Thursday, November 23, 2006
Hello Everyone!!! Happy Thanksgiving to all our Families!!!
We are all missing our families today very much! Philip has something special to be thankful for. His wife went for and ultrasound while he was here and he just found out they are having a girl. Yeah, Peter!! They have a 2 year old already!!
Rick will be a grandpa for the first time any day now. So we are thankful for that.
We are especially thankful for you, our families. Being in a place like this reminds us of how much we have and how much God has blessed us with.
Today was a usual work day for us since we have so much to do before we leave. The hospital never sleeps and we have a house to build. Graham and Steve made a lot of headway today. They have taken the basic structure of the cabinets that were up and framed them and finished the edges. Basically all that is left is the counter tops and the sink.
Rick says that they have had the best day as far as floor pouring goes. 17 110lb bags of cement was the previous record for the day. Today they topped that at 25. All the floors are almost poured. They will finish tomorrow and then all that will be left will be the porches. They also hot tested the house and there is power. Yeah!!! We are accomplishing things by leaps and bounds in these last days.
Peter has finished attaching all the compression lugs to the battery cables. This is hard and tedious work. It has taken him the past two days to attach the compression lugs with a crimper. Tonight he is going to go rewire the electrical panels to accommodate the new system. Then all we have to do is wait for the batteries. James left for N'Djamena yesterday. He had a meeting today and hopefully will pick up the batteries while he is there, if they are there. Pray they are.
Jamie has been busy too. He ran the main electrical wire over to the house and built the electrical panel, then helped to test the system. Then he spent the rest of the day helping Peter and doing Sudoku. (I have him hooked.) Sorry Tammy, I think you will have to buy him a couple of puzzle books when he gets home.
I spent the day doing ultrasounds and teaching Milka, the midwife, the ultrasound machine. My French is getting better and better. I can now communicate most of what I want to say to her in French, the only language she understands. We scanned 9 pregnant patients and one Pelvic ultrasound from 9:30 to 1:30. I was worn out. It is tiring teaching and scanning in that short period of time.
I then came back to the house and had lunch. I had a short 10 minute rest and then I had to start thanksgiving dinner. They caught the rooster and killed it this morning. Guess what they grilled for thanksgiving dinner. I didn't have any, Veggie that I am. They said it was good. Oh well, guess I'll miss out. We had mashed potatoes and gravy, cornbread stuffing (homemade), veggie chicken (or as my husband would call it, feet (fake meat combined) chicken), cranberry sauce, fried eggplant that Solomon the cook made this morning, Pumpkin Pie with whipped cream!!, and brownies. Yummy!! But it all isn't the same without our families. You are sorely missed and we will be happy to see you and talk to you again when we get home.
We miss you. All our love.
Kelli, Graham, Rick, Jamie, Peter and Steve.
Friday, November 24, 2006
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Friday at Bere
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Graham and Steve have partnered on all the cabinet work. They made 540 feet of lumber that Rick brought from Kelo this morning for the cabinets. They planed and stripped and ripped using the Béré table saw - which was invented by Graham for such a place as this. They got the linen cabinet done in the master bath.
Jamie and Rick pulled the wire to all the outlets and switches and Jamie set the toilets in the bathrooms. In addition, we got the master bedroom floor poured and finished.
Jamie became a truck repairman by fixing the turn signals and changed the oil in the truck. In this process he found a rag wrapped around the fan blade - blade is taken loosely because two of it's 6 blades were missing.
Peter mounted the 4 invertors in the control room for the solar system. He also stuck his head inside an autoclave - fortunately it was not on because it burned up a few months ago. The supplied part was incorrect, so they will have to default to the smaller unit.
Peter also experienced his first OR contribution - by assisting James in a cyst removal procedure. He now qualities as an OR nurse. OH - - all by flashlight as the generator was not running. Hopefully after we leave, flashlights will become a thing of the past.
As part of our Solar System installation, Graham and Peter converted previously mentioned Béré Table Saw into the One and only Béré Wire Cutting Saw - - since Peter has to cut 48 pieces of 20 inch - this wire size is similar in thickness to a sharpie. It would have been a tough job by hand.
On the medical front - - yesterday the lady who came in pregnant with her baby outside her uterus, came back today - this time with money to cover her costs for surgery. It was a mess and she is touch and go at the moment.
Kelli assisted with a prostatectomy. There Béré' heat had a negative effect and Kelli needed some fresh air. It can happen to the best of us.
Around 6am, Rick and Steve - were deep in dreamland when James walks by dragging a pig behind him. Actually, it was a piglette - maybe weighing 20 pounds. This peg had been terrorizing the grounds for a number of days. Our fearless Resident Physician Surgeon and now Pig Catcher cornered the critter and with one swoop of his large hand had pig in paw.
This pig gave his all - in that he became lunch for a number of the patients.
We all hope that the rooster witnessed the mornings events - and took good notes so to avoid any our guest at Thanksgiving.
In closing we are one week into our stay at Béré'. The next 3 work days will most likely stretch into work evenings as well if we can construct temporary lightly.
Thanks for you all being there to read this - we miss you much.
The Béré Bunch
Graham and Steve have partnered on all the cabinet work. They made 540 feet of lumber that Rick brought from Kelo this morning for the cabinets. They planed and stripped and ripped using the Béré table saw - which was invented by Graham for such a place as this. They got the linen cabinet done in the master bath.
Jamie and Rick pulled the wire to all the outlets and switches and Jamie set the toilets in the bathrooms. In addition, we got the master bedroom floor poured and finished.
Jamie became a truck repairman by fixing the turn signals and changed the oil in the truck. In this process he found a rag wrapped around the fan blade - blade is taken loosely because two of it's 6 blades were missing.
Peter mounted the 4 invertors in the control room for the solar system. He also stuck his head inside an autoclave - fortunately it was not on because it burned up a few months ago. The supplied part was incorrect, so they will have to default to the smaller unit.
Peter also experienced his first OR contribution - by assisting James in a cyst removal procedure. He now qualities as an OR nurse. OH - - all by flashlight as the generator was not running. Hopefully after we leave, flashlights will become a thing of the past.
As part of our Solar System installation, Graham and Peter converted previously mentioned Béré Table Saw into the One and only Béré Wire Cutting Saw - - since Peter has to cut 48 pieces of 20 inch - this wire size is similar in thickness to a sharpie. It would have been a tough job by hand.
On the medical front - - yesterday the lady who came in pregnant with her baby outside her uterus, came back today - this time with money to cover her costs for surgery. It was a mess and she is touch and go at the moment.
Kelli assisted with a prostatectomy. There Béré' heat had a negative effect and Kelli needed some fresh air. It can happen to the best of us.
Around 6am, Rick and Steve - were deep in dreamland when James walks by dragging a pig behind him. Actually, it was a piglette - maybe weighing 20 pounds. This peg had been terrorizing the grounds for a number of days. Our fearless Resident Physician Surgeon and now Pig Catcher cornered the critter and with one swoop of his large hand had pig in paw.
This pig gave his all - in that he became lunch for a number of the patients.
We all hope that the rooster witnessed the mornings events - and took good notes so to avoid any our guest at Thanksgiving.
In closing we are one week into our stay at Béré'. The next 3 work days will most likely stretch into work evenings as well if we can construct temporary lightly.
Thanks for you all being there to read this - we miss you much.
The Béré Bunch
Monday in Bere
Monday, November 20, 2006
We got a lot accomplished today on the house. All of the floors are poured except for the master bedroom and the great room/living room. Graham and Steve worked all day and got all the base cabinets and pantry cabinets in. Tomorrow they will work on the top cabinets and the counters.
The steel window guards arrived today. That was a surprise. We continue to attract a crowd outside the fence while we work on the house. It grows and grows with each day. Everyone wants to see the Nasara (white people) work.
We had a lot of issues today with the ultrasound. Today was supposed to be the first day of free obstetric ultrasound. James had advertised this by word of mouth and on the local radio station. We had 6 patients today. Most of the ultrasounds were normal. Although, after my first two ultrasounds, the battery went dead on the ultrasound machine. We discussed the fact that we might be able to turn the big generator on, but James didn't want to do that. It uses too much gas. So we got one of the small generators, a 2 stroke POS generator Tiger generator (as said by Peter)(I write this info for my hubby), and a voltage regulator and we blew the power supply. Luckily we had another power supply. We then connected it to the other small generator, a portable 4 Stroke gasoline, 14 HP 7000 watt Generac (again for my hubby) that had been leaking gas and Peter rigged it up temporarily to work. It worked until the generator ran out of gas. I then had enough battery to do the last patient.
We all came back to the house for a meal of Solomon's Eggplant Parmesan. Solomon is the cook that James and Sarah hire. He works from seven in the morning until four in the afternoon. He is a big help while I am helping out at the hospital. In the middle of lunch, James came to get me. He had a woman with a mass in her lower abdomen. She was having heavy bleeding and was extremely tender. She said she wasn't pregnant, but James suspected she was and asked me to confirm it by ultrasound. He considered an ectopic pregnancy, but said her belly was probably too big for that. I went over and Peter tried another rigging of the generator. It didn't work, so Jamie went to find gas for the generator we had it hooked up to before. When it was up and running, I began to scan. It was hard to make heads or tails of what I was seeing at first. But after scanning for a few minutes, I determined that it was a ruptured ectopic pregnancy (a pregnancy in her fallopian tube that had gotten big enough to rupture the tube). She was bleeding internally. There was blood all in her pelvis.
James went to talk to the family. They decided that they didn't want the surgery and none of James' pleading could change their mind. They didn't want to pay for the surgery. So they took her and left. Talk about frustrating. What do you do when a patient's family takes her away from a surgery that would save her life? This woman will die without the surgery. What it comes down to is the family would rather pay for her funeral (about $200 American dollars) than pay for her surgery ($28 American dollars). So we had to let her go knowing tomorrow she would be dead. How do you fight that? Please pray for these people.
Kelli
We got a lot accomplished today on the house. All of the floors are poured except for the master bedroom and the great room/living room. Graham and Steve worked all day and got all the base cabinets and pantry cabinets in. Tomorrow they will work on the top cabinets and the counters.
The steel window guards arrived today. That was a surprise. We continue to attract a crowd outside the fence while we work on the house. It grows and grows with each day. Everyone wants to see the Nasara (white people) work.
We had a lot of issues today with the ultrasound. Today was supposed to be the first day of free obstetric ultrasound. James had advertised this by word of mouth and on the local radio station. We had 6 patients today. Most of the ultrasounds were normal. Although, after my first two ultrasounds, the battery went dead on the ultrasound machine. We discussed the fact that we might be able to turn the big generator on, but James didn't want to do that. It uses too much gas. So we got one of the small generators, a 2 stroke POS generator Tiger generator (as said by Peter)(I write this info for my hubby), and a voltage regulator and we blew the power supply. Luckily we had another power supply. We then connected it to the other small generator, a portable 4 Stroke gasoline, 14 HP 7000 watt Generac (again for my hubby) that had been leaking gas and Peter rigged it up temporarily to work. It worked until the generator ran out of gas. I then had enough battery to do the last patient.
We all came back to the house for a meal of Solomon's Eggplant Parmesan. Solomon is the cook that James and Sarah hire. He works from seven in the morning until four in the afternoon. He is a big help while I am helping out at the hospital. In the middle of lunch, James came to get me. He had a woman with a mass in her lower abdomen. She was having heavy bleeding and was extremely tender. She said she wasn't pregnant, but James suspected she was and asked me to confirm it by ultrasound. He considered an ectopic pregnancy, but said her belly was probably too big for that. I went over and Peter tried another rigging of the generator. It didn't work, so Jamie went to find gas for the generator we had it hooked up to before. When it was up and running, I began to scan. It was hard to make heads or tails of what I was seeing at first. But after scanning for a few minutes, I determined that it was a ruptured ectopic pregnancy (a pregnancy in her fallopian tube that had gotten big enough to rupture the tube). She was bleeding internally. There was blood all in her pelvis.
James went to talk to the family. They decided that they didn't want the surgery and none of James' pleading could change their mind. They didn't want to pay for the surgery. So they took her and left. Talk about frustrating. What do you do when a patient's family takes her away from a surgery that would save her life? This woman will die without the surgery. What it comes down to is the family would rather pay for her funeral (about $200 American dollars) than pay for her surgery ($28 American dollars). So we had to let her go knowing tomorrow she would be dead. How do you fight that? Please pray for these people.
Kelli
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Sabbath in Bere
Saturday, November 18, 2006 - Sabbath
Today we had church with the locals of Béré. The church is fairly new and is located just outside of the walls of the hospital in a bare field of sorts. It is a mud brick structure with a tin roof and a green door. We walked the short distance and went inside. The children were singing. Little did we know that they were practicing for us. They put on special music for us later in the church service. Peter preached with James translating in French and another church member translating from French into Nangere (the local language). The people then sang special music for us in their own dialect and then the children sang. I think the others would agree with me that we all enjoyed the singing immensely, even though we couldn't understand a word. We also sang for them.
After the sermon, they all voted that they wanted Peter to stay. He commented that seeing all the beautiful children made him miss his and he didn't think that he could stay. Their response was that he could just bring them here. Rachel, how do you feel about that?
We went to the Logone River today. On the way we saw this woman struggling with a load and her baby. We stopped and gave her a ride. We must have gone at least 2 or 3 miles more before she asked us to stop and she was coming from Béré, so when we picked her up she had probably already walked a few miles. She was very greatful and said Merci, Merci several times before we pulled off. She will have a story to tell around the fire in her village tonight.
I got some surprises for Tyler, some of them courtesy of Paul, one of the other missionaries here. Jamie, Rick and Paul went out onto this sand bar where they saw and found a lot of things. We didn't see any Hippos or wildlife, except birds and the local's animals. We did see the locals traversing the river in their dugout type of canoes. They would take loads of people, animals and even motorcycles across the river in their long canoes. It was very interesting.
On the way back we stopped and got some great pictures of the sunset. It was beautiful.
We are watching one of the movies we brought for James and Sarah and will possibly have popcorn later.
I will write more tomorrow.
Kelli
Today we had church with the locals of Béré. The church is fairly new and is located just outside of the walls of the hospital in a bare field of sorts. It is a mud brick structure with a tin roof and a green door. We walked the short distance and went inside. The children were singing. Little did we know that they were practicing for us. They put on special music for us later in the church service. Peter preached with James translating in French and another church member translating from French into Nangere (the local language). The people then sang special music for us in their own dialect and then the children sang. I think the others would agree with me that we all enjoyed the singing immensely, even though we couldn't understand a word. We also sang for them.
After the sermon, they all voted that they wanted Peter to stay. He commented that seeing all the beautiful children made him miss his and he didn't think that he could stay. Their response was that he could just bring them here. Rachel, how do you feel about that?
We went to the Logone River today. On the way we saw this woman struggling with a load and her baby. We stopped and gave her a ride. We must have gone at least 2 or 3 miles more before she asked us to stop and she was coming from Béré, so when we picked her up she had probably already walked a few miles. She was very greatful and said Merci, Merci several times before we pulled off. She will have a story to tell around the fire in her village tonight.
I got some surprises for Tyler, some of them courtesy of Paul, one of the other missionaries here. Jamie, Rick and Paul went out onto this sand bar where they saw and found a lot of things. We didn't see any Hippos or wildlife, except birds and the local's animals. We did see the locals traversing the river in their dugout type of canoes. They would take loads of people, animals and even motorcycles across the river in their long canoes. It was very interesting.
On the way back we stopped and got some great pictures of the sunset. It was beautiful.
We are watching one of the movies we brought for James and Sarah and will possibly have popcorn later.
I will write more tomorrow.
Kelli
Friday, November 17, 2006
Friday at Bere
Friday, November 17, 2006
We started out the morning with seven men we hired locally. Steve, Graham and Jamie got the mixer running and we set about pouring concrete. While Jamie was putting in the underground plumbing in kitchen, we had the men mix the concrete and pour the first bedroom. They finished the concrete in that bedroom and they started in the kitchen.
The way the men work is from seven until 12, take a 2 hour lunch break and then they come back and work from 2 - 4 p.m. So that being the case, they got all the concrete in the kitchen but left before the concrete was finished. It was wet, I had to go over to the house and finish the concrete in the dark.
The method for mixing the concrete: The men bring in 100 lb cement bag to the mixer and then we mix the rock, sand and water with the cement. We use wheelbarrows to get the concrete into the building.
- Rick
I spent the day working in the kitchen with Solomon and then went into town with him to get some cloth from Market for a native dress. The children started to gather at the edge of town and followed me all over the market. The children are all so curious and wonderful with beautiful infectious grins, you can't help but smile back.
- Kelli
One day morphs into the next here. Time zips by so quickly it's hard to keep track anymore. By the time I realized it was Friday, the day was almost over. I'm certainly put outside of my comfort zone here on a daily basis. It was amusing to have an audience of three to four people when I did a simple rewire in the morning. Later, I tried my hand at "masonry," using only bricks and basic mud to make a fire pit/incinerator. We'll see on Sunday if it works or not.
God is blessing us greatly here. We are finding many things in place that will make the solar installation easier; things that no one could have planned. There's just too much to tell in a couple of paragraphs, but suffice it to say that it's amazing to see God working every day. I can't wait to see what he has planned next!
-Peter
We started out the morning with seven men we hired locally. Steve, Graham and Jamie got the mixer running and we set about pouring concrete. While Jamie was putting in the underground plumbing in kitchen, we had the men mix the concrete and pour the first bedroom. They finished the concrete in that bedroom and they started in the kitchen.
The way the men work is from seven until 12, take a 2 hour lunch break and then they come back and work from 2 - 4 p.m. So that being the case, they got all the concrete in the kitchen but left before the concrete was finished. It was wet, I had to go over to the house and finish the concrete in the dark.
The method for mixing the concrete: The men bring in 100 lb cement bag to the mixer and then we mix the rock, sand and water with the cement. We use wheelbarrows to get the concrete into the building.
- Rick
I spent the day working in the kitchen with Solomon and then went into town with him to get some cloth from Market for a native dress. The children started to gather at the edge of town and followed me all over the market. The children are all so curious and wonderful with beautiful infectious grins, you can't help but smile back.
- Kelli
One day morphs into the next here. Time zips by so quickly it's hard to keep track anymore. By the time I realized it was Friday, the day was almost over. I'm certainly put outside of my comfort zone here on a daily basis. It was amusing to have an audience of three to four people when I did a simple rewire in the morning. Later, I tried my hand at "masonry," using only bricks and basic mud to make a fire pit/incinerator. We'll see on Sunday if it works or not.
God is blessing us greatly here. We are finding many things in place that will make the solar installation easier; things that no one could have planned. There's just too much to tell in a couple of paragraphs, but suffice it to say that it's amazing to see God working every day. I can't wait to see what he has planned next!
-Peter
Thursday in Chad
Thursday, November 16, 2006
This is a general email that we are sending to all our family and friends. I guess there were some people who were confused as to why they were receiving an email from me. I am acting as the official writer of the happenings here and we just wanted our families to know what is going on.
Last night was not as cool as the night before. It's funny that all the days start running together already. Time goes by so fast here. Yesterday a few of the guys went into Kelo to try and get some supplies they would need for the house. They were unsuccessful, so today Jamie and Rick went into Kelo and have just gotten back. They had success. They were able to get pipe for the new house. They had some interesting experiences on the way back. There is a river crossing just outside of the hospital that you have to cross. A truck had gotten stuck on the barge, which is just a platform and ramp made out of loosely put together wood strips (I honestly don't know how it holds anything). Jamie and Rick helped them push the truck out of the way so they could get by. They said they got stuck on the river crossing twice.
I got to help James a lot today in surgery. I even assisted in a hernia repair. That was so much fun. I actually did about 4 ultrasounds today. They are going to advertise by word of mouth and local radio that I am here and they will offer free prenatal ultrasounds next month. They are hoping this will encourage the people to get prenatal care.
We have been having great meals here. Solomon is a great cook. Today we had wheat gluten that he made, breaded and fried. Rice with a gravy containing okra. I don't usually like okra but it was yummy. He also makes good bread.
Peter, Graham and Steve got the other generator running today too. They have been doing a lot of evaluating today as well to see what needs to be done. A funny thing happened today. Peter and Steve were in the surgical ward looking in the x-ray room and asking James what things he wanted to get rid of and then we left them to do some surgery in the other room. After Peter and Steve left, they thought the place was empty and locked us in. The door is locked by a padlock from the outside. After banging on the door a few times, someone came and let us out. We had a good laugh about it.
Kelli
This is a general email that we are sending to all our family and friends. I guess there were some people who were confused as to why they were receiving an email from me. I am acting as the official writer of the happenings here and we just wanted our families to know what is going on.
Last night was not as cool as the night before. It's funny that all the days start running together already. Time goes by so fast here. Yesterday a few of the guys went into Kelo to try and get some supplies they would need for the house. They were unsuccessful, so today Jamie and Rick went into Kelo and have just gotten back. They had success. They were able to get pipe for the new house. They had some interesting experiences on the way back. There is a river crossing just outside of the hospital that you have to cross. A truck had gotten stuck on the barge, which is just a platform and ramp made out of loosely put together wood strips (I honestly don't know how it holds anything). Jamie and Rick helped them push the truck out of the way so they could get by. They said they got stuck on the river crossing twice.
I got to help James a lot today in surgery. I even assisted in a hernia repair. That was so much fun. I actually did about 4 ultrasounds today. They are going to advertise by word of mouth and local radio that I am here and they will offer free prenatal ultrasounds next month. They are hoping this will encourage the people to get prenatal care.
We have been having great meals here. Solomon is a great cook. Today we had wheat gluten that he made, breaded and fried. Rice with a gravy containing okra. I don't usually like okra but it was yummy. He also makes good bread.
Peter, Graham and Steve got the other generator running today too. They have been doing a lot of evaluating today as well to see what needs to be done. A funny thing happened today. Peter and Steve were in the surgical ward looking in the x-ray room and asking James what things he wanted to get rid of and then we left them to do some surgery in the other room. After Peter and Steve left, they thought the place was empty and locked us in. The door is locked by a padlock from the outside. After banging on the door a few times, someone came and let us out. We had a good laugh about it.
Kelli
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
We are here.
November 15, 2006, Wednesday
We are finally here and everyone is safe and well. We spent our 9 hour layover in Paris in the airport. We opted not to go into town due to inclement weather and the time it took to get through customs each time. We were disappointed, but this wasn't the purpose of the trip anyway, just a luxury. Jamie came down with the flu on his way here. He wasn't feeling well in Atlanta when we picked him up. We doctored him up with some Airborne and he is feeling well now.
We met Peter in Paris and in that long wait, we all got to know each other well. We arrived in N'Djamena at 4:55 our time Tuesday morning. There is a 6 hour time difference between here and the east coast. It was a miracle that I prayed for when we got all of our luggage and got through customs o.k. We then went to T.E.A.M. which is a hostile for missionaries. I showered and the others freshened up. Jamie, Peter and I took a little nap while the others went and got us registered with the police. After a few hassles with the police, being stopped and having to pay them off we were on our way to Béré. It was nicely paved most of the way. Pedestrians and animals here do not have the right of way. You just honk and keep going. If they don't get out of the way. Oh well.
We arrived here last night at 6:00 p.m., Béré time. We were exhausted. We pitched our tents outside and crashed. It has been an eventful day today. I have scanned three people already, two pregnant women and one man. The first pregnant women they thought she had twins. They were going to do surgery on her and tie her tubes, but when I scanned her, she was measuring only 35 weeks and had 25cm of amniotic fluid (a lot). Due to the babies age, James opted to wait a couple weeks on the surgery. The gentleman I scanned had appendicitis and will be operated on this afternoon. The other woman, a policeman's wife who was with her and had his gun, was unsure if she was still pregnant. I confirmed that she was 12 weeks along. They were both very happy.
Graham, Steve, Jamie, Peter and Rick have been evaluating the new building to see what supplies we will need to get from Kelo. They will go there today and get those so they can get started tomorrow.
I will write more tomorrow. All our love to our families and friends.
Kelli
We are finally here and everyone is safe and well. We spent our 9 hour layover in Paris in the airport. We opted not to go into town due to inclement weather and the time it took to get through customs each time. We were disappointed, but this wasn't the purpose of the trip anyway, just a luxury. Jamie came down with the flu on his way here. He wasn't feeling well in Atlanta when we picked him up. We doctored him up with some Airborne and he is feeling well now.
We met Peter in Paris and in that long wait, we all got to know each other well. We arrived in N'Djamena at 4:55 our time Tuesday morning. There is a 6 hour time difference between here and the east coast. It was a miracle that I prayed for when we got all of our luggage and got through customs o.k. We then went to T.E.A.M. which is a hostile for missionaries. I showered and the others freshened up. Jamie, Peter and I took a little nap while the others went and got us registered with the police. After a few hassles with the police, being stopped and having to pay them off we were on our way to Béré. It was nicely paved most of the way. Pedestrians and animals here do not have the right of way. You just honk and keep going. If they don't get out of the way. Oh well.
We arrived here last night at 6:00 p.m., Béré time. We were exhausted. We pitched our tents outside and crashed. It has been an eventful day today. I have scanned three people already, two pregnant women and one man. The first pregnant women they thought she had twins. They were going to do surgery on her and tie her tubes, but when I scanned her, she was measuring only 35 weeks and had 25cm of amniotic fluid (a lot). Due to the babies age, James opted to wait a couple weeks on the surgery. The gentleman I scanned had appendicitis and will be operated on this afternoon. The other woman, a policeman's wife who was with her and had his gun, was unsure if she was still pregnant. I confirmed that she was 12 weeks along. They were both very happy.
Graham, Steve, Jamie, Peter and Rick have been evaluating the new building to see what supplies we will need to get from Kelo. They will go there today and get those so they can get started tomorrow.
I will write more tomorrow. All our love to our families and friends.
Kelli
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Prolog - Mission Trip to Bere 2006
November 12, 2006
Well, I can't believe it is here already. We leave today. We met yesterday after church and divided up all our items to make sure all of our suitcases were under the 70 lb mark. We have 9 or 10 plus our carry on items, 2 per person.
This is a little scary for me, since I haven't been this far away from home before. It will be a long plane flight. Everyone else has made this trip before or at least one like it.
It will be challenging but also a blessing. I am learning a little French so I can attempt to communicate while we are gone.
We leave today at 5:45 EST and fly to Atlanta. We won't leave Atlanta till 11:00 pm. From there we fly overnight to Paris, France. We will have a 9 hour layover in Paris and plan to take a tour. Yeah!! From there we fly overnight to N'Djamina, Chad (or Tchad). We then freshen up at TEAM (a hotel for missionaries that come through). Do some shopping in the local market and then take the 6-8 hour drive (depending on the roads), Steve said 6 hours to Bere, where the hospital is.
Long trip with two nights on planes. I am sure we will be exhausted. I will try to email everyone just as soon as we get there to let everyone know we are safe and well.
Bonjour,
Kelli
Well, I can't believe it is here already. We leave today. We met yesterday after church and divided up all our items to make sure all of our suitcases were under the 70 lb mark. We have 9 or 10 plus our carry on items, 2 per person.
This is a little scary for me, since I haven't been this far away from home before. It will be a long plane flight. Everyone else has made this trip before or at least one like it.
It will be challenging but also a blessing. I am learning a little French so I can attempt to communicate while we are gone.
We leave today at 5:45 EST and fly to Atlanta. We won't leave Atlanta till 11:00 pm. From there we fly overnight to Paris, France. We will have a 9 hour layover in Paris and plan to take a tour. Yeah!! From there we fly overnight to N'Djamina, Chad (or Tchad). We then freshen up at TEAM (a hotel for missionaries that come through). Do some shopping in the local market and then take the 6-8 hour drive (depending on the roads), Steve said 6 hours to Bere, where the hospital is.
Long trip with two nights on planes. I am sure we will be exhausted. I will try to email everyone just as soon as we get there to let everyone know we are safe and well.
Bonjour,
Kelli
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