Reflections

I am sitting on the corner of the kitchen counter because this is the only place I can get any internet. On a good day, the signal will last at least 10 minutes, so I am going to take advantage of this now! Here are some observations so far that I've made since we have arrived...

The power goes off once or twice a day here. Nobody really minds.

There are two gigantic flat spiders that live on the ceiling by the bathroom in our room...I'm okay with them as long as they stay in their same spot. If I don't see them on the wall, I'm actually more worried!

There are little lizards here that run on the outdoor paved walkways between all the hospital buildings--when we take children (often two or three at a time) on one stretcher between the children's ward and the OR, we have to be careful to not run them over. (STACIE: not sure what I'd rather--these or the bats!). On Sunday I saw one climbing on the ceiling at church!

Life here is funny. Like these billboard ads for a company called Harvey Tiles that we see everywhere:

They have these billboards all over the place: "A roof without Harveytiles is like a house without food - there might be starvation" or "A roof without Harveytiles is like a country with no infrastructure - there will be no economic improvement" or "A roof without Harveytiles is like SOS Village without community - and vice versa" . I don't really understand all their metaphors...but what I do know is if I'm building a roof, I sure want it to have Harveytiles on top! 

On the children's ward, there is no such thing as nurse-patient confidentiality. The ward has 31 official beds, but at one point last week our capacity was at 59 patients (and this does not include the patient's mother/father and sometimes also grandparent that travels with the patient from far-off towns...each family gets one bed), and all the beds are in one large connected room separated into a few sections. Everyone listens in on everyone's information and it would be very strange to suggest that someone might not want their neighbours to know about their health history. The nurses don't seem to have patient assignments or even assigned tasks on a given day, but amazingly it seems like all the nurses somehow know what they are supposed to be doing...this is a learning experience for me!

This is where the moms do their own laundry while staying on the ward with their children. The little building to the right is a tuck shop, and our guesthouse is the building cut off on the left edge of the photo. 

This is Thomas and he was the happiest kid I've ever seen taken to the OR. He had a burn scar contracture on the lower part of his leg, and he was so excited to get a "new leg". He shared a stretcher with a kid who was not as excited as he was to be going to the OR, and as we were pushing it along the long outdoor walkways to the OR he said loudly that he wanted a "FAST!" ride and was happy all the way into the theatre...(for those of you at all familiar with kids going for surgery you will know that this is not the norm!).

This is Thomas's funny face and him showing off his new leg! I found him sitting outside in this wheelchair just contentedly sitting and playing with his new splint. 

This is a view from the nurse's station looking to the neuro side of the ward (notice each bed has a mosquito net above it). This crowd gathered here to celebrate the end of last week. The white people you see are members of Surgicorps, a plastic surgical team from Pittsburgh that came to CURE to do over 70 burn scar contracture release surgeries last week (not including dressing change procedures done under sedation in the OR).

Last week was the busiest week of the year for CURE, and a chaotic week for us to start on. The nurses were all rewarded by the nurse matron with one day off this week for all their extra hard work last week. What followed this gathering at the nurses' station was an amazing song and dance display of the mothers' gratitude for Surgicorps and worship to God for the life-changing treatment of their kids. It was incredibly moving...see video below:

We were told this kind of celebration does not happen every Friday...but then even this morning we began the day with lively singing and dancing on the children's ward...parents and patients and hospital staff all gathered at 0730 to worship God together for giving us another day of life.

Nothing is taken for granted here, everything good is a gift from God, and everything is celebrated in community.

Singing and dancing in celebration and gratitude for the healing of their children. Imagine if we had this same genuine thankfulness for minor surgery at home!

The Jacaranda trees are in their prime now. These pictures don't need words:

In other news, Mason got a haircut. It was a combined effort of his three housemates: me, Amanda and Justin.

Before...looking a bit "domey" to use Andrew Ironside's term

During...the whole process was a group effort on the part of all 4 of us housemates, I'm sure to the amusement of the two Swedish ladies that just arrived that afternoon. 

During...a little too "One Direction" to stop here.

After...the guy lurking in the window is our housemate Justin and he's not actually as creepy as he looks in this picture. He is one of the three neurosurgeons in all of Zambia.

Gerald and Juanita, I'm posting these next photos with you in mind. The first time we visited this cafe-style church we thought of you and couldn't wait to share pictures with you. Juanita, you'd love the collection of cultures here. The pastor is South African and everyone you talk to is linked with a different NGO. It's really cool to have a glimpse into this network of expats doing really cool things in Zambia! Another blog post will have to be about some of these interesting people we've met. For now, take a look at South City Church:

On the other side of this wall is the church. The lady who owns the building runs a gift shop and cafe out of the church during the week. 

These canvas walls come off when it's not so windy and it's an open-air cafe-style church. Lizards on the ceiling and a tree trunk in the centre of the sanctuary.

Coffee bar

The "stage"

Outdoor seating

Kids' church

Hipster photo

The infamous minibus. Yesterday we rode one of these carrying 21 passengers. It filled up and then pulled into a gas station to fill up on gas with all the passengers on board and the engine still running.

Close quarters inside the minibus.

Goodnight from Zambia! 

Week's End

After quite a bit of travel, we ended up in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. If I had to describe the city, I would say dry, controlled chaos and poverty mixed with western areas and malls that feel absolutely no different than Canadian malls.

We arrived at the Beit CURE hospital which is extremely nice. It is a campus of many different buildings (OR theatres, children's ward, audiology/ENT clinic....). The grounds are an oasis in the midst of the chaos of Lusaka. Just outside the grounds, the street vendors and markets are in full force. Right across the street from CURE is the Olympic Youth Development Centre, where people from CURE and Zambian youth can access some sports facilities free of charge.

Dancing and drumming at the olympic youth development centre

We have explored a little so far. Got food at the mall, met friends and learned the transportation system. The minibus as it is known here, is a series of minivans racing around the city picking up people with what appears to be no rhyme or reason. However if you follow my newly minted "6 rules of the minibus" you should be fine getting around Lusaka.

1. Don't stand too close to the road or you will be run over. In fact, don't even stand on the curb, because it is sometimes used as a lane.
2. Look like you are alive. Then a bus will stop for you.
3. Be prepared. The experience is similar to being kidnapped. A bus will pull up and whip open the door and a guy will jump out, run up to you, and usher you into the almost-already-moving minibus saying, "come with me mzungus...yes, white man, come". The whole bus will be laughing. And when I say bus I should clarify. Although it carries 20 people at a time, it's built for 10. They conveniently provide two flip seats to extend the capacity. As a result, quarters are cramped and you get to take this opportunity to practically sit on each others laps. Nobody seems to mind.
4. If you are a tall white ("mzungu" is the word--not sure if this is an endearing or derogatory term, but I kind of like it) man, you may get to sit up front of the bus. I'm not really sure why.
5. Pay for your ride. This is a tricky step to master. You have to know where you want to get off which isn't easy considering some of the names are practically impossible to pronounce from my uncultured mouth (this seems to create more laughs). The bus prices seem to fluctuate depending on the "conductor's" mood and the distance you will be going. We had a really nice conductor on one leg of the trip, who told us where we needed to go and even provided change for our fare. I'm told 4 kwachas ($0.70) is a bargain to get to the Impala stop. 
6. Exit the bus. If you are unfortunate to be in the back of the bus (like we were) this means you have to crawl over a bunch of people and half the bus has to exit in order for you to get out. Although if you sit at the front, every time someone behind you needs to exit, you have to get out to let them off, then get back in the bus again. There is a luck component to this step. Hopefully the conductor is nice enough to let you off the bus in the correct location. So far we have been lucky. People seem to be very nice here.

We went to church today. It is amazing to see how God unites people in different regions. Although we are so far from home, we have been blessed to have instant family with fellow Christians. There seems to be a loose network of expats who work with a variety of mission/NGO organisations. We met a few friends who came to stay the night at our house. We grilled out on the patio Zambian style using charcoal bought from the street vendor. Our Ugandan housemate, Justin, had to teach us mzungus how to grill on a charcoal fire the proper way.

Patio of our guest house on the CURE hospital grounds

Also, we seem to always end up in cafe-style churches whenever we travel. (Gerald and Juanita, if you're reading this...can't wait to show you photos of this place!) This one is cafe church a la Zambia. Open air concept, incredibly comfortable and inviting, built under and around a Jacaranda tree which might possibly be the most beautiful tree on earth.

Jacaranda tree on the Beit CURE property

We end the day hearing children playing outside our window. Everyone seems quite excited for tomorrow. A team of plastic surgeons from the Pittsburgh area has arrived to perform a plastic surgery blitz. God willing, a bunch of burn's and other deformities will be remedied in the following week. 20 are scheduled for tomorrow. It's amazing to see how happy the children here seem. It's easy to sit down and be surrounded by kids who are willing to play a game of soccer (I refuse to say football).

Tomorrow we start actual work. We will find out more about what exactly we will be doing. I am trying to start each day with a blank slate, so that God may use me for whatever His will is. This is a prayer I hope to keep in my mind while I am here, so that God may be able to work through me.

I am no longer my own, but yours.
Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will;
put me to doing, put me to suffering;
let me be employed for you, or laid aside for you,
exalted for you, or brought low for you;
let me be full,
let me be empty,
let me have all things,
let me have nothing:
I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things
to your pleasure and disposal.
And now, glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
you are mine and I am yours. So be it.

-John Wesley

Our Guesthouse front entrance

Kitchen

Oh happy day

Makeshift bench press in the forest with friends

Jacaranda tree and playground

This is a "small" grasshopper according to Justin our Ugandan housemate.

Goodnight from Zambia. Keep posted. Enter your e-mail in the "subscribe" box to the right if you want to get e-mail updates when we write a new post. Also, feel free to leave comments/questions if you have any.

-Mason (and Jasmine!)

"It's Cold in Germany"

We are en route to Zambia! We are currently on a layover in Frankfurt, and after a long flight last night, accidentally walking through customs this morning and getting to explore downtown Frankfurt, we are having a nap in the airport. We learned today that it is surprisingly easy to just walk off a plane and into Germany, no questions asked, and no customs officer to interrogate you. We took the train to downtown Frankfurt and had a lovely afternoon!

There was a French wine festival happening downtown where the lady on the bandstand was singing Edith Piaf songs and "Lilly Marlaine". 

Frankfurt's version of Market Square

This bridge has all these locks on it signed by couples.

They loved each other.

The rain came at a perfect time for a break at "Cafe Jazz Bar". We didn't know how to order, so we just asked for "one beer and one coffee", even though they had a billion kinds of each.

We had a good laugh with the local guy working the tourist information desk at the train station. He alluded to the light drizzle of rain in Frankfurt and said, "Yes, you will need a jacket. It's cold in Germany". We told him we came from this back home in Canada:

A freak blizzard in Calgary was what we said goodbye to!

There was over 2 feet of snow in some places.

So we went tobogganing with Mom!

The day before this we were in our bathing suits swimming and canoeing on the lake at the cabin!

The backyard.

The day of our flight the electricity, water, and Internet were out all morning. 50,000+ homes in the city were without power. This photo was taken by our family friend Claire who let us shower at her place before we went to the airport. THANK YOU CLAIRE!!!

Needless to say, we found the weather in Germany to be beautiful. We have two more flights before we arrive in Lusaka Friday afternoon. For now, good night from Germany.