Chasing Adventure

I'm currently sitting at my new dining room table.  My new dining room table is very different than a typical dining room table.  It's collapsable and mobile because unlike most, we have chosen to chase our adventure in a 45 foot RV motorcoach. Despite our ignorance of driving and living in a motorhome, we confidently jumpmed into our dream and there's no turning back!

Just over two months ago, we returned from a six-month-long mission trip to Zimbabwe, Africa.  So many people generously supported us on the life-changing journey as we dedicated almost every waking minute to the people of Nhowe Mission (and many waking minutes when you aren't supposed to be awake!).  As our family dove into the African culture, we saw things in a new light, and discovered what's really important in life.  First, and most importantly, is our relationship with Jesus Christ.  Second, is our relationship with our family.  Third, our relationships with others. And forth, to live life everyday with a sense of belonging, a spice of adventure, and with no regrets.  What we discovered is that many Zimbabweans live one day at a time and don't plan for the distant future because there is so much uncertainty and instability in their lives, economy, politics, even life or death of family members or themselves.  It does provoke a much more God-reliant outlook on life!

So when we entered back onto American soil, we had a new perspective and a new set of priorities.  Maybe it was the poverty and corruption we witnessed - and the compassion we developed for the Zimbabwean people as they lived without complaint, full of love and happiness.  Perhaps it was the love of new friends we made at Nhowe Mission and their importance to our survival in a country and culture we had never lived in before.  Was it the days and days we went without electricity and water that gave us time to reflect on life and on the necessities of daily living?  Maybe it was all the times we couldn't do things by our own power, but through calling on God and His immediate, immaculate answers to prayer.  Whatever the source of our inspiration, and it is definitely a combination of numerous experiences, this new perspective has had a big impact on our immediate life decisions.

Moving into this small living space with four kids is only the beginning (unfortunately, we left the dogs at home).  Everything from here on out is a blank slate.  Writing our own journey, living purposefully, fully relying on God, making memories, seeing old friends and making new ones.  Our adventure around the United States in our "Skimobile" - and down as many ski runs as possible - is awaiting.  Please join us!

Getting Out of The Bubble, Living by Faith

On the way home from bringing the kids to school this morning, the christian radio station was all in an uproar about the recent terror threat on the Mall of America.  They were encouraging people to go about their daily lives like normal.  They read verses about walking by faith and declared that if Christians were to purposely avoid the Mall of America in fear, that they weren't living out their faith.  They announced that God calls us, not be people of fear and timidity, but a people of courage and faith.  They interviewed a mother who called in.  She had a 12 year old who was supposed to meet some friends at the Mall of America yesterday.  The 12 year old was afraid and asked her mother if they could change plans.  Her mother told the radio station that she used this as a teachable moment and that they walked on faith as they kept their plans, and enjoyed a wonderful faith-filled, fun day at the mall with their friends.

As I heard this lady speak, I thought she was crazy!  Let me tell you, there is no way I would step foot in the Mall of America anytime soon and I would never take my daughter to meet some friends any place that was under a terror threat!  The radio announcers kept talking.  They mentioned the "bubble" we tend to let ourselves live in and how most of us don't step out in great faith very often.  The more I listened to them talk, the more I thought these people were losing it!  I just couldn't understand anyone not avoiding the Mall of America right now!

Then it hit me.

God calls us all to do outrageous things for His kingdom.  Our faith journeys aren't all alike, either.  Sometimes, this requires us to step out of our "bubbles" and do something that we might not feel comfortable with.  Maida recently asked me about the devotional song, "Break My Heart," and why it is asking God to break our hearts.  I have never thought about it before.
Break my heart, dear Lord,
Tear the barriers down,
Show me with, convicting tears,
The glory of Your crown.

My heart is hard, my soul so weak
The ways of evil cut so deep
I need You, Lord to come inside
And gently break my heart.

My sin is great, but I can see,
The glory set for me.
Show me Father, where to start.
And gently break my heart.

There are so many things in life that can get in the way of living "out loud" for God's Kingdom.  Sometimes it's the busyness of our days.  Sometimes it's pure selfishness and choosing something that might look better.  And sometimes it's fear.  I think about our plans for Africa and how taking our four precious and most prized possessions to Africa, scares me.  Every time I take a hot shower, I think about how much I'm going to miss the feeling of getting in a hot shower (not to mention having heat, air conditioning, and simply having electricity).  I'm going to miss calling my parents every day or meeting up for family weekends with my nieces and nephews.  I'm going to miss the convenience of a grocery store.  I'm already feeling sad about all the birthdays and holidays we'll miss...  It would be so easy to get in a little bubble here in the states and never think about Africa again, but this is our faith journey and our walk toward following God's lead.  Even though I will be hesitant, sad, and nervous, I will arrive in Africa, content and confident with living God's will for our lives.  I will walk into the "terror threat" with faith and trust, just like the lady interviewed on the radio did with her daughter.  And do you know what's so happy about that?  It won't just be for my soul, but  for my children's souls, and for all the souls we'll be in contact with there and who we've already been praying for.

 We had a good friend die of cancer when he was very young, leaving the love of his life and four beautiful young children behind.  There is one thing that has always stuck out to me about his struggle and death.  As he journaled through his disease, he once wrote something along the lines of, "If one person is saved because of my journey of faith through this battle with cancer, I will willingly and gladly die for that soul."

On Pinterest this afternoon, I came across this quote, "No mess, no message."  Not only are we God's people, but we are God's tools.  Getting out of our bubbles, tearing the barriers down, having faith, and going through whatever "mess" it takes, to spread the message, is what we are called and encouraged to do.  Now as I ask and long for God to "break my heart" and "tear the barriers down," God's Word speaks to me now more than ever...


"In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."  1 Peter 1:6-7"That is why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ.  For when I am weak, then I am strong."
2 Corinthians 12:10

"...I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.  These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you may have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."
John 16:32-33

"Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance."
Romans 5:3

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?"
Romans 8:35

"And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again."
2 Corinthians 5:15

"We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.  We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God."
2 Corinthians 5:20

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your way submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight."
Proverbs 3:5-6

Digging up the Past, a Beginning for the Future

Nearly 10 years ago, Erik and I were working for our church, planning activities for the youth and families.  One of our summer activities was making a time capsule with the youth. We had the kids answer some questions pertaining to personal goals for the next 10 years on a sheet of paper and we put all of them in the time capsule and hid it in the church.  A few months ago, some of the time capsule kids (who are now in college) found the capsule that they had participated in and opened it!  The preacher thoughtfully sent our pieces of paper to us.

I had not read Erik's paper before receiving it in the mail.  First, I read the front:

Then I read the back:

Floods of memories came back.  At this time, Erik and I were soon headed to Africa with the Peace Corps.  We had went through the application and interview process and we were in the middle of the extensive medical examinations.  It was just a few short weeks later, exactly one month before departure, when I had a bad pap smear that eventually closed the door on Africa at that time.  It was devastating and surprising, but comforting.  We had seen other doors closing, but assumed it was Satan getting in our way of going.  When this door shut, too, we knew God had something better.

Looking back, I can see how these past ten years have been God-directed.  There were times when we tried to do it all on our own, but there were also times where we gave every ounce of life over to Him and He sustained us.  

Almost a year ago, after a couple very stressful years of residency, I was able to accompany Erik to Africa.  It was a long time in the waiting, but so incredibly perfect.  In fact, it was so perfect and I was so changed and touched by our experience in Africa, that I haven't been able to share our story until now.  I have spent the last 11 months processing, praying, searching, and dreaming.

As our life unfolded in Africa, I wrote it all down in a journal that Samartian's Purse gave me before we went.  There, under my mosquito net in the softness of the African morning heat, with the sounds of the hospital just yards away, I wrote.  I wrote mostly for my children, but now I realize that I also wrote as a marker to the beginning of a journey I never knew our family would take, a journey into medical missions.  I plan to take the next month to record my journal and reflect the journey on the blog. I will slowly be recording our journal under the
"The Congo, February 2014" tab at the top of our blog.

Samaritan's Purse just published an article about our trip to Africa in one of their magazines.  It turned out great and I hope it is an inspiration to those who read it...

Follow this link: www.samaritanspurse.org/article/wake-up-fall/


God made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before Him...God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to His eyes.
Psalm 18:20,24 (The Message)

Sole Hope Shoe Cutting Party

A couple of weeks ago, the kids came home from school and I had big plans for them to pack a couple shoe boxes for Samaritan's Purse's Operation Christmas Child.  I was so excited about it and was confident that they would be excited, too.  However, their reactions were shocking.

"I don't want to spend money on other people.  I would rather just buy more presents for us and put them under our tree."  Skogen told me after I suggested packing a shoe box.  Maida stomped her foot and rolled her eyes.  She crossed her arms  and gave me a pouty face.  When I asked her to change her attitude, she made a comment about not having any interest in helping others.  After a short discussion, they both ended up sitting in their rooms for a while to think about what they had said and how they really felt.  It was obvious to me, though, that my children were not ready and not prepared to be the hands and feet of Jesus.  They had no idea how to put others before themselves or why they should.  I sat and cried because I knew this was a reflection of myself and evidence of a family that has not served enough.  Well, our shoe boxes got packed and they were packed with joyful hearts!  It was a learning experience that didn't stop with shoe boxes. I immediately started praying for opportunities.  That night, a friend of ours posted her plans for a "shoe cutting party."  I had no idea what this meant, but it caught my attention.  Prayers were immediately answered as I literally spent hours on Sole Hope's website that night and at midnight, bought a "kit" to host our own shoe cutting party.

So last weekend, we had 30 people over from our church family that were here for our first shoe cutting party!  They all brought their old jeans and some milk cartons.  We turned these jeans and milk cartons into roughly assembled shoes that will be sent to Uganda to be sewed.  There are areas of Uganda where children, who have no shoes, are seriously infected with jiggers.  Jiggers are small sand fleas that enter bare feet and burrow into the skin.  When they are left untreated, the jiggers cause lots of pain, lay eggs, multiply, and lead to infections, paralysis, amputation, and sometimes death.  Sole Hope is an organization that travels into the areas of Uganda where they have bad jigger problems.  Sole Hope holds foot washing clinics for the people in these villages.  They wash the feet of the people, remove the jiggers and egg sacks, teach the people how to remove their own jiggers, and then give them shoes to wear.  The hope is that they will continue to keep their feet clean, jigger free, with regular jigger removal and the wearing of shoes.  The twenty pairs of shoes we made will be put on the feet of twenty toddlers in Uganda!  Not only that, but at our party, we had someeone announce that an anonymous donation of $200 was made to sponsor our twenty pairs of shoes to Uganda (it is about $10 per shoe to get to Uganda and pay the shoe makers to make them).  I was speechless and humbled.  God is so good and works in ways that we can't even imagine.

This shoe cutting party was just a small step in God's plan for our family's service.  The party was not just a success because we made shoes and raised money for twenty kids to be saved from jiggers, but it was a success because my children felt like they were doing something for someone else.  They understood what they were doing and they enjoyed doing it.  If you are interested in hosting a shoe cutting party, head to www.solehope.org.  There is a lot of information there, along with kits that you can buy that will walk you step-by-step through hosting a shoe cutting party of your own.

Here are the highlights of our shoe cutting party (click on the pictures to make them bigger!).....

We made and sent an invite for our cutting party on our church Facegroup page.

We received our kit from Sole Hope, which included everything we needed to host the party (a sample of what we'd be making, videos to show the guests before and after the party, donation envelopes, bookmarks to hand out, and an instruction booklet).

After our guests arrived, we piled in the living room to watch the video.  After a prayer and quick introduction, we split up into stations that I already had ready prepared around the house.

The first station was the Tracing Station.  This was a great station for the kids to participate at!  Here the patterns were traced on inside of the denim from our old jeans!  The traced patterns were then passed to the Cutting Station.

We made our Cutting Station an "adult only" station.  This is a very important step in the shoe making process, so we wanted them cut correctly.  Our cutters worked the whole time and did an awesome job cutting hundreds of pieces out!

We also had a Plastic Station.  This was a "dads only" station since dads have strong hands to cut plastic. The milk cartons that the guests brought were cut into half moon shapes to be used for the heel beds of the shoes.

The last station was a Quality Control station.  This was also a great station for the little kids to help with!  This is where all the cut out pieces went.  Here the pieces were matched up and then sorted into piles of shoes.  Each pair of shoes was pinned together with a large safety pin.

We worked for an hour and a half and got twenty pairs of shoes done.  Our goal was ten, so we doubled it!  We ordered in tacos and had chips and salsa for dinner.

I copied this picture from Sole Hope's website.  This is a picture of some Ugandan children with shoes on like the ones we assembled.

 We should have taken a group picture at the beginning, but didn't think about it until the end (when eight people had already left). 

We have plans to host at least two other cutting parties!  It was such a fun way to serve!

A Very Blessed Fourth of July

The Fourth of July is my favorite holiday....corn on the cob, watermelon, family, campfires, s'mores, the lake, boating, sun, and fireworks - all of my most favorite things!  Our family's Fourth of July traditions begin soon after the sun comes up.  Despite staying up way too late by the fire the night before, we're all up and ready to run by 8am, at the start line of the Firecracker Footrace, the city's 5K walk/run that our family enjoys doing together.  After we all cross the finish line, it's back home to put the finishing touches on our pies and by noon, we have our pies entered in the city pie contest.

​After the city parade and the pie contest results, the afternoon is spent either on the beach or on the boat, basking in the beautiful Minnesota sun.  As evening comes, so does the food!  My mom and her sisters are some of the best cooks around.  No one will go hungry when they're in charge!  After filling our bellies, we fill the boats and travel down the river into the city, where the fireworks display is shot off right over the river.  I am convinced that this is the best (and only) way to watch the fireworks on the Fourth of July.  I have lived other places and been to other Fourth of July fireworks - nothing compares.  I was very excited to have all four of my kids on the boat for the fireworks this year.

We park our boats downriver, throwing in our anchors and tying our boats together.  We share food, drinks, and glow sticks between the boats as we chat and laugh until it gets dark enough for the fireworks.  Everyone then jumps in their sleeping bags when the first boom goes off and there we lay, snuggling, as the colors and sounds flood the sky.  I had anticipated my children being in awe of the fireworks, laying happily and calmly as we oooooooed and awwwwwed in amazement.  That was not

​ exactly the case this year.  Their reactions surprised me and interested me.​

​

​Klaasen looked up long enough to see the first firework go off, but then went right back to connecting glow sticks together, singing, and marching around the boat.  In his busy little mind, I'm speculating that he thought, "If you've seen one firework, you've seen them all.  Why waste a half an hour of good play time on a whole firework show?!"  Skogen, on the other hand asked to snuggle upon hearing the first boom.  He wasn't scared, but he wasn't real sure about the fireworks, either.  He was most comfortable sitting with Grandma, who had a plethora of blankets to cover up with, or hide under, if needed.  Torsten spent most of the firework show letting us all know that his nose was working.  Given we sit right under the fireworks, ​the ashes and debits fall on us on occasion and the smell of the smoke can be a little overwhelming if the wind isn't strong enough to blow it up the river.  While most of us were saying, "ooooo and awwww," he was yelling, "pew, pew," and waving his hand under his nose.  ​Maida sat with her cousin Tonya through the entire show.  Being the chit-chat that she is, continually (and loudly) gave detailed descriptions of each firework, expressing her love for the pink fireworks, the waterfall-looking fireworks, and especially the sparkling fireworks!  ​

​The firework grand finale is just that - a grand finale.  It stops everyone in their tracks and as it comes to a close and the sky goes black with the sounds of the last fireworks still echoing down the river, a lone trumpet player plays from shore.  As he plays the National Anthem, people on their boats and on the shore sing along.  It is a touching time to reflect back on all we have been blessed with as a nation.  This year, as we put-putted back home on the river, Maida broke the silence.  "Mom, what if it was really God shooting off those beautiful fireworks as a gift for us, instead of people shooting them off like we thought it was?"​  My eyes filled with tears.  I absolutely love how this sweet little girl thinks nothing is impossible for God.   That night as I tucked my babies in bed, I thanked God for their pure, self-less, limitless faith in God and in his power.

​This wasn't the only lesson in faith I learned that day.  After the kids were all tucked in and sleeping soundly, I tiptoed upstairs where I found some of the family was still awake, cleaning up from the day.  As I offered some help, we started talking.​  Not surprisingly, the conversation turned to Africa and I was sternly questioned about our decision to move our family over there.  I was told that Erik and I were being selfish by deciding to do mission work with our family because it wasn't fair for our kids since they could get sick and die over there.  Moments before this, I was laying with my kids, dreaming of Africa.  Now, I was brought down to my lowest low of doubts and fears.  I felt attacked.  I felt judged.  I felt like someone was lecturing me and telling me that I was doing something wrong.  I felt beat up.  I went to bed frustrated, sad, and questioning.  ​On a night when I should have been exhausted and asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow, I laid awake instead.  I prayed.  I sobbed.  I searched.  By morning I had found.  

Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 

Mark 16:15

But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him?  And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him?  And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them?  And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent?  That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" 

Romans 10:14-16

I feel called to the mission field and I am ready to live out that calling.  I am reminded of King David and how he lived his life out loud for God.  It didn't always look appropriate or responsible in the eyes of others, but that didn't stop him.  He inwardly and outwardly lived out his calling, regardless of what others thought (2 Samuel 6:14-23).  Soon our family will embark on (what I feel is) the one of the most self-less things we could do for and with our kids.  We are willing to give up everything in the states that we could have on a physician's salary (including the salary!) and take our kids to a world where we'll have close to nothing (materialistically speaking and by America's standards).  We will give, teach, encourage, serve, equip, heal, mend, love, and bless others.  I am thankful for my sister's questioning of our decision to go because now, more than ever, I am confident in the journey ahead.  

As I was writing this post, Maida tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Mom, when I start to not believe, I just think of how amazing and beautiful the world is.  If God is not real, then how do people grow?  How do plants come from just a small seed?  And I continue to think, how does this do this and that do that, and I just know that He is real and so good."  She is so wise beyond her years and she will lead us when we grow weary.  Just as each of our children saw the fireworks in very different ways, they will each bring something very different and unique to the mission field.  Together we will make a team and together we can and will do amazing things for God.

Just Another Dinner Conversation

 Kara:  Okay guys, if it is God's plan for us to go to Africa after residency, how are we going to get there?  What is our plan?  Where are we going to go and how are we going to serve there?

Maida: It would totally be fun to drive, but I think taking an airplane would be faster.

Kara:  Yeah, we would have to because it's across the ocean, so we couldn't drive even if we tried.  What I meant was like, what are we going to do with our stuff and how are we going to afford our trip?



Skogen:  Did you say across the OCEAN?!!  Oh, I love to watch fish in the ocean!

Klaasen:  I like to watch sharks, too.  I saw them at the Mall of America one time.

Maida:  We couldn't bring our stuff to Africa.

Klaasen:  We couldn't bring bring Barkley! to Africa because we couldn't bring him.  He have to stay here and and and other people have to live here with Barkley!.



Maida:  No, I don't want to leave Barkley! here!

Skogen:  We should just ask if we could just bring him and say he's really calm.

Maida:  But what if he barks on the plane?

Skogen:  He won't.

Maida:  Ummm, Skogen, dogs have to bark sometimes.  I'm thinking we could have our stuff shipped to us or we could just give it away to the poor people.  Like, if anyone needs anything.

Skogen:  Yeah, good idea.

Maida:  In Africa I would probably help the poor and stuff like that.  I would probably...

Skogen:  Give them money?

Maida:  Yeah.

Skogen:  Take care of them?

Maida:  No, Skogen, what I'm saying is that I would feed them and bring them in my house and let them sleep in my bed.

Skogen:  Ahhh Maida, your bed is gonna stink!!




Maida:  I don't care if my bed stinks!

 

Skogen:  You would smell it and say pee-you this bed stinks!  I need a new bed!

Maida:  Skogen stop making up funny stuff like that.  I would never do that to a poor person.

Skogen:  I would just um um ahhhhh.  Um.  I don't know what I would do in Africa.

Klaasen:  I would just take care of the people and tell Dad to take them to the doctor if they were broken and bleeding.  And I would tell Dad to get surgery on them and that is all my things that I would tell them.

Maida:  But Klaasen, what if all your things don't turn out right?  Like, what if they don't really need surgery?

Klaasen:  Well, then I would just fly them on the a-plane [airplane] to get them back where they were.

Maida:  But what if they live in Africa, Klaasen?

Klaasen:  Then I would just tell them to go back home.  I would build a mosquito net in a tree for me to sleep in.  If the mosquitoes jumped on the net, they would hit it and fall back and get themselves hurt.  I really just want to live in a dinosaur home.

Skogen:  Yeah, we want a dinosaur home.

Kara:  There are no dinosaurs in Africa, boys.  I love all your ideas, though.  What is our family going to do for God in Africa?

Maida:  I would love to teach people about God there.

Skogen:  Teach them a lesson in English!

Maida:  No,  I would learn all the words in Africa and I would preach in the church and tell them about God.  I would tell them that God can do everything and you can pray and sometimes you'll get something better, or sometimes he'll say, ''later," or he'll say, "sorry no."  Like, something like that.  This would make me happy, excited, and really excited that more people can learn about God.

Klaasen:  I would just talk about God.  Pray with them.  I would tell them about God and Jesus sitting on the cross and He died for our fringe [sins].

Kara:  I think those are all really important things to tell people about!  I'm so proud of you guys and your little hearts for Jesus.

.  

As the scripture says, “Everyone who calls out to the Lord for help will be saved.” But how can they call to him for help if they have not believed?  And how can they believe if they have not heard the message?  And how can they hear if the message is not proclaimed?  And how can the message be proclaimed if the messengers are not sent out?  As the scripture says how wonderful is the coming of the messengers who bring good news!  

Romans 10:13-15

Hôpital Evangélique << Le Pionnier >>

It's 4 o'clock in the morning and -14 degrees Fahrenheit outside.  Erik and I are wide awake.  Erik decides to make us some eggs for breakfast while I sit in the dimly lit dining room, wrapped up in a blanket at the kitchen table.  I slowly, intently, scroll through the pictures from our last two weeks in the Congo.  As the eggs sizzle in the pan, we recall memories from our trip.  It is 9:00 a.m. in Congo right now and we think about the hospital.  They have already had morning chapel, morning report, and the doctors are probably on rounds.  Even though we have been home three days, our body is still on Congo time.

(Click on the pics to make them bigger)

The morning sunshine from inside our mosquito net

Our mornings in Congo would begin around 6:00 a.m. when the rooster would cock-a-doodle-doo amidst a background of rainforest birds chirping, whistling, and singing.  Soon we'd hear the school children arriving at the school that was located next to the hospital and eventually we'd roll out of our mosquito net and slip on some scrubs.  I never had to worry about makeup because no one else wore it and doing my hair was easy - up, because it was too hot to wear it down.  Usually by the time I was dressed, Erik or Ben would already have water boiling on the stove for some instant coffee or oats.  The night before we would have walked across the street to buy some bread from a sweet Rwandan family who sells bread on the street corner in a little shack.  And in the morning before toasting the bread over the stove, we would knock off any bugs that had feasted on the bread over night.  We never worried about getting all of the bugs off, though, because we figured that we were going to toast the bread, so it would kill the bugs anyway, and a little extra protein never killed anyone.  :)

It would only take a few minutes to toast the bread on the hot stove.  The bread was long, skinny, and a little harder than American bread, actually more like a baguette.  Some mornings I'd enjoy Jempy on my toast (a chocolate-hazelnut spread similar to Nutella, but better!) and other times I'd opt for the homemade peanut butter and fresh forest honey that was gathered a few days prior.  Instant coffee wasn't my favorite, but I have to admit I learned how to make a pretty good cup of it!  One spoonful of Folgers instant coffee, two spoonfuls of Milgro (a powdered milk kind of like baby formula, which is the only "milk" they have in Impfondo), and two spoonfuls of the chocolate flavored Milgro.  It was a little filmy feeling and the aftertaste was a bit skunky-smelling, but I learned to appreciate a good cup of boiling hot caffeine before the sun was up and hot.  Our house, "Maison Bleu," was located on the edge of the hospital campus near the chapel and we'd hear clapping from the chapel shortly after 7:00 a.m. to let us know it was time to go, so we'd grab our water bottles of filtered water and run to the chapel for the morning service.  

Our blue house - Maison Bleu

Our front windows and door looked right at the chapel and the rest of the hospital grounds.  Getting to chapel was only a hop, skip, and jump away, almost literally!

The walk from our front door to the chapel (building on right).

Morning chapel with Elliott

The hospital employees attended chapel every morning and it was a wonderful time of worship and study.  There is a hospital chaplain, but some of the men took turns teaching each day.  The singing and lessons were in a combination of Lingala and French, so I didn't understand a single thing!  Some days Dr. Harvey would translate for us, which was nice.  After morning chapel, there was a morning meeting where the medical staff meet together and the overnight staff informs the day staff about any new patients that came in during the night and any updates on old patients.  Dr. Harvey would translate this for us, too.  After morning meeting, the doctors would have a short meeting to get a game plan for the day.  Many times there were surgical cases already lined up and other days there were none.  Erik almost always went on rounds immediately after the meeting, where the doctors would see every patient in the hospital.  I loved joining them on rounds!

Hospital grounds, clothes drying on the ground

Rounds started in the emergency and observation wards.  The patients in these wards are watched a little more closely and are in a little more serious condition.  After that comes the maternity, postpartum, pediatrics, men's, women's, and post-surgical patients.  The hospital was an old communist camp, so the wards are the cabins that were built for communist children.  They are all spread out, several hundred feet away from each other, on 17 acres of land.  It isn't extremely ideal for a hospital layout, but it works well there because the families of the patients are responsible for providing a lot of the care, the bedding, and all the food for the patients.  There were several places over the 17 acres where families could gather to cook meals, wash their clothes, and hang clothes to dry.  I found the hospital campus peaceful and serene.  I think many of the patients and families did, too, because it was very typical that once a patient was discharged, they wouldn't leave!  This was because the patient couldn't pay their bill (and they weren't allowed to leave the hospital until the bill was paid), but other times I think people just genuinely liked the hospital and not just the setting, I think they liked the relationships they formed with others on the hospital campus.  I'm sure it was hard for them to go home.

One of the places where families can cook meals for the patients

Mama Lydie preparing crocodile

After morning rounds were done, Erik would either head into surgery or help with outpatient appointments.  I would usually head back to our house to re-hydrate and write in my journal about the day before.  Mama Lydie, our afternoon lunch cook, would already be in our kitchen washing our dishes and preparing lunch.  She was an amazing cook and most of the missionary staff would join us for her yummy food at our house for the noon meal.  Lunch was a wonderful time to bond with everyone and fuel up for the rest of the day. Some of my favorite meals from Mama Lydie were wild boar, crocodile, egg and avocado salad sandwiches, fish, and although not one of my favorites, we also had caterpillars for lunch once!

Labor and delivery beds

Many of the surgeries took place in the afternoon, where Erik would enjoy assisting.  I would usually hang out at home and wait for deliveries!  The midwives knew to come and get me in the blue house when a mom in labor was ready to deliver.  It was an amazing experience to watch the strong African women push out their babies with no drugs and hardly ever any sign of pain.  They are so tough!  I loved witnessing the miracle of birth and helping the mamas nurse after the baby was cleaned up and dressed.

Putting a metal plate on a man's humerus

Dr. Nastasia and the baby of our very
first delivery!

The evening would come quickly and as the sun was starting to set, we would begin coming up with a dinner plan.  It was nice when there were leftovers from lunch, but when there wasn't, we'd come up with something else. Some of our most memorable dinners included sloppy joes out of canned luncheon beef mush that was basically cat food (mixed with oats and chili powder), banana and Snickers pancakes with homemade maple syrup, and spaghetti with homemade tomato sauce on top.  I found it really difficult to cook in Congo.  For one, they don't have milk, eggs, cheese, or a good abundance of ground beef.  And for two, our oven didn't work and halfway through our stay the butane stove ran out of butane.  That left us with a single stand-alone kerosene burner, which was a pain in the butt to get lit.  Another thing that made it hard was we had no refrigerator!  Well, we had a refrigerator in our kitchen, but only the freezer worked, keeping the food about half as cold as a normal refrigerator would because the electricity was only on intermittently throughout the day.  We just used the freezer more like a cooler.  Most food items would sit on the counter and then when you were ready to use them, you  had to wash or sift the bugs out of everything.  Even things in Tupperware containers would eventually get filled with bugs.  I quickly learned that the more you worry and dwell on the presence of bugs, the worse off you'll be.  By the end of the two weeks, I even stopped screaming bloody murder every time a giant cockroach would run across my feet in the shower or chase me down the hall.  (And when I say "giant," I mean 4 inches!)  They were everywhere, especially at night, which is why I was so thankful for the mosquito net to sleep in.  I felt protected from more than just mosquitoes in there.

Cooking in the kitchen

By the evening time, we were pooped.  Most evenings I would try to check my email, which would usually take a half hour just to get on the internet and usually only stay connected for five or ten minutes before there would be problems.  About every three or four nights we would go over to the administration building where they had an internet phone with a US phone number.  Brilliant!  We could call our kids for free!  It was nice to be able to talk with them and keep up on what they were doing in the States.  On Sunday nights, there was a devotional in English at the Harvey's house on the mission compound, which was located 3.5 miles from the hospital.  There are several houses on the mission compound where missionaries serving at the hospital live.  On Wednesday nights there was a team meeting at our house, where we'd all meet together to catch up on how we were all feeling and then pray for each other.  I enjoyed this time learning from the missionaries who are there long-term and I found myself continually evaluating our life and whether or not we could bring our kids over here and do this full time, too.

Nastasia (a Med/Peds resident from the states), Erik, Joe Harvey
(the founder and director and long-term missionary of the hospital), Sara and
Elliott Tenpenny (our friends from Mayo who are now missionaries there)

This was just a short recap of our time in Congo.  There are so many stories that I hope to tell as time goes on.  Our trip was a life-changing experience and I am in awe of God's power and His working in this trip.  I can't even think about our time there without tearing up.  I absolutely fell in love with Africa and fell in love with the way I witnessed God working through Erik and me while we were there.  It was a powerful trip, teaching me how to fully rely on God and letting God empower us through humbling and sacrificing ourselves, serving in a very broken and hurting world.  The Congo was just the beginning of a new chapter in our lives and I can't wait to share more.