I could go for something frozen...

So... where to begin? I cant believe that I've been here two weeks already! The rest of the team has left and Im in a pretty secure routine already. I spend the mornings in the clinic doing dressing changes on the kids with some fungal infections, coughs and upset stomaches thrown in for good measure. Then I spend all afternoon documenting the 300+ physical assessments the other nurses and I did on all the kids last week. For those of you who worked with me on my last night and are remembering my words about how I was done charting for 6 weeks- feel free to keep those comments to yourself. Im struggling a little with a few of the things they do here but God is good and He has given me more thqn enough work to do to keep me occupied with the things I CAN change. The woman I work with in the afternoon- Rasmata- speaks good english and she is a blessing from God. Sometimes I help her after the generator comes on in the evening to help her catch up on the work she doesnt get done because she is translating for me. She says that at the end of this week we will get the yearly ht. and wt. on all the kids so when Im done documenting assessments Ill have something else to do!
So what else do you want to know about? It is hot here. I want a quick word with anyone who said " yeah, but it is dry heat." Because you are right. You can see the moisture being sucked directly out of your body. I can tell that Im going to get used to being prepetually dehydrated.
The people here are wonderful. My cook (yeah I know- more about her later) practically waits on me. The workmen will bend over backward to help me (as long as it isnt between the hours of 1 and 4pm- practically everyone sleeps during this time as it is too hot to do anything else). The kids are- well kids. 327 of them at last count but no one seems to count too often. Well, Im going to run out of cfa shortly. Pardon the poor typing (french keyboard). Ill try to post again next week. I hope you all are well.

First Flight

Hi everyone this is Nick Jennifer's little brother. She asked me to update her blog for her every so often as we received info from her. This is my first update for her.
Jennifer successfully made it to her plane on February 15. The plane took off @ 17:30 from Grand Rapids Gerald R. Ford Intl. Airport. She flew to Toledo then to Paris where she had a brief layover. Her next flight took her straight into Burkina Faso. We have not heard from her yet but are under the assumption that she has made it to Burkina Faso. She flew out with another girl by the of Jill. She is also from GR and works at spectrum. We ask that you continue to pray for her and i will continue to pass on information as it comes to me.

And they're off....

My bags are packed I'm ready to go......

Leaving on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again.


We arrived with no problems! They are going to keep us busy so keep us all in your prayers!

Only 300 miles from Timbuktu

God continues to remind me that He is in control. CWO told me yesterday that I only owe them $1,300, a fraction of what I thought I was going to need to pay them to cover my ticket and travel costs. A HUGE thank you to all of you who have helped me! I only have about 16 things on my "todo" list and yet I sit here calculating the distance from Grand Rapids to Ouagadougou. (For those of you that care as the crow flies it is 5350 miles, 8610 km, or 4649 nautical miles. ) I'm so ready to go.

Help packing

So I've started packing.... but none of it is feeling real yet. Greg (from CWO) e-mailed me today in response to my question about stuff people can donate. He didn't give me anything really concrete though. So I'm making my own list...gloves are the first thing on the list, a variety of dressing supplies as a close second. OTC pain meds, antidiarrhea meds, rehydration powders lower down. I wish I had a better idea of everything I might need....

Prayer Requests

Christian World Outreach:

For their influence around the world

For daily decisions, travels and trip preparations.

For Greg and Dean Yoder and the rest of the staff

Prayer Requests

For the team:
To the best of my knowledge there is no physician going with us. I pray that God can use a group of 4 nurses to do what we are best at.....
For team unity- that we will be able to work together effectively. That our unity will be a demonstration of the unity within the body of Christ.
For our example as we preach the gospel without words.
For opportunities.... wide ranging opportunities.

Prayer Requests

For the Country and the People:
Burkina is a impoverished, land locked nation in the Sahel. Roughly 50% of the country is muslim and another 35% are Animist.

Literacy rates are less than 13% and HIV prevelance rates are nearly 7%.

First post

So I leave in 23 days... some moments that seems like ages, other moments I'm sure I won't get it all done before I go. Sometimes I'm convinced this will be like all of the other trips that I've gone on, other times I'm sure that God is planning to do something that will flip my life over.

I started this blog thinking there may be a slim chance that I could keep everyone at home updated with it....however Burkina is something like the 3rd least developed country in the northern hemisphere and has one of the lowest GDP per capita income in the world. Suffice it to say I may not have consistent internet access.

For now it will be a place to... well, we'll see what it becomes.