Hi Everyone,
Wow our days have been full, but so blessed by this awesome team that God has blessed me with. They all came with loving and caring hearts and have touched so many peoples lives. Sorry because we are getting home late in the evening from working all day, we have missed some blogs so here are some thoughts from the team as we separate and some are going to the hospital to work with me and some with Julius to do Hospice Home Visits. Sending a lot of love back home to my family and friends. Love and miss you all. Also thanks for all the prayers.
Thanks to all of your donations, Hope ministries has funded to bring 12 very poor patients that we saw out in the bush and at Mama Lynn’s Children Home and provide them with health care. We have done surgery on some of them and others have been transferred to the needed specialist that I have the privilege of knowing at ALMC. You have no idea what an impact it has made on these people’s lives. My heart has been touched and of course as they hug me and thank me, the tears come. It is amazing how God works through us to help our brother and sisters here in Tanzania. God bless you all.
Mama Gayle
Hospice Home Visits:
Honestly, I have one word to describe our day today with the hospice team at Selian Hospice Program: Humbling. We visited four patients and their families in their homes, and let me tell you – it was quite the experience. As a hospice nurse, I thought I was somewhat prepared for what we were going to experience today. Although the idea is similar to that of the states, the team of hospice professionals have so many more challenging needs, with limited resources, and take them on with more grace and strength that I hope to carry on with me as a nurse caring for hospice patients.
The people and their families are in living conditions that every one of you back home, including myself and the team, couldn’t even imagine. Cooped up in extremely small quarters that house the bedroom, living space, and kitchen all in one – patients are lying down living out their last moments, and they are living them with more love, compassion, and faith than I live out in my routine lifestyle. It’s truly admirable, and I hope to learn from them and carry it out daily.
Mama Gayle and Hope Ministries provided two large bags of food to each of the families and talk about people being grateful. Each person and family member continually thanked us for being so generous, when really we were the ones that should have been continually thanking them for humbling us to the core. This bag of food provided the first meal for some in days because they had to sell the little food they had in order to be able to afford their necessary medications. I promise to not take my chicken strips and french fries anymore!
After completion of our hospice visits, we were able to go back to the hotel and have a relaxing evening. Mama Gayle and other members of the team worked until late at the hospital seeing patients! Thank you all again for the continued prayers for our team and the people of Tanzania, the work being done over here is absolutely incredible.
Allyson MurphY
Monday, January 9th – Orthopedic Clinic Day at Arusha Lutheran Medical Center (ALMC).
Hope Ministries started our day early at ALMC by attending chapel service with the hospital administrator and the physicians and nurses that would work along side of us in the clinic. Dr. Mark Jacobson (physician, professor and hospital administrator) then welcomed our team and provided an overview of the hospital mission statement and vision. It was a good beginning to a long day. We soon walked into a sea of humanity waiting for us in the clinic. The idea of making an “appointment” is a foreign concept, and many wait patiently all day to be seen. People come from near and far; many of them we referred to the ALMC clinic during our medical outreach at Light in Africa Children’s Home in Moshi, and at the recent outreach clinic for a large Maasai Tribe located outside of the mining town of Mererani. Hope Ministires covers the costs of transportation, medicine, clinic visits, x-rays, labs and surgical procedures for those too poor to afford medical diagnostics and treatment. It was a blessing for our two orthopedic surgeons and two of our nurses to work with the ALMC staff during the clinic for the evaluation and treatment of 100+ patients. Orthopedic injuries are a major concern in Tanzania due to high incidence of vehicle accidents, chronic and acute spine issues (women carrying heavy sacks on their head and children on their back), amputations (snake bites; lion attacks), congenital deformities, etc. Five of our patients were scheduled for surgery this week, which will be a joint participation and education between the Tanzania and USA staff. It was a tiring, but very rewarding day of accomplishment. It is a pleasure to serve the Tanzania people, especially when you see the warm and genuine smile on their faces. May God bless them all!
This is one of the most beautiful pictures that I have every seen and it is hanging right by the nurses station in OR. What I love so much about working in OR here is that right before we are ready to do surgery we prayer with the patient and OR staff. It just warms my heart and gives me such a feeling of strength and love and a great reminder that God is the great physician and HE is there with us always. Gayle
