Christmas extravaganza!

This week has been busy with Christmas festivities!

Monday I worked a very full day. The clinic was spilling over with people, but everything went well.

Tuesday I was invited by Patsy and Dave to the local arts and culture exhibition taking place in the nearby town of Maroua. It is an annual celebration held in a different locale every year. Apparently it is quite well known and the president himself came.

So, after finishing ward rounds we drove to the fair and took our time looking at beautiful textiles, paintings, woodwork and pottery. Our favorite part however, was a long line of homes made in the traditional style representing the largest tribes of the “Extreme North” of Cameroon.

A home constructed in the traditional "Musgoum" style. There are many members of this tribe who work at our hospital

After returning from the fair, we were able to participate in the tail end of gift distribution in Gorgoria, a neighboring leprosy village. The inhabitants there are no longer contagious, as they receive medications from the hospital, however it is the hospital's custom to purchase them gifts each Christmas. Bags containing tea, sugar, a bar of soap, vaseline and cooking oil were passed out to grateful recipients.

I was able to greet Moussa, the man featured in my previous blog entry. He was happy to see me, however he has another infection threatening his remaining leg. Please pray for him.

As I made my way around the crowd of women seated outside the church, they sometimes shyly, sometimes exuberantly offered me their greetings. They thrust out deformed hands with huge smiles and one member of the group even began to sing her thanks.

On our way back to Meskine, we passed a leprosy patient who was just returning to Gorgoria. Her daughter had already received a gift on her behalf, and when she heard we had come with presents, she began dancing right there on the side of the road!

The following day, after work, our group of missionaries got together to celebrate. Patsy and Dave hosted our dinner and their home was decorated with bona-fide tinsel and lights! The dinner was wonderful, we sang carols together and read the Christmas story. Afterwards we had a small gift exchange. In preparation for the get together, Patsy helped me to make my mom's traditional chocolate covered toffee, so we all indulged in the sweets:-)

Today was Christmas! I donned my new outfit and we headed off to church. After an excellent sermon by our talented pastor we returned to the hospital for another gift distribution. The week previous I received a huge box from Calvary Chapel Battle Creek which contained goodies for myself as well as toys and practical items for the patients at the hospital.

Me with my enormous box! I was so excited to get it!

Thank you so much Calvary Chapel of Battle Creek for the wonderful goodies!

So, after preparing baggies with multivitamins, snack crackers, little toys, candies, and crayons last week, I had the privilege of handing these out in the pediatrics ward as teams of my fellow missionaries handed out bags of tea, sugar, and soap in the men's and women's wards. Thanks to the generosity of CCBC I was also able to include toothbrushes, packages of tissues, and snack crackers to the men's and women's presents.

The bags made for the children contained multivitamins, a small toy, snack crackers and crayons. Each child also received two color pages apiece!

Getting ready to deliver the presents on Christmas day!

The reaction from the kids was precious. One sweet little girl could hardly believe that the present was for her. She was given a fluffy yellow stuffed chick along with her other goodies. When she saw it a huge smile illuminated her face as she glanced at me shyly, making sure she had not misunderstood. She was just so pleased.

Sweet smiles:-)

I was particularly grateful to visit with another little girl who has truly been fighting for her life. After sustaining a broken leg, her family tried traditional treatment in the village. The treatment failed, the leg became necrotic and infected and she developed tetanus. Her leg was amputated and the incision subsequently became infected. The last time I saw her during prayer rounds about a month ago, she was suffering from uncontrollable and painful muscle spasms caused by the bacterial tetanus infection.

However, today, while still timid and a bit fearful, she is in much better health. Her smile upon receiving a miniature plastic kitten complete with decorative leash in her bag of goodies was a welcome relief to the pain I witnessed at my last visit. I was so grateful we were allowed to bring her a little bit of happiness.

Another room contained a toddler who has sustained significant burns to her thighs and lower belly. She was exhausted after a recent, painful dressing change, but perked up a little as we handed her a small stuffed piglet from “Winnie the Pooh”. Her mother and grandmother were so sweet, smiling perhaps for the first time since their arrival.

That afternoon after a lovely dinner with friends, a nice long nap and phone calls to my family back home, the “Christmas week extravaganza” rolled to a finish. I am so grateful to God, who has given me peace and contentment during my first holiday season so far from home. He has been so near to me, great is His faithfulness.

While the appreciative smiles, greetings, even singing and dancing of those receiving the gifts has been amazing, I remember that “every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17) and I am humbled. It isn't Sarah, the rich benefactor coming from her country, forsaking family and comfort to give to the poor, but rather Sarah the broken, the sinner, who struggles on a daily basis, being used by a merciful God who loves her. I am more grateful for these experiences than I know how to express.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas friends and family!

It seems strange to be writing this letter when it is currently 90 degrees and sunny outside! I must admit I miss the snow, but I anticipate celebrating Christmas here in Cameroon. Since my arrival last January, so much has happened. Work continues to go well. Every morning, I conduct ward rounds, moving from bed to bed, visiting each hospitalized patient. In the afternoons, I consult patients in the clinic. The range and gravity of illness here is occasionally overwhelming, but always very interesting.

With prayer and continued effort, I feel I have reached a place of friendship and mutual respect with my African colleagues. Communication in this culture is still a challenge, but I feel we enjoy one another.

I have been in excellent health since my arrival, which is no small miracle! Thank you so much to all of you who are specifically praying for my protection.

My language skills are slowly improving! I am grateful for my ability to speak French and rely heavily on this language when working. However, the majority of the patients, especially the women, speak only Fulfulde! Usually, I can make my way through a patient history without a translator and can greet and carry on a small conversation.

The members of our team here in Meskine really enjoy one another. We often get together for pot-lucks or games and every Saturday evening is dubbed “pizza and a movie night”. This fellowship and their prayers have been such a blessing during my first year on the field.

I have had the opportunity to see quite a few of the local tourist spots. In the spring, I visited Waza and Kalamalawe game parks where we tracked down herds of elephant and bumped into various birds and giraffe on the way! One weekend this summer, we drove to the village of Rumsiki to hike and photograph it's gorgeous hills and valleys. Finally, for my vacation this past fall, I took a trip to Lagdo, a beautiful lake in the south. I have posted photos of these locations on this blog. You can view them by clicking on the "click here to see my photos" link to the right.

I will be thinking of you all this Christmas. While it is difficult to be far from you, I appreciate the news I receive of your marriages, new arrivals, graduations etc and look forward to being reunited with you soon. May God bless you, thank you for your faithful friendship,

Sarah

Nazara

Today was a difficult day.

I was in the middle of rounds, hidden by the screens surrounding a patient's bed, when a nurse entered the ward. He could not see me and asked the nurse nearby if the “nazara” was doing the round. He knows who I am and usually greets me by name to my face. I stuck my head around the screen and told him that indeed, the “white woman” was doing the round.

This afternoon work in the clinic was intense, and I did not get the chance to eat. While washing my hands I saw a number of soft-drinks sitting on the counter. I asked my supervisor who they were for and he stated they had been purchased for the those working in the clinic. However, he laughingly informed me that our nursing supervisor had purchased the drinks for everyone except the “nazaras” ie myself and another white doctor.

Later, while on the wards, the mother of one of our long-term patients approached me. She stated that her son wanted to talk to me. The young man is well known to our staff as he has been hospitalized for a number of months. He was pleased to see me when I walked in the room and asked where I had been. We talked about his family, his physical condition, and he asked when he might be discharged. I referred him to the doctor doing rounds that week, stating it was a team decision. His mother then revealed the real reason he wanted to see me. He was hoping I would give him a new duffel bag.

My feelings were hurt and I was angry with the treatement I had received.

When I expressed my frustration to my fellow missionaries, they understood, had experienced the same things and encouraged me not to take these actions personally.

What did I expect? Accolades? That the Africans here might fall all over themselves to welcome and comfort me, to be my friend? Where did I get the idea I deserve to work in an environment where I am unconditionally accepted and appreciated? Was Jesus extended this same courtesy?

No.

I understand that I will never truly belong here. However, God did not send me here for my own comfort. I have come in obedience and He desires that I show love, kindness and patience. I am required to let go of resentment and do my best, regardless of my bruised ego.

What a comfort to be intimately known and appreciated by the Lord.

I love my grandma

I love my grandma.

Since I left the United States in the spring of 2006, she has written to me every month, and every month I wait in anticipation, searching my mailbox for her letter.

She tells me about the beautiful sunny weather, the walk she took that morning, her new perm, about going shopping with my aunt and mom. She fills me in on the trips she has taken to visit our family, her work in the garden, how she just bought a new camera.

I come home from a workday filled with multiple languages, sweltering heat, flies, harsh smells, death and suffering...to find an envelope with her familiar handwriting. I settle in as she tells me about baking cookies for the neighbors, and I am comforted.

I remember home.