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