Wednesday Jose, Katie and I went to Chiwengo and did a clinic for the COTN orphan village there. Of course, people from surrounding villages heard and came. Our main goal, though, was to see the orphans and the staff at Chiwengo. Jose and I were the providers and Katie was the pharmacist. We had a great time and saw about 135 people. We stopped in time to get home right at night fall. On Thursday and Friday, we had already arranged with a church from Texas (Ft. Worth area) to set up a two day clinic in Majiga, a village where their team was setting up a tabernacle. We drove out Thursday and Friday, seeing over 350 folks on those two days. They had not only folks to help erectt he tabernacle, but also a doctor, a nurse practioner, a couple of RNS, a nursing student and lots of willing hands. They did a great job! We had 3 'providers' - Dr. Willie, Kathleen (NP), and Jose -I mainly circulated the first day, answered questions, etc. By the second day, they didn't need so much help so I was able to take on patients myself. The girls running the pharmacy were great (that is one of the hardest jobs), and of course the triage / intake (thank you Katie) is a critical part of the process. The group brought food and all of us ate after the clinic closed, followed by the Jesus Film. This village is about 1 1/2 hours away from Lilongwe, with the last 45 mintues being on a killer dirt road. Two things the photos don't capture - the dust, dust, dust everywhere - in your eyes, your hair, on your skin, on the tables, on your equipment, your pens, your paper, the medications.... And all the patients are covered with this fine red dust. The other part that doesn't come through is the noise, so much noise. Children crying, kids playing and laughing, adults talking, and the church had a ministry to the kids going on with a loudspeaker and music....
The church and their team did a fantastic job. The medical folks were out of their comfort zone but really held up well, they were flexible and focused. It was a great experience, and I know at least one tiny baby was saved by their hard work, numerous other folks got a huge variety of illnesses and diseases treated, wounds cleaned and bandaged, prayers, and generally shown the love of Christ.
A special word for Jose - he is pretty much functioning at a physician level in the clinics - and he was getting most of the 'malaria' patients for the past two days, along with the other patients. He had one family with six people, all at the same time. He also had a Mom with twins - one on each breast that needed to be examined (children, not breasts!). I just wanted to officially say that he is quite extraordinary. He has intentionally worked to increase his knowledge level of the diseases we see here and the treatment options. Not to mention he gets all the 'other' chores, like carrying heavy loads, driving and taking wheels apart when we have car trouble! For those of you who are praying for us, remember that Jose has been the answer to prayer many times on this trip.
Pictures: The tabernacle as we pulled up the second day, with the line already forming. People coming in by foot and ox cart. Kathleen (NP) seeing patients, and four of us at the end, 'pharmacist', Katie, me and Jose.
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