Matthew: Reflections On My Time in Gamboula

Philippians 4:8-9

1) Initial Expectations and Objectives

  My initial expectations centered around three main aspects of this trip: medical, cultural, and spiritual.  Consequently, my objectives also addressed these three primary areas.

  My objectives from a medical standpoint consisted primarily of exposure to rural medicine in a resource-strapped setting.  This, I have most certainly seen.  Lacking at times such basic things as clean running water, hand sanitizer, and enough blood pressure cuffs, this hospital still manages to do good work.  Not as good as it should be, but that is a matter of resources than anything else.  They would do so much more if they could.  In terms of medical skills and knowledge to take home . . . I'd say I've learned more than a few things about tropical diseases and their treatment, how to complete a basic prenatal assessment (so many babies!), and something of the challenges faced by administrators and management in such settings.

  From a cultural perspective . . . Wow.  From the moment I stepped off the plane in Yaounde, I was living in a radically different culture and seeing a radically different way of life.  Downtown Yaounde, driving in Africa, the markets, Kentzou, Gamboula, the compounds, gardens and agriculture, natural savannah and rainforests, Fulani villages, wedding ceremonies, graduation parties, church and chapel services, hippos . . . on and on.  This trip has been incredibly educational, enlightening, and just plain neat!

  Finally, I had spiritual objectives.  Prayers for safety, security, and health have been answered, as have those for financial aid, partnership of friends, and fundraising efforts.  God has given me a glimpse of true poverty, and in doing so has highlighted for me my many blessings.  He has shown me true suffering, and listened patiently to my anguish over it.  Every step of the way He has been my companion, and He is faithful to continue as such as I move on from here.  Medical missions or humanitarian aid may or may not be in my future, but I know that God is there leading and guiding.

  Thus, my experience of God's faithfulness this trip has far surpassed my expectations, and has gone well beyond my timid objectives.  The reality of my experience is, I think, far greater than I can currently comprehend.

2) What am I leaving behind?  Taking home?

  I trust that our time here has been an encouragement to the missionary couples, hospital staff, and nursing students.  We brought our interest and enthusiasm, questions and (occasionally) answers.  We have invested in people and projects here, even as people here have invested in us.

  More tangibly, Joshua and I have been blessed to have received a large sum of money in the order of $1750 (thanks to your support!), which has been given to the pediatric ward, under the supervision of Dr. Wester.  We have asked that the money be distributed as he sees fit, and have suggested he consider using the money for the following three projects:
    1) The existing nutrition program for malnourished children
    2) A benevolence fund to support families and their children who are struggling to pay for care and associated costs
    3) The development of an educational program directed at improving parents and families abilities to adequately provide and care for their children

  Furthermore, we were able to bring $250 worth of medications with us, and both hope to make future contributions to help with the pressing needs we saw there.

  I am also leaving behind a young girl - an infant girl struggling to breathe in her mothers' arms . . . she is buried in Gamboula in an unmarked grave, but while she remains behind I am taking her memory with me.  She is the face of the part of me left behind in Africa, in a promise not to forget or ignore what I have seen.

  I am home now, and filled with joy because of it.  Family.  Friends.  Love.  I am so blessed.  I have brought with me many memories, only a few of which I was able to capture by camera.  I have brought home new knowledge and experience, new friendships, and true brother in Christ (that's you, Josh - Proverbs 27:17).  Unless I am mistaken, I have also brought home the stirrings of passion . . . which, in truth, would be the most valuable of all.  It is my prayer that God would continue to work in me, to manifest his faithfulness and accomplish that which he has begun.  And it is my earnest prayer that he would continue to work in Gamboula, through the hospital and the missionaries, to ease the suffering there and make known the greatness of Christ's love.

Au Revoir, Gamboula

Well, we're packed!  And we've hit every single point on our respective checklists.  While it's a major understatement, we are smiling contendedly and calling this a most worthwhile experience.

Last night we had our Sunday night fellowship with the three missionary couples here, and we were asked to reflect on our experiences here.  While the four of us had some different expectations and objectives coming into this trip, the general consensus was that what we have seen and lived through over these last three weeks is far beyond what we imagined.  And resounding through our reflections was a testimony of God's incredible faithfulness to us.  From safety, security, and health, to medical and cultural experiences, to financial provisions and fund-raising efforts, to companionship and fellowship, to evidence of God at work around and in us . . . so many answered prayers!  And so we would very much like to thank you for the many prayers sent on our behalf, and for continued prayers as we begin our return-leg of the journey home tomorrow morning.  We take our little five-seater bush plane to Yaounde tomorrow at 11am, and will be flying out of Africa and home via Air France Wednesday evening.  God willing, we will arrive in Toronto around 4:15pm (Flight #AF356, Terminal 3) Thursday afternoon!

Looking forward to being home (and having Dairy Queen).

Love,
Matt & Josh

The Last Weekend in Africa

Saturday was a jam-packed day for me, while Matt was unfortunately recovering in bed from a migraine.  He is now feeling much better and is ready for a full work day tomorrow.  As for me, I went to chapel at 7:30, morning report at 8:00 and clinic at 9:00.  I started in the lab, helping take blood from adults and babies and analysed the samples under the microscope for any parasites or blood changes.  After this, I heard there was some action in the maternity department so I ran over there in hopes of seeing a delivery.  The next hour was very interesting as the patient came closer and closer to delivering and then, finally, a beautiful baby girl came into this world!  It was just me and the midwife in the room with the patient(s) delivering so I was really able to see what was going on.  This experience furthered my belief that life is a wonderful miracle.  After this, I went home for lunch and was happy to see that Matt was feeling better after sleeping for a good 18 hours.

In the afternoon I went for a run and ran into a group of women and girls carrying water on their heads.  They decided to race me up a hill so the six of us sprinted off (they were still carrying the water on their heads, by the way, balancing their loads without any help from their hands or arms).  As we came up to the top of the hill, the only thing I could think of was, "where is a photographer when you need one?!?"

After the run, I joined the rest of the students at a celebration for the nursing school which has been running for 50 years now!  It was a spectacular evening filled with great food and fellowship.  The students also made some skits to make fun of the foreign students visiting them (i.e. us).  We also had a skit making fun of ourselves in much the same manner.  We all felt honoured to participate in the celebration and be made fun of.

Sunday was a great day as well, starting with a church service in French on the commandment of "thou shalt not covet."  Later in the day, we all met with our students for some final language lessons and a traditional African meal cooked by the wives of the nursing students.  This evening, we will join the missionary families for a Bible study and time of reflection on our trip.

We are both missing home and want to send lots of love to all of you.  We can't wait to see you (only 4 more days!).

With lots of love,
Josh and Matt

Fresh Wounds

Fresh wounds take time to heal.  And I saw yesterday that I need more time.  In the emergency ward, a child came in on death's threshold - stuporous, limp, barely breathing.  And I awoke anew to the pain I had felt, have felt, over the Fulani girl we buried last week.  I looked at the child and saw death.  I despaired of hope.  And I suffered in my compassion.

In Canada, the child would not have been sick.  She is perhaps already dead, and not from any cause that ought to exist even here.  She perishes from malnourishment, which even here in a place as poor as this is nearly impossible to comprehend.  In Canada, this child would not die.  But the best that medical intervention here can accomplish is to secure an IV and hang a bag of dextrose, then watch to see if the child makes it through the night.  An African reality, hard and cold.

Seeing last week's tragedy in another day and place has torn me up inside.  I am forced to return to my question to God "Why?"  Or perhaps it is a question beyond God, outside of God.  It is a question of reality, a question of purpose . . .

Why must the innocent suffer and die?  What purpose does this serve?  Why were my prayers for the life of an innocent Fulani girl dying in the truck beside me unanswered?

We find comfort in reason, but there is no reason that can adequately address what I have seen here, in the face of these two children.

We find comfort in faith.  That is the foundation that I cling to - that I must cling to.  And I thank God for my faith, because I do not know what else I could turn to.  I do not know what other solace exists for me.  At the same time, reason begs answers of my faith.  And that is why I ask "Why?"

I can believe that there is a greater purpose - but what purpose could be served by the death of the innocent?  I can try to instead ask myself "What now?" - but I find that question impossible to ask while I am still broken up inside.


All of this stands in stark contrast to the splendid vitality and joy of life seen in Richard and Jeaunoire, two local boys.  As we ran by them playing soccer yesterday, they immediately abandoned their game to join us.  Between challenges for "Physique!" (sprints), figure-8 patterns, piggy-back sprints, and peals of laughter, they gave me a new vision of what Africa could hope to be, and a still greater appreciation for the open friendship of the people.


It seems that more than anything else, African children have made the greatest impact on my soul in my time here.  They have led me both to despair of hope, and given me a glimpse of what is and what should be.

Hippos!

Tuesday
Today Matt and I teamed up with Pascal in the ER to see new patients, as well as perform consultations on some difficult cases.  We saw a large variety of cases, some of which were surpising as we were unaware that these problems had reached rural Africa.  For example, one teenager came in suffering from symptoms of drug withdrawal, and the nurse informed us that more and more teenagers are unfortunately using new designer drugs imported from Nigeria.  As well, we saw a severe case of liver cirrhosis and palpated the largest liver and spleen that either of us had ever felt.  One malnutrition patient we saw was exteremely difficult to observe for both of us, but I will let Matt elaborate on that case in another post.  After clinic, we met with our students to teach more English and computer skills, went for a run, and had a nice dinner.  In the evening we met with one of the missionary couples, where we had the chance to discuss a lot of the things that we have been reflecting upon throughout the trip.


Wednesday
Today began, once again, with breakfast at 6:45, chapel at 7:30, morning report at 8:00, and clinic at 9:00 (pediatrics and maternity today).  What followed our time in clinic was far from the norm, though.  We ventured out on a mini-safari to find some local hippos!  Kim drove us along a 'highway' for about an hour until we got to a beautiful river where hippos are known to hang out on occasion.  The five of us piled into a canoe made out of a hollowed tree trunk along with four locals who knew where the hippos were likely to be found.  We did not have to go very far until we had our first sighting.  As we observed the one, another came and showed herself.  One of the hippos opened his mouth and let out a big roar, just like in the movies.  We stayed for a while to watch the hippos then tried to get a closer look.  It was at this point that they started to chase our boat and the local men (and Marshal) started screaming - apparently they feared the hippo was getting too close too quickly (hippos are actually suprising dangerous if they feel they or their loved ones are being threatened).  We paddled away (not quite as leisurely as we had approached) and are now home safe and sound.

With Love,
Matt and Josh

PS - since we saw hippos today, I wanted to say hi to Tenues, Perry and Que

Kentzou

After a few days of storms, power outages, and spotty internet, we're back!

Saturday:
Went into Kentzou, Cameroon (just an hour's drive, over the border) for a little shopping.  Wandered up and down muddy streets (sandals was the wrong choice) and narrow alleys looking at the local merchandise, spending a little money, and bartering for reduced prices (probably the best part!).  Stopped in at a little 'restaurant' where we had omelettes cooked up and laid onto fresh baguettes for lunch, and then headed back.  Josh was able to have a nice long chat with a man named Joseph, which he can tell you about when he gets back.

 
Sabbath Rest:
Sunday was a wonderful day of rest starting with a French church service at 7:30.  The rest of the day was spent relaxing, running, exploring and teaching (Matt and I each have 5 nursing students who teach us Sango as we teach them English and computer skills).  Today we taught them how to use microsoft excel and powerpoint.  In the evening we had a Bible study and celebrated one of the missionary couple's 39th anniversery (I know, WOW!) and had banana splits (homemade ice cream, fudge sauce, roasted peanuts, coconut, jack-fruit and warm brownies...mmmmmm).


Monday:
Woke up today in time to join a 5:30am work party in the Garden of Eden - a local 25 acre farm run by one of the missionaries here, which contains thousands of species of trees, plants, and herbs.  It is a bit of a research facility, finding out what species can survive and thrive in this climate, as well as a development initiative, creating a sustainable resource for nutritious food for local people.  Since its creation, another 1000 acre farm has been created nearby with similar goals, but on a larger, industrial scale.  They are both places of beauty, and of bounty.  Aside from the ants, of course.

Clinic was interesting at the hospital as well as we participated in the pediatrics and maternity wards.  After clinic, we both went for a run and met the two boys who ran with Josh last Friday.  They were playing soccer, but as soon as they saw us running they sprouted smiles and threw away the soccer ball they were playing with to join us running.  They ran with us for 5km in flip-flops on an incredibly rocky trail.  They kept asking us to do sprints (great interval training!) and they were out-running us.  When they got tired, we carried them on our backs to give them a break then got back to all running when they were ready (or when Josh was too tired to carry Jeaunoir anymore...).  Now we are baking some peanut butter banana bread since Josh accidently bought 20 bananas by giving one of the children $1 and asking for however many bananas that would buy.

Lots of love,
Matt & Josh

Livin' on a Prayer - We're Halfway There

It is day 12 in Africa and we are halfway through our trip.  Matt woke up this morning singing Bon Jovi's 'Livin' on a Prayer' since we are 'halfway there' through our trip and now none of  us can get the song out of our heads.  The past couple of days have been filled with new experiences.  On Wednesday when Matt was working with Marie (refer to previous post for his powerful experience) I was working with Dr. Wester on the Internal Medicine ward.  We saw a variety of patients with parasites, HIV, malaria, TB, hernias, gun shot wounds, motorcycle accident wounds and a variety of obstetrical problems.  I had the opportunity to participate more in examining patients and discussing treatment plans.  The next couple of days I was on the pediatric and malnutrition wards and got to see many cute and many very sick children.  The day was filled with smiles and sadness as some children's laughter was contagious while others were so malnourished and/or anemic that it was physically painful to see, even just as an observer of their pain.  I was able to examine some of these patients and see first hand how malnutrition and anemia manifests in children.  Today, I also had the opportunity to sort and prepare all the drugs for the pediatric ward (alone)- an experience that was very different as all the drug shortforms are different here (en francais) than in Canada.  This was a slightly tedious task, but meaningful and helpful to the hospital nonetheless.

This afternoon I had a wonderful run through 'the bush' that started alone.  As I passed a group of women and children working, a pair of brothers started running alongside me and luckily, they spoke some french so we were able to chat as we ran.  We ran for a good twenty minutes together (even though they were running barefoot through an extremely rocky area and they looked like they were maybe six or seven years old).  We did some speed training and these kids were fast! (I had a hard time keeping up)  The kids asked me how I don't get tired after running for so long and I told them I had been running for many years too.  They said they wanted to train so that they could run and not get tired.  Then the brothers started teasing each other saying, "look, my brother is getting tired, he cannot keep up with us."  The other brother would retort, "I am not the tired one, my brother is!"  We all laughed as we ran.  As we approached where their family was working they said we should sprint to show off and so we did.  All the women working stopped what they were doing and ran to the trail and started screaming and chearing us on.  After this, they said good-bye and went home.  I shouted out, "same time tomorrow?"  and they happily agreed.  As I ran back to the house I reflected on how lucky I was to be having such experiences.

With Love,
Josh

PS - While I am having many wonderful experiences here, I am missing you all and can't wait to see everyone again.  Love you! (in case you are wondering if I am talking about you, I am)

PS2 - Feel free to follow our friends' (Marshal and Hannah) blog:
http://marshalandhannah.blogspot.com/