Chikankata

Hi!!!



I hope you are all doing well - I hear its starting to get a bit chilly. Well don't worry about me it is still over 100 here =) This week has been busy again! Monday I was able to go to a Doctors office in town here and be able to help out and shadow him. He is a brilliant Indian man who has been here for 33 years. He had everything in India and was wealthy but gave it all up to come to here and serve the Zambian people. He said I never had to work in India and had everything, I come here and work everyday and have nothing. I really learned a lot from him about nursing and about life in general.



On Tuesday I was able to go to a hospice here in Choma. I did not think I would like it because I was thinking of what a hospice would be like in the states. However, here it is not where people go because they are dying. It is mainly for people who are suffering from HIV/AIDS but they come so they can get back on their feet and learn to manage their disease. I really really enjoyed it. The people there just need someone to talk to. I was able to sit with two ladies for over an hour and was just able to sit and encourage them. People here have amazing stories and they open up so easy. It shocked me when I first got here but it is kinda nice how people trust you completely in ten minutes. Anyway we ended the conversation by talking about pizza. They wanted me to teach them how to make it. Even though I have never made a pizza from scratch I worked my way through it =)



Wednesday was a powerful time. As a group we did devotions for the staff here at World Hope. We talked about Romans 12, had a worship time, and did a skit. I was able to be a part of the skit. I did not think it would have the impact that it did. At the end though the lady that manages our guest house said she had leave quickly because she was so touched she was crying. To get a response like that was really moving. They were so grateful!



Thursday and Friday we were able to go to the Salvation army hospital in Chikankata. It was about a 4 hour drive away for us. I was so impressed with the facility and the staff. I spent one morning talk with the midwifery students. I was laughing all morning. Thursday I was in Maternal Child Health and was able to help out with some prenatal exams - I am getting pretty good at locating everything =) That afternoon I was able to help out with family planning, this was also very interesting for me to be apart of.



Friday was amazing! I was placed in outpatient which is kind of like an ER. I was helping out the nurse at first. All the patients come and line up and then the nurse takes all their vitals and writes in their charts what is wrong and determines where they need to go next to get the proper treatment. At first the nurse was translating and I was recording. Then all of the sudden we got SUPER busy so the nurse wrote out 2 pages of Tonga phrases since most of the patients there were from the villages and did not speak English. For the next 2 hours I spent completely butchering Tonga but I DID IT! i was able to converse with them and figure out what was wrong - It was a very stressful situation but so amazing. I loved it!



Today was filled with homework. I am going to the Mission Hospital again Monday and Tuesday so I have a lot to catch up on before I go. It definitely helps though living in a house with 15 other nursing majors who are all in the same boat. There are not as many temptations not to do homework like there are on campus at IWU.



Well I will let you know how it goes next week at the hospital. If you could pray for emotional protection that would be great. I learned a lot 2 weeks ago but it was still really hard to get through. I am hoping for a more of an uplifting time. However, God will have me where I need to be.



Thank you all so much!!!!!!

love janna

P.S. I changed my profile picture. This is Ivy she is a girl from a village behind our compound. She is very quiet but so full of love. I was sitting on the ground playing with some other children and she came running through the field and just fell on my lap. She always seems to find me - but i am definitely not complaining =) She has found a place in my heart!