Another Random Saturday Part 3

Here are so.me more picts from that same Saturday.

motorcycle accidents are tough.  This is how we treat closed femur fractures here at our hospital. 6wks of traction

Yet he still smiles.

This gentleman fractured his leg about 4 wks before coming in.  Still was trying to walk on it.  He had an infection so he got a cast and some local dressing changes.

This little guy had his iguinal hernia repaired here.

A picture of stoicism.  He got a below the knee amputation the next day for a dead foot.

This little guy came in weighing 10kg at 5 years of age.  After a feeding tube and goo nutrition he's up to 13kg and is now smiling and playing

This man had a hernia repair as well.

This lady tried to break up a fight and got bit so hard on her finger that it broke the bone and then showed up to our hospital 5 days later with dead tissue and lots of infection..  She is slowly getting better

This is actually 2 patients.  The first is the mom who had a skin an muscle infection needing a huge incision on her back  an lots of dressing changes.  Her son developed malnutrition here when the mom stopped breastfeeding and was too sick to care for him.  He is doing better now with a little extra protein.

Its very dangerous to cross the street here in Impfondo.  This kid was hit by a truck and had a broken femur on the right (he's in a type of skin traction) and also ripped open his knee on the left.  He is doing better now and we can cast him soon.

Even with his 102 (at the time of pict) temp he still managed a smile.  He's afebrile now and even happier.  he likes the puppet shows we do for him.

This young lady had a generalized abdominal infection from an authorized abortion.  The person who did the abortion punctured her uterus and she came in with pus everywhere.  after a surgery and a couple of abscess drainage she was able to leave the hospital.

AND NOW THE STARS OF THE SHOW!!!

Here are the nurses that worked that day with me.

This is Charnelle.  She works in maternity, is a very bright hard worker.

From left to right.  Augstin (a nurse consultant, and also a photographer), Lillian (a CNA level nurse but who is learning a lot here) and Ghislain (one of our recent nursing training  program grads who is now learning eye screening an exam with Dr. Henri Samoutou)

  Again, your support helps us do all of this.  Thanks for  all you do for us.

Stephen

Reflections on the Promise

Our family is together again in Chattanooga TN (actually Ringgold Ga but close enough). Ian and I enjoyed our cross country trip and he is quite a good traveling companion.

I have been reflecting on my relationship to Christ and, during this Christmas season, his coming to earth and several thoughts are swirling in my brain.

#1. Would I recognize him today? A mute point I guess since he has come and gone, but imagine a hick coming from West Va to DC or NY and saying what Jesus said, or maybe from south Alabama coming to Atlanta and doing the same. What would I think of him and his sayings. Wendell Berry has a nice essay about Jesus and his sayings and I think his point is well taken when he says that we are so used to the idea of Jesus as Christ that it is hard for us to actually hear his words. I spiritualize, I rationalize and I run the danger of being inoculated against the power of his words.

#2. Is my relationship with God more important than his promises to me? This came up as I was reading the Heb 11: 17-19 account of Abraham sacrificing Isaac. Abraham's faith journey involved a lot of waiting and then every now and then a zinger from God like this one. What am I willing to surrender to God for our relationship. This also ties in to thought #1 when you consider Lk 12:49-53.

Both of these tie in to my mulling over our plans falling through with language study. I trust all will have a good Christmas.

We will continue to keep you up to date

Stephen