Blessings in Bosomtwe & Beyond

Expansion of the Inpatient Centre

It's rainy season and it's raining so often, so much, and so much! It puts quite a damper...or dampness on the progress of the expansion of the clinic building that started a little over a week ago. The expansion project is funded through the generosity and hardwork of many people in the UK and N.Ireland and those of Seymour Street Methodist Church in Lisburn, Northern Ireland (suburban Belfast). One of their own, Louise Monroe, is here for almost two months (click here to read her blog writings). On the 10th of July, a group of 16 from Northern Ireland and England will be arriving for 16 days in Ghana to do construction and daily village outreach.

It's been quite an adventure in cultural learning during this building project since we are so far away from supplies. Yesterday, for instance, once we found a large enough truck that would deliver to us (a feat in itself) it had a wreck injuring the driver as it went around one of the treacherous curves on the roads getting close to our village. Today, eight of the workers from the construction went to go unload the wrecked truck and load two smaller trucks to bring the blocks, boat fuel and generator diesel fuel, and lumber.

At the moment though as I write there is music blaring loudly and an announcer working on a youth table tennis (ping pong) tournament that was organized and pulled off by Hollie Combs (click here to read her blog musings). Rebecca Hillman is taking pictures of the event and urging us to come see the action when she comes into the office to enjoy the air conditioning for a minute or two (read her blog, with a lot of great pictures).

We thank you for your prayers. We praise God that Nicolas is growing and doing so very well. Soon I hope to post some pictures of Lucas and Luiza with their new brother.

Reflection on Wednesday from Amakom

'The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things tought by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.' says Paul in a letter to Timothy (1 Timothy 4:1,2).

Today my heart is grieving for the lost sheep, for those that are not following Christ but wandering away and hurting. Recently I realized that a friend here in Ghana is hurting and abandoning the ways of God and in pain.  In this pain this person is acting out against others rather than seeking God for comfort - as they would say here in Ghana 'it pains me'.

On another note though, I am remembering with joy the group that left this past weekend after about 12 days of hard work, lots of love and care to our family, and cultural immersion from Alabama.  What a great experience we and they had here.

In just a couple of hours we are expecting our truck to pull back into the village bringing Hollie Combs (from Adairsville,GA, USA) and Rebecca Hillman (from Hughson, CA, USA ) as they will be working here for some time. On Saturday, our colleagues Rev. Kirk and Rev. Nicole Sims will bring Louise Monroe (from Belfast, N. Ireland, UK) who will be here for six weeks working in administration assistance. Their house, the one we lived in when we first moved here, has had a complete make-over - new roof, new ceiling, new wiring, plumbing, flooring, new kitchen, fans, beds, and fresh paint inside and out . The clinic grounds crew is cutting the 'bush' (the tall grass) that has grown high behind it as I write. Their fridge has been stocked and sheets on the bed. Pray that these young ladies will walk in the strength of the Lord, grow in Him during this time here, be content in the village life, and become friends with each other and local people.

'Doctor, We Need You'

It's 9:24pm on Tuesday evening and we're in bed. The all-to-familiar sound of the clinic night watchman's voice pierces through the night with 'Doctor, We Need You'.

We had gone to bed knowing that the third birth of the day could come anytime, but we had just gotten settled not long after watching an episode of House, MD (DVD of Season 2). Well, the call came and Juliana went since the mid-wife had gone to Kuntenase to get our monthly reporting forms and would be back early tomorrow morning.

Today was busy, Juliana and I had been setting up a new delivery room - which is being used tonight - with a new delivery table (very modern I must add and comfortable), an infant intensive care station (infant warmer), and other accessories for the room. Of course, you may remember, that Juliana is 36+ weeks pregnant herself and has worked all day on organizing, cleaning, etc. As we are waiting on the re-instatement of her medical license by the Medical Dental Council she cannot see patients at this time - she should hear news of their decision by the end of the week and can only go attend patients in emergency cases such as this tonight.

In the middle of a busy day, we had lunch (ocra stew over rice) on the floor picnic-style as our dining room table was covered with things as a sorting station during morning. I told Lucas of an email I had gotten from my mom that said that she would really like to send him his favorite home-made cake "Feathery Fudge Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Satin Frosting" but there is not enough room left for the visiting team coming this week from Alabama to bring it. I asked him if he thought he would have a cake for his birthday (it's on the 23rd) and he said, 'No, I don't think so. I can just have a popsicle for my birthday.' Oh my heart broke, it was at this moment that I wished for the biggest birthday party (Brazilian-style that his cousins have there). He didn't say it in sadness really, just realization that it won't be anything big. I'm glad that this team is bringing a cake that I bought/ordered from a bakery in Accra (the capital city of Ghana). It will be here by the 24th, and we will have 'party' with the team from Alabama, a 'family' gathering of sorts.

.... Juliana just came in for the truck keys and went out again... she said that the birth that she was called to has emergency complications, our truck has to rush her to the Catholic mission hospital that is 1 to 1 1/2 hours away (St. Michael's Catholic Hospital in Praamso).

I see the truck pulling out. I'm still waiting on Juliana to return to the house though and it's 9:51pm. May God intervene and strengthen this lady and her baby. Sustain them. I speak life and health to them in Jesus name. I come against all complications, and declare victory in the name of Jesus.

Update: Thursday morning.... we received word from the clinic driver that the baby did not make it. No details really, but the news is very discouraging.

Netting Nations - Partnership with Lake Bosomtwe Clinic

Check out, www.NettingNations.org, a great charity that has expressed interest and contacted us for partnership with them for July 2008 distribution of treated mosquito nets. They are working to raise $2500 so that we can distribute 5000 nets - wow, a lot less costly that the Nothing But Nets campaign.

If you or your group could help them reach their goal we would sure be grateful!

Nkwantapong Friends

The morning started out calm and quiet, the view from the kitchen window of the tranquil waters of the lake as I prepared omelettes from our family and our new house guest (Rebecca Agnew) was again remarkable. By 7am there were at least 40 women with children on their backs singing and talking that began to sound as if a riot was taking place while they waited for Razak, the Community Health Nurse, to weigh and vacinate their babies. On the schedule for day was 8am Staff Worship & Devotions, but it was delayed.  We sat under the front awning of the outpatient clinic building waiting for the van load of church members coming over the mountain to share gifts of food for the staff and lead the service.  They came from Nkwantapong Presbyterian Church in the town of Nkwantapong. 

There is not a road that directly connects us with Nkwantapong, yet the clinic serves this village since the people from there follow a path through the bush and over the mountain top on a hike that takes over an hour (when healthy). Today, about 18 people came bearing gifts of eggs, plantain, and yam, came to give a message of hope and encouragement to us at the clinic. The chief of Nkwantapong came with this envoy of gratitude, he was dressed in nice clothes, yet did not announce that he was the chief and was so outgoing and friendly that it surprised some at his personable nature. They told us that he is the Prebyter and leader of the church, therefore is the chief of the  village. So, this particular village is ruled by the church and hence the leader of the church becomes the chief - if I understood the explanation correctly.

Nkwantapong is in need of a bore hole, their only source of water is a stream or small creek, that is poluted due to chemicals from gold mining. I am praying that a bore hole can be drilled for them. 

By the end of a delightful and lively time of singing, message, greetings, presentation of food, and closing prayer we had a small crowd of patients waiting to see the doctor. Juliana quickly took Lucas and Luiza back up to the house, where they would play then make their way back down to the office where I am now.  Lucas is five and full of vigor and super talkative. Luiza is eager to play with whatever he has and mimic his actions and words. The boat has arrived from picking up patients in Pipie and Old Brodekwano. After they see the doctor they will walk back down to Amakom, take the trail to the boat and return to their village shores.

It's 11:15am and Michael has gotten his guys busy on construction clean-up and re-wiring in a new staff flat.  What does this day have ahead?  I need to buy tickets for our furlough/homeland assignment in the US, we are scheduled to leave in two weeks, yet don't have tickets yet, and the funds aren't in for them either.  It will come.  What else will this day bring though?  Let's see. 

Friday Morning: A Great Start

It's a wonderfully cool morning ( 70° F, 21c°), and after making omelettes for Ju, Lucas, Luiza, myself and Bram (a visiting 'almost doctor' from the Netherlands) we came down the hill to Staff Worship and Devotions.  They were led today by Appiah Andrews from Amakom, a carpenter/concrete worker that is wor king on the patient ward construction. He spoke from the book of Ecclesiates, chapter 10:1

Dead flies will cause even a bottle of perfume to stink! Yes, an ounce of foolishness can outweigh a pound of wisdom and honor.

His words on it were really well received by the staff and I was encouraged by their response. It's great to see all that is happening in the staff, at the clinic and in the villages. It may just be my perspective changing and I now am able to see more clearly, or things are changing for the better - or both hopefully. 

Today, Isaac and Otta Bobo are out in the boat again going to the villages on the shores to pick up the sick that need to be brought to the clinic for medical attention - and as an added bonus get the love of Jesus through the staff, prayer and hospitality. 

Pictured: Isaac and Otta Bobo in the clinic boat, taken by the Cockram's, read about their visit to Amakom last week on their site.

Perishable Containers

   I've just walked out the doors of the clinic. I can still hear the wailing of the aged mother as her 35 year old son lies in the ward on the edge of death.  Michael and I prayed with him while he was still coherent.  The grief of a loss is indescribable.

  Pictured: Clinic front waiting benches

  'But this precious treasure  -  this light and power that now shine within us  -  is  held in perishable containers,that is, in our weak bodies ...'  2 Corinthians 4:7 (NLT)

Bosomtwe Beach

What? Is there beach? When Margaret, Amy, Davis, Ryan and Chip invited Ju and myself to go to Lake Point Guesthouse for dinner and a night there with them and told us of a beach I have to admit I was a bit skeptical. They talked of landscaped gardens and the nicest place they have stayed in Ghana.

It was about an hour drive from our side of Lake Bosomtwe, from the village of Amakom (our home town here) to Obo where Lake Point Guesthouse is located (click for a map). 

The dinner was great, but the highlight of our time with this gang was after dark, on the BEACH (sandy and clean) we sat under the stars and sang worship songs to our Father. Ryan and Davis played acoustic guitar and led us in singing, frogs gave a bit of rhythm and after a while rain came, lights went out in the villages around the lake and...18 seconds we could see the lights come on at the clinic and staff housing where Lucas and Luiza, Kirk, Emily, and Denise (med school student interns) and Sara and friends (European volunteers) were all sleeping with ceiling fans and lights from the new generator.  I bright light on the hill, a lighthouse, a beacon of hope for all to come to in a time of need. Back to the worship, in the rain, in the wind, on the beach, so great and words to describe it don't come easily since it was the 'icing on the cake' as Ju put it when we walked back through the landscaped gardens to our chalet rooms. Thank you Father God for the family of believers that walks with us in this life together.

Kirk, Emily, & Denise in Amakom

It has been fun to have Kirk Matthews, Emily Bratton and Denise Liyana here with us until July 6th.  They are medical school students beginning their second year at University of Tennessee in Memphis, School of Medicine.

Lucas and Luiza feel like our family has just gotten bigger since they have new folks to play Legos with them and read them books, go on walks and more.  All of our meals are together in our house so it's been a time of getting to know each other well.  They are great to have in our family these days.

They are observing patients with Ju each day, painting, working on new forms for the clinic, observing in the laboratory, and more.  On this last Sunday they went to church with us, which meant we all walked down the road about a mile to a small unmarked building where the 'choir' was singing beautifully as we ascended the mountain to sit and worship with them. Andrew gave the message as requested by the church earlier in the week.

Sunday morning patients

We are preparing for Emily, Kirk and Denise (medical students arriving today from University of Tennessee Memphis for 5 weeks of field work) getting beds assembled, fitted with sheets, etc. Twice Ju has been called to the clinic to see patients this morning. Both instances being children in urgent need of care, one that had malaria and the other with meningitis. It's in moments like these that we see that even when it appears that on a day when the clinic seemed almost closed due to not having many patients, that two lives may have been restored and kept from dying today.

Technorati Tags: malaria, meningitis

Akosua's Baby

Before we moved to Ghana, often times after speaking all over the US (it seemed that way at that time!) about our call, I (Juliana) often wondered what kind of stories we would have to tell our partners on our next visit. I even wondered if there would be any. “You know, life sometimes gets in the routine without much excitement, and we just go on persevering”, I thought.

Well, I gotta tell you: excitement has not been lacking, as well as daily opportunities to share the love of Jesus that brought us here. Let me share with you one of these stories, the one of Akosua’s baby. I must warn you this is not a happy story, but then again many times they aren’t, and neither is it short, but it is a true one, worthy of reading if you want to have a peak into life in this parts.

Akosua’s baby was my second patient on that Wednesday morning. The baby was hidden by the colorful cloth that wrapped her tiny body, held by the mom. “oye yare, dokta” (she is sick, doctor). This 5 day old baby was barely there and, as I examined her, she had a cardiac arrest on the bed. Angelina (the clinic midwife and only trained nurse in the facility) and I promptly started CPR. As her heart started beating again, a chain reaction in the clinic also started: ward assistants preparing antibiotic injections and IV glucose, someone running down the hill to go call Isaac, the boat driver (since we had no truck or ambulance to take us to a hospital) and the relatives of the mom running to their village to spread the news the baby would be going to the hospital (often times the only way patients can afford the hospital bill is by collecting money from friends and family members). My hands itched for an oxygen tank and a monitor to be hooked to the newborn’s body, but there weren’t either. So, as I prepared to take Akosua and her baby on this adventure, in search for better resources to keep her baby alive and well, I stepped outside the clinic, to the waiting area. There were many patients waiting to see the doctor. Many of them, I knew, had walked many hot and long miles to make it to the clinic that morning. I looked at the lake, down the hill in the distance, I looked at Akosua’s confused eyes and, taking a deep breath I saw (I am afraid that is the most accurate way to describe, almost for my embarrassment since I don’t believe in examining patients without touching them) a dozen of patients in less than five minutes as I had the nurses write the prescriptions for the ones that could not afford coming back the next day, including the children with history of fever.

The idea to share this story came when I was riding the boat with this preemie newborn in my lap, monitoring him with my eyes and ears. The lake was so beautiful! I looked around and I saw many of the villages by the lakeside, so isolated and almost forgotten. I could not help but wonder how many babies in similar conditions were out there. After 12 minutes, we had crossed the lake to the ‘other side’ - the one with access to good roads, guest houses, cell phone signal and often times the only one tourists get to see. From there, we got a taxi that took us to the nearest hospital (St. Michael’s, a Catholic mission hospital), usually a thirty minute ride from there, but I must say not that day, it wasn’t! The driver mustn’t have seen many CPRs being performed before, because as the baby had the second cardiac arrest I could see his foot against the accelerator, all the way. In that hospital I rushed in as if I was one of their own employees, broke into one of their doctors’ consulting rooms (I politely greeted him and apologized to the patient in front of him, in Twi, which made them smile) and, with the baby in one arm and the IV fluid bag in the other, up high, briefly discussed the newborn’s condition and asked for advice: should I stop here or should I keep going to Kumasi? He gently informed me that all preemies should be referred to the teaching hospital  in Kumasi,  another thirty to forty minute ride - in a good day, without much traffic, like on Sunday mornings. It wasn’t Sunday morning...

Followed by Akosua, Akosua’s sister and Akosua’s husband, we headed towards the street, in search of another taxi to take us on our next leg of the journey. That’s when the third cardiac arrest happened, so I quickly laid the baby on the first flat surface I saw and to everybody’s surprise and joy (there was an audience) the baby fought back and let us know we should keep going on our saga. This time, a very nice man approached us and suggested we should use one of the hospital ambulances and by the way, he was an ambulance driver. We quickly negotiated the price, I checked to see if I had enough cedis in my pocket and there we went. Forty minutes later, we were at the reference hospital in  Kumasi,  the same one where I had my orientation period (while applying for my Ghanaian medical license) last year. How glad I was I knew the right avenues and staircases in what many times in the past seemed like a maize to me. We made it! After placing the baby in an incubator I handed her case to the medical officer in charge of the many preemies (and not preemies also) in the ward that day. I turned to Akosua, the mom: ‘Wo ho te sen?(How are you doing?)’ She didn’t answer. She only smiled, with the type of smile that warms your heart and says more than words are capable of.

A few notes:

• About the baby Akosua’s baby was from Adjaman, a neighboring village to Amakom. She was born prematurely and more than likely for being so small and fragile, contracted an infection (neonatal sepsis). She also had high levels of bilirrubin (the substance that makes the skin yellow, or jaundice), so high that she needed an exchange transfusion, a procedure in which blood is taken out of the child’s body and new blood, without bilirrubin, added to replace it. I am sure some of you are familiar with the procedure, the diagnosis and the anxieties that they bring. In the teaching hospital, I believe she was able to receive adequate treatment, but still did not make it. The parents came to the clinic the following week to greet me and tell me the sad news. I grieved with them, we prayed and they went on their way. Ghana still has very high maternity and infant mortality rates, and part of the reason is the lack of trained healthcare workers (mostly due to the brain drain process) in isolated areas (most of the country), and of well- equipped healthcare facilities.

• About the boat and boat driver Isaac has been working as part of the clinic staff for the last eighteen years and knows very well every bit of this lake. He leads the singing group at Amakom Methodist Church and has four beautiful children. Isaac has been so good in serving with us, no matter the time, no matter the day, he is always ready to drive that boat - although he always makes me wear a life jacket...

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Meet Evans and have some cold water with us

Take a walk with me through the clinic grounds and Amakom today and, besides the children coming and going to school and the very few sellers on the side of the dirt road, we won’t be able to see many people around – they are all busy farming, since the rainy season has started and the moon is just right, we were told. They leave home before sunrise and many times only come back home after dark.

Come with me to the clinic and you will see many patients with ‘body pains’, elderly hard working grandparents struggling not to give in to osteoarth ritis, various types of skin infections, hypertension, diabetes and many, many children with malaria.

But I wish you could see, and maybe even carry, one of our little patients that suffer the most this time of the year: the children that cannot afford a whole season (between March up to August, sometimes September) of hunger, the time following the dry season, when the crops are not yet ready to be eaten.  

Evans is one of these precious children that make you want to hold him in your arms and not let go. He is being raised by his grandmother, a strong woman determined not to give up. She came to the clinic a month ago (3 months after his mother had abandoned the child), bringing this skinny boy that didn’t have the energy to smile. The clinic staff embraced him, we poured out love on him with the right foods, some medicines and a few old toys that Lucas gave him himself. Today, a month later since that day, what I really would like you to see is his smile, and his little arms stretched up in the air asking for some more love. His smile is pure and genuine, a great reminder to me that it doesn’t take much to make a big difference in someone’s life.

But I would not let you go without having some fried plantain and beans with us, while Luiza and Lucas would compete for your attention and overwhelm you with their requests to read books to them. The best of all? Cold water. I am sure you would appreciate some cold water, since it is so hot here these days. Yes! We do have a generator that has been helping our fridge to do its work well and our brains to stay cool. We were blessed by donations from Brazil that made it possible for us to have a 30kva generator installed last week! And since then I had been able to use our nebulizer on an asthmatic patient in severe crisis on a day that we were scheduled not to have power. The struggles with electricity are still so recent in my mind that I cannot help but walk in the clouds, with my heart filled with thanksgiving to a God that is so faithful and good! Empowered to help? Not only by the generator, but by people who care, just like you. In more ways than we can describe… Thank you!

Technorati Tags: malnutrition, malaria, missionary medicine

Sunday on Call

9:28am
It's Sunday morning, and the four of us were watching a kids DVD together.  I heard the phone ringing (odd since we don't have a cell signal much at all in the house). It showed 11 missed calls and I was not able to catch that one either.  I decided to call this unknown number and a man speaking Twi answered, I could understand that he was calling me using the word for Pastor in Twi, I understood the word boat and emergency, but I could not get the name of the village where they needed the boat to go.

Praise God they got through, what kind of emergency is it?  Can we help? I got Sammy, our accountant, to call back in a minute and get the village name and tell them the boat is coming.  Ju quickly said she must go along in case it needs to be referred to a different hospital due to our lack of supplies and equipment currently. Just at that point they yelled up to the porch where we were talking of the situation and said that a patient had just arrived in a tro-tro (van) and needed the doctor.

It's now 9:41am and I'm with Lucas and Luiza...where is Ju now - in the boat?  in the clinic?  taking the patient to Kumasi via taxi?  We are without transport since the clinic is in need of a truck or ambulance, our Nissan Patrol is still out of commission from the accident 5 weeks ago and no news on when it will be back to us.  A rental will be back tomorrow morning that a partner has given us for temporary use. 

I do hope that the patients that are here will get what they need, that we can help, that Ju will have the strength and joy, the compassion and energy for this day of work that we hoped would be a family day together.

It was just a few days ago when I wrote the words of Jesus in a blog entry 'cure the sick that are there', but it rings in my ears again today, he continued after that telling them "say to them 'The Kingdom of God has come near to you'."

10:08am
    Luiza tells me the phone is ringing. I went to answer and it was a man from the earlier call.  Where is the boat?  I told him it's coming.  Alarmed I left Lucas and Luiza alone, went down to clinic to find Ju with two ward assistants and the midwife.  They were all sullen, a four year old child had just died of malaria.  I checked the storage room and there was the fuel tank for the boat and the life vests.  I grabbed them, gave them to a child, and Ju followed walking down the road to catch the boat now to see what the emergency was across the lake.

12:21pm

 Ju came back home.  I wish I could recount the experiences over the last three hours as she encountered them.  We both stood in tears mourning the loss of the child, realizing how selfish we had been as we wanted a Sunday morning as 'family time' when the hope of quite a few patients and their families was that Ju could help them today. I'm glad we are here.

 

Bat Poop in the Roof & Rainy Season: A Messy Combination

I realized recently that Ghana has become home when I was taking a visitor through the clinic buildings. As we went on exploring, I showed the delivery room, the wound dressing room, the consulting room, the ward and finally, pointing at some black yucky water coming down the walls I said: ‘…and this is bat poop mixed with rainy water.’ I must have said it very naturally, almost like a museum-guide-type-talk, because my friend being taken along in this clinic tour seemed to be more surprised with my complacence than the poopy water itself. That was when she said: ‘You must tell everybody about it.’ So I am.

You see, the bats are not new at the clinic. We are the new guys on the block, trying to adjust to a different style of living, most of the time without electricity (want to find out why? Click here, because this is a whole different issue!) to run a fan or without water (since the bore hole pump cannot be put to good use without power!). For the last two months I have been juggling patients at the clinic and medicine orders with two young children and lunch menus. Bat poop? Oh, yeah! The guys we hear flying and chatting around at night… But it gets worse: they are also the ones responsible for the strong smell of urine that comes through the screened windows at night, carried by an occasional breeze.

I can live with bats. It is not a problem. But the wood ceiling under the damaged roof seems to have had enough, after good 25 years of pacific coexistence: they are all rotten, plain rotten. The black water coming down the walls are undeniable evidence of it. And simply put: they need to be replaced – a task that my very dedicated and hard-working husband embraced with all his might only to find out that, for now, we do not have the funds to do it.

So without a car, without electricity, without water and possibly without roofs, we persevere, blessed by the patients smiles that are filled with gratitude and inspired by their stories to be content. And we are constantly reminded that our God is strong in our weaknesses. A few verses keep echoing on my mind these days, some of them: ‘I took my troubles to the Lord, I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer.’ Or ‘I look up to the mountains – does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made the heavens and the earth!’ – and the bats, I add. ‘The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade. The sun will not hurt you by day, nor the moon at night.’ Let us all rejoice in Him today and look forward to His name being glorified through our lives!

Sticky (Luiza would say ‘ticky’ ) hugs,

Juliana

Technorati Tags: load-shedding

Cholera Outbreak: Update

In our last e-newsletter, I shared with you about a cholera outbreak that started around mid-March and my encounter with my first patient, Kwame. It started in a village called Dompa. The people that live in Dompa have no access to well water because there is no bore hole because the village is isolated because the government says so. No safe water to drink. So the children, adults and elderly people drink from a stream that runs along the village, the same stream where the women wash their clothes, the children play to escape the heat and where the stool of those with or without diarrhea more than likely end up going. Not a good combination. So, as many of these people walked (or were carried on people’s backs) the 2 hour walk to the clinic, cholera was also carried away and came as far as Ankaase, the last village before Amakom. In the meantime, educational messages about prevention of the disease (“drink boiled water, use soap and eat hot food”) went on the gong-gong and out of our mouths, daily. It was a busy time. I feel like I can get an IV access in a dehydrated patient with my eyes closed and my eyes tied behind my back now! But it was also a great time to get to know the staff at the clinic and to learn to work together, independent of our backgrounds or heart language. Dr. Cam, our team colleague and friend, came all the way from Ankaase to help out in a night that I needed some serious sleep. I learned many words in Twi and rejoiced in redirecting smiles of gratitude to Nyame (God the Creator) and Yesu (Jesus). The clinic is still receiving patients with cholera, but in a much smaller number than five weeks ago. We did loose one patient, a young man that presented with a very severe form of the disease, called cholera sicca (people in the community attributed it to the fact that he was a thief, and therefore he had called a curse upon himself… I tried to talk about mercy and redemption, but it was no use in this case…Interesting fact is that the word sicca in Twi means ‘money’). We were all sad on the loss, but rejoicing on the fact that all the children survived. I give all the glory to the Lord, the One who called us to serve at the clinic, the One who brought us here and the One who is the Great Physician. 

A Solemn Thursday

The day started with getting up early and praying with one of our staff members and it was so good! Within an hour of being in the office, I was told that a family was waiting to see me outside the office. When I went it was Kwame's family from Dompa to all express their grattitude and give us a goat. How moving!

It was a busy day of taking people to where they could get a ride to go visit family, picking up people on the road on the way to see friends and family, two funerals in the next village, and a clinic busy with patients. Then, as we were in the house discussing some things a car pulled up with patient.  I called for Ju as men carried him up the hill to the clinic.

We quickly found out that he had fallen when up in a mango tree.  It was not but minutes after Ju got there that she let them know that he had died. At that same moment I found out that his wife was blind and that he left a small boy of 2 or 3 years old. Michael, Razak and I got in the truck and found her, prayed with her and her family.

On coming back they were caring for a teenager that had just lost a baby minutes earlier, then in the evening a lady gave birth to a healthy baby girl.

It's a day of celebration now, Good Friday on this weekend of joy of our Jesus giving us life.  We are taking this day to rest, be renewed and have family time in the city - a break from a busy day yesterday in Amakom.

A Snake, a Kerosene Lamp & a Miracle

It had been a long day: as a result of caring for our cholera patients for a full week, and not getting the rest and sleep I usually need to maintain my sanity, I ended up wit a nasty cold that kept me in a grumpy mood, aggravated by the heat and the lack of electricity that kept me from enjoying a fan. So, by the end of this day I was ready to go to sleep. I put the kids in bed and went to our screened-in porch to wait for Andrew, who had been out for most of the day running chores in town. What kept me from getting in my pj's and going to bed was not the fact that I missed my husband and wanted to receive him at the door when he arrived...but the fact that something was telling me to go to the clinic, and go soon. So as I waited in the dark, Michael (our friend, staff member and Ghanaian missionary) came and offered to stay at the house and look after the children so I could go down the hill, to the clinic, and check for patients. I walked into this consulting room filled with the smoke from the kerosene lamp in Hannah’s hand, the nurse on call.  Under the light it was Yaw, an 8 year old boy, that had just been brought by his parents.

Yaw had left school that afternoon and gone to the bush to help his family farm. On the way back, he felt something unusual on his right foot, but kept walking to make it home before dark. The pain on his foot finally made him uncomfortable enough to convince his mom to take him to the clinic. By then, his swollen foot and leg had signs of hemorrhage. By the kerosene lamp’s light I found two small incisions on his foot. Since the clinic has been running in the red for years and still is, buying snake anti-venom has not been a viable option for a long time. Knowing that black mamba snakes are common and their bites can be fatal, it was clear to me that I needed to figure out a way to refer him to the regional hospital where he could be monitored and receive adequate treatment and urgent care. That is when I heard Andrew driving our truck up the hill - Great! I thought, now it is just a matter of taking him to the city as fast as possible.

What followed next was and still is somewhat surreal to me. In telling the parents the news I was confronted by Yaw’s father, who did not agree with my decision. He wanted to take his boy home. ‘I have no money to pay the hospital bill’, he argued in a very emphatic way, ‘and my boy is not going anywhere’. I thought at first it was just a translation problem, so I carefully explained the situation one more time to both his parents, showed them the fangs’ marks under the fading light and offered to take him to the hospital in our truck, saving him the money he would have to pay with transportation. ‘No!’, he kept insisting. I found myself taken by anger, and that is when I looked at this little boy’s eyes, lying down on the bed in the consulting room, old enough to understand the implications and the severity in  my voice. ‘Eye! Woyadee!’ – It is all right. You are doing so well! The anger was turned into compassion and as other staff members joined in my struggle to convince the dad he finally agreed to have his boy transferred. Michael selflessly offered to drive them on the long journey -- to Andrew’s and my relief.  On his way out I told him to trust in God to provide for his family. On that night I prayed for this boy that was so scared. But most of all I prayed for his parents, trying with all my heart to comprehend the hopelessness that was so fatalistic in the darkness of that night. I prayed for God's love.

Three days later, Yaw is still in the regional hospital, slowly recovering. We received news that the mother had previously filed for health insurance for her son and the paperwork had just been processed – as they were being admitted in the hospital, they found out that they wouldn’t have to pay a single cent for the hospital bill. Yedaa Nyame ase- we thank our God!

Juliana Jernigan

Medical Superintendant, missionary, serving with The Mission Society, Lake Bosumtwe Methodist Clinic, Amakom, Ghana, West Africa

Staff Morning Worship

Today was the first day for Staff Worship at Lake Bosumtwe Clinic.  Ebenezer (a local lay evangelist and now employed by us as my assistant, who has worked at the clinic for over 30 years) led the time of singing, scripture reading, message from the word, then prayer, and call to commitment/challenge. 

One of our staff members asked for prayer for freedom from alcoholism and to recommit his life to Christ.  Two visiting laborers at our project construction site prayed to receive Christ as their savior and live for God.  We ask for your prayers as we continue with this each day, for these folks and others to come to walk with God and serve Him daily with their gifts.

Patients Received Care and Medicines

Lake Bosumtwe Clinic kicked into full gear this week as patients got their before daybreak each morning waiting for us to begin and in the dark of the evening as we closed there were patients that would return the following day as they had not been seen due to the numbers that turned out.

It was the first time that the new laboratory had been busy and the pharmacy had a que/line of waiting patients each day of the clinic this week.

The assistant to the accountant came to us with a huge smile saying that as a child he remembered when there were hundreds of people on the hillside like this waiting to see the doctor (over 20 years ago).

What a great week it was to see God working through so many people!

The work day began with singing and prayer either led by the Church of Pentecost or Methodist elders (the two churches in our village, Amakom) or clinic staff. It was a beautiful site and sound as they sang and danced with joy.

Project 611: The First Phase

February is rapidly approaching and we will be hosting a team from the US - First United Methodist Church, Sylacauga, Alabama - on the 13th to the 20th. 

Phase 1 of Project 611 began in December and by the time they arrive we hope to have a pump delivered and installed ($3300), water tanks on the mountain ($1500), plumbing installed ($1200), two housing buildings renovated ($3000) and furnished ($2500).  The funds have come in for this and it's so great to know that God is always faithful - and He provides through His people.

Phase 2 (March to May)  We hope to install plumbing to the ward and clinic building, and future x-ray centre building ($2000), buy toilets and sinks ($800), replace electrical wiring and fixtures in clinic buildings ($500), tile the ward and outpatient building ($1500), paint buildings ($600).  Total needed: $5400 (UK £2800)

Phase 3 (June to August) Renovation of staff housing (electricals, painting, toilets, sinks, and flooring) Estimated total needed: $4000 (UK £2100)

Phase 1 Progress Special Thanks to:

• David Lister, charitable trust in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
• All who gave to the Gabrielle Jernigan Memorial Fund
• Philip and Dorothy Parish - Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
• St. Luke United Methodist Church - Hartsville, SC, USA
• Weogufka First Baptist Church - Weogufka, AL, USA
• Sylavon Baptist Church - Sylacauga, AL, USA
• First United Methodist Church members - Sylacauga, AL, USA
• Gift in memorial to John Rudd, Sr.

Announcing an Eye Clinic

We are so encouraged by a friend of ours here in Kumasi, Dr. Angela Amedo of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology telling us yesterday that she will begin this school year (which starts in September) taking students to the Lake Bosumtwe Methodist Clinic in Amakom for eye clinics.

We hope that we will be able to the eye care ministry of the mission clinic to the villages of Lake Bosomtwi. Do you personally want to help in this new aspect of the work? Email us if you do.

Pray for the success of the eye care ministry and the impact that it can have on the lives of the people that we serve. Through the power of God, his favor and the community of believers we can love people through small ways showing the love of Jesus and His grace. 

Written by Andrew Jernigan

Medical Equipment & Supplies

Today we got word from International Aid that some equipment and supplies that we paid for a while back will leave the US for Ghana next month.  The good news is that if we get funds in the next two weeks we can add to that order.  All of the things purchased were paid for by Trinity on the Hill United Methodist Church in Augusta, Georgia since a team from their church visited the clinic a couple of years ago and saw the need, they saw that there is no equipment at all.

Would you drop us an email and talk with us on how you can help? Would your church or Sunday School class buy some items? We need your help, please let us know as soon as you can so we can place the order before the container leaves the US.

• 5' medicine cabinets (4)              =    $87
• 2' medicine cabinets (2)              =    $57
• bedside cabinets (10)                 =    $100
• hamper frame - linen (3)              =    $25
• Hermatocrit centrrifuge (1)           =    $151
• Incubator, infant, refurbished (1)   =    $1350
• Infant warmer w/bassinet (1)        =    $750
• Oximeter, pulse, stationary (1)     =    $450
• Sphymomanometer (1)                =    $22
• Sterlizer, dry heat (1)                   =    $125
• Ventilator, infant (1)                     =    $650
• CPAP, cont. pos. airway press(1) =    $175
• Doppler, fetal, used (1)                 =    $250
• Vac Extractor Disc Cups Set (12) =    $208
• Light, minor procedure (1)            =    $50
• Monitor, Apnea infant (1)             =    $150
• Nebulizer, new (1)                      =    $60
• Nebulizer, aerosol (1)                 =    $50
• Field delivery kit w/fetalscope     =    $40
• Pro-tech kit (1)                          =    $3
• Ambu Bag - child (3)                  =    $30
• Ambu Bag - adult (3)                  =    $30
• Catheter - Foley (100)                =    $35
• Catheter - infant suction (100)     =    $20
• Catheter - straight (100)             =    $15
• Catheter - suction (100)             =    $20
• Dressing - burn (100)                 =    $10
• Dressing - combine (100)           =    $5
• Dressing - Vaseline gauze (100) =    $10
• Gown - patient, cloth (20)           =    $5
• IV administration set (50)           =    $35
• Nasal oxygen cannula (20)         =    $20
• Oxygen mask w/tubing (50)        =    $12
• Penrose drain (100)                   =    $10
• Sutures w/needle, assort (100)   =    $15
• Sutures w/needle - box (10)       =    $40
• Urinary drainage bag (50)          =    $20
• Vacutainers (box of 100) (10)     =   $25
• Scalpel blades (100)                 =    $5
• B/P cuff, adult (1)                     =    $16
• Cane, simple (3)                       =    $4.50
• Crutches (3)                             =    $13.50
• Commode, portable (4)              =    $6
• IV pole (5)                                =    $50
• Triple antibiotic ointment, 1 oz (20)        =    $10
• Motrin migraine 100s (30)                     =    $30
• Anti-itch lotion 4 oz (100)                      =    $20
• Multivitamins 100 ct (100)                     =    $100
• Children's chew non aspirin, 30 ct (200)  =   $70
• Tylenol Arthritis 150's (12)                     =   $20
• Witch Hazel (10)                                  =    $5

Packaging/shipping fee of about $1000 we believe, could be more. 

Can you help us make the outfitting of the clinic possible?

Medicine Delivery

I'm like a child today all excited about taking that 1 1/2 hour drive from Kumasi to Amakom to the Lake Bosumtwe Methodist Clinic to deliver a huge amount of medicines and supplies for their use.  When I was there about a week ago the shelves were just about empty, so I know that this will help a lot of people.

The road out to Amakom is being grated and widened, and we've been told that it will be tarred by DANIDA - the international aid agency of Denmark!   Since taxi's and tro-tros haven't been able to get to Amakom - or the clinic - this is a huge answer to prayer.   It was a rough and slow ride in our Nissan Patrol.  So, today I'm looking forward to seeing the progress.

Ju is getting Lucas and Luiza dressed and ready to go so I better go load the medicines into the back of the truck.  When will you come and work with us for a while?   It takes a good 6 months to a year of planning, so email us and let's get started working on your time here.