Jesus loves me this I know...

Wow has it been a long time since I've updated!  Sorry for the lack of updates lately.  Life has become a little crazy the last week and a half but I have finally find a moment to type up an update. Currently, I am sitting in our classroom in Choma...just finished up some homework for the day and about to head to bed to prepare for another adventure on the horizon.  Tomorrow afternoon we will head to Zimba where we will enter another hospital new to us.  We will be in Zimba from tomorrow evening through Sunday afternoon.  During this time we will be going to the hospital each day for clinicals and then visiting an orphanage in Namwianga.  This orphanage is home to children under 5 years old and from what I hear it is quite an amazing place.  But before I get ahead of myself, I probably should tell you about what the last week has held.


Last week Sunday (October 16) our team traveled to Macha where to stay for a week and work intensively in the hospital.  Macha is about an hour ride from Choma which we had been making 3 days a week for 2 weeks previous to this trip so we kind of knew what to expect and had our bearings in the hospital and with the staff.  I believe I kind of told what this hospital was like in my last post, but if not, the hospital is quite a wonderful place.  It has a men's, women's, tuberculosis, AIDS clinic, Maternal-Child clinic, pediatric and maternity ward, and an outpatient clinic.  The time spent in Macha Mission Hospital was one of trials and joys rolled into one exhausting and rewarding week.  You might be thinking to yourself, how can one week bring all of this choas of emotion, and I sit here today and wonder the same thing myself but somehow I sat on the bus on this past Friday and was so overwhelmed by what I had experienced that I didn't quite know how to describe it in a blog post which is why it has taken me so long to write this.  I would like to share a few stories with you about my time in Macha...some are joyful and some are difficult.


One of my most memorable moment in the hospital has been with my favorite little three year old boy who lies in a bed with his legs strung up in traction—Coasta.  When I first arrived on the pediatric ward at Macha Mission Hospital, I had no idea what to expect but it was as if the Lord pulled me right to Coasta’s bedside.  His little eyes held a depth unlike I have ever seen before.  One could tell that even in his three years of life, he has experienced more than most.  As I began playing little games and giving high fives, I began connecting with him which I was so thankful for because of the communication barrier that is present here in Zambia.  When I first met him, he was not put in traction yet.  He had sustained a femur fracture caused from being in a plow accident at home.  While I was on the ward that day, the physical therapist came and placed him in traction and I was able to assist.  I did not even get to do very much with Coasta as far as nursing care but I did my best to visit him every day we were at Macha Mission Hospital.  What was so neat that over the course of the next 2 1/2 weeks in Macha, I was able to visit Coasta each and every day...I made a point of it.  Some days, he would recognize me and be all giggles and smiles, and some days he would cry the second he saw me--you know, if I was a little three year old laying in a bed unable to move around whenever I wanted and a giant white person came and towered over my bed, I'd probably cry too.  But none-the-less, the Lord blessed me with a beautiful relationship that was formed in such a short period of time and I miss seeing him and visiting him so much...more than I would have guessed.  I'd like you to meet Coasta...this beautiful little one that captured my heart is pictured below. 

 Another thing that touched me deeply at Macha was the opportunity to work a night shift on the pediatric unit.  I worked with my dear friend Kathryn. I have been incredibly close friends with her since our first semester of nursing school so if there was anyone who I would've wanted around during this difficult night, it was her. As we assisted the nurse (who was an amazing servant leader to say the least) passing medications and performing all of the assessments on all of the beautiful but painfully sick children, we came across Ocline, a 2 year old little girl who had burns over approximately 40% of her body.  Burns are something that are very common and common health concern seen often in Macha Mission Hospital.  I had heard from many of the students about their experience with having to perform and assist with wound debrieding and how challenging this was because pain is not treated at all the way it is treated in the States.  If a child at home was burned over 40% of his/her body they would be put under general anesthesia in order to tolerate wound debriedment but here, that is not an option because Macha doesn't have the resources or the staffing to do such things.  So as Kathryn went into Ocline's room and took off her blankets, this beautiful child created by the Sovereign God laid under a metal cage (to hold the blankets up off of the skin but allow her to stay warm) looking up at me with eyes that were afraid and uncertain of what was about to come.  I was not there to cause any more pain but just to check her status as far as her heart rate and respirations.  It is one of the worst things in the world to walk into a child's room who I knew was in an incredible amount of pain and discomfort and also knew that I had absolutely nothing to give her.  Nothing that I could give to provide relief.  In that moment it took every fiber of my being to be strong enough not to break down weeping, knowing how little a chance of survival she had but knowing without a shadow of a doubt that the Lord is still Sovereign.  As I put my stethoscope on her little chest the only thing going through my mind was a song that my mom used to sing to me when I was little -- Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so little ones to Him belong, they are weak but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me.  Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me...the Bible tells me so.  As I finished assessing her, I began singing these words over her trying with everything within me to believe the words I was singing.  It was a holy moment unlike I have ever experienced before.  I was so thankful for these words from the Lord because I had nothing to offer in that moment but the sweet words found in this children's song.  I will continue to believe the words of this song as I finish out this journey and I am eternally grateful for the way the Lord has broken my heart for the things that break His.  

Not every part of the week was this challenging -- many members of our team delivered babies, scrubbed in on surgeries, and had other great experiences.  I assisted in two deliveries and after one of them I was given the blessed opportunity to weigh a brand new baby, assess the baby, and welcome him to the world.  This was such a special moment--there is nothing like brand new life and it is an experience I will probably not forget as I wrapped him in a blanket and welcomed him into the world, praying over him that the Lord would bless his life and bring him to the throne of the Most High.  

I am so thankful for the opportunities to learn more about nursing and continuing to see how the Lord has truly called me into nursing.  I cannot begin to describe how at home I feel in my role as a nurse.  I love the joys and the sorrows found within health care and how the Lord intersects each of these in the way only He can.  

Maternal/Child Clinic

maternal/child clinic

A twin who was born almost a month early

4 nursing students -- doesn't matter if you're Zambian or American...clinicals are always fun!

the humble abode

Welcome to our humble abode here in Choma! We have been here for approximately a month now even though we travel frequently to different places.  This has been a pretty great place to live.  I wouldn't necessarily ever choose to live with 10 girls in 1 big bedroom again in my life for 3 months but I will say it has been a time to help me learn patience as well as learn to be super thankful for the body of believers I have found in my teammates.  I used to think I wished I had a ton of sisters to share my bedroom with and stuff like my brothers always did when we were younger but I think I retract that thought.  Living with this many people isn't exactly my favorite thing to do.  We each get one bunk bed set -- my dress is the bottom bunk of my bed and my "bedroom" is the top bunk which feels kind of like a room because of the ever imposing mosquito net.  

I figured we've been living here long enough maybe you would like to see what my home away from home looks like :).

Below is the wonderful 10 person room -- we have a bathroom connected to our room which provides enough space for all of us to get ready in the mornings.  There is also a closet area where we hold a lot of our personal stuff. 

Below is our foyer area.  It serves many purposes as most things do here in Zambia...the Guest House director's office, a study room, skype location, work out room..pretty much anything you can think of.

This is our living room/dining room.  

Dining room on the other side of the couches.

Well below is the interesting kitchen here at the Guest House.  What most of you wouldn't want to know is that we've had to go in and clean often after the staff leaves so that cockroaches do not infest EVERYTHING in the kitchen.  I choose to go in there as little as possible because there are always cockroaches, ants, and other unfriendly critters roaming around on the counters, in the drawers, and nowhere else I'd want to look.  But during the daytime its not as scary.  This picture was taking on the night of our Pizza Party for the staff.  We made homemade pizza and invited the staff over to enjoy a night being served instead of always serving.

This is the World Hope Guest House where we sleep, eat, and hang out!  We spend a lot of time out on the veranda most days.  It is a beautiful location with lots of landscaping.

This is the administration building where all of the World Hope staff has offices and where we take our classes.  It is so nice to not have to sit through classes in the scorching heat because our classroom is air conditioned!  It's the little things!! 

This is the road when you turn out to the left out of the compound.  About a quarter mile down there is tarmac.  Most of us go on runs about 5 days a week so we run this route alot!

This is the view from the road towards our compound.  The white concrete wall in the back left corner of this photo is the fence to our compound.

That is all for now.  I've had quite a week at Macha Hospital on Monday and today but I plan to write another post about it tomorrow.  Lots of tough stuff to see but I am reminded that God is sovereign and He hold's each child, man, woman in the palm of His hand. 


~Dana

the last 7 days

Well this week was again quite busy with classes and trips out into the community.  The first great thing is that most team members are finally starting to feel well again after last's week sickness attacks.  We were able to get out into the community on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  On Wednesday, we went to see what traditional daily life is like a village.  We met Reverend David and his family as well as two other families that live in community together.  David is pastor of a Wesleyan Church in the village about 45 minutes outside of Choma. I provided some maps of Zambia above so that you can see a little bit of where we've been.  I couldn't find any maps with more detail of places we've been but I tried my best.  So after we arrived in the village outside of Choma we were given a wonderful tour of David's land and his garden.  We took probably a 10 minute walk from where their home was to where their garden was.  David has been incredibly smart -- during the rainy season he figured out a way to dam the rain water that was made a river near his home so that he would have a water supply for the rest of the year to sustain his garden.  We were able to help water the garden which required us to get into the pond and get on this contraption that I thought was just like a stair step machine...it was so much fun to learn how the Zambians live their daily lives.  After time spent in the garden we went back to their home area and learned how to pound maize (corn) into mealy meal which is what the Zambian's use to make nshima.

pumping water to the garden

making mealy meal

making mealy meal

Later in the week we went to a village to see their Home Based Care and Orphan and Vulnerable Children program that World Hope sponsors.  We saw their poultry house that houses 300 chickens which supports the OVC program.  We met with a caregiver who has been taking care of an orphan for just over 6 years.  They were a beautiful family who shared so much with us.

the poultry project

the OVC family we visited with

This week starts a new adventure.  Yesterday morning we woke up bright and early (had to be ready by 6:30am) to leave to go to Macha Mission Hospital.  We will be spending Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for this week and next week as well as the following entire week in Macha. This is the hospital where Johns Hopkins University Hospital sponsors a Malaria Research Institute.  We toured the research institute as well as the school of nursing connected to the hospital and the hospital.  The hospital is actually pretty large.  There is a men’s & women’s ward, pediatric ward, maternal ward, ART (anti-retroviral treatment for HIV/AIDS) clinic, and a TB ward.  There is also a radiography suite and an outpatient clinic with a TB clinic connected to it.  It was a pretty crazy day.  The entire morning we pretty much toured everything and then in the afternoon we spent about an hour on the wards.  I was on the maternal ward.  We assisted the nurses in taking vital signs of any mothers that were ante-partum or who had had C-sections.  I have learned how to assess a mother if they are pregnant and find out how many weeks they are by the height of their fundus.  I can also now figure out the presenting parts and where the head and back are located within the stomach, and the most exciting thing, is I learned how to listen for the fetal heart rate by using a fetoscope (the OLD style of assessing fetal heart rates)—then the Macha Hospital also has a Doppler to find heart rates of the babies if they can’t find it with the fetoscope.  I was kind of freaking out yesterday because while taking vitals and assessing the mothers I wasn’t able to find the heart rate of one of the fetus’ and so I asked the nurse to check herself, then she couldn’t find it.  After what seemed like forever (really probably only a minute or so) we were able to find the baby’s heart rate.  So needless to say, it was quite an interesting and eventful day!

Macha Mission Hospital

One final thing -- hopefully none of you are too bored -- this past weekend it was Christine and my weekend to plan something fun for our team to do on Saturday night.  We planned a game night extravaganza.  It turned out great and we had so much fun!!

   that is all for now. hopefully i'll update more often so you don't have to be bombarded with tons of stuff to read and lots of pictures to look at.  one last thing...we had the first Zambian rain here today!  It was beautiful!!