Update from Pioneer Christian Hospital, Congo: Dear Praying Friends and Family, It has been 2 weeks since we all left our homes to come serve in Congo. We arrived with no hassles or problems in Brazzaville, although we were quite tired! Thank you to all that prayed for safe travels. We even arrived with all our baggage, which is always a pleasant surprise. The flight schedule to Impfondo is now Monday/Friday and since we arrived on Tuesday, we had a few days before our flight up to the northern part of the country where Impfondo is located. During this time we were able to catch up on some sleep, as well as accompany Dr. Harvey to meet with the United States Ambassador, and various meetings with government officials to try and get the exoneration for the container that has been held in customs since February! Unfortunately we did not get the signature that we needed, but it certainly was good to make contact with the authorities and remind them of the need for that container to get cleared from customs! It was also a good introduction to Congolese politics for the team, and we were able to pray in each government waiting room that we sat in. Please keep praying that the container will be released from customs so that we can get the ambulance, new generators, and other much needed medical supplies up here to Impfondo. We arrived in Impfondo on Friday and were greeted by the hot humid air, and many familiar and friendly faces! It was so good to see loved friends again after such a long time in America. Everyone was most surprised to see my brother Noah who has grown about 4 inches, and has a voice that has descended an octave since the last time they saw him. On Sunday we attended the Congolese church across the street to introduce our team. We enjoyed the multiple choirs’ beautiful singing, and clapping and dancing to the lively beat. After the service, we enjoyed a delicious Congolese meal prepared for the visitors, and the girls got to try manioc and antelope for the first time. On Monday and Tuesday the team was able to accompany long-term missionary LPN Sarah Speer into the community to assist her in her ministry to shut-ins and the neglected elderly of town. They were able to visit the leprosy center and help with taking vitals, dressing changes, and wound care. They were also able to see people in their homes and get a feel for the town. On Wednesday we all started our clinical rotations at Pioneer Christian Hospital. As it turns out, there are also 3 other students here in Impfondo right now, so they also joined our clinical groups. Elise and I have been working this week in the Operating Room, Erica & Julia are helping in the eye clinic, and Malia & Kristen have been on the Medical/Pediatric wards. After only 3 days at the hospital we have already done so much! Elise and I have interacted with patients, seen quite a few surgeries, rolled bandages, done some dressing changes, started IVs, and even scrubbed in to pass instruments. The team is doing very well, and even learning Lingala! In the afternoons and evenings we all gather around the Lingala dictionary and try to learn new words/phrases. While it is very frustrating to have such a language barrier between us and the patients, the girls are learning quickly and the Congolese really enjoy hearing new people try to pronounce the words. It’s fun to sit with patients and try to communicate using hand gestures and various French, and sometimes English words to get across what we are trying to say. Because Lingala is a phonetic language, Malia and Kristen were able to go into the wards one morning and read the Bible to the patients in Lingala. Thank you again for your prayers, we really are grateful for your support! Please continue to pray that we will be flexible and patient with ourselves and others. That we would be full of love for the people that we come in contact with, and open to what God is telling us here in the rainforest of Congo. We would also love to hear from you! Blessings, Olivia Harvey, on behalf of the team (Elise, Kristen, Julia, Erica, & Malia) For Health and Hope, Joseph & Rebecca Harvey Olivia, Claire, Isabelle and Noah JHarvey@UUPlus CongoHarveys.org Mission Address: Global Outreach Mission, Inc. PO Box 2010 Buffalo, NY 14231-2010 (716) 688-5048 [email protected] Field Address : Pioneer Christian Hospital BP 10, Impfondo Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) CongoHospital.org
Posted on: Tue, 09 Jul 2013 17:38:05 +0000
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