Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
plans
monday we had a clinic 7am-1am, tuesday we got a semi container full of medicine and medical equipment that we had to unload well into the night, and wednesday we had another clinic from 7am-11pm.
exhaustion. and i love it.
i've become a pro at drawing blood.
and one thing that continues to take my breath away on a nightly basis is an african sunset.
i taught a group of about 100 kids how to high five yesterday :)
sometimes it's hard cause i feel like i'm such a small person and this country is in need of such a HUGE amount of help. i wonder what good just me can do but i heard a guy say something really, really cool on monday. he said "you know, i was reading my bible just like any other day and i stopped and it came to me. Jesus didn't stop to heal a crowd, he didn't stop to heal thousands. He stopped to heal one. One person was important enough for Him to make a difference in." and it's true. i'm not called to heal Swaziland, i'm called to be a light to every person i come in contact with...which...may be few...but they're worth it. they're important enough for me to be Jesus to.
so if God has taught me anything while i've been away it's that my plans are not always His.
plans are never solid, especially when you are in a third world country and everything is semi-up in the air. it's not something i'm going to write all about on a blog, because i don't see it being necessary. but God and I have decided that it's going to be in my best interest to head home at the end of august. probably the hardest decision i've ever had to make but definitely for the best. i have confidence that i'm here for this time for a reason and every day is still a day that...at the end of it...i have to sit back and say to myself....wow. because i serve an unbelievable God with PLANS that absolutely blow me away.
saturday is the 100 year celebration of the nazarene church being in swaziland. the king of swaziland is coming to the celebration, my goal is to get a pic with 'em. i may get tackled and/or shot but hey....it's worth it right? :) kidding.
exhaustion. and i love it.
i've become a pro at drawing blood.
and one thing that continues to take my breath away on a nightly basis is an african sunset.
i taught a group of about 100 kids how to high five yesterday :)
sometimes it's hard cause i feel like i'm such a small person and this country is in need of such a HUGE amount of help. i wonder what good just me can do but i heard a guy say something really, really cool on monday. he said "you know, i was reading my bible just like any other day and i stopped and it came to me. Jesus didn't stop to heal a crowd, he didn't stop to heal thousands. He stopped to heal one. One person was important enough for Him to make a difference in." and it's true. i'm not called to heal Swaziland, i'm called to be a light to every person i come in contact with...which...may be few...but they're worth it. they're important enough for me to be Jesus to.
so if God has taught me anything while i've been away it's that my plans are not always His.
plans are never solid, especially when you are in a third world country and everything is semi-up in the air. it's not something i'm going to write all about on a blog, because i don't see it being necessary. but God and I have decided that it's going to be in my best interest to head home at the end of august. probably the hardest decision i've ever had to make but definitely for the best. i have confidence that i'm here for this time for a reason and every day is still a day that...at the end of it...i have to sit back and say to myself....wow. because i serve an unbelievable God with PLANS that absolutely blow me away.
saturday is the 100 year celebration of the nazarene church being in swaziland. the king of swaziland is coming to the celebration, my goal is to get a pic with 'em. i may get tackled and/or shot but hey....it's worth it right? :) kidding.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
sickly
woke up a couple of days ago with a sore throat and a runny nose. it really didn't worry me at all and i've been workin like a champ through it. but it's gotten worse and now i have horrid body aches and a constant headache.
but....if you're gonna be sick in africa it might as well be while you're working with a doctor and a pa. they're taking good care of me.
still don't know what i have but i've been in bed the last two days. continuing to feel a little worse everyday but i'm hoping and praying that it starts to get a little better soon.
you're not allowed to worry. you're just being asked to pray :)
a mood lifter...i take care of an albino patient with skin cancer everyday and today he asked another nurse if i could come change his dressing even though i was sick. so i got out of bed and came outside and he smiled really big and told me it was really nice to see me. i think he may have a crush. he made sure i would be here tomorrow and the next day, and the next day after that. i got a good laugh.
i love africa.
but....if you're gonna be sick in africa it might as well be while you're working with a doctor and a pa. they're taking good care of me.
still don't know what i have but i've been in bed the last two days. continuing to feel a little worse everyday but i'm hoping and praying that it starts to get a little better soon.
you're not allowed to worry. you're just being asked to pray :)
a mood lifter...i take care of an albino patient with skin cancer everyday and today he asked another nurse if i could come change his dressing even though i was sick. so i got out of bed and came outside and he smiled really big and told me it was really nice to see me. i think he may have a crush. he made sure i would be here tomorrow and the next day, and the next day after that. i got a good laugh.
i love africa.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
one life
it's killing me not being able to upload these pictures to show you guys. BUT...i will eventually. and they'll make you smile as big as i do.
got to start a few iv's, draw blood, change dressings, give shots and so much more. it feels so good to be trusted and asked to do things as an RN. i'm still not used to it. i caught myself asking, are you sure you want me to do that?? a couple of times...but after people looked at me weird i decided, well, either i look like i'm unsure and make these people nervous, or i take the equipment and i just GIVE IT A TRY and if i'm unsuccessful...then oh well. at least i tried. but i've been more successful here in africa than i ever have in the hospital.
i met a little girl at a clinic. all the little kids attacked me as soon as they saw that i had a camera. they all wanted their picture taken so i was trying to see if any of them spoke english so i kept saying "english? english??" and they all just laughed at me. all of a sudden this little girl comes up, tugs on my shirt and says "hello sista" and we were buds from then on. she spoke amazing english and she had a heart of gold. soon though she got mixed in with the crowd and i didn't think i'd see her again. but later that night after dinner i was walking back from the pharmacy when i feel another tug on my jacket, and sure enough, it was my sweet little friend. she goes "sister do you have any food? i am starving i have not eaten all day" and like anyone reading this...my heart sunk. i knew i didn't have enough food for everyone so i brought her into a room where my bag was and gave her all that i had. a cliff bar, a pack of peanut butter crackers and a pack of fruit snacks. she smiled so big i swear i had just given her a million dollars.
all that to say...about 2 hours later we were finishing up our hiv testing when our translater told us the last patient was outside. and when my little friend walked in i had to hold back my tears. cause she had been through once...and refused to be tested for hiv. and she had come back and agreed....and i'll never know whether or not i was the reason she came back, but just knowing there was a chance that it could be why...made me happy.
i like feeling like i make a difference.
every night when i go to sleep i think back on my day and i make sure that at least ONCE during that day...that i tried my hardest to make an impact on at least one life. and so far...i've done that. God is so good. God puts people and situations in your path that are truly meant for YOU and knowing that these people..and these situations...pop up while i am here for this short time, proves that He knows exactly what He's doing.
got to start a few iv's, draw blood, change dressings, give shots and so much more. it feels so good to be trusted and asked to do things as an RN. i'm still not used to it. i caught myself asking, are you sure you want me to do that?? a couple of times...but after people looked at me weird i decided, well, either i look like i'm unsure and make these people nervous, or i take the equipment and i just GIVE IT A TRY and if i'm unsuccessful...then oh well. at least i tried. but i've been more successful here in africa than i ever have in the hospital.
i met a little girl at a clinic. all the little kids attacked me as soon as they saw that i had a camera. they all wanted their picture taken so i was trying to see if any of them spoke english so i kept saying "english? english??" and they all just laughed at me. all of a sudden this little girl comes up, tugs on my shirt and says "hello sista" and we were buds from then on. she spoke amazing english and she had a heart of gold. soon though she got mixed in with the crowd and i didn't think i'd see her again. but later that night after dinner i was walking back from the pharmacy when i feel another tug on my jacket, and sure enough, it was my sweet little friend. she goes "sister do you have any food? i am starving i have not eaten all day" and like anyone reading this...my heart sunk. i knew i didn't have enough food for everyone so i brought her into a room where my bag was and gave her all that i had. a cliff bar, a pack of peanut butter crackers and a pack of fruit snacks. she smiled so big i swear i had just given her a million dollars.
all that to say...about 2 hours later we were finishing up our hiv testing when our translater told us the last patient was outside. and when my little friend walked in i had to hold back my tears. cause she had been through once...and refused to be tested for hiv. and she had come back and agreed....and i'll never know whether or not i was the reason she came back, but just knowing there was a chance that it could be why...made me happy.
i like feeling like i make a difference.
every night when i go to sleep i think back on my day and i make sure that at least ONCE during that day...that i tried my hardest to make an impact on at least one life. and so far...i've done that. God is so good. God puts people and situations in your path that are truly meant for YOU and knowing that these people..and these situations...pop up while i am here for this short time, proves that He knows exactly what He's doing.
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