Day 1 and 2

2.25.09 One of the hospital’s drivers picked me up in Tamale (pronounced Tah-ma-lay) this morning from my 6AM flight and we ran errands in town until 10AM, accompanied by three midwives (pictured). Some highlights from our conversation… “25! Youd ared growd and ready ford marriaged- we willd find a husband for you! Youd willd be a gift for ourd brothers” and “Do youd haved blacks in America?” We laughed out loud at each other the entire 3 hours.

Tamale is much poorer than Accra; as we moved from the city center, housing changed from cement blocked buildings, to wooden shacks, to mud huts with tin roofs (pictured, right) and finally, mud huts with straw roofs (picture to come). It finally looks like Africa. There is less humidity here, but temperatures are still in the upper 90s/low 100s at midday- no AC, of course! I am drinking tons of water and slowly adjusting! After an hour of paved road, we took a broken dirt road for a final 56 Kilometers to reach Nalerigu. The Baptist Medical Center is less of a hospital and more of a compound- about 500 acres including a TB Village, Koko Nutrition Center, staff/guest housing, and the hospital/outpatient clinic.

Yay! I have friends!! [answered prayer!] I am in Guest House 6 with a couple from University of South AL med school (originally from Birmingham!), a medical resident from North Carolina (Jenny) and a medical resident from Maine (Tim). Surgery finished early today (Tu and Th are elective surgery days) and we spent most of the afternoon hanging out in the heat. After meeting tonight we spent about an hour throwing insulin teaching balls in to the ceiling fans, not sure how that started or why!

Jane, the full time missionary pharmacist, showed me around the hospital and oriented me to the pharmacy. Any US hospital pharmacist would have been horrified at the rudimentary IV room, but it works! The picture is of our "version" of a Pyxis machine. We walked through the 6 wards (no private rooms!) and saw a range of acute issues, the most remarkable being a man with massive (unbandaged) burns covering his face and upper body and a tiny baby in a crude ventilator tent.

The pharmacist will be gone the next few days purchasing snake venom to prepare for the anticipated increase in snake bites…as the weather continues to become warmer, the snakes crawl out of the ground into houses and people are often bitten in their sleep! I will lock my doors! One of the most common is the Carpet Snake- causing dramatic anticoagulation; they also see cobra bites and others.

Some prayer requests:
· For full time physicians to staff BMC- both of the current MDs are retiring this year
· For a house mate who is “not really in to religion”
· For a missionary staff member here who is particularly “burnt out”
· That I would be an encouragement and the “fragrance of Christ” to all

2.24.2009

After a very comfortable 10hour flight from JFK I arrived in Accra, inappropriately insulated for the 92 degree 8am humidity! The ride to the Ghana Baptist Guesthouse revealed a city that reminded me of Lima, Peru...certainly a third world country, but in the process of modernization (I.e. the Price Waterhouse Cooper’s office we passed). I spent the day exploring and people watching in the Osu area of Accra- initially feeling untypically overwhelmed, timid, (and waiting to pass out from the heat) but much more optimistic and excited after a nap! Romans 15:4 "that through the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope!"

They are so nice here! Their friendliness and helpfulness rivals our southern hospitality! There is a beautiful rhythm of western and native worlds- with equal amounts of luxury cars and push carts, stylish clothing and tattered native outfits.