for months and years to come. Ensuring that this project was sustainable, we talked with the staff and were able to come up with an idea on how to use approximately $700. It is a blessing to be able to continue to impact this place even after I leave. Thank you everyone for your support in these months, people here at Makongoro have truly felt your support and love.
In about two weeks, the Tans and myself will head to Kenya for a week long nursing conference and some debriefing with a CRWRC staff worker. I am really looking forward to this time and pray that the Lord would continue to speak to me as I learn about tropical nursing and what this trip to Tanzania means for my future career in Nursing.
As you hold me up in prayer please join together with me in the following areas:
- I pray for energy as the days are getting longer with more responsibilities at the clinic.
- I pray for the friendships that I have been blessed with thus far here and seek after Him as He shows me how to love each and every person that I meet.
- I have been thinking a lot about the different experience I will have as I prepare to leave Mwanza. Pray for these times, for the different interactions that I have with people and that I can leave well.
At church, this Sunday, the pastor focused on praying and not giving up. I pray, knowing that the Lord provides in so many ways. “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Nursing Overseas
Many months ago, the thought of nursing overseas was just a thought. Something that I dreamed of doing and was excited about, a new adventure that the Lord would take me on. I would experience a new culture in a new way, with the foundation of nursing as a starting point. Today I want to share with you just a little about how nursing overseas has impacted me thus far. I want to share stories with you and encourage all who have a thought right now for something new and challenging. I want to encourage you to surrender to the Lord your plans and passionately pursue Him as He guides you along the journey.
First, nursing overseas provides many challenges with differences not only in diseases but also in the names of common medications. Several months were required for me to figure this out, but eventually I have become accustomed to the common illnesses and treatment options.
The environment that I am nursing in right now is different than from back home. Although I never worked in a hospital as a full time nurse prior to this trip, with several hospital placements in nursing school, I do have a base of comparison.
First, nursing overseas provides many challenges with differences not only in diseases but also in the names of common medications. Several months were required for me to figure this out, but eventually I have become accustomed to the common illnesses and treatment options.
The environment that I am nursing in right now is different than from back home. Although I never worked in a hospital as a full time nurse prior to this trip, with several hospital placements in nursing school, I do have a base of comparison.
One day, as Margaret and I were preparing medication in the stock room – without even blinking an eye I said to her, “Would you look at that, a gecko is in with the Gentamicin ampoules!” We broke out laughing at the thought – that we have become so comfortable nursing here that, even a small animal amongst the medication doesn’t phases us. A great memory!
Graduating with a nursing degree has enabled me to work alongside the Matron, Nurse in Charge – a Registered Nurse with further education and much experience. With this opportunity, I have been able to assist in rounds with the doctor and the other nursing staff, walking from patient to patient in the mornings. At the beginning, these moments were very stressful as reading the charts and understanding the health situations were new, but now these are memorable times of the day. We get to interact with staff and patients at the same time – even encourage different treatments or make suggestions based on previous regimens.
Currently, the need at AICT Makongoro Health Centre is to work on updating data management, thus Margaret and I find ourselves helping with information details on the computer. We are working on imputing admission, diagnosis, and discharge information for patients that come through the clinic. This will allow the management staff to have a better idea of overall patient management and will encourage the Health Department to purchase more computers for the clinic. Using my gifts, even if they are not directly related to nursing, is what I have come here to do. I am so thankful that the Lord has placed me where I can be used the most. From typing out reports for the HIV/AIDS counselling clinic to organizing medication on an updated flow sheet, I am learning. I hope to be able to share this knowledge with staff at the clinic and look forward to more opportunities to share in my gifts in the coming months.
Graduating with a nursing degree has enabled me to work alongside the Matron, Nurse in Charge – a Registered Nurse with further education and much experience. With this opportunity, I have been able to assist in rounds with the doctor and the other nursing staff, walking from patient to patient in the mornings. At the beginning, these moments were very stressful as reading the charts and understanding the health situations were new, but now these are memorable times of the day. We get to interact with staff and patients at the same time – even encourage different treatments or make suggestions based on previous regimens.
Currently, the need at AICT Makongoro Health Centre is to work on updating data management, thus Margaret and I find ourselves helping with information details on the computer. We are working on imputing admission, diagnosis, and discharge information for patients that come through the clinic. This will allow the management staff to have a better idea of overall patient management and will encourage the Health Department to purchase more computers for the clinic. Using my gifts, even if they are not directly related to nursing, is what I have come here to do. I am so thankful that the Lord has placed me where I can be used the most. From typing out reports for the HIV/AIDS counselling clinic to organizing medication on an updated flow sheet, I am learning. I hope to be able to share this knowledge with staff at the clinic and look forward to more opportunities to share in my gifts in the coming months.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Some photos from January 2009
Here are some new pictures from January 2009.
Share with me in my experiences here in Tanzania. Thank you for your continual support and prayers.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=58451&l=3774d&id=509603902
Share with me in my experiences here in Tanzania. Thank you for your continual support and prayers.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=58451&l=3774d&id=509603902
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Living in Africa
After being here for three months, I have come to cherish some of life’s smaller joys as living in Africa has been a learning experience moment by moment. Today I am going to share with you some of the everyday routines that I have experienced since living here, so you can get a small picture of my life right now.
Work begins at 8am with morning devotions at the clinic. Since we don’t have any hot water in our house, I often get up just after 7am, skip the shower in the morning and enjoy a cup of coffee and breakfast. A short walk to the clinic from our home means we can leave a few minutes before 8am and get there on time. This will probably be the closest I will ever work to my home! Spending time in the clinic is what takes up most of the day, from filling medication orders, to caring for patients in the ward, our days are full. Lunchtime usually is around 2pm which on some days feels as if it will never come, but the time we spend with the Bundala family is always a treat. Wonderful Tanzanian food, great conversations in broken Swahili, and many moments of laughing! The afternoon often means returning to the clinic for some last minute details, saying goodbye and then heading home. Daily activities outside of work include washing clothes, going to the market, heading out for dinner or to a friend’s house, and playing outside with Tanzanian children from the compound.
Margaret and I have the wonderful pleasure of washing our clothes by hand, something that may seem time consuming but is wonderful with the heat to be able to splash cold water on our feet and soak our hands in it for a few hours. Although I look forward to coming home and getting my clothes very clean, I would say I do a pretty good job here!
Preparing food has been another adventure and we have gotten quite good at coming up with new things to make. Pasteurizing milk from our neighbour’s cow is a weekly routine and we have even tried making yogurt – what a treat! After a fun email of recipes from home, we made some banana bread and shared it with some Tanzanian friends here at Makongoro, they loved it.
There is a small market near our house which we walk to at least twice a week to pick up fresh pineapples, mangos, banana, tomatoes, green pepper and even fish some days. Most of the other food that we cook we get from a small supermarket here called U-Turn which we frequent often. Meals range from vegetable lasagne to stir-fried rice and local fish bake in our oven to omelettes with fresh eggs.
Developing relationships with all those living on our compound has been the most enjoyable experience thus far. We are able to go most places on this compound and come across someone that is genuinely interested in how we are doing and always has a smile on their face. This past week we have gotten to interact with many of the little children as they have come to our house to play ball and have a good time! What a blessing. I have gotten the opportunity also to meet some young Tanzanian women and enjoy hanging out with them too. I am learning things from all generations here!
Today, Mama Rebecca came over in the morning and we had the opportunity to read a few verses with her. I read them in English and she read them in Swahili. One that was very meaningful was a verse from 1 John “Beloved, let us love one another ... Wapenzi, na tupendane,” (4:7)
It is my prayer that you would today embrace this in your life as you continue to cherish some of life’s smaller joys and remember to love one another. Share your joy with others that you connect with and praise the Lord for all of His wonderful blessings.
Work begins at 8am with morning devotions at the clinic. Since we don’t have any hot water in our house, I often get up just after 7am, skip the shower in the morning and enjoy a cup of coffee and breakfast. A short walk to the clinic from our home means we can leave a few minutes before 8am and get there on time. This will probably be the closest I will ever work to my home! Spending time in the clinic is what takes up most of the day, from filling medication orders, to caring for patients in the ward, our days are full. Lunchtime usually is around 2pm which on some days feels as if it will never come, but the time we spend with the Bundala family is always a treat. Wonderful Tanzanian food, great conversations in broken Swahili, and many moments of laughing! The afternoon often means returning to the clinic for some last minute details, saying goodbye and then heading home. Daily activities outside of work include washing clothes, going to the market, heading out for dinner or to a friend’s house, and playing outside with Tanzanian children from the compound.
Margaret and I have the wonderful pleasure of washing our clothes by hand, something that may seem time consuming but is wonderful with the heat to be able to splash cold water on our feet and soak our hands in it for a few hours. Although I look forward to coming home and getting my clothes very clean, I would say I do a pretty good job here!
Preparing food has been another adventure and we have gotten quite good at coming up with new things to make. Pasteurizing milk from our neighbour’s cow is a weekly routine and we have even tried making yogurt – what a treat! After a fun email of recipes from home, we made some banana bread and shared it with some Tanzanian friends here at Makongoro, they loved it.
There is a small market near our house which we walk to at least twice a week to pick up fresh pineapples, mangos, banana, tomatoes, green pepper and even fish some days. Most of the other food that we cook we get from a small supermarket here called U-Turn which we frequent often. Meals range from vegetable lasagne to stir-fried rice and local fish bake in our oven to omelettes with fresh eggs.
Developing relationships with all those living on our compound has been the most enjoyable experience thus far. We are able to go most places on this compound and come across someone that is genuinely interested in how we are doing and always has a smile on their face. This past week we have gotten to interact with many of the little children as they have come to our house to play ball and have a good time! What a blessing. I have gotten the opportunity also to meet some young Tanzanian women and enjoy hanging out with them too. I am learning things from all generations here!
Today, Mama Rebecca came over in the morning and we had the opportunity to read a few verses with her. I read them in English and she read them in Swahili. One that was very meaningful was a verse from 1 John “Beloved, let us love one another ... Wapenzi, na tupendane,” (4:7)
It is my prayer that you would today embrace this in your life as you continue to cherish some of life’s smaller joys and remember to love one another. Share your joy with others that you connect with and praise the Lord for all of His wonderful blessings.
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