Clever thousand words cliche

So. It's getting late here. I'm really tired today, but it's time for a blog post. I'm going to post most of the pictures on my phone and explain what they are and why I took them. Please be advised that I'm terrible at documenting things in real time. I don't even think of getting a picture until someone else gets their camera out. Most of the time I am lucky to get by without making a fool of myself... I don't have pictures of a lot of important things, but this might just give you a little glimpse.....



A picture of the grocery store in Lome. This is as American as it gets. Seeing this while being slightly jetlagged and overwhelmed was oddly comforting. We don't have stores like this in Mango. There's an open market and 'boutiques'. These boutiques are made of one small room with three walls. I'll take more pictures sometime.



A termite mound. These are very common- especially in the South.


 
A dragonfly. In retrospect, this isn't that exciting, but I took this in the first few days. There are so many huge bugs here. Moths and dragonflies and flies that don't just buzz around you but decide to kamikaze into your face. Or mosquitoes that have a numbing agent along with their bite so you don't feel them. Or the ants that decide to have a parade around your house every night. Or cockroaches the size of that perfect skipping rock. Ew.



This is from the wedding I got to attend. It was totally different and truly beautiful. This is a picture of all the pastors from the area gathering around the couple and praying for them. I promise I don't normally take pictures while people are praying.



A view from the drive on the way up to Mango.
It's green, so you know it is rainy season. This will look very different later in the year.



I made a friend. Actually, that is false. He tolerated me.



This is a baobab tree. It isn't a very good picture, but it was HUUUGE!!!The trunk was so thick... if it was hollow, I could live in it.



Me. In a custom tunic. At the nurses station.



Our omnicell/med cabinet.



Nurse central. It's in the middle of all of the wards, so all of the nurses use this for nearly everything. The colorful notebooks on the counter contain our med sheets. There are chairs around the outside and drawers with miscellaneous medical equipment.



This is Rea or basically the ER/post operative area. It can get pretty busy right there.



The current short term nurses enjoying brownies together. They're wonderful. They're teaching me how to adjust, how to love more, and how to share better. A couple of them are leaving soon, and I will miss them even though I've only known them for a short period of time. Two of these girls are my roommates, and they have been so awesome and welcoming to me. I'm grateful for this group.



This might be my favorite picture on my camera roll. I sport this flattering style nearly every day in the hospital. From the long skirt, to the socks with sandals fiasco, to the filthy shoes that squeak when I walk.... You can tell that I am definitely aiming for comfort over anything remotely resembling a fashion statement.

That's all folks! I'll try to take more pictures. I've been here a month already!!!
Miss ya.
-C-

Convenience

An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered. - Gilbert K. Chesterton

Hey! While I really miss all of y’all, it feels like I’m settling in here and am doing really well! I think it’s amazing how quickly new habits can form and foreign things start to feel familiar. I’m not saying I could pull this off without the help of the 60 other missionaries or that I’m good at it by any means, but getting through a day in Togo is definitely in my wheelhouse.

So I’ve been here for about 3 weeks. That means that I still have very clear memories of what I was used to in the States. When I’m talking to my friends, a lot of our discussion is how much things are different here. DIFFERENT is the key word. Not better or worse. Different. Admittedly, a lot of things are much less convenient.  From the standpoint of living in the States, here is a list of some inconveniences or things I gave up to come here.

-The power goes off in my house frequently. Sometimes for 15 minutes, but sometimes it is for hours at a time.

-There is only one room in my house that has air conditioning. The hospital has no air conditioning.

-I have to use bottled water to brush my teeth cause the water in our house needs to be filtered before ingesting.

-All of the produce that we buy needs to be soaked in bleach water before eating.

-The produce options are basically limited to what can grow here. No berries.

-There are bugs everywhere, and I need to sleep under a mosquito net.

-I have to wear full length skirts everywhere.

-I don’t know the language.

-The hospital has limited resources and 1^st world healthcare is very far away.

-I gave up my nice job with good pay and hours.

-I left behind everything except for 71 pounds of luggage to last for 8 months.

Those are facts of my life, but here is another list of facts that carry more truth:

-I have power in my house. It’s a nice house. There is internet. I have my own room. The kitchen is stocked.  The toilet flushes. There is hot water for showers. In this town, that is rare. Even among the missionaries who live off compound, our internet has a better connection and is more reliable.

-I have access to air conditioning. And fans. If I had come last year, there wouldn’t have been air conditioning. There’s also a wonderful pool on the compound that is the absolute best on a hot day.

-I have access to a water filter. The water on the compound is all safe. If worse comes to worse, I can afford to buy bottled water. A new well was opened last Friday in a village not too far away. Some of the other nurses were there at the time and got to see a huge crowd of people come and celebrate a new water source. They were lining up for water and singing because they didn’t have to walk as far to get safe water.

-I can afford produce. I have a freezer and refrigerator to keep my food safe. If I don’t want to cook, I can eat a balanced meal at the Guesthouse any day of the week.

-I have so many options for food. People bring things from home. There’s a store 2 hours away that sells many American items. We have a garden that is growing green beans and tomatoes. I had a fresh butternut squash today. I tried a fresh guava for the first time and can’t wait for mango season.

-I have a mosquito net. And bugspray. I can’t speak for the general public, but there are patients and families who sleep on the ground outside the hospital and on the hospital floors on a simple mat with no bug protection.

-I have more than one skirt. And a washer. Also, the skirt thing is to be appropriate within the culture. However, even though I am a woman, I can speak with men, play sports, and have a job that is very respected.

-Why don’t I know more languages? I’m working on it. I can understand and read much more than I can currently communicate.

-I live a mile away from the best healthcare in the area. And if necessary, I have the means to get the necessary treatment.

-When I go home, I have a degree and enough experience that I am not worried about finding employment that will provide more than enough.

-I own more than I could ever need.

So yeah. That’s it for today. Love y’all!

-C-

New Depths

Two tiny girls lay there, nearly comatose, the first day I walked through the hospital. Yesterday, one of them got off oxygen and took out her IV and feeding tube. She got to eat for the first time and was sitting up and smiling at her mama. The other one didn't make it.

The sound of weeping and of crying
will be heard in it no more.
"Never again will thee be in it an infant 
who lives but  few days,
or an old man who does not live out his years;
the one who dies at a hundred
    will be thought a mere child"

Isaiah 65:19b-20a

I missed Tabaski by about a week. It is an Islamic holy day remembering Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac. It is commemorated by killing animals and there are streams of blood that flow down the streets.
Every day I hear the call to prayer from the mosques.

All day long I have held out my hands
    to an obstinate people,
who walk in ways not good,
    pursuing their own imaginations—
 a people who continually provoke me
    to my very face,
offering sacrifices in gardens
    and burning incense on altars of brick

Isaiah 65:2-3

The chaplains pray in languages I don't understand. Jesus and Peter and John speak French on the videos playing in the different wards. I watch as another nurse teaches children how to color for the first time. One missionary hasn't had time to get ready for her trip to the States because people keep coming to her and asking for help. She gives them food and clothes and prays for all of them. On Wednesdays, the chaplains go to villages and spread the Gospel to people hearing it for the first time. The Christian radio station has its' grand opening next month and so many more Togolese will have a chance to hear the Good News. The maintenance crew meets together every morning before work and nonbelievers are mentored and discipled every day. People come to know Christ on a regular basis.

The Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.

 He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, 

to proclaim freedom for the captives, 

and release from darkness the prisoners

Isaiah 61:1

I fell a few days behind on my Bible reading plan, so today I got all caught up. I ended up reading the last 6 chapters of Isaiah. I gotta say, it struck me in an entirely new way. The language used in Isaiah seemed more alive and applicable. It was much more powerful to me than ever before.  I was hoping to find a verse about bugs or critters because  roaches and elephant beetles and mice and spiders and mosquitoes and termites and ants and frogs and geckos and praying mantises and grasshoppers and snakes are much more alive and applicable in Togo than in the States. Oh well. 

I've been here for two weeks. 1/16 of my time here. So much has happened and there has been so much to get used to. It feels like an odd time warp when talking to people back home. As you can imagine, living in a third world country is different. However, God is still the same and is still at work. There are so many lives being changed and influenced. It's a privilege to be here and witness it. Even though I do miss the privilege of air conditioning and grocery stores. 

"And I, because of what they have planned and done,

am about to come and gather the people

of all nations and languages, 

and they will come and see my glory."

Isaiah 66:18

Specific prayer ideas if you're the praying type: 

-Preparation for my class is coming along, but I still have a ways to go

-Pray for me developing relationships in order to encourage others but also for myself

-Pray for the many ministries around Mango

-Health and safety

Praises:

Basically everything so far. I'm here and doing well. People are very kind to me and the Togolese are very patient with my poor French. I got to blow bubbles with a little boy. I'm being stretched but not beyond what I can handle so far. And God is good.

Love you all! 

-C- 

Potholes

Oh where to begin.

The last few days have been as full as I can remember. I've been getting a crash course on what is basically a new life. We'll see if it sticks, but I've been inducted and assimilated into the country of Togo, the city of Mango, the French language, tribal languages, a completely different culture, the 60ish person missionary team, the hospital, the nursing procedures, tropical diseases, teaching a week long course, shopping in the market, transportation via moto, wearing full skirts while biking in the sand in the pouring rain, my new house, and new roommates.

It's a lot to keep straight.

I'm going to choose one topic to talk about today and hopefully get to the rest some time soon. Part of that is so that my brain doesn't overheat. Also, I've found that people actually read the whole blog post if it's short. If it's too long, I lose you. I haven't found the exact cut off point, but I'll probably be doing some research on that in my spare time. (Just kidding. I don't have spare time.)

Today I shall talk about transportation. Ooh, I bet that caught your attention. But for real.  I've actually seen a decent portion of the country. More of it is paved than I thought. The road from Lome to Mango pretty good. However, when it's bad... it's really bad. I thought potholes in Northwest Indiana were bad...... at least they won't flip your car. It actually takes longer to drive the mile from my house to the hospital than it does to bike because you can go around the potholes.

All of the cars here are tough. They can take it. Some of the missionaries own an all terrain vehicle or a truck or a golf cart or a hybrid something or other. There are some buses or trucks that wouldn't be allowed on the roads in the States cause they are so overloaded. Sometimes the piles of stuff on top of the van is taller than the van itself.

I'd say the most common form of transportation here is a moto. Basically it's a little motorcycle. It fits 2 Americans or 6 Togolese. Or 2 Togolese and a cow. I like them. Otherwise, bikes are also pretty common. I bought my own yesterday, and it's cute. It even has a basket. However, riding a moto or a bike in an ankle length skirt presents it's own challenges. While I am not yet able to jump onto the back of a moving moto, I haven't fallen yet. So that's something.

That's what I got for now. I'm doing well. I'm busy and have a lot to get used to. I told myself yesterday that it's nothing that I can't do....it's just stuff I've never done before. So here's a toast to new experiences. Bring it on.

Love you all and miss you!!
C

ToGo

(I wrote this a day and a half ago, but didn't have the internet strength to post it until now.)

Hey America! How’s it going over there? What’s new? I don’t have great internet access, and I sure as whiskey am not going to spend those precious seconds of working internet looking up the news… I don’t think I will miss it at all. And that’s the silver lining of being disconnected for 8 months.

So a lot has happened in the last few days. This is an attempt to give a brief timeline and not bore you.

Before I left: So many people were so kind and supportive. Thank you to everyone who gave me a hug or a prayer or a letter or anything else. My young adult group collected letters and gave me an envelope to open every month. That meant so much to me.

Tuesday am: Left early for O’Hare. Tried to check in, but they wouldn’t let me because of some visa stuff. The computer at the airport was saying one thing, but I had been told another. Had to jump through some hoops, but made it through. Flew to Newark, NJ.

Tuesday pm: Hung out in the Newark airport for far too long. Met up with my travel buddy from ABWE. Met some other missionaries to Togo in the airport. Boarded my flight to Lome.

Plane ride: Dudes. I lucked out. As far as overnight long airplane rides go, I hit the jackpot. There was no one in my row so I could lie down. Score! I actually slept some.

Arrival: Got into the airport and someone hired by ABWE from a travel company was there to meet us. Thank goodness. She was awesome and helped us get through all of the many steps in French. Walked outside and was greeted by 3 wonderful ABWE missionary ladies.

Lome: If I tried hard enough, I could get a keyboard or something that does those accents over letters. However, that takes Google and internet so I’m not going to bother.  Lome has an accent over it….anyway. The missionary ladies were using the day to run errands, so we went to the Togo equivalent of Meijer. Anybody interested in pickled duck feet? Or unrefrigerated milk? I can hook you up if you’re willing to pay some very heavy customs fees.

The drive: The roads are red. Everyone sells their stuff on the street. People carry really heavy things on their heads. There are chickens and lizards everywhere. It’s hot. There are basically no traffic rules.

Tsiko: This week I am staying at the southern hospital’s guesthouse. It is very comfortable. They provide meals and laundry while I’m here. I haven’t figured out the hot water for the shower yet….There’s a monkey named Napoleon living right outside my door.

Hospital and clinic: This topic is too much to talk about for a summarizing blog. It deserves 8 months’ worth of its’ own posts ;) . It’s different. I thought I knew things, and now I don’t. I thought I understood healthcare, and now I don’t. I thought I was improving on my French, and now I don’t. I’ve got a lot to learn.

I think that’ll do it for now. I’m heading up to Mango on Tuesday when some missionary doctors arrive. I’ll do my best to keep up with the blog. If you’re on Facebook, I have a page Caroline in Togo where I can update a little more regularly.

Thank you all for praying. I miss you already.

In Christ,

-C-