Security at airports in West Africa sure isn’t what it is in the US. I’ve had my bags hand-searched several times and the person always gives up on my backpack since it has so many pockets full of stuff. Then after they search me, they send me back to an unsecure area. Hmmm. Probably the […]
Bearded White Man Who Chases Toads
At the Medical Centre you see lots of toads at two different times: at night and when it rains. As ugly as toads are, they are quite an important part of the eco-system here. In fact, they are very important to us. Why? They eat malaria-carrying mosquitoes. The less mosquitoes, the safer we are. The […]
The Last Supper
Last night was my last supper with the five volunteers here with us. Thomas is an Argentinian doctor who will be leaving next week and Patsy and the Van Bibbers will be leaving next weekend. Since I’m headed to Abidjan today they will be gone when I return. Here are the group photos we took […]
Dealing with Death
In the past 3 and a half years of medical school, I have only witnessed/ cared for a handful of patients who have died. In the past two days, the number of deaths has surpassed that. The little newborn that I resuscitated yesterday had more respiratory distress this evening and the midwives were unable to […]
The Mountain
I hesitate to call it a mountain. I’ve been in the Rockies. I know what mountains are. However, all the locals call this hill “the mountain” so I decided to hike to it and climb it today. I followed paths through the fields to get as close as I could and finally had to just […]
There’s a New Chief in Town
This is a follow-up to my post a week ago about a funeral I attended after the death of a chief. Yesterday I passed by the house of the chief that died last Sunday to greet his family. I was introduced to his eldest son who has now assumed the role his father once held. […]
Presby
Last week we went to Nalerigu First Baptist for church but this week we decided to attend the Presbyterian Church known as “Presby.” Baby and her family attend that church so we thought it would be nice to see some familiar faces.
Station Meeting
Every Thursday the hospital missionaries and volunteers (and any other Americans in the area) get together for a Bible study/worship time in one of the missionaries’ homes. Last night we met in Jane’s house (Jane is the hospital’s pharmacist) and had quite a crowd. Dr. David and Laurel Fort are in town to help fill […]
Mouse!
We are not alone in our new house. A mouse (or rat?) has been nibbling at our granola bars. He has to be stopped before he gets into our stash of snacks for Trey. Baby had other obligations this afternoon so I took Trey with me to the market to get a mouse trap. Without […]