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"Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done. Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts. Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always. Remember the wonders He has done, His miracles, and the judgments He pronounced." I used to read "remember the wonders He has done, His miracles..." and think about the parting of the Red Sea and the feeding of the five thousand and the single stone that killed a giant. But now, this Psalm has a totally new meaning for me after I have been to Tanzania and back. I have seen miracles personally, and I never want to forget them. Because of this, I rewrote Psalm 105 in my own words, telling my own recount of God's miracles that I have seen. Just like Psalm 105 tells the story of the Israelites and God's miraculous interventions along the way, so my Psalm tells the story of God

The Tanzanian people are a people of gratitude. Thankfulness is something that they learn from their culture. For example, I tried to start an IV on this one poor woman about four times. Every time I stuck her, she looked at me with pain in her eyes and said, "Asante". Thank you. I'm said to myself, Woman, I am failing and causing you pain and you are thanking me? Imagine how different the scenario would have been if it had happened in the United States. But this just shows what kind of people they are - a people of gratitude. They truly were thankful for our work and our efforts. As one of our doctors was stitching up a man's ankle after an open fracture, he held my hand, squeezed it tightly in pain, and thanked us over and over again. A baby came into the pediatrics ward one day on the brink of death. We did the only things we knew to do, but still the baby passed away. The mother, through her tears, thanked us. I wanted to scream in disappointment, "

Thank you, Allison Park, for your excellent photography. Your pictures are worth a million words.

I have heard the story a million times, but this time it was different. Ten people were trapped in a horrible disease. It starts out as painless pale spots on the skin, but it gradually turns into something much worse. Eventually, the victims lose sensation in their extremeties, which would leave them with giant wounds and sores on their hands and feet, sometimes even losing fingers and toes. But this leprosy not only damages the skin and the nerves, it damages the person’s heart. It destroys their relationships. Especially in the Jewish culture, lepers were outcasts. Untouchables. These ten outcasts - with no where else to go – hear about Jesus. They find Him and come to him, but when you read the story, what Jesus does is somewhat unusual. “Go, show yourselves to the priests,” he tells them. Instead of doing something for them right then and there on the spot, He gives them a referral. It almost seems like he sends them away. It is on the way to the priests that t

It didn’t take long after her admission into the obstetrics ward for the doctors to determine what was wrong. With the patient having a blood pressure of 240/210 and seizing, she was diagnosed with ecclampsia. They called an emergency C-section to save the lives of the mother and her baby, but it was too late for the unborn child. They wrapped the baby in a cloth covering its face and set it aside, waiting for the mother to awake from her surgery.   But even when the mother awoke, she was too sick to do anything. During her seizure, she had ruthlessly bit her tongue, leaving it gigantically swollen, inflamed, bloody, and protruding from her mouth. For several days after her surgery, she was pretty much out of it, unable to respond or talk. We continued to treat her high blood pressure and severely injured tongue. We knew it would take a miracle, but we didn’t give up hope. We cared for her and prayed for her day after day. Then finally one day, we actually prayed w

There is a mountain range behind the Chimala mission hospital. Every morning the sun hits the top of those mountains and they beckon me to climb to the top. This weekend, I finally got the opportunity to summit. Due to the risk of coming across a deadly poisonous green mamba while hiking, we decided to take a vehicle up the mountain instead. I was disappointed that we weren’t going to hike until I saw the vehicle in which we were riding. “That thing is like a tank!” someone exclaimed as it pulled up. It was like a mix between an army tank and an African safari jeep. It was appropriately named: Defender. We excitedly climbed into the back of the Defender and rattled up the mountain on a dirt road. They say the trail has fifty-two switch backs, but who’s counting? All I know is that we were on the edge of a mountain taking 180 degree turns on a road as narrow as a four-wheeler trail covered in large pot holes and boulders. At times, I looked out the window only to see she

I popped my gloves off, threw them in the trash, and backed up against the wall. I let the other three nursing students who were helping with the dressing change take over my job as I stepped away. I normally try to hold it all in, to be strong. But this time as the tears filled my eyes, I just let them.   I did not even try to keep it in because I wanted to break. I wanted to feel it. When we had wheeled Ezekiel to the minor theatre a few minutes ago for this dressing change, I expected it to be a difficult procedure. I could tell by the way he smelled of infection.   However, as we unrolled his bandages and cut away the gauze, I so badly wanted to see that his burns were getting better. They weren’t. We did the best we could to cut away the dead tissue and rub ointment over the wounds. Deep down I knew that if these burns don’t heal, the infection will spread to his entire body and he will die.   We sang “Jesus loves you” over the table as we worked. That wasn’t

I have a confession to make. I don’t like to watch; I like to do. I really like to be in the middle of things, and I just don’t like to stand by. However, this trip has stretched me. Surrounded by a team of three doctors, two nurses, and six other nursing students, I can’t possibly be there to do everything. I can’t even be there to see everything. Sometimes, I get to perform skills or do neat things, but most of the time, I find myself watching or even just hearing about things that were done. Normally, I would be jealous when others get to do things while I just stand by and watch. However, I have really enjoyed listening to the many stories at the end of each day. “I assisted in a breech delivery today!” one student says. “I resuscitated two babies after C-sections today, and they are alive and well!” another tells. As stories are shared, I find myself not jealous, but amazed and praising God. During my time here in Tanzania, I have gotten to do a few things, b

The pediatric ward filled with the sound of wooden chairs scooting across the concrete floor. Our audience of women cradled their children in their laps, bouncing them gently to keep them quiet. “Habari za asubuhi?” I asked loudly to get the attention of the room. This literally means “what is the news of the morning?” A chorus of happy voices replied, “Nzuri!” Anna, Alaina, Kellum, and I introduced ourselves, explaining who we were and where we came from. Soon, all eyes were on us, and we began our class. “Have you or your babies ever had vomiting and diarrhea?” I looked around the room to see many heads nodding. In fact, most of the mothers bring their children to the hospital because they have diarrhea and vomiting. One of the leading causes of death in children in areas of poverty is dehydration. It seems crazy to us who live in the United States, but a case of vomiting and diarrhea can actually kill a child. However, a simple drink   mixture known as

She stared at me with wide eyes from the operating room table, so I smiled and waved friendly at her. I tried to act positive and not let the shock show on my face. Maybe, if I acted calm, she would feel calmer, too. Maybe, it I didn’t let the fear show on my face, she wouldn’t be afraid either.  Maybe, if I acted like I wasn’t in pain, her pain would go away, too.  Maybe, if I blew it off and tried not to think about it, the whole situation would stop existing. But the truth is, one third of her entire body was covered in second degree burns.  I thought about how much pain I felt when I burned the tip of my finger on a curling iron and a small white blister formed. And here she laid, naked on the cold table, with her entire chest, upper arms, and right buttocks and thigh completely burned off. She must have felt like she was still on fire, even though she had fallen into the fire yesterday.  And she was only seven years old. I was so thankful that that the doctors put

“Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord – Jesus, who appeared to you as you were coming here – has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.”  Acts 9:17-19 I remember learning about Steven Johnson’s syndrome in pharmacology class, hoping that I would never have to see it in real life. Steven Johnson’s syndrome is a severe reaction to certain medications, including anti-retroviral medications for HIV/AIDS. The face, neck, and upper chest become covered in thick, crusty sores. The sores represent the dying and peeling of the skin, which is also occurring in the mucous membranes inside the person’s body. So basically, what you see on the outside skin is occurring on the inside as well. Although I was familiar with

“How am I going to give them these things without scaring them to death?” I wondered aloud as I held the Pop Rocks in my hands. Mrs. Patty gave them to me to share with two boys in the males’ ward where I was working. One you have already met, my seven-year-old friend, Jeremiah. The other young boy, Odakis, is fourteen. He has a fractured femur, which has left him immobilized in traction for six to eight weeks just like Jeremiah. Most of the day, they both just lay there, quietly entertaining their own thoughts. Over the past few days, we have made an effort to bring smiles to their faces with bubbles, balloon animals, coloring books, and paper snowflakes. Today, we thought some Pop Rocks might cheer them up. Since they have surely never had Pop Rocks here in Chimala, I wondered aloud, "How am I going to give them these things without scaring them to death?" Mrs. Patty agreed to go with me to the bedside. With huge smiles on our faces, we walked over to Je

Instead of individual rooms, the hospital is made of wards – one for women, one for men, one for children, and one for obstetrics. There are around fifteen to twenty beds in a ward, meaning that the TB patient rests only a few feet away from the AIDs patient occupying the bed next to him. The beds themselves are more like old cots with thin plastic mattresses wrapped in stained sheets that don’t fit. I often find my patients lying in a crumbled mess of browned   sheets filled with crumbs, dirt, and sometimes body fluids.   Their heads rest on the bare mattresses because there are no pillows. Anywhere. In the nursing station, the papers are hung on the bulletin board with old needles. When you don’t have push pens, you might as well use what you would normally throw away. To do wound care on one of my patients, I had to gather my supplies from all over the hospital. I found a basin in the women’s ward. I retrieved some hydrogen peroxide from the one supply station in t

I don’t know his story, but I hear that he fell out of a tree. His name is Jeremiah, and he is only seven years old. Now his left femur is fractured as well as his left arm. He will be immobilized in traction for six to eight weeks. I watch him, laying motionless in his bed. At least six weeks! I think to myself. I first think about the boredom. He has no TV, no Gameboy, no ipod, not even a book to read. Today, I make it my goal to entertain him.I want to make him smile. Then, I begin to think about his health and strength. Six weeks of complete bed rest will cause significant loss of strength. In the United States, one of the nurse’s job for a patient like this would be to perform range of motion for the unaffected extremities. This means moving the right arm and leg in all directions to keep them mobile, flexible, and strong. I made this, too, one of my goals, although I wondered how exactly I would do it. I felt a little uncomfortable since he did not know me and I