World Aids Day

Sunday December 1 was the 25^th World AIDS Day. The hospital staff and I were busy, busy, busy educating the community about HIV the first week in December. On Monday we went to a high school and taught different classes all day. Then we had a school wide assembly there followed by 100 free HIV tests. Thank God, all of the tests were negative!

 

 

The next day we went to another school to help out the government hospital do more of the same. On Thursday, we had 2 radio programs about HIV. During the first one we even had a quiz with cash prizes ($6 to each of the 5 winners!!). On the second show, people called in and asked questions. I felt like Dr. Drew or Dear Abby. But I bet neither of them have ever been asked, “What do you do if your husband brings home a second or third wife. Should we all be tested?”

Speaking of the radio, I have also been working on short health education programs that are aired several times a week (but that is a whole other post- whoa!).

Again, I have to say I love what I do here. I loved being in the community and teaching. And to think that my words just may save lives, that is awesome!

Charlie update!

Ok, grandparents- here is your early Christmas present: a Charlie update!

So first and foremost this 2 year old chick is wild, crazy, and adorable to no end. She is also too smart for her own good.

Currently, she adores Dora, Elmo, and Veggie Tales in that order. When we are mean parents and will not allow her further brainwashing with crack laced toddler shows, she like to pretend cook. She is most certainly going to be a doctor or nurse because everything she cooks for you is to “make you feel better.” Chocolate is her favorite medicine. She is also likes playing dress up and entertaining us with her made up songs and dances. She definitely has her mother's talent!

(Yes, this is underwear on her head!)

Charlie's teacher is AMAZING! She actually has teacher training and is kind, yet structured. Charlie adores her and runs to hug her when she comes. Charlie knows the ABC song and can correctly identify probably 3/4 of them. She can count to 17 or so. She knows most of her shapes and all of the basic colors. We are in the midst of the "Why?" stage for sure. The simple act of cutting onions requires a 10 minute dissertation on why exactly I am cutting onions. She loves to read books. Pretty sure she will be a Mensa member this time next year. Well, maybe not MENSA quite yet since she does think if she covers her eyes you cannot see her!

(and yes this is our closet- ear your heart out girls!)

She cracks us up! The other day Josh asked her what she sees when she looks into the mirror (one of her favorite pastimes). Charlie replied, “cute!” Sometimes she says to me, “you are a cute little mommy!” When she is done with dinner she says. “I accused?” Whenever I try to light our stove, Charlie begins to say, “Oh come on! Come on!” Apparently she has picked up on my irritation with African matches that never work.

She is definitely an “MK”- missionary kid. She floats easily between Dora and playing with sticks with her local friends. We have had to explain that no we do not spit in the house like her friends do and yes we use the toilet when we can- the side of the road is only for traveling! I have actually uttered the words, “go play with a chicken” to which she beamed and ran off obligingly. She swallows her malaria medication whole ever day with a sip of water and no complaints. When the power goes off it is no big deal and she has mastered showering with only the light of a flashlight!

A tour of Worum

My father-in-law said that he wanted to get to know where we lived and our friends here. So I thought that I would do two blogs- one about the “places of Worum” and one about “the people of Worum.” So I walked around with the intent to take pictures of our friends and the sites of interest. Upon talking to my friends, I learned that it is not a good idea to put pictures of our Fulbe friends on the Internet because they will get harassed by their families and other people- it has happened before! So I have taken down any pictures on our blog of our Fulbe believing friends. Hence the new cover photo! One day we will get a new picture of the 3 of us to put up there. In the meantime I put up a picture that I just love!

So anyway, on with the tour of Worum. You might be asking yourself, “What is Worum?” We say we live in “Banyo,” but really we live in a small suburb of Banyo called Worum.

Here is the road from Banyo to Worum. The center of Worum is about 2 miles from the center of Banyo or a 5 minute motorbike taxi from our house to the market in Banyo.

One of the first things you see when you get to Worum is the Kanti Jam (Fufulde for “The Good Shop.”). This is where I buy all of my flour, sugar, eggs, bread, doughnut balls, and sometimes an emergency Coke or two. It is my local “grocery store.” They also sell gas and clothes. It is like Walmart!

Down the road from the kanti is Sawtu Jam Jamanu (Fufulde for “The Good Life Voice”). It is the only radio station in town. It is a Christian radio station that has talk shows, music, health lessons, and the popular greeting times when you can call in and greet a friend. This is where many of our friends work.

Near the radio station is the “Blue house.” Some of our friends live here- 2 families and a single man (10 people in all). Charlie and I hang out here a lot.

 

Behind the blue house is the Suudu Do''aare (Fufulde for House of Prayer) aka our church. On a good day, there are 17 adults and 14 kids in attendance. Songs, prayers, and sermon all in Fufulde of course!

Behind the Suudu Do''aare is the house of fellow missionaries the Lokkers.

Next you will come upon the Cameroon Baptist Hospital of Banyo. It has 35 beds, a maternity ward, pharmacy, lab, radiology department, and a surgical theatre.

A short walk from the hospital down this lovely path

and you get to the Doctor's house

And then our house (which is really the Doctor's guest house- we are probably overstaying our “guest status!”)

Happy Birthday Bianca!

Meet Miss Bianca.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

She is Charlie's teacher and she is Fabulous. Yesterday was her birthday and she had a party! But since she has such a heart for Children, she threw the party not for herself but instead for children in her neighborhood. 

She made popcorn and other treats for the kids. And there was cake! The kids were so excited and the Shinars were too- it was quite a party.

(I love this picture because Charlie and her friend look like old ladies gabbing!)

The kids sang and danced.

(This picture is also great because it looks like Charlie is flying in the background)

Josh led a rousing game of "Simon says."

 

 

And fun was had by all!

 

Alat of excitement!

First of all, no I did not misspell “a lot.” Alat is the name of a town about 45 minutes away from us and it was the home to this year's Fulani believers conference. This is like the coolest thing ever man! Really.

The Fulani are considered an “unreached people group” meaning that there are very few believers amongst them (like 1%). That is why it is was so cool to see a gathering of 50 or so Fulani that follow Jesus meeting and worshiping together. Some came from Cameroon, others from Central African Republic and many were from Nigeria.

Us Nassara'en (white folks) came for half a day. During the time we were there, they talked about the importance of health care for women and children. This is remarkable because the conference was 90% men. Women and children are often seen as “second class citizens” in African societies- especially amongst the Fulani. Some strict husbands will not even let their wives leave their houses! The men at the conference encouraged each other to take their wives to the hospital for prenatal care and to vaccinate their children (the women said amen in the background). There also was a slice of time devoted to debunking the myth that white people use vaccines to sterilize or make barren African children!

After the “health seminar” they then talked about the importance of education! In light of the Boko Haram in Nigeria (an Islamic jihadist militant organization that is against "Western education"), this once again is amazing. I kept on thinking how beautiful it is that Christ can change lives so dramatically. These Fulani Christ followers will be shining examples to their communities of how to respect women and how to care for their children.

This is picture is the entryway to the conference- it is the custom to take off your shoes before you enter a house or building. Because persecution of Fulani believers is real here, I chose not to show any pictures of the people in attendance. "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, 'Your God reigns!'" Isaiah 52:7

 

50th anniversary celebration

This last Saturday, the town on Banyo celebrated two wonderful occasions: the opening of a new maternity ward at the Baptist Hospital of Banyo (the hospital where I work) and the 50th anniversary of Dr. James Smith and his wife Ina.

Let me just take a minute to gush about the Smiths. They are the most fabulous couple ever. They are the sweetest, kindest, and most caring people. Doctor (as everyone calls him) has the best bedside manner I have ever encountered. Not only does he work 12 plus hours days (everyday- even Sundays), he takes the time to warmly greet every patient as he cares for them. What is so remarkable is the he also greets all the non patients sitting outside the wards. The love of Christ oozes out of him as he cares for the sick. His wife, "Ma", is equally as fabulous. She has a smile that radiates and she always has yummy cookies at hand- ask any kid (or adult for that matter) in Banyo. She is known for her generosity. Charlie adores her. She always wants to go to Ina's house and not just for the cookies. The other day she even named one of her babies "Ina." That is high praise!

So back to the event: it was a BIG deal. I mean big. Everyone dressed up in their nicest clothes. Charlie and I followed suit in our new dresses. I even wore makeup (the first time since arriving in Africa). And as you might notice, I had my hair did. All of the local people said that I was "woodi masin" (very beautiful)!

Did I mention it was a big deal? The Lamiido came and even spoke in English. He raved about the hospital and said it was "the hospital he and his family went to." Which is kind of controversial because there is also a government hospital in town and talks of building an Islamic hospital also. But he said he goes to the Baptist hospital because he heard the US President Ronald Reagan went to a Baptist hospital so if it was good enough for the President than it was good enough for him! He told everyone that his brother (the prior Lamiido ) had wanted a Baptist hospital in Banyo and worked to make it happen! (As a side note, people actually bow down in front of this King.)

 

There were other important people at the event. I love this picture below. The first row are the "Health Council of Banyo." They are all well respected Muslim leaders. The row right behind them are all Catholic priests. And all are at a Baptist hospital!

 

 

 

 

There was dancing and singing and presentation of fabulous gifts to the couple. And of course there was food, lots of food! It was a fabulous day!

Fwd: Josh made a blog entry.

Well I (Joshua) have been slow to post to the blog, I know, but here ya go:  For the last month and a half, the Shinar Family has been adjusting to life in Banyo, Cameroon and everyday we love it more and more.  (That is with everyday getting hotter and hotter as we enter dry season by the way).  This place is wonderful, from the amazing sunsets and mountain scenery to the ENGLISH speaking people and sincere believers.  We have already made numerous true friendships with the locals here. 


It seems like the needs here in Banyo exactly match our passions; nursing, engineering, and sharing the love of Christ through our passions.  I have been working extensively on the power systems.  We basically provider power to the area servicing 30+ houses and businesses, the hospital and radio station.  We actually use a lot of power relatively speaking.  We use around 7MegaWattHours per month as a community.  I relentlessly diagrammed out the whole system to fix some of the problems we were having.  I've really been able to apply my electrical engineering degree and make some needed improvements and $$ savings!  We'll see, but I'm hoping to have dropped the hospital electrical bill in half by the end of the month.  That's an extra $500 per month that the hospital can put into patient care.

Patrick and I taking down a faulty 25mm Aluminum power line.  To his left is the radio tower. 

Beautiful solar halo while working.

I have put together an extensive plan to provide some technology/internet/intranet solutions to the community.  We are hoping to get funding from the various local sources as early as next week.  We hope to provide educational materials (Khan Academy, Medical, and Biblical) to our part of town and the local secondary school in phase 1.  Phase 2 has hopes of providing this material to the whole city through mesh networks.  We are hoping to start training a local technician to be able to maintain the system when I am gone.  There are lots of micro/small/medium business opportunities that arise from such a system and I am hoping that God will send a entrepreneurial spirit or two to start up some businesses here.  I'm wanting to start teaching more and more about tech and business here to try to get some exciting projects off the ground.  We are also trying to put a phone system in using our new Internet backbone.  Hopefully the hospital can shell out some of it's electrical savings money on some SIP phones!  You would be amazed at how much time/energy/money is wasted without a little technology.

I often take Charlie on a walk right as the sun begins to set.  As we climb up the hill, Charlie and I say "Sannu" to each of the ladies at the visitor's housing who each rejoice as if their prodigal son had returned each time they see Charlie.  

We continue up to visit the local hangout and greet our friends,  across to visit Charlie's play friends (Charlie's choice),


and back to the generator house to catch a late evening reading of the hospital's electrical usage (Daddy's choice). 


Then it's time for a movie before bedtime.  The above picture is actually a time lapse video of Charlie watching Dora the Explorer for an hour.  Notice no movement whatsoever.  : )

We are trying out a new teacher for Charlie this next week.  She seems very apt and excited about teaching.  Charlie continues to amaze Lori and I with her love of learning.  She's a smarty!

Tomorrow we celebrate the opening of the new maternity ward at the hospital and Dr and Ina's 50th wedding anniversary.  Over 200 people are coming including the King of Banyo.  It will be a celebration to remember!

barka de sallah

 

Last year we celebrated Eid al-Adha (or the Feast of the Sacrafice) with Josh's infamous crazy bridge trip and yummy morsels of lamb at friends' houses. This year we are back in a more predominantly Fulbe community which means we got to celebrate at the Lamiido's (the king) palace and see the Fantasia of horses. Here are some pictures of the pageantry! 

 

Razzle dazzle ponies

 

 

 

Some musical entertainment

 

Men with spears guarding the Lamiido (he is the one under the beach umbrella)

 

My little pony meets "Toddlers in Tiaras"

 

 

Ride 'em cowboy!

 

The Lamiido's wives

 

 

This is the Man, the King, the Lamiido!

 

This gal thought the horses were a lot of fun.

 

So did this guy!

 

tell us what you think....

Here is your chance to ask us a question!  Let us know what you want to know and we will answer your most burning questions!  Also,  let us know what you want us to write about or what pictures you want to see. Leave a comment below or respond by email. This should be fun!

Home health nurse in the bush!

When I went to nursing school and seminary, I dreamed about days like today.


Today, I went to see my first home health patient out in the bush. Hapsatu is the “stepmother” to one of the Fulbe believers that works at the Christian radio station near the hospital. (I say “stepmother” because she is really the co-wife of his actual mother and I don't know what else to call her- so um, “stepmother.”) She is an older lady with congestive heart failure that the doctor saw last week in the hospital. She has been home for almost a week. I went to assess her and see how she was feeling.


In almost 11 years of nursing, I had a lot of “firsts” today:

• Before I could see my patient, I had to stop at 2 homes and chat for a while.
  
• I had to walk down a dirt path, through a corn field, down a steep and slippery hill, over ant hills, on top of logs placed over a large mud puddle, through more mud, and up another slippery hill to get to my patient who lives in a mud and stick hut.
  
• I got paid with corn and sweet potatoes. My patient's family also fed me dinner.
  
• I took my husband and child with me to see my patient. (Charlie was ecstatic about the corn since it is one of her favorite foods plus the corn was pink which she thought was totally awesome.)
  
• I did my assessment is almost complete dark (because this mud hut didn't have windows).
  
• I educated on topics such as boiling river water and fresh cow's milk to make it safe for drinking.
  
• And I tried to do all of this in a foreign language. (Random healthcare foreign lingo tidbit: in Fufulde when you say you have to go to the bathroom, you say you have to “go behind the house.”)
  

The funniest thing of the day was the way everyone was scared of Charlie. Somewhere along the way, they had come across a picture of a white child with blonde hair. They thought it was a very frightening photo and could not be real because they had never seen such a thing. And then here comes Charlie with all of her white person blondness in real life. They were terrified- especially the kids. But by the end of our visit, she had won them over with her politician like handshakes and pleasantries.


The best part of the day was when we shared with Hapsatu about the sick woman who touched Jesus' clothes and was healed. Hapsatu was amazed that all the woman had to do was touch his garments. We told her that sometimes Jesus heals our bodies when we reach out to him, but he always heals our souls.



I loved today. Days like this are why I became a nurse and a missionary.

Mb-i-n-g-o and Mbingo was the trip-o!

So we were in Banyo about a week and thought it might be nice to go on a trip! Our fellow coworkers were headed to Mbingo and Baminda for  some things they had to do and asked us if we wanted to go. It actually was good because we got to meet the people of the Cameroon Baptist Convention- who we are kind of partnering with while in Banyo since the hospital is a CBC hospital. So Mbingo, Cameroon is beautiful. So if you ever get a chance to go, say yes. It is really cool and up in the mountains and there are waterfalls. Need I say more?

On the road, we saw lots of these:

 

 

And funny signs like these. I was unable to get my favorite sign on camera It said, "God bless Boys 2 Men."

 

A Fulani man came to our guesthouse with his horse!

 

Did I mention waterfalls?!

Home sweet home.Third times the charm!

So I am going to go ahead and say it: "I love Banyo." Tonight while I was walking in the wonderful crisp, cool air and watching the sunset on the beautiful mountains, I thought yep, this place is great. And it is not just the amazing scenery- the people here are great too! The Fulani believers here are so wonderful. I love hanging out with them everyday- learning from them, joking, and watching our kids play together. I am also really stoked about ministry opportunities. I am now officially a home health nurse. Yesterday, I saw my first patient in the hospital that I will follow up with next week in her village. I am so excited!

Here is our "huge" house (about 900 square feet) from the outside. Look at that view!
   

 

 

The inside

 

 

 Did I mention the view?!

 

    And Charlie and her little friend Nassie (he is doing his best soldier salute for the camera).