Rwanda, the Beautiful!!

Today was our second day working in Kibogora Hospital here in Rwanda.  I have been working on the internal medicine wards, while others are on surgery, pediatrics, maternity, and physical therapy.  I have been overhearing stories of horrendous traumas, children with genetic abnormalities, and complications of illness that we would probably never see in the US.  This country is such a dichotomy of beauty and sadness.  When we first arrived a couple of days ago, I was blown away by the beautiful foliage and the stunning view we have in our backyard.  I knew Africa was beautiful, but it is entirely different when you get to experience this land for yourself.  After settling in overnight, we woke up the next morning to get a tour of the hospital.  This is what we came here for.  Although the land here is beautiful and we are blessed to have the opportunity to experience God’s creation on the other side of the world, we came with the purpose of serving the Rwandan people.  As we are walking through the operating room, wards, pediatrics, neonatal intensive care unit, and maternity ward, I became overwhelmed with the reality of how fortunate we truly are in the states.  Our patients back home complain about having to share hospital rooms or being a little too cold at night.  But here they feel fortunate just to be able to sleep on a bed, even though they are sharing a room with up to 30 other patients with only one fan – and many of the patients are sleeping 5 feet away from someone who may be very contagious.

It has only been 2 days and this is not my first time in a third world country medical setting, but it never fails that each time I experience something like this, I am truly humbled by how lucky I really am.  God has truly blessed all of us with health and material things, and the people here live on about $200 per year.  It seems unfathomable until you see it for yourself, but these people have so little and yet, they are some of the most joyful people in the world.  So, today I have been praying that God would continue to open my eyes and heart to the people of this country.  I am asking Him to work in every one of us here to take advantage of this opportunity we have to allow God to radically change our hearts so that we will forever remember these people and continue to do the work the Lord is giving us – whether it be to work hard and be fortunate enough to be givers to these opportunities in the future, or even that God would provide a way for us to continue to be goers.  Please pray for the team that this experience will not end when we land in the US in just 3 short weeks, but rather would hold a permanent place in our hearts that would encourage us to continue to serve the Lord by serving others.

PS - I apologize for the lack of pictures.  There are 2 photos that I really tried to upload to this post, but the internet here is not allowing that.  So....I guess y'all will have to wait with bated breath to see the pictures until we return.

~Shannon

Kibogora Happenings

Day 1 Working in the hospital:

It's William here!  We began our day today with devotion, followed by a wonderful breakfast of French Toast and fruit.   After walking down the hill to the hospital, we shared with the hospital staff in the word and fellowship.  We then split into our assigned teams and saw patients on Surgery, Medicine, and Pediatric Wards.  I, personally, will never forget seeing the young girl with the exposed tibia (shin bone for the non-medical people) or the 30 year old lady who suffered severe burns on her hands, ultimately leaving her with no fingers on her right hand and severe contractures of her left fingers; all due to a lack of seizure medicines to control her seizures.  It is so mind-boggling to know that things such as this would be an outrage in the United States, but are quite the norm here in Rwanda.  How did this great divide come to be?  Following the first day in the hopsital, I have no better way to describe my feelings than hopeful- I am hopeful that despite the great need, we are able to offer some benefit to both the patients and medical staff here at Kibogora. 

I pray for the gifts of the Holy Spirit today to come down upon our team. 

Wisdom- Holy Spirit, let us be wise in any decision-making we undertake while here in Rwanda, especially in our decisions involving patient care.

Knowledge- Holy Spirit, bless us with Knowledge.  Not only so that we can serve these patients, but also share any knowledge that the medical staff here may be lacking.  Also, we pray to learn from the knowledge of the Rwandan and Congolese doctors here with us

Courage- Holy Spirit, grant us the courage to step up to the many challenges we face here- language, culture, and an obvious disconnect between medical approaches.

Wonder and Awe- Holy Sprit, we are in awe of all of your creatures, and thus, in awe of you.  How wonderful is it that the people here are so underserved, yet so faithful. 

Reverence- Holy Spirit, in all situations, let us be reverent of not the Lord, but of the patients and physicians here. 

Understanding- Holy Spirit, help us to understand why things are so different here; at the very least- to learn from the differences.

Right Judgement- Holy Spirit, help us to use this experience to grow in our moral conscience in order to better do your will. 

First Pictures - More to Come When the Internet Works Better

Muraho! (Hello! in Kinyarwandan)

Muraho! After two 7-8 hour plane rides and an 8 hour bus ride through the Rwandan country side and a windy National Forest, we’ve finally arrived at Kibogora hospital, located on the banks of beautiful Lake Kivu.  Rwanda is known as “the land of a thousand hills” and I believe the pictures that will be posted in the days to come aptly reflect that nickname.

The compound where we are staying is a beautiful, well-manicured place, decorated with gorgeous flowers and colorful trees – it feels more like the tropics here than it does Africa. The house where the girls are staying boasts a breathtaking view of Lake Kivu and some of the peninsulas that jut out into the water. Fishermen take to the lake in the early morning hours, oftentimes singing as they go. I myself have yet to hear them singing, though I will be listening closely for them each morning during our stay…

We arrived to Kibogora late last night and in one piece, praise God! The bus ride from Kigali to Kibogora was a rather crazy one, and we had several near-wrecks (there do not appear to be any road rules in Rwanda) but our bus driver was a capable man and delivered us to the compound safely. All of our luggage made it Kibogora with us – not a piece was lost during the transport from Atlanta to Amsterdam to Kigali to Kibogora. We are so thankful for the Lord’s provision and for His mercy over our travels. We ask that you would continue to pray for our team – that strong friendships would be forged and that a spirit of unity would permeate throughout. Please also pray that we’d quickly become adjusted to this place so that we might serve effectively and be blessings to the people here. Stay tuned for further updates and pictures. Ni ahejo!

Britni

                                                            We Are Here!!

                             The team has arrived in Kigali.  They are safe at their hotel.          

Kibogora Hospital

Kibogora Hospital is a rural hospital of 279 beds, located in southwest Rwanda on the shores of Lake Kivu. It serves a population of approximately 250,000 people. Kibogora is also a referral hospital for 12 outlying health centers. The hospital provides surgical, general medical, pediatric, maternity and neonatal services, with an extremely busy outpatient department. The support facilities include X-ray, laboratory, HIV/Aids testing, treatment facilities, dentistry, ophthalmology, physical therapy and family planning clinics.

The first medical facility at Kibogora was a dispensary set up in the 1940's by the Rev. Frank Adamson and his wife, Hazel, who were American missionaries. The growth of the hospital, in both buildings and facilities, occurred in the 1960's when the late Dr. Al Snyder was Medical Director at Kibogora. It is in very large part due to his efforts and the efforts of his support team that the hospital as we know it exists.

In 2011 the total number of staff at Kibogora was  216 including 12 doctors, 97 nurses and 17 technicians. The hospital admitted 6,312 patients and treated 23,199 as outpatients. The maternity unit delivered 1,628 babies, over 45% of which had compilations. The laboratory conducted 96,500 tests. There were 1,998 major surgeries performed and 1,064 minor surgeries. The bed occupancy was 70%. The HIV/Aids unit at the hospital has treated 1,918 patients since the program began in 2006. Of these, 621 were transferred for treatment to the health centers. The Health Centers are supported and supervised by the HIV/Aids team of doctors and technicians from Kibogora Hospital.

Fun Facts:
Mission at Kibogora - Missionary Established, Charity Hospital
Climate - Rainy seasons are February through April and November through December. Average temp: 70
Language - French, English, Kinyarwandan
Charting (patient charts in the hospital) - written mainly in French, some in English

Please pray for the missionaries and hospital staff at Kibogora Hospital. Please pray also for the patients who are treated at the hospital and at its many outpatient clinics. And please pray for our team as we prepare to leave for Rwanda in less than a month and also while we are serving overseas. Pray that the Lord would be glorified through our words and actions and that we'd be a blessing to those we serve while in Rwanda.

Our First Official Team Picture