Saturday Encounters

This morning Jodi and I woke up and made some coffee that we brought from home with the french press donated by my friend in residency. Thank you, Nubia! We met at the hospital and rounded immediately with the pediatric patients. We started first with the sickest patients on IV drips. Several of the children are suffering from malaria on IV anti-malarial meds. One child has such severe malnutrition that we are keeping him on protein rich diets until he strengthens. One child had a meningocele that Dr. Faile repaired. Hello, brain surgeon! It's more like he can be a neurosurgeon when duty calls. :) By the way, Dr. Faile's father was the first missionary physician here, who helped start the BMC over 50 years ago.

I was so blessed to see all of the nurses and spend time with the patients. After that, we gave Mona (Hewitt) all of the Easter gifts for the missionary children that they need for next week. Mona was so absolutely touched and thought this was more like a Christmas celebration with the gifts. I can't wait to see the children's faces next week, when they get their Easter baskets. Thank you immensely to Jodi's mom, my mom, and the wonderful girls in my growth group!

Then we met with Yissa, the cook for all of the volunteers. We went to his house and his wife is making us some traditional Easter dresses to wear next Sunday. I am so excited! Her shop is in a mud framed building right beyond the perimeter of the hospital. Their home was a bright pink painted stucco house nearby, where we were invited in to watch TV. The people in the village do have electricity, but only one or two appliances to use it. They had a TV and were watching a channel called Emmanuel TV. Yissa had a teacher with him, so Jodi and I joined them. We watched a pastor from Lagos, Nigeria preach on TV to people in Singapore! Yes, that's right. This is the wave of the future. The Africans are preaching now to the rest of the world. Go God! Help us, Lord, for needing missionaries to come to places like America. The Nigerian pastor was filled with the Holy Spirit and preached powerfully. What a wonderful thing to watch on a lazy Saturday after we had finished our work at the hospital.

The day was then filled by meeting with the girls who came to visit. Some work here as full-time teachers for the missionary kids. We are planning on visiting more after dinner tonight. Each of them works as a missionary either here or in nearby villages. Pray for them.

Jodi and I also met a missionary named Peggy from Tamale, who is here for the night with her husband, Pat, and some friends who are being shown Nalerigu as part of their tour of Ghana. These friends are considering working here full-time. Peggy is full of life and simply oozes her ministry. I soaked it all in so that I can then pass it on to others. She is so thankful for the most natural things like rain, wind, and going to the villages to do God's big work. We will probably have dinner with them tonight.

This is the thing about Nalerigu--people just pass through but leave behind lasting stories of His work here. Thank you, God, for these encounters.