Happy Sunday!

Right now it is POURING outside, so I’m taking advantage of the time and the functioning internet connection at the Mitchell’s house. The rain is actually good since it’s the source of our water—we have well water also but the apartments where the Nigerian house officers/family med residents live have been without running water for a month, so they are completely dependent on the rain water. Our neighbor Dr. Emme, a resident who came over to watch a VERY bad Denzel Washington flick (“He Got Game.” Don’t ever watch it.) with us on Hanna’s computer had been reduced to borrowing buckets of the tap water in the SIM apartments.

I guess I should explain the housing situation. The Evangel Hospital is run by ECWA, the Evangelical Church of West Africa. They have a Nigerian-accredited Family Medicine residency. All of the residents and other staff live on the ECWA “compound.” The compound is the hospital buildings and all of the housing surrounded by a wall with barbed wire. The doctors live at the back beyond an additional security gate. Apparently in the past they have had quite a problem with theft and a couple of armed robberies at the senior doctors’ houses. The residents are all Nigerian but the staff physicians consist of approximately 50% Nigerian doctors and 50% “baturri” (I think I spelled that right), that is, “white” doctors who are all SIM missionaries with their families. They all live in houses on the compound, and the residents have apartments, which are pretty minimal as evidenced by the water situation above. There are a couple apartments that are nicer for short-term students, etc. where I was living for a couple nights with Jemma and Hanna. I am told that it’s not safe to go off of the compound alone –I have heeded this warning and so have not tested it. When I go out it’s always in a group, and I’ve never felt in danger at all.

On the other side of the security gate, on the “street side” of the compound is some housing that is even more minimal for other staff: nurses, techs, cleaning, etc.

This morning I went to church with Jemma, Hanna and Gary-we went to the church at JETS, the Jos Evangelical Theologic Seminary. It was all Nigerians except us and one other family. I dutifully wore a head wrap as women are expected to cover their heads in this society so as not to appear “loose.” It was a great service full of people and singing. It was pretty mellow and actually very close to my church back home (yes, FPC folks, I am referring to you….)in style—this actually surprises me a bit as I have jokingly refferred to Presbyterians over the years as the “Frozen Chosen.”

The pastor this morning had a great Bonhoeffer quote from “The Cost of Discipleship:”
"The life of the spirit is not that which shuns death and keeps clear of destruction: rather it endures death and in death it is sustained. It only achieves its truth in the midst of utter destruction."
Bonhoeffer was in a much more horrible situation than anything with which I have ever confronted, but I think that it provides an interesting view in a hospital situation, especially a less-than-adequate hospital situation in the midst of advanced illness and injury.

I would give you some pictures but it costs a lot of internet credit to upload. I’ll try to get over to the internet café and post some when I’m using my money and not the Mitchell’s bandwidth.

Shout-out of the day goes to Drew---There was a guy at church this morning rocking out on his bass and I thought of you.