Parenting....One of Life's Greatest Teachers!

Beau leading Gracie back to the house after church!

I find it interesting that some of the greatest and toughest lessons I've learned here in Africa don't have anything to do with Africa. We see a wide array of pathology on a daily basis. We are constantly stumped by medical and surgical mysteries. We see poverty and tragedy that is unexplainable, and spiritual warfare that is quite evident. Even with all of this, my greatest lessons have been learned from parenting my two small children. I love my kids more than I can describe. More then anything I want there happiness. On a daily basis I'm confronted with the conflict of giving great gifts to my kids versus giving them the discipline and instruction they need to be the people the Lord intends for them to be.

Gracie already going after the older boy!

Beau of course, being three, is the more challenging at this stage in his life. I can't make him see that all I want for him is happiness. If  he would just listen when told, and do the things I ask him to do, our house would be filled with more peace. Instead there is a constant butting of heads as he tries to assert his own desires in a world where I already foresee most of his immediate consequences. I'm sure the parallel I'm making is quite obvious at this point. Its clearly evident how God looks at me as I look at my son. My stubborn, hard-headed attitude must frustrate our Creator as he patiently awaits for me to fully embrace His love!


Beau cooperating nicely as we put on the cast, of course the bag of Reese's on the bed helped a bit!

 Today, I was struck with another powerful analogy while working with Beau. His schizencephaly does not allow the right side of his body to work the way it should. We previously casted his left arm for a couple of weeks so his brain would adjust and increase the nerve output to his right hand. We saw significant improvement in his right hand even after that short time. Of course, being limited to only the use of his poorly working hand, he didn't enjoy the experience.

Today, we felt it was time to cast his left arm again. Its not something we enjoy doing.....in fact we dread it. That's why its been several months since we have re-casted him. We do know how much it helps, and for long term use of his right hand, its so important for him. Unfortunately, he doesn't see or understand the immediate or long term benefit. When I told him what we were going to do today he just started crying. He looked at me with his tear-filled eyes and said: "Daddy please don't put that cast on my arm". You can imagine how low I felt as a parent as I tried to comfort and reassure him. I can only imagine this is how God feels as we are in the midst of trials or suffering. We beg and pray for him to remove us from the situation. Only our prayers go seemingly unanswered. He knows the benefits of our short term suffering. He knows that our perseverance and faith are developed by allowing it to continue. Its just so hard to get your mind around this concept in the midst of pain.

In scripture there are many verses that address this idea of trials sharpening our faith. My favorites include: Hebrews 12:3-17, James 1:1-8, Romans 5:3-5, and 1 Peter 1:6-7. In Hebrews 12 if you jump to verse 7 it says: "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it" Verse 12-13 made me think specifically of Beau's situation as it says: "Therefore strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. Make level paths for you feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed."

Despite Beau's pleading we did cast his left arm. He is now starting to except the idea of having the cast on for a week. Oh course, he has come up with several unique reasons why we should take it off more quickly. As Beau always does, he has risen to the challenge with his infectious smile. He is now proudly showing off his cast to his friends, especially the lion and monkey his mom drew on the cast. Even now he's back outside with some of the local Shona kid playing soccer.   

The Beauty of Zimbabwe!



Beau kissing a baby chameleon that we found!

Our time here in Zimbabwe has been met with plenty of challenges. At times the level of poverty, illness, and tragedy that the Shona people endure is overwhelming. It often seems we go weeks without "happy endings". Most of the patients that come to the hospital have advanced disease and there is often little that medicine or surgery can do for there physical bodies. I often wonder how a just God can allow such suffering to occur. Just when I think He is nowhere to be seen I get glimpses of His love from a multitude of places. I see Him in His creation with the beauty of nature all around us everyday. I see Him in the Shona children, with their bright eyes and big smiles full of hope for the future. I see Him in the newborn infant who once had no heartbeat and now is crying in his mothers arms. I see Him in the men and women, who despite the wasting of there physical bodies have now come to know the Lord and will live with us in eternity! All of this just scratches the surface on the love God has for us. In Ephesians 3:17-19 it says:

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled to the measure of the fullness of God."

Heres some pictures showing the beauty that is in Zimbabwe!



That same baby chameleon up close!



Pools, and waterfalls next to the river....Luckily no Crocs!



The view from Three Hills overlooking the river.




A Zimbabwean bird busily making a nest!




A unique design on this butterfly.





A lone baobab tree,a symbol of the beauty and ruggedness of Africa

 


Three bright-eyed kids that live right below the Three Hills.



Can't leave out a picture of a great brai (BBQ) on Dr Vinzant's birthday!





Pulpit Rock, I still can't believe we climbed that last year....actually twice!




A beautiful African flower!



The Dream Team goes to the Three Hills!



The kids came to visit me at work..something else must be more exciting!





The last week has been alot of fun because we were joined by some familiar faces from Kansas. Dr Todd Stephens, Dr Richard Leu, Dr Whitney Vinzant, and Dr Todd's daughter Sara have all joined us for the last week here at Karanda Hospital. Their combined wisdom, life experience, and medical knowledge have been a wonderful addition over the last week. I often say its like working with "The Dream Team" of medicine. The best family medicine doctor, general surgeon, and tropical medicine mind that I know all on rounds together make for an awesome educational experience. They made huge contributions from the beginning, and they've jumped in as if they had been there for years. In fact, they got here on a Tuesday night at 10pm, and 3 hours later Dr Vinzant and Dr Todd were both scrubbed in fixing an incarcerated hernia on a young man. I think Dr Vinzant has mastered VP shunts, and ready to start in on Orthopedics. Dr Leu has already read and probably memorized everything there is to know about HIV and TB in Zimbabwe. Dr Todd, who spent 6 years working in Africa, always seems right at home and is a wealth of knowledge about the nuances of tropical medicine.  His spiritual leadership always encourages my soul and challenges my walk with the Lord.



Drs Todd and Vinzant with Shea and the kids before we left.


This weekend we were able to take Dr Vinzant, Dr Todd, and Sara to one of our favorite spots near Karanda. The area is called Three Hills. It is simply 3 large granite formations over looking scores of miles of beautiful Zimbabwe countryside. The hike is slightly unorthodox, as I don't know that we've ever been the same way twice. I know several times the group wondered if we actually knew where we were going. This time of year the path we take is usually quite overgrown with long grass plenty of mud, and several small streams. There is a concern for snakes since we can't always see our feet, but so far we haven't come across any of the venomous vipers.




Beau hiking through the bush.....he insisted he could do it himself!




Shea and I prefer bringing the stroller, just so Gracie and occasionally Beau have a place to travel. Although pushing the large stroller through the thick grass and over the big rocks, becomes quite a challenge, so it was nice to have Dr Vinzant and Dr Todd around to lend a helping hand. Dr Vinzant actually pushed Gracie in the stroller most of the way up the rock. I'm sure he wondered why we brought this stroller that we had to carry so much of the time, but I think he was to nice to say anything.




Drs Todd and Vinzant helping carry the stroller down the hill.

 The hike to the hills is quite picturesque, and filled with beautiful trees, and thatched roof huts scattered across the country side. At the top, you can see for miles. We were there just before sunset and the sky was lit ups with a multitude of colors. We stopped for a quick snack and some water at the top. There's a family that lives right below the three hills, and they have several small children. They always seemed thrilled to have company way up in their backyard. Although they probably think its a little strange that we would climb that big rock with a stroller...for fun! Luckily there were no great stories of daring rescues or strange injuries, everyone did well and enjoyed getting to see one of the more beautiful spots in Zimbabwe.



Shea and the kids hanging out at the top....Dr Todd's waving to the kids.

 The rest of the time with our "Kansas Crew" has been great. We've enjoyed some great meals together, swapped plenty of stories, some interesting medical cases, and I even go to watch the super bowl again thanks to a copy they brought. We also narrowly escaped the wrath of a driverless, runaway land cruiser as it bobbed and weaved through the compound just missing the guest house. Thanks to the scream of "Oh my stars" by Dr Todd we were all ready for the close encounter of the rumbling vehicle. Thats actually a great story I'll have to share at another time.





Were so glad they came. Our time with them went so fast. It reminds us of how quickly our time here is going. We have several more weeks, so its  good for us to remember for us to make the most of our valuable time here!

We pray for there safe travels in Zimbabwe and safe flight back to the US!

Body and Soul Aerobics Class

Body and Soul class

I have had the opportunity to be involed with the aerobic class here. Last year a short term missionary named Brenda started the class which is called "Body and Soul", for the local women.  April and I starting exercising with them and April took over teaching after Brenda left. April and I were hoping this would continue but didn't know who would take over after we left. Fortunately there were 2 volunteers, Anna, a long term missionary, and Miriam. They both agreed to do the Body and Soul training and take over the class. Neither one of them had any exercise experience, but both have done a wonderful job with the class. Many of the local woman and nursing students come.

The class seems to fluctuate greatly in numbers from 3-20, depending on what is going at the nursing school.  We were able to bring over about 30 sports bras, donated by Harvest Church, to give to the ladies that attend.  They have really appreciated this gift, as there are very few sports bras available  in the area.  Harvest Church also gave us Daily Bread devotionals that we have been giving out to the women.  Anna encourages them each aerobics class to get into the word of God on a daily basis and I think the Daily Breads give them a very practical way to put this into practice. This is really a very good ministry here, as it provides the women an appropriate place to exercise, with an emphasis on their spiritual health as well.  One of the ladies told me, "It is OK for the whites to go on a jog here, but if I were to do it, people would think i was being very lazy".  "Lazy?" I said.  "Yes, they would think I was lazy because I was running instead of spending my energy on the fields" she replied.  That was interesting, a little insight into the culture around us. 

Eating candlelight Indian food in the courtyard.

I am glad to be a part of the class and get to know more woman through it.  We can all keep Anna and Miriam in our prayers, as they are full time nurses and they still work very hard to make time for this ministry.

Beau's Big Day!



I think they were playing a derivation of 500 in the water!

Happy Birthday to Beau! His actual birthday is in 2 days, but today turned out to be a good day to celebrate, so we decided to have all the festivities on Sunday! The last couple of weeks have been really hot, because it hasn't rained much. Yesterday, I found the old kiddie pool from last year. I blew it up and it held all the air without leaks! The only problem was the water. We haven't had much water past 11am the last week, so we hated to fill up the pool with water other people could use. Well, today we got lucky because we had a great rain, and we easily filled the pool. This afternoon was nice and hot, so it was a perfect afternoon for a pool party. 



Gracie, Beau, Jeremy, Jo Jo and Caleb all having fun!



Last year we had a few to many kids, so I think Beau was a little intimidated. This year we let him pick his favorite couple of friends to invite to his pool party. He chose Jeremy, Jo Jo, Caleb, and of course Gracie (not that he had a choice on that one). So this afternoon the 5 of them ran around and swam as long as they could. We also gave them a nice ice cream (picked it up in Harare last weekend) break which I think was Beau's favorite part.



Gracie loved her ice cream, and desperately wanted more!



Gracie held here own with a pool full of boys!



At one point I looked over and saw that Beau had positioned a patio table right in front of the pool. He had climbed up on the table and bent down to ready for a jump. I saw him and  yelled: "what are you doing!". He calmly said "I just wanted to make a diving board!" I of course told him that was a terrible idea, but inside I was thinking "that might actually work pretty well". Well I guess I know where he gets it.



Homemade Winnie the Pooh cake....Wow I couldn't believe Shea made that from scratch!



After the afternoon of swimming and eating the kids were getting tired. We put out a few fires and got them ready for the next round of activities. All the long term missionaries were getting together to throw a triple birthday party for Beau, Rita, and Kathy Stevens (who we affectionately call "Ambuya" which means Grandmother in Shona). Kathy is married to Roland Stevens and she was turning 85 today. She's quite an amazing women as well!

We had a great meal.....potluck style! Although the whole meal Beau just kept asking: "When is it birthday cake time?" He's been talking about his birthday cake all month. For him the dinner couldn't get over fast enough. Finally, the time came to blow out the candles and open presents. He got some nice toys and trinkets from the missionaries here. He especially loved Ambuya's gift. She gave him a huge box filled with cookies. We then got to the cake....Beau's favorite part! He quietly sat in his seat and managed to eat about 4 pieces. I guess thats what I get for telling him he can eat as much cake as he wants on his birthday. It actually took him until nearly 10pm to stop talking to himself in bed. I guess that's why you don't give sugar to 2 year olds after 7pm.



Beau waiting to blow out his candles..sitting next to Ambuya!



We have been so lucky to have Beau in our family for the last 3 years. He has been a huge blessing to both of us. He has been an incredible example of perseverance to those who know him well. Things haven't always come easy for him, and he's had a lot of bumps and bruises along the way. You would never know it by his demeanor though. No matter how many times he falls, he always gets up with his infectious smile, heart warming laugh, and a courageous heart thats always ready for more. I'm so proud of him and lucky to have him as my son! Happy Birthday Beau! 

The Good News From a Bad Situation!

It was a warm afternoon in the OPD (outpatient department). There was still a long line of people waiting to be seen, yet I felt my brain had about reached its capacity. I just finished seeing a sick child and I looked up to see a young women, probably in her mid 20s, pushing a wasted skeleton of a man probably in his late 40s. He looked to be her father, but I quickly found out she was actually his wife. Actually she was his 2nd wife. His first wife passed away from HIV several years ago. She was timid, and made little eye contact, but had a warm smile. She brought her husband to be seen because he had a large neck mass, and lost the ability to walk over the last several days. He told her that he was recently diagnosed with HIV, and had just started taking HIV medication within the last month.


After spending sometime reading through his card I realized that he hadn't been honest with his new wife. He was actually diagnosed with HIV six years ago. He married this women knowing he was HIV positive, and didn't tell her, his diagnosis. This is actually a crime in Zimbabwe, as it should be. With the help of my translator we were able to figure out that he had actually taken HIV medication for several years that was not prescribed to him. The medication he took was actually prescribed to his oldest son who also had HIV and died 1 year ago. He didn't seek medical attention for his himself, so no one would know he had HIV and he could marry another. This man was lower then low! It took everything in me to continue to take care of him. He infected his 1st wife, and their 2 kids, and now probably this new wife and there young daughter. To make it worse he lied about all of it for the last several years.

His new wife learned all of this for the first time in front of us. You could see her already low self esteem just deflate even more. She wasn't educated, and in this culture women are essentially the property of their husbands. Unfortunately, without a husband, women our left to fend for themselves, and this can be quite impossible in this country.

He had an abscess in his neck and end stage HIV. His time on this earth was drawing to an end regardless of our medical treatments. We did drain the abscess and admitted him to the male ward. Although my concern was really not with this man, but this poor young women and her young baby girl. What kind of future would they both have? This question lingered in my mind much of the next day.

The following day, I had just finished seeing all the patients in the male ward and I heard a soft voice come from around the corner. “Chiremba, Chiremba (this means doctor in Shona) I want Bible?” This was the voice of the women! Her English was quite broken, as she had very little education. She had probably just learned that phrase. What an answered prayer! I awkwardly communicated with her, and then left to find a bible and a chaplain. We were able to find her a Shona Bible and that same day she came to know the Lord as her savior.

I thought this story was a great parallel of what Christ did for all of us. This woman's husband died several days later. She became a widowed HIV positive Shona women. This was as low and worthless as a person could become in this country. The reality is we are all worthless compared to the perfection of God. Thankfully Christ's sacrifice provided a way for all of us to become royalty. Now I along with this women will sit at the table with the King of Kings for all eternity! Praise God!

Weekend in Harare!



Gracie sitting by herself, coming back from Harare!



I awoke about 430 this morning to a call from maternity. They had another mother who had labored to long somewhere else and needed an urgent Csection. For a second, I forgot we were back at Karanda! So I grabbed my stuff, and off I went in. Another busy day at Karanda ahead. Fortunately everything went well with that mom and her baby. A great start to the Day!



We just returned from a weekend trip to Harare. It was a nice to get a little break, and get to the big city for a couple of days. Going to Harare is always a fun time for our family. After a long time of being so isolated at Karanda its awesome just being able to drive in a car. Our weekends our usually predictable. A lot of pizza and Chinese food. Both are a welcome change to making food from scratch, cleaning a sink full of dishes, and they taste great too. I'm still not sure if the food is really as good as we think or if are just so ready for “quick and easy” that anything would taste good. Either way the pizza and Chinese were great, and we even had burgers and ice cream one day as well.



Beau with his rubber band(head band) that he wore for 4 days straight!



The main challenge to our weekends back at Harare is the Grocery shopping. Shopping for 1 month at a time is quite the challenge. Fortunately we've gotten used to the stores here, so its gotten much easier. We usually have 4 main stops including: a cheese store, meat store, vegetable store, and a general store. Shea in particular, has it down to quite a science so our trips have gotten much more efficient. The kids and I also got some pool time. There is a really nice pool at the guest house, and Beau really loves getting some time to swim.....even if the water is cold.



A little Pool Time!



One of the other highlights of Harare, is getting to spend some time with the missionaries stationed in Harare. There is really a great group of Godly men and women in the city, and it great to spend some time with them and their families. Several of them had us over for meals, and they all love playing with the kids, and we have come to treasure there stories and advice.



Of course for me, the biggest highlight was getting to watch the Super Bowl. Doug Everswick, one of the long term missionaries in Harare, was able to get the satellite to pick up a live feed from the the game at 130 am local time. It was awesome just to watch some football, let alone watch my favorite team take home the Lombardi Trophy. Even Beau woke up with me for a couple of hours and enjoyed some pop corn. What an awesome game....Go Pack Go!

The other great blessing from the weekend was the lady I wrote about several days ago. When we left on friday she was still not very alert, and still critically anemic. When we returned, I found out she was able to get 2 units of blood over the weekend, and is now alert, holding her baby, and making enough milk to keep her baby fed. Praise the Lord!



Beau and Gracie heading out to go exploring!





It looks like they found a hideout!





The Kids Club Ministry!



Chantal is always very shy.



We have enjoyed  being involved with Kids Club again.  Kids Club is the HIV orphan ministry that the hospital runs.  These are kids that nobody can care for. They have technical homes, but are considered a burden on there new families who often have many other children. They often go without meals and usually go without love. Three days a week, the children come to the hospital and are given a meal, bible lesson, play some games, and receive much needed love. 

The local Chaplin, who is in charge of Kids Club, came to me concerned because their volunteers have been busy and have not been able to come to help as they had done previously.  He also has a lot of other work to do and cannot always be a Kids Club three times a week.  We talked a while and then after talking with a few of the other missionaries, we came up with the idea of hiring a full time person to help with Kids Club. The only issue of course was funding.

Fortunately, before we left, Harvest Church, our church in New Hampton, was able to send us with money that could be used on the missions field.  What a blesssing! We are very excited about this opportunity. Harvest Church will be able to fund one Kids Club leader for a year.  This leader will improve the organization and stability for the kids. Her role will consist of planning two Bible lessons a week, one health topic, a weekly Bible verse, and organization of games and activities. 



Colin enjoying jump rope, we all celebrated when he finally made 5 jumps in a row.



We have also found the perfect person to take on this project.  She is a 24 year old, single lady, who lives very close to the hospital, her name is Priscilla.  She can also speak good English and Shona, so she will be very good at translating for short term missionaries that visit.  I think she will play a very important part in the lives of these children as it will be someone they can rely on.

I have attached pictures that I hope you will enjoy.  One of the first times that we went down to Kids Club, I had Beau bring his Christmas candy to share!  He wasn't so excited to give his candy away, but the kids there sure appreciated it!



Beau giving away Christmas candy!