Kenya
It was really nice to have the break even with the little accident of missing my flight (more about that in a bit). The trip to Kenya was quite enjoyable. I had a several hour layover in Johannesburg, South Africa which I decided to fill with a little trip to the golden arches! It was the best McDonalds that I think I have ever had! Of course my little trip didn't come without it's cost. The Big Mac meal that I had cost approximately $3 US dollars. The taxi ride to the McDonalds and back to the airport cost approximately $23 US dollars! I had absolutely no idea that it was going to cost that much! Here in Namibia the taxi rides cost less than $1 US unless you are going from one end of town to the complete opposite. Then they are only $2. So I never would have even thought that they would be like taxis back in the States that charge you by distance! However, it was completely worth it! It tasted so good! :-)
As for Kenya itself, it was beautiful! Set near the equator it has lush green everywhere. For the nursing conference we were nestled in the mountains in the midst of gorgeous tea fields. I didn't get to take a tour of the tea fields but I got someone's pictures who did. The retreat center that we were in was just beautiful. It was such a huge change from the desert sand to be able to walk through the green grass in my bare feet! Surprisingly enough that is also where I got to see chameleons for the first time! Not only did I see a lot, but I also held one and got a picture with him on my shoulder! We tried to get him to eat so we could see his telescopic tongue, but the bugs we caught to feed him just didn't interest him at all!
Conference
The conference itself was wonderful. It was hosted by a Christian college of nursing based out of Abilene, Texas. The lecturers were doctors and nurse practitioners from the States, several of whom have practiced or are currently practicing in Africa. We learned on topics including pneumonia, HIV/AIDS, suturing, TB, delivering babies and mental health issues. It was so wonderful to get the updates and to hear some in depth information about things that I face on a daily basis at work. It was also very nice to be able to meet the other nurses and to fellowship with people who are dealing with the same things as I am. It was very affirming that the work that I am doing here is extremely difficult. However, it was also very eye opening to learn what others are going through and how great I have it in comparison to some of them. The nurse that I ended up touring with, Kim, is working out in the bush with no running water and only solar electricity. She has been there for 10 years running a clinic by herself. Though it sounds very rewarding I just can't imagine working in that kind of setting!!!
The college, Patty Hanks Shelton School of Nursing, is one that I am interested in learning more about. They have a master's in nursing program that I have asked them to send me more information about. They have two tracks, one for nurse practitioner and one for nurse educator. I have thought about doing both of those after I return home and being located in Abilene would put me closer to my family for a while which would be really nice! :-) Don't look for any further news about this in the near future, but closer to time to come home you might be hearing more about it! :-)
Mt Kilimanjaro (Mt Kili since I am too lazy to type that whole thing each time)
When I arrived in Nairobi I joined up with Kim. We went on a 3 day 2 night camping safari to Amboseli (am-buh-sell-ee) Park in southern Kenya. Though Mt Kili is actually located in Tanzania, it is so big that you can see it from the park in Kenya. Amboseli park is known for the elephant population and we were not disappointed! There were elephants everywhere! We got some really great shots and I hope to be putting them onto the website soon. Aside from the many elephants, we also saw lions, yellow baboons, zebra, red hartebeest, the white bearded gnu and tons of different kinds of birds including the crested crane which is the national bird of Uganda.
Like a shy and mysterious lady, Mt Kili didn't want to show us all of her glory. We did get some great photos, but because of the cloud cover we never saw the mountain really well. On our last day there we didn't see the mountain at all! It was really hard to think that the largest mountain on the African continent was there but just hiding behind some clouds!
Weather
Thankfully upon my return from Kenya I found that the worst of the high temps were gone. It still has been hot and we have had some miserable days of heat, but the nights are cooling of quite nicely! Last night I actually felt cold! The other thing that is weird to see is that the leaves are changing colors! Winter is definitely on the way!
Work
Work has been quite interesting lately. Not only has it been extremely busy but we also got the blessing of a new nurse and a new doctor! The nurse is a refugee from Angola who has been in Namibia for almost 10 years now. She graduated from her training last year but has been waiting for the last year for her work permit. She is really nice and both Sarah and I enjoy working with her. It's sometimes difficult though since she is still learning how to do everything. It also means that there are 3 of us who don't speak the language well enough to do anything other than a basic assessment. That makes doing a lot of things more than a little difficult!
One of the harder things that Sarah and I have been dealing with has been the lack of good medical leadership from our doctors. Their decision making/diagnosing skills and treatment plans aren't exactly wonderful and it is hard to live with the results of their actions. It was because of the death of one child that Minnie decided to go to the chief of the doctors and complain about the care that pediatric patients were receiving. Through that and some other complaints that were made the decision was made to move one of the other doctors onto the pediatric service. His name is Dr. Raphael Mlauzi (muh-lousy) and he is from Zimbabwe. He was on the surgical team but I think that he is welcoming the change in scenery. Unfortunately the current doctors are a little miffed and it has made things a little interesting at work. To show you what he is up against, let me tell you this little story. This last week we had a situation where the doctor ordered one medication, the next day Dr. Mlauzi changed the medication. On day three however, the original doctor rounded on the patient and changed the medication back to what she had originally ordered! Switching back and forth between the medications is anything less than healthy for the patient. Not to mention the morale implications for our new doctor and the nursing staff. Please pray that things will continue to work out and that this new doctor will have a positive influence on the current docs so that things will take a turn for the better!
Short-termers (yes it is meant to be plural)
Things have been going really well with Sarah. It is a little strange living and working with her, but it has it's benefits. It's nice having someone who truly understands what my days are like. She goes through the same things that I go through at work and it has bonded us.
This summer (winter for us) we have a team of people coming to join us here in Rundu! There is one guy, Paul Tanner, from the UK that is already here, he will be here for 6 weeks. He is a project coordinator and he will be working with the church in Kaisosi to help them organize their orphan project better. Then, leaving Canada today, we have 3 ladies coming! They are Sally Han, Amy Cleaves and Karissa Moon. Two of them will be staying with me and Sarah and one with Mary. They will be here for 3 months. They will be doing a number of different things all under the umbrella term of 'youth work'. Basically they will be hanging out with the kids in the community doing arts, crafts, games and Bible teachings as well as working with the churches to assist them with Sunday school and assist the orphan project in any way they can.
A Beautiful New Baby
Introducing the newest member of our Rundu team:
Rachel Grace Ndapewa
No, she isn't mine, she's Rob & Alisa's. And, as you can tell, it wasn't that Alisa was pregnant (you definitely would have know about that). This new development in their lives came quite unexpectedly. Rachel's mother delivered at the hospital then got really sick and passed away. Usually family would show up to claim the body for a proper burial and to take the baby. However, this didn't happen. It was a few weeks of the baby being cared for by the nurses on maternity before her father showed up. Instead of taking her though, he told the nurses that he couldn't care for her and that there wasn't any family that could care for her either. Knowing a little bit about the situation, Rob had told Alisa and they had talked about wanting to care for her if no one else came. It was after talking about it that they decided to talk to the social worker about it. It was just about a week later that they came home with this precious little girl! Right now they are waiting to have the interview from the social worker to determine if they are a suitable family to take Rachel. If they decide she is then they will go ahead and start the adoption process!
Again I am sorry that it took me so long to write this email! I hope you are all doing well!
lots of love and hugs from afar!
k
Prayer needs:
Please pray for the ladies as they travel over the next 2 days to Namibia
Pray for my friend Patty who has been having problems trying to get her US Citizenship. She is from Canada and her husband is American.
Please pray for my friend Joy and her fianc� John David as they continue to make wedding plans for June!
Please pray for me, Rob and Sara as we continue to work in such difficult situations and with some difficult people, and for Alisa who now has to care for an even bigger family these days!
Kimmie Tibbetts
Serving the people of Namibia at the Rundu State Hospital
http://thekimmieconnection.tripod.com/
http://thekimmieconnection.tripod.com/journal
http://thekimmieconnection.blogspot.com/
http://photos.yahoo.com/thekimmieconnection
