I have been back in Togo for nearly two weeks and immediately felt welcomed back into the special community that this place has offered me. I moved back into my old room and put my things back in their spot. The call to prayer sounds outside my window five times a day and is my personal reminder to pray for the people who live all around me without the hope of Jesus. I hopped back on a moto and hear the familiar chant of 'Batule' (white person) everywhere I go. I'm back to wearing long skirts and sweating 95% of the day. My relationships with neighbors, coworkers, and teammates have picked up right where they left off, and new friendships are already forming. I'm in the preliminary, prioritizing, and planning phases of a plethora of projects. My feet are constantly dirty and there's a mouse living in my roommate's drawer, so nothing has really changed. It's good to be back.
It's not always easy though. My first full day back in the hospital was a slap in my face reminder of the realities of healthcare in Africa. We coded and lost three patients. One of the isolettes holding a set of premature twins was swarmed by ants crawling on the tiny bodies despite multiple thorough cleanings and me frantically trying to block them from getting in. I gave chemo, hung blood, measured meds, and fed five babies every three hours. By the end of the day, I was discouraged and exhausted. But here's the thing. After work, I was invited to dinner with friends where a full plate was put in front of me and the conversation had me laughing again within minutes. That night, I turned on worship songs and flipped to the passages in Scripture where God promises that He is good, that He is with us, and that there is hope. A day that reminded me of all the tragedy I see in Togo also reminded me that we weren't made for this world and that there is a better one coming.
Days that are the hardest are also the days when I draw closer to God and am thus even more grateful for the good days. After living in a third-world country away from everything that was familiar, my time in the past few months with family and friends and the comforts of life back home was that much sweeter. Change can be hard, but it teaches me how to embrace the old along with the new. Whether the day reveals our desperate need for heaven or gives us a tiny glimpse of how it might look, we can live with hope and expectation.
Thanks for checking back in!
I'll be around :)
Because they haven't heard,
-C-
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| I found my twin! |
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| A game of pick up sticks with my neighbors- they get very competitive ;) |
