I don't even know where to begin...

Let’s start with the trip itself…I have forgotten how long and tiring this trip was to get here.  Friday, we got out of the house (on time!!) with all 7 totes of supplies, 1 electric key board, two suitcases, 5 carry-on bags, 5 backpacks, and three children. 

Late night, early morning, makes for happy travelers!

   Thank you, David, for driving with us and making sure we made our flight on time.  We flew out of Fayetteville to Atlanta to Paris to Douala, Cameroon; a total of 17 hours of flying not counting lay overs. 

Once we made it to Douala, we had dinner and stayed overnight in a guest house.  Sunday morning, we packed up with another couple and their grandson who were headed to a hospital in Banso, and hit the road to Bamenda.  I remembered this to be about a 6-hour drive, as it turned out, the road has deteriorated a bit since our last visit and it took us 8.5 hours of a cramped (9 people and all our luggage) very bumpy ride, from which I now have a bruise on my forehead from hitting the window while I tried to catch a cat nap.  When we finally made it to Bamenda, the only road into town was flooded and we ended up sitting for an hour in a backed up African style traffic jam.  And by that, picture this…cars from both directions trying to pass through standing water up to their hoods (because there was no drainage across the road) and everyone passing each other to get closer to see what is going on.  There were vehicles stalling, blocking, and bottlenecking.  Complete chaos and not a single person trying to direct or manage traffic.  I seriously thought we were going to have to spend the night in the van.  But, God is good and we eventually powered through thanks to the super skills of our driver, Fon.  We finally made it into Bamenda and then Mbingo about 8:00pm, exhausted and hungry. 

Lychee Fruit, roadside pineapple, bush meat

Crazy Traffic Jam

For those of you worried about my Tobs and his refined palette, our first dinner was rice with green beans and carrots and oranges…it’s gonna be a battle to get him through the next couple of weeks.

On our route to Mbingo, I started a list of all the things that I wanted to talk about, my list got really long quick.  I am overwhelmed with emotions and thoughts about being here and wish that I could illustrate it all in a way that you all could “experience” it with us, but I know that is impossible.  I know that this post would be too long to explain everything on my list, so here is just part of the list and if you are interested when we get back, ask and I will vividly explain. 

-I was asked how I felt about Trump before we even made it out of the Douala airport, 😕

-My kids (or all kids) should never complain about work, as I watch two young girls (ages 6-10ish) struggle to push a cart uphill on the side of the crazy Africa highway full of bags of grain and vegetables

-Motos with umbrellas attached in downpours

-First time ever in Cameroon we were stopped by a gendarmerie on the road and asked for our passports with his automatic rifle at his side, he was not a pleasant man, made me a skosh nervous

-Stopped at a roadside market to buy fresh pineapple and lychee fruit…there is none in the states that even compares to how good it is here, I wish I could bring it home with us

-Bush meat for sale roadside, we couldn’t decide what it was, probably a large rat…see photo and offer your guess

-Past a celebration or festival of sorts with man in costume on stilts and women wearing my favorite beautiful juju hats (google search them if you have never seen one)

-Making my strange things you see in Africa list…ducks that looked like chickens and sheep that looked like goats

-The nearly impassible flooded road...there’s more to the story that made this a memorable African adventure

It is so much for me to absorb, I don’t want to miss or forget a thing.  But as before, our internet connection is so-so and I don’t want to bore you all to death with a lengthy post, so I am going to stop here for now.   I am going to close with a picture from the porch on our house.  It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to.  Paradise, peaceful, with stars brighter than I’ve ever seen. 

Our house is the last one.

This is the view from our back porch...breathtaking.  See if you can count all the water falls!

P.S.  Please remember when you call or text (yes we get both and would love to hear from you) that we are 6 hours ahead...I need my beauty sleep! 😉

90 HOURS TO GO!

The piles are growing...

Alright folks, the adventure is about to begin...or at least in 90ish hours it will.  Really, I only have 90 hours to pull this all together and get out the door! 😅😟  

For those of you who don't know about our previous adventures, in 2011 God opened a door for Brian and I to serve His people in Africa and it changed our lives forever.  This week we are setting off again, making it Brian's 6th trip, my 5th trip, and the kids' 3rd trip.  We had agreed that we would serve in some capacity in Africa at least once a year before we even returned home from our first trip, but the last couple years have thrown a few curve balls at us which shot that plan off track a bit.  This year, we decided that three years had been long enough and we needed to make the hop across the ocean and over a few countries to reunite ourselves with our friends in Cameroon.  We (kids included) have been anxiously waiting this trip for three years and we are all very excited.  As before, I will try to post updates and pics at least every other day or so (at the mercy of the internet) so that you (specifically my mom) can meet the amazing people we are visiting, see the work we are doing, and make sure that we are safe, healthy, and happy!

So as I sit here pondering all that is ahead of us in the next couple of weeks, I opened my bible and wouldn't you know...it opened right to the perfect verse!  I love it when God does that, like gives me goose bumps kinda love.  It opened right to Psalm 18, David's words remind me of the loving strength and guidance that God has given us.  As we embark on this adventure to a foreign land and unknown possibilities, I am assured in verse 36 that "You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip." God gave us a path, He made sure it was secure, He is with us along the way, and now we must go...

Pending I get my laundry pile washed, totes packed, and kids vaccines in system!

If you are interested in seeing how this works out for us, follow my blog.  It is a little shorter trip this time than what we have done in the past, but I hope I can still share with all of you a bit of why Africa means so much to us and why it has changed our lives.

Au revoir for now...

  

TeVo and the Technicolor Leisure Suit

So as we prepare for our travel day, I don't have much to report.  One lost passport by one of the team members has created a lot of drama, but should all be ok in the end.  We are packed and markedly lighter than we came.  TeVo picked up some amazing bling one of the interpeturs, Brahma, gave him:).  Dr Emma also pictured, picked up some new garb as well, which is funny because TeVo is a cheer dad as well.

Amy, Dr Sara and Charlotte also were looking stunning this morning.

It was a beautiful morning on the Cassamance River as we prepared to leave for Ziginshor.

We got everything and everyone packed into the van.  Amy feeling a little squished back there:)

A quick stop by hospital and Dr Tandian (tan-jin) to leave some final blessings for him and then of to celebration at clinic in the village of Bamacounda.

Meeting at clinic, the Assistant Prefect arrived and gave a speech under the watchful eye of Michael J Fox:). Reused some banner and turned it into a tent.

Back into the van, what Amy, Terry and I thought was going to be a relaxing, comfy trip in the "new" van ended up being another African adventure after 7 nationals decided to hitch a ride to Zig with us.

Saw a local traditional character on the road that goes from village to village scaring the children in full dress and with machete..

More Africian humor...

Dr Soh- so you Americans drive on the right side of the road?

Me- yes

Dr S- British on the left?

Me-yes

Dr S-do you know what side we dive on in Senegal?

Me- ? Right Side?

Dr S- no, the Good Side:)

Translation: they drive on the side with the smallest potholes, and if a bigger truck is coming the opposition direction, he gets to pick first.

 

Imagine driving 3 hours like this..

Made it to the airport in Ziginshor..

And here is the road leading to said airport..

May check in later in Dakar, but will send this since I have Wifi

-b

Sadio's Sedhiou Surgery

So after a late night, Charles (interpetur/photographer) and I went to the hospital here in Sedhiou.  We met again with the new surgeon in town Dr Tangien.  So operating with a interpetur in an Africian operating room outside of the big city is pretty tough, but this experience went so much better than I could have imagined.  Having operated there before, and just operating in Africa in general got me prepared with a few necessities that made all the difference. I had an extremely interesting/intriguing conversation with Dr Tangien over the 2 1/2 hours we operated.

It's still mind blowing to me how little resources and equipment he has to operate with day in and day out.  Dr Tangien was an extremely gracious host and I happily I left him two suit cases full of supplies.  The genuineness of his appreciation and how we both knew I made him a better surgeon for the people of this region with just some basic supplies considered essential in the States was pretty cool.  On to Surgery.

Sadio  (also known by some in US as Keisha) had her hand burned 3 years ago, it was contacted down and barely useable.

Her hand before.

Surgery Pics

So this is what her fingers looked after separated and extended.

Our skin graft site off her upper arm.  I took a really big graft and was little worried and rightly so that I wouldn't be able to get it completely closed.  I used some tricks and got it nearly closed, but she is better off with granulating wound in her upper arm than not enough skin on her contracted fingers.

So onto the finger grafting, lots and lots and lots of little stitches later, it looked awesome.  

Final product, I was really pleased:)

So during surgery, Charlie informed me I got a text from Amy letting me know she had started pulling teeth.  Before I made it out to clinic she had already extracted 3 teeth and was on a tear to pull out more.

Then she was on to teaching the children outside the clinic how to brush so they could keep their teeth and then gave them fluoride treatments.

So again TeVo was operating like a mad man while I was gone.  He was almost injured when the ceiling started falling down on the new roof of this brand new clinic.  So...when they build a new building they use timbers that are rough sawed and one with a big portion of the bark still attached started falling of while he was operating...he and the patient both escaped injury, 

He also told me he was going to do a mastectomy and showed me a picture similar to the below....I was like what, what, what are you doing?????  Let me see first there tough guy!!

Yeah, TeVo thought it was funny the back of this Muslim man's leg looked like a boob, was actually a weird lipoma and of course, he chopped it out.

ATIYIA (strong hot tea)

Still kinda gross, but I'm getting pretty use to it at this point because it tastes so good.  These are the neighborhood boys cooking up some Atiyia to keep us going throughout the day.  Tea is awesome,  but only two glasses to use all week long for several hundred volunteers and patients with no running water or sanitation to speak of, definitely less cool.

Amy's new friends at the end of a long day of clinic!

Lastly for my daughter Grace I made a new Africian dish for her, as an Africian veteran she has an appreciation for missing things from home...

After several days of the same old morning baguette with chocolate/Nutella type spread.  I spiced it up and had a Resses peanut butter cup baguette for breakfast:)

Off to a cold shower after a long day and bed.

-Bi