Chapter Two- Lions, Tigers, and HIV, Oh My!

Alright, so my first week in South Africa is officially over and it was definitely a big one. On Wednesday we finally started working at the hospital. We got there in the morning and met Dr. Nhiwitiwa who took us to the medical ward where Matt and I split up and followed other doctors on their rounds. You hear a lot about the HIV problem in Africa, but it was incredibly apparent there. Almost all of the patients we saw were infected, and the majority of those also had TB (tuberculosis). A large number of them have failing organs or other serious infections like meningitis. The average patient would be the sickest of the sick in the US. While that is sad, it has been an incredible learning experience for me. The doctors have been very helpful and they explain the patients' conditions and treatment and I am learning general clinical knowledge like reading charts and lab reports as well as lots about HIV and TB. For the small population of you who might care to see my medical notes and journal, feel free to contact me via email or facebook or whatever.

In the afternoons we have been getting lessons from Dr. Makhakhe on HIV, TB, and ARV's (HIV meds) Within a few weeks we will be seeing our own patients and prescribing their ARV regimens! On Thursdays rounds all the doctors from the medical ward go together and discuss the difficult patients which is very interesting to see. On Fridays, they don't see many patients but they have a meeting with updates on HIV research and discuss it. Next week we will be going on rounds to see the MDR (multi-drug resistant) TB ward which will be very interesting. This is an incredible chance to learn about diseases I would never see in the US, and help in a place where it is at its worst.


Yesterday we went to a big cat reserve where they have lions, tigers, cheetahs, jaguars, and lynx. We got to play with tiger cubs and I got my hand knawed on by a lion through a fence. We toured the park where they have tons of lions and tigers which was really sweet and now I can say I have survived a lion attack and wrestled a tiger.



At Restoring Hope, construction is going very well and our home now has a toilet and a shower and very soon a working sink, fridge, and stove. The second children's home is almost complete on the outside, but unfortunately half of the other team is leaving next week. so I might end up helping there whenever possible. On Wednesday the Village got ANOTHER baby. He is a 6-month old named Tumisong (Tumi for short). The house mother can't handle two babies at once so the Niehoffs are taking care of him and I have been helping a good bit with that. Its a really amazing place and they do great work here, so I would suggest that anyone with an interest in missions or serving or construction consider helping here. They depend heavily on teams to help their building, and it is an incredible ministry they are doing for these orphans who have few other places to go.

I apologize for the delay in updating but internet access is scarce for the time being. Thank you so much to all of you who are supporting me financially and/or in prayer, I appreciate it immensely. I am excited at this opportunity to do the Lord's work

Chapter One- Travel Adventures and Narjies

Hey there! So after a long series of events, we made it to South Africa on Friday, May 20th. We missed our connecting flight and so the fastest way for them to get us here was to send us to London for a 13 hours layover. Not to miss an opportunity, Matt and I bought a couple of tube tickets and rode into the center of London for a day of sightseeing. We went to Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Big Ben, the London Eye, King's Cross stationa dn some other touristy places. We were still running on no sleep though so after 5 or 6 hours we were super tired and went back to airport and waited a while longer and got on our flight. After landing in Johannesburg we found out our bags didn't make it and so traveled to Welkom empty handed. We spent the next few days re-wearing the clothes on our backs and on Monday my bag arrived but Matt is still missing his, so you can all be praying that it is found because everything is in there.

We visited the hospital on Monday, but Dr. Nhiwitiwa wasn't there so we called him and were told to come in to work on Wednesday so that is the plan. While we were there, the sisters (nurses) found out and were American and got real interested in us real fast. Matt was proposed to while I was told that I was "too young to have left my parents" Yeesh! I need to grow a beard. The hospital is certainly like nothing you would find in the states, and its a public hospital so tons of people go there and the wait is huge. We are more qualified medically than anyone there besides the doctors so we should be able to do a lot and help out. I really look forward to it!

Instead of being in the hospital for the last few days then, we have been working on construction at the Village. The other group here has been working on the next children's home while Matt and I have been helping convert our container into a veritable bachelor pad. So far we have tiled it and put in a bathroom, with a kitchen and living room to come. I really enjoy spending time with the kids. The Niehoff's, Brian and Lois are the family we are staying with at Restoring Hope and their kids are Liam (3) and Lindie (1). The girls at the Village are Monica (4) and Lerato (9). And as of yesterday there is now a three week old baby girl whose name I can't pronounce, let alone spell.

Life in South Africa is certainly different. The first lesson I learned is encompassed by the baggage incident- think of the way you expect things to go. Now think of the opposite. That's how things work in Africa. American food and snacks are a real novelty here and all the food tastes slightly different and generally worse. But they do have Narjies (pronounced Nar-kees) which are like oranges but superior in every way. They are infinitely easier to peel and taste less sour. They are my new favorite snack and they are super cheap.

Well it looks like I've already written a paperback novel but I'll be posting periodic updates throughout the summer and letting you all know how things are going here. In short though, I love it!

Don't Cry, I'm not gone yet

Hey everyone, if you're reading this then apparently you're not going to South Africa and you would like to know what its like. I think I can help with that because I will be posting periodically with updates on my trip, pictures, and other nuggets of wisdom that may come to me in the next two months. As a recap, I will be in Welkom, South Africa from May 18-July 18 staying at Restoring Hope Village and working in a local hospital. As of right now, I'm not sure what internet access will be like there but I will try to update this whenever possible. I appreciate everyone's prayer and support for my trip this summer!