Swimming, Sleeping in a Hammock, Water Volleyball and Other Missionary Activities.....Hee,Hee!

Yes, we have all heard the phrase "Suffering for the Lord" and it is often applied to missionaries. But living abroad definitely has its upsides! For me, I made the sacrifice and suffered for the Lord (*completely tongue-in-cheek!*) once again at Bab's Dock with several friends! Another beautiful boat ride out to the semi-fresh water lake, swimming (watching a wiry 60+yr old man run up, a wide childish grin splitting his face, and cannon-ball in like a little boy, splashing the sun-bathing girls!LOL! Very entertaining!), several rounds of water volleyball (aka, let's-see-if-we-can-make-it-more-than-once-over-the-net-and-keep-it-out-of-the-marsh!), a good hot lunch of BBQ chicken, some amazing french fries, and delicious chocolate crepe, reading and sleeping in a VERY comfortable hammock with the sun filtering in and out of the palm and other trees overhead,....Yup. Just suffering for the Lord in Africa!

The next morning, I joined my roommate and one of our day volunteers, Betty, and her husband for church. Betty and her husband are actually from Kenya so they do not speak French or any of the other tribal languages spoken here, though they are fluent in English. Because of this, they chose an English-speaking church here in Cotonou. That particular morning they had a combined service of both their French and English churches from that denomination in the area so the service was longer than normal to allow for the constant translation between French and English. The church was much more conservative than the others I attended and was a little easier to follow because of the English translation. This church sang a few hymns and choruses (the congregation singing all together in whatever language they knew it in!), had a small orchestra to accompany, a choir, and special music. It is not that different from most conservative American churches you might visit. The pastor first did a Bible story, and though it was time for the service to move on, took time to answer a question one of the congregation had about his personal bible reading in Job. He answered it fully, clearly and patiently. Then picked the service back up and moved on. I was very impressed. This is not typical of the pastors of the churches I have attended so far. His message was very clear and connected and made better sense than the other speakers I've heard in churches here. But in typical African fashion, there were three offerings, each for something different--one for the church's upkeep, one for the church's building fund (though the structure (walls, floor, roof, balcony, third floor, etc) is there, the building is far from being finished), and for missionaries they support in Senegal. They reiterated how Senegal is about 95% Muslim making it a very difficult region to work in. He said something about there being three Christian churches there. I think he might have said "only three Christian churches in Senegal" or might possibly be referring to three of that particular denomination or missionary's. I'm not exactly sure. Either way, the country of Senegal is desperately in need of the truth, difficult though it may be to give. The church building itself, even in bare, rough cement and structure, was impressive. The front of their building project offering envelope showed the drawing of what they expected the church to look like when it was done. It looks like it will be really neat inside and out. Overall, I was really impressed with the whole church.

The little boy in front of us was busy playing an easy game of "spot the Yovoes!" He was quite fascinated by us and even came to sit between us for a while! His older sister (about 8-9yr) was more discreet and just kept peaking back at us or watching us when we weren't looking. Both got more bold as the service went on, but the little boy soon wore himself out climbing all over and fell asleep in his mother's lap.

I also had the chance to speak with one of my former patients who's active in the church there! That was a surprise but refreshing, too! We discharge them from the ward and may get to see them if they visit the ward after their post-op checkups but, generally, we don't see them again. It was nice to see how well she's doing and that she recognized me, that my care of her did make enough of a difference that she remembered me.

I often feel like I'm playing the bad guy at work--"you have to drink more water", "close your mouth and swallow!", "yes, you have to take these pills", "come on...you have to get out of bed for a while...", "no, you can't go up on deck 7 today", etc. I feel like all I'm doing is forcing people to do uncomfortable or painful or tedious things they don't want to do. After they've had major surgery on their mouth, the last thing they want to do is swallow anything even a few days later. After they've had bone taken from their hip, the last thing they want to do is walk! Some view having to take a lot pills as meaning "you're really sick" and they don't want to take so many because they feel okay right now.

One woman would take the same pills four times a day. Three of those times she would take them without fuss but every morning at 6am, we had to have a 10-15 minute discussion/coaxing session to get her to take the same pills she'd been taking the other three times a day for several days without a problem! Every morning had a different angle--"I think I will throw up if I take them" (gave medication to prevent); "I need to drink warm salt water to keep me from throwing up before I take the med" (very originial....got the salt water--won't make a lick of difference but if it means that she would take her pills, she can have the salt water!); "I need to brush my teeth first" (a very common objection....fine, brush the teeth first)!!! It got to be pretty entertaining to see what her excuse would be in the morning!

Because of the condition of drinking water where they live, they are used to drinking very little water so getting them to drink lots of water is like pulling teeth! After a few days of the nasogastric (NG) tube, all they can think of is getting it out and making them keep it in and take the feedings is tiring to both of us! And after they've just had surgery to free their jaw joints, to keep it as flexible as possible, we have them start stacking Popsicle sticks between their molars every two hours--whereas they may get four in without too much pain, their jaw needs to fully open to six sticks which causes a lot of pain. Even though all of these things are necessary and very important to their health, I still feel like the bad guy having to enforce it!

But there is a reason we must push for these things. Without learning to swallow, they'll just drool and have to eat through a tube for the rest of their life (the tube not being an option here in Benin). Their hip bone will heal but it is important that they get out of bed so that they don't get open sores from laying in one place. That would mean more risk for infection and longer healing time, longer time in the hospital, and more time away from their families and jobs. Some of these pills give their bodies nutrients to heal and prevent infection. For the patients who have had a goiter removed (a giant lump on their thyroid gland in their neck), they need replacement thyroid hormone for the rest of their life or their bodies will shut down and die. We give no more pills than we have to. Some have to keep the NG in to allow their mouth to heal sufficiently. Otherwise, they would try to eat too soon and the incisions in their mouth would break open, hurting the healing tissues and allowing infections to start! They must drink water to prevent getting dehydrated. If they get dehydrated, the volume of their blood is less which means that the wounds are not getting the blood supply that they need to heal. Also, dehydration can cause dizziness and they may fall and get hurt....not something we want to see happen and for which we make efforts to prevent, including drinking water (or tea or juice or anything else we can coax them into). If they don't do the sticks exercises, their jaws will freeze up again, as if they had never had surgery and they will go back to eating whatever fluids they can get, whatever food they can sop in juice or milk to soften and force between their clamped jaws. All of these things, though they are difficult, painful, and tedious, are for their benefit. Keeping this perspective and keeping in mind what their alternatives are help me pull myself together and make it happen.

I think that this may be how it is with us and God sometimes. He allows the painful, uncomfortable, and tedious things to happen and even encourages us in them because He knows the alternative of leaving us as we were. All of His plan for us is for our good, to develop us into a better person than we previously were! How we must grieve Him with all of our complaining and resistance! What an amazingly patient and good God we serve! The Master Healer of all that plagues us!

I found these verses in my reading today and they fit these thoughts so well:

"The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy." ~Psalms 147:11

"For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation. Let the saints be joyful in glory; Let them sing aloud on their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth." ~Psalms 149:4-6a