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Hello to you both!
We are excited to read you email. I really appreciate you reaching out and offering encouragement.
Bere, Tchad is probably a lot like you remembered it. Rich with hope but materially impoverished, mostly HOT, and terrible roads (nearly impassible in rainy season). We really do love many things here and we've been touched by the people and their generosity and kindness. Obviously it is a challenging environment and the transition has been difficult at times for the entire family.
I believe we live in the little one bedroom "apartment" attached to the house you lived in. We stuck a bed in the living room for Kim & I but the girls share the real bedroom. It's small but we have water and electricity so that is a blessing.
We are just about to move into a new building on the compound. It will be amazing to have a little breathing room but its actually making me feel embarrassed. In a country where nearly everyone struggles in poverty, we are getting a brand new home that is filled with furnishings that just arrived on a container this week from the United States. Equipment for Bere, Moundou, and Abeche was shipped here and they gave us some room for beds and tables, etc so we bought some stuff and had it sent over. It feels too extravagant and now I'm self conscious. The girls and Kim deserve it but it doesn't diminish some feeling of guilt for all the new abundance. In the U.S., the home would be considered a small metal warehouse or garage but here it's a 2 bedroom palace with Ikea furniture.
The hospital compound would be unrecognizable to you.
Maybe you have seen the One Day churches that are made of corrugated metal? Bere hospital received a large donation of these structures and this place has grown HUGE. AHI has really worked hard to improve Bere. There are mostly empty metal buildings everywhere but they are connected by actual concrete sidewalks. Eventually we will have new hospital buildings from the same materials. New maternity ward, 2 new operating rooms, post op wards, etc. perhaps in the next 2-3years. It depends on money and manpower-- just like most things in this world. God has provided everything we need so we just have to remember to be patient.
Kim has been busy keeping a malnutrition program open until the new director arrived. It was a labor of love and cost a lot emotionally and financially but it was time well spent. She also works with the local school-- she spends time nearly everyday with finances and student registration and she is also struggling to get teachers and administrators to work from a realistic budget. That's nearly impossible and pretty frustrating but its worth it to help the local kids get access to a better education. This school is considered one of the best around, partly because they limit class size to ~60 students per classroom! That would be at least twice the normal size back in the U.S.
I came here to give anesthesia and teach others to be anesthetists (as much as that is possible for them). I ended up doing that PLUS overseeing pediatrics. That has been particularly challenging to round on pediatrics in the morning and get to the OR for a reasonable starting time for surgery. Add to that-- I'm not a pediatrician but fortunately God put enough people around me to get me back up to speed. I haven't focused solely on pediatrics since 1994-96 and I never studied much detail of tropical disease management. The re-learning curve was steep but I began to feel more confident after a month or two. Dealing with poverty (& parents inability to buy medicines) and the too "frequent" death of children from preventable/avoidable diseases has been difficult and I spent more than a few nights crying. Like most things, it gets easier as you adapt to stress but its sad to deal with the things that just don't exist in modernized countries. I may not be able to continue with Peds once we get really busy in Dec-Mar when we try to do 8 surgeries/day in one OR. Time will tell.
Our daughters were always homeschooled but after much discussion, we decided to enroll them in the local school. We realized that the academics would be lacking but we felt it was important for the girls to make friends and learn the many languages. It's been rocky and difficult for them but they are persisting. I would love it if you could remember Grace and Emmie in your prayers. And pray for our family to rely on God and stay close together. I know you remember the stress of raising a family here. We are managing fine but its much different compared to the United States.
You can already guess our menu: rice with sauces; pasta with sauces; we've had goat a few times; I just received a chicken for a "thank you" gift so we ate it yesterday. I eat mostly vegetarian but not exclusively so we graciously ate the food that likely was a big sacrifice for a local family to give away.
Kim and I are speaking French much better now and that is a relief, though I still miss out on a fair amount since they often speak quietly or too quickly :-)
Now I just need to learn Nangjere, Arabic, Malba, and Gumbay and I will be in great shape to chat with almost everyone. Communication is so important and so difficult here!
So overall we are doing well and learning from our successes and failures.
If we are ever in Ghana we will drop in for tea or coffee :-)
Not sure what Internet is like for you but we have a blog you can read if you would like to:
Thanks again Peter & Esther. Your email was like a breath of fresh air.
Blessings to you, your family, and your work in Ghana.
With love,
Mason, Kim, Grace and Emmie
Our mailing address:
McDowell's
L'hopital Adventiste de Bere
52 Boîte Postale
Kelo, Tchad, Afrique
I-Message & email info: mcdowellcrna@gmail.com
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