What a week!

Hello from Zambia!

Muli buti everyone? That means how are you - Anyway this might get a little long so grab a cup of coffee. The Internet was down most of the week here and when it was working I was actually on a couple of trips so i have a lot of updates for you =)

Last semester at IWU i took a short term missions class and the professors that i took it with are actually here in Zambia about an hour away. So last Sunday they invited us all to their home and for a Youth Rally. This was a great day. First of all she was such a mom to us - she made us AMERICAN lasagna from scratch and chocolate cake and then had 16 beds made up for us so we could all enjoy a Sunday nap. It was truly a taste of home for me =) After spending time with them though we went to a youth rally which was so cool. In a one room church there were 500 youth and all 20 of us plus the pastors/leaders of the church. Needless to say it got a little warm but it was worth it. As in any African church they always want the visitors to go up on stage and introduce themselves and then sing. They love it when you sing - especially since that is so prevalent here. Well everyone was going down the line introducing themselves and they just kind of all were staring and then i said "Hello my name is Janna Peterson" and all 500 started screaming and clapping =) I was a little taken back but it was really nice - I was laughing pretty hard. I guess there is a famous musician in the country that is named Peterson so that gives me a pretty nice advantage =)

The Pastor who spoke at the youth rally talked about hidden sin and how it has a way of coming out. He had an altar call and there was a pretty good response - It was definitely a blessing to be apart of. After we shook every person's hand they wanted to give us a tour. This was at a boarding school so all the youth actually lived on a campus. So i was able to see all the dorms, school rooms, and the clinic. We are going back again soon so I am very excited.

This Monday and Tuesday i was able to go to Zimba Mission Hospital. Every other week i will be going there for some clinical time. This was a very hard experience for me actually. I learned a ton but I definitely need God's straight to get through it. On Monday I worked in ART which is anti retro viral therapy which is basically all AIDS patients. They came in and I gave them their monthly physical to see how the disease was progressing. It was very emotional to screen all these people who were dying. One of the patients that came in was very critical and actually ended up passing away that afternoon.

The next day my instructor decided I needed some uplifting patients so I was placed in peds and OB. Well then one of the girls died that morning so i was trying my best to comfort the mother as she was grieving. Then in the afternoon we had a lady who was pregnant get rushed in by ambulance who was in labor. We put her up on the table and started an assessment. Within 5 minutes we realized that there were no fetal heart tones. For the next hour I was helping the mother give birth to a child that would never take a breath. This was another extremely emotional experience. One of the parts I completely disagreed with was because the mother did not speak any English she did not know that her baby was already dead. They did not tell her till everything was over.

To get the full affect of this you have to understand that Zambian women do not show emotion. To see the mother who lost her daughter that morning sobbing was a huge deal and then to hear the mother who lost her baby sobbing was very rough. Even though this trip I did not advance too much on my nursing skills I definitely advanced on my comforting - to sit with the mourning and just pray with them. It took me about 2 days to recover emotionally from all this but I have processed, prayed, and had long conversations with God.

Today we went to another hospital clinic that was about 1 hr and a half away. I was again assigned to the prenatal area of maternity. The patient I was assigned to was a 16 year old girl named Florence who was having her 2nd baby. I was able to do a complete head to toe assessment on her and to check the fundus height, feel the head, and listen to the fetal heart tones was an encouraging thing after Tuesday. I also had to give her a tetanus injection since it was that time.

God works in mysterious ways in Africa but I am learning as I go. He is so faithful and ever present. I have been flooding my soul with worship music and giving my patients to Him as I go because the burden is too much for me and I am not meant to carry it. This is an amazing and straining experience but I am definitely falling in love with this country more and more each day. My theme song for this week is entitled I Need You - the lyrics are below and hope they speak to you the way they spoke through me!

I am frail, broken easily

Without fail, my strength keeps failing me

All alone, I'm powerless

To lift myself from the pit that I am in

I need You, Jesus
I need You,

Jesus From Your throne in heaven's light

Descended down into my broken life

To right the wrong, to make a way

To bear the load that I deserved to bear alone

I need You, Jesus

I need You, Jesus

I need clean hands I can't,

You can I need You, Jesus

On the cross on our behalf

The Son of God bore the Father's

wrath

And by His blood, the scars and pain

The perfect Son, took the fall and took our place

In His grace and unfailing love

The risen King gave His hand to us

To lift us up, from the pit

And set our feet upon a rock that ever stands

On my own I've tried and tried

To save myself, to fill my life

But the more I do the more I find

That I need You, I need You, I need You

FINALLY =) a couple of pictures for you

This is a picture of the Peds ward at Zimba Mission Hospital

This is a picture of one my patients for the day. She was full of joy - She didn't understand any English but we were laughing despite everything that was going on around us. She had a fractured leg that is in traction under the blanket.

Last but not least this is what I get to see every night to remind me that God is so present in even some of the toughest parts of Africa!

LOVE YOU ALL

- janna