Safely in Addis...

Wednesday Oct 31st  11:36pm

Today was bittersweet  - we continued work for half the day, then packed up clinic, said goodbyes, and settled into what turned out to be a long road trip back to Addis.

Relationships between the team and the Project Mercy staff and volunteers really blossomed through our time here and tears were shed as we departed.

The OR crew...

Here are some pics from the day:

The clinic crew

Nobody got along in the OR...

Donna helping out in clinic...

Donna and Anya on the long bus-ride to Addis...

Mike in clinic...

Mary Ellen singlehandedly lifting a stretcher that is three times her size!

Sara, our technology maven, demonstrating how it is possible to fully utilize three Apple products at any given time...

Will getting to enjoy seeing one of our little patients up, walking, and recovering well from a difficult surgery

Tonight the team is resting after beginning our retreat led by Mary Ellen.  We are thankful to be here after a long day of travel.  Please pray for good recovery and a blessed time of retreat before heading home.

MVN

Praying for a Flood...

Tuesday Oct 30  10:00pm

We're finishing with a bang!

We began the day with a great team breakfast and devotions led by William Bordessa.  We then settled into the various facets of the ministry we've had here at Project Mercy.

The clinic team set up and waited for patients....and waited....and then waited some more.  Laura Sera prayed that the Lord would open the floodgates and have the children come....Lesson number 1 from the day - if you ever need some serious prayer support - call Laura!

At 10:15, a line of children began to form - the initial group were the 1st graders from the Project Mercy school, but soon, children from the local schools began to come as well.  By the end of the day, we had seen over 240 children, the majority of which were from the local schools.  We also had the opportunity to meet with the leader of the local Kebele - the local government structure - and restore a good relationship between the Muslim community, Project Mercy, and the team.  We are planning on seeing an additional 50 of the sickest children tomorrow before we close the doors on clinic in preparation for traveling to Addis tomorrow afternoon.

In the hospital John Schmaelzly had the opportunity to proctor Dr. Fekadu on using the cystoscope - a piece of equipment Project Mercy has had but had never been able to utilize.  It was invaluable for Dr. Fekadu to have that time with John.

Click and Clack began to finish the myriad projects they'd gotten themselves into, including repairing the microscopes for the local schools and health department.  To them, happiness is a pair of pliers and something needing to be fixed.

Donna has really had an incredible opportunity to spend time with the Project Mercy teachers and help them identify ways to maximize their opportunities to teach - especially in trying circumstances: large class sizes with few resources.

We are packed up now, ready to finish our work here at Project Mercy and begin the process of reentry.  We'll be heading to the Red Cross training center in Addis Ababa tomorrow.  We'll be there Wednesday night through Friday morning.  Friday afternoon, we board the Emirates flight for SFO via Dubai.

Thank you for your prayers, support and love as we've been discovering what the Lord had prepared for us to do and become here in Ethiopia.

Isabella working at the intake station...

Jerry watching his son care for a child....

Jerry at the memorial service...

John at the memorial service...

John Schmaelzly in action...

Once again, Kathy's smiling...

Laura working at the pharmacy station..

Phil - crazy positive!

Even in Ethiopia, you're never safe from the photobomber...

MVN

Our Plans are not God's Plans

Today we had the unique opportunity to participate in a memorial service for a woman named Eva Memmen, who (along with her family) made it possible to build the Hospital here at Project Mercy.  Marta and Deme wanted to have a service in her honor in recognition of her love for Ethiopia and especially the children.  It was attended by the nearly 1600 students at Project Mercy along with patients from the Hospital and our medical team.  It was very moving when Deme asked the crowd for a show of hands for who has benefitted from the Hospital.  Hundreds of thousands of lives have been impacted by the care of nurses and doctors at this facility.  It was a privilege to participate in this service.  Our team member and pastor, Mary Ellen, did a wonderful job helping to coordinate and lead this service.

Deme, Mary Ellen and Dr. Fekadu lead the memorial service....

Anya and Eva have some fun together with puppets...

The public health/childrens' ministry team...

At the clinic we saw some children and adults as well (not as many as we expected due to Flag Day (a national holiday = kids stayed home from school).  One dear boy named Ahmet did come in however.  In fact he came in again (two hour walk!) for a follow up appointment to see one of our doctors.  The infection on his leg has caused him immense pain and difficulty walking.  His sister has carried him to our clinic and so has his mother.  Today he received a shot to address his painful infection.  Our team has done a beautiful job caring for this precious boy and his mother.  They have been the hands and feet of Jesus.

The hospital team cared for many sick people, including a woman with a cantaloupe sized thyroid that needed to be removed by Dr. Mike and Dr. Fekadu.  Dr. Will, Dr. John and Dr. Bill also served by performing the following surgeries and anesthesia:  prostate surgery, ovarian cysts and a hysterectomy to name a few.

We are learning (again) that our plans are not God's plans, which is so hard for us Americans to actually learn.  It has been a good challenge for each of us to learn to let go and trust that God has work prepared in advance for each of us to do...  (Ephesians 2).  Learning to depend on God is definitely a big part of our trip to Ethiopia.  I think that most of us can relate to what Mother Teresa said, "We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean.  But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."  It is a blessing to be here serving the Ethiopian people...

RVN

Hallelujahs, Hippos and Hikes...

Sunday  10/28  10:10pm

Today was our day of rest...at least rest from clinic, repair projects and student assessments!

Restful - not so much...  It was filled with activity beginning with a tasty breakfast of pancakes.

From there, half of the team went in a van to Ziway, a lakeside town about 45km east of Butajira to visit friends Gary and Peggy Ifft, visit their school and childrens home (Samuels House), and try to see some hippos in the water on the far side of the lake.

The ladies in Ziway

Don't rock the boat!

Couple of hippos

Loving on kids at Samuels House

Laura and her new best friend...

The rest of the team attended church nearby Project Mercy and then enjoyed a free afternoon of hiking and resting.  Michael Cline saw monkeys - even named one 'Hey Man'.  Pics to come.

All in all, it was a nice break of pace and gave the team opportunity to see more of this amazing country.  

Please pray for continued health - a few more team members have been feeling a bit ill and have begun antibiotics for gastroenteritis.  Pray too for continued team unity as we face the various challenges of ministry in this land.

MVN

Picturepalooza!

Saturday, Oct 27th  4:57pm

Yup ~ we missed a day blogging ~ been pretty busy over here!

Rather than using words to describe our clinics, operations, projects and teaching - I thought we'd let the pictures do the talking today, so without further ado:

How many Wills is too many Wills?  None is the answer.   Will F. and William B. in the OR on Saturday working on Bileyew, an 8 year old boy with a large, vascular mass needing resection.  William B. donated a unit of blood for transfusion.

Mary Ellen, Sally and Mary H. made time this afternoon to create boxes for the sutures we brought, working alongside Tigi, the head nurse in the OR and Dr. Fekadu's wife.

Mike, Raquel, and Anya with Hanan and her mother.  Hanan is their sponsored child through Compassion International and they were able to meet for the first time on Friday

Some of the clinic team along with several of the nurse translators we've been blessed to work with...

Dr. Bill - happy in the hospital

Mike and Dr. Fekadu working on Bileyew...

Brothers?  Yup, just not biologically.  Charles and Michael enjoying a free moment in clinic...

Who knew Click and Clack had uniforms?  These guys are sooooo organized!  Jerry and John celebrating their unity.

Can't say enough about Deme - we're blessed beyond belief to have our lives intersect with such a wonderful man.  Here Sally is getting some very coveted TWD (Time With Deme)

Finally Isabella has gotten to be with the kids this year - here she is getting some time with LumLum, one of the house children and a brilliant student.

The walk to the school from the apartments where we are staying is a highlight of the day for us, it gives time and space to walk, talk, and enjoy each other...

LumLum, Mary Ellen and Donna out and about...

Rochelle and Kathy are happy walkers...

Laura, Anya and Donna with a new friend...

Charles doing what he does best - loving on kids and taking great care of them....

Hope you can get the flavor of what's happening here in Ethiopia.   We are doing well and thankful for the opportunity to be here and serve the people of Yetebon.

Hyenas in the Night...

So, how many people can say that they have woken up at 5:00 AM to hyenas and dogs howling their hearts out? Whoever is keeping that list can add all the members of our team. You know, they can really get annoying after a couple of nights. Anyway, breakfast consisted of oatmeal, cranberries, brown sugar and bread. (just like California!)

After a solid time of devotions, with more than a few rounds of hysterical laughter, we headed to the clinic. The clinic is mainly a multipurpose room with tables and chairs set up as stations and a pharmacy. I was mostly helping to show the kids where to go. ( did I mention that they are so dang cute?) My mom and Rochelle helped with teaching the kids while they waited to see William Bordessa, Michael Cline or Charles Owyang.

Halfway through the morning however, a strange thing happened. You see, we mainly have seen Project Mercy kindergarteners. Yesterday, we got about 144 patients so there were only about 15 Project Mercy patients left for us to see. We encouraged other schools to bring their kids to the clinic. One school came that was primarily Muslim. My mom continued to do Bible puppet shows unaware that the Muslim children were the ones watching. The Muslim Headmaster came over and told us, not so politely, that he forbade us to do anything related to religion. He then threatened that he may not bring the kids back to the clinic after lunch. He was true to his word. No Kids from that school showed up and we were done about 2 hours earlier then we expected to be.

This saddened us. We are not sure what that means for our work with the other local schools. Please pray for these relationships.

The rest of the day was filled with games and walks. Dinner was soup and potatoes. Yummy!

It is about 11:10pm on the 25th and it's pretty late. My dad is making a horrific noise in the background (think: hyenas in pain) with his new best friend - Phil's portable electric guitar. Ciao! ( Good bye in Ethiopia )

-Anya

Here are some pictures from the day:

Jan, Will and Dr. Fekadu soothing an 8-year old boy as he goes under anesthesia...

Dr. Will giving anesthesia to a 3-year old burn patient getting her scars revised...

Laura loving and praying for one of our precious patients...

Deme delivering Raquel's birthday cakes!  Yup - it was her birthday today!

Running On All Cylinders...

Wednesday Oct 24  10:45pm

Today was a very busy day - clinic was full throttle (144 patients seen), 5 cases in the OR, several work projects begun or completed, assessments of schoolchildren begun...

A challenge for the group is the reality that as the day gets going, we are pulled in several different directions which can increase the potential to feel less connected with what our teammates are doing.  Tonight's community time together was rich as we began to share stories from the day and what we've been learning through the time here in Yetebon.

John and Jerry (Click and Clack) repair the bus floor...

-John VN and Jerry Cline have found multiple projects to become involved in.  Meet Click and Clack, Ethiopia's newest microscope repair technicians!  They've repaired 8 or 9 here on the Project Mercy campus and hospital.  Word got to Butajira that some microscopic skills (no, really, not making a 'little' joke there) had come to town.  The local high school principal and the regional education director came to the hospital, met our men with tools, and now our resident McGyvers are scheduled to repair Butajira high school's microscopes next Monday...

Anya uses props from the Bible book to share the story of God's love and redemption to a rapt audience of kindergartners with the help of one of our incredible nurse translators...

-Anya threw herself even more into the public health/childrens ministry by helping with puppet shows and story-telling.  She sat with one of our nurse translators and shared the story of God's love for each of us using her gift of storytelling and many props to illustrate the meaning of her stories.  (Spoiler Alert: proud parent moment)  It was incredible to see her share her life and who God is without fear or embarrassment.

Michael Cline and Seba working with our precious patients...

-Michael Cline shared his experience of witnessing the empowerment of the nurse translators as they became even more involved in the clinic and education/ministry dimensions of our team.  It was invigorating to share knowledge and expand the knowledge base of Seba (pictured), the nurse he has been working with, precepting her as she began to see children alongside him.  He was available to answer questions about conditions and treatments necessary; she was available to answer his questions about all things Amharic... (He had a lot more questions than she did!)

Empowerment fits entirely with the model we want to support here in Ethiopia: to help train and educate Ethiopians who will be increasingly able to do whatever things we're doing today.  We want to train ourselves out of a job....

Rochelle and some of the kids she's fallen in love with...

-Rochelle has been amazing with the children in the education/ministry area - enthusiastic, loving, and very giving of prayers, touches, and a listening ear.  Today she described how much the children were enjoying the education/ministry area of our clinic - even circling back for another round of Daniel and the Lions' Den puppetry despite being scared (initially) of the lion puppet!

Tomorrow is a new day - we'll continue with clinics and cases, projects and assessments.  The team is healthy and intact - Phil returned from Addis with the Gang of 5 (our rogue 5 duffel bags) in tow.  Please pray for continued solid work, cooperation, and health.  Most of all - pray that we would be people who are after God's heart and open to being re-made by him.

MVN

Getting to Work

Tuesday Oct 23, 9:45pm

Our first day of clinic, hospital, facility improvement and educational assistance is behind us.  It was a very good day here in Yetebon, a bit more challenging in Addis....more on that in a minute.

We enjoyed a beautiful morning walk down to the Project Mercy campus where we were spiritually fed by a devotion led by Charles "Octane" Owyang on Colossians 3.  We had breakfast and then focused on the work of the day.
-The hospital team went to meet with Dr. Fekadu and began operating and storing the supplies we brought in the team duffels.
-The clinic team dove into the remaining team duffels and began organizing what was needed to begin seeing children in clinic.  Clinic was started ahead of schedule and many children were seen and cared for.
-Click and Clack (Jerry Cline and John Van Noord) began tackling their list of things needing repair and revamping.
-Donna began her foray into the educational program at the PM school by spending time with experienced teachers, sitting in on classes and exploring the curriculum.  She was also able to get some time with the clinic team and help with the public health education and childrens ministry.

Bible stories for waiting children

William gives a boy his first medical exam of his life

Charles giving us some high Octane devotions this morning 

On the Addis front, minor setbacks continue in springing the 5 duffel bags (Gang of 5?...need a catchy name here) from Ethiopian customs purgatory.  Despite providing all the requested documentation and authorizations, more documentation is now needed and the saga continues.  We're not anxious and are proceeding with our work.   During the day, Phil took a fall with a painful elbow injury prompting medical attention in Addis.   He is okay, arm's in a sling, and most disappointingly - won't be pitching in game 1 (go Giants!).  

Phil, Deme and Sarah have remained in Addis for an additional day and will attempt to get the duffels in the morning.  Regardless of duffelsuccess (word?) they plan to join us here.

Our team has been challenged with a couple of illnesses and an arm injury.  Please pray for recovery and restoration as we head into tomorrow's full load of work.  God is good!

MVN