"There's no place like home." ~Dorothy in the 'Wizard of Oz'
Even though I am not sure I would say that I am completely settled in here in Rundu and I still struggle with loneliness and feelings of isolation, I am glad that when I arrived Tuesday morning at 3:30am on the bus (thanks be to Rob for picking me up at that awful hour!) I truly felt like I was home. A little over a week of camping, staying in a backpacker's hostel and staying on the top bunk at Mick & Suzanne's made me realize exactly how much I like my own bed (among other things)! Nothing against any of those locations (and the Rineer's know that I love staying with them), it's just that, as Dorothy says, there's no place like home!
On the flip side of coming home, I wasn't looking forward to coming home to an empty house. For those of you who have been praying that I wouldn't be lonely, thank you! It's working! I have been busy since my return and haven't really had time to be lonely (for that matter I haven't even had time to clean house or do laundry either). Please keep praying though! :-)
All of that said, our new team member, Mary Bennet, arrived Friday to make Rundu her new home! She seems really nice and I think that she will fit in nicely with us crazy folks up here in Rundu! She is a proper English lady and it is fun to listen to her talk. I even enjoyed a spot of tea at her house Sunday afternoon when she invited me over! :-) As I mentioned in an earlier email she will be working at the College of Education teaching teachers. She will have until the middle of January (when the next term starts) to do language and culture acquisition, then she will settle into her new position.
My little Anna
I asked the nurse that is Anna's neighbor how she is doing and was quite shocked by the answer! Apparently Anna is no longer in Namibia. Family came from Angola demanding that the Aunt give them Anna to take back with them to Angola! Apparently they even went to Home Affairs and got custody of her. The person the nurse spoke to didn't know exactly who the people were, but because of the papers they got from Home Affairs they had to give her up. I can only pray that they took her because they really love her and that they will take care of her!
Work
Work continues to go well. As I mentioned I arrived at 3.30 am on Tuesday and started working that day. Thankfully I didn't have to go in until 1pm! The really good news is that the students are back. They were on break from clinicals while they were writing their exams, and boy was it difficult without them! The saying 'many hands make a light load' really is true! There is a considerable difference when students are present. Of course having them there adds a different level of stress for me as the 'Sister in Charge' (charge nurse), having to watch over them and make sure they aren't doing anything to kill anyone.
The little things can be stressful too though. Today I asked them why I they thought I was so hard on them, and they couldn't answer me. I asked if anyone else was as hard on them and they said no, not really. Then I asked them if they thought they were being 'ok' nurses or if they thought they were being good nurses. They said just ok... which might be a bit of a generous estimation of their capabilities... so I asked them if they wanted just ok nurses taking care of them when they were sick, or their mothers, fathers, or even children were sick. They said no, so I tried to explain that I am hard on them because I don't want them to just be ok nurses, but that I want them to be great nurses, and that without someone pushing them they might never realize that they can be great nurses. I don't know if they bought what I was saying or not. The looks on their faces said that they thought I was hard on them just because I like being mean... We'll see tomorrow if my pep talk worked or not! :-) They seem to be caring and intelligent and I will be really disappointed if they continue on the way that they are... Guess we'll see!
A big happening at work is that we have been having practice inspections to prepare us for the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) inspection team that will be coming from Windhoek later this month. For those of you in the hospital world, it is a similar event to JCAHO coming. There have been changes galore in policy and practice which have been a little hard to keep up with. Of course this has also been an excellent opportunity to try to challenge and push the nursing staff to elevate the level of care that they are giving. I am not sure if it is working as I am continuously asking them to do things that I have asked them multiple times already, but hopefully it is having some sort of positive impact!
Holiday (vacation)
Sossusvlei was everything that I could have hoped for! It is even more spectacular in person that it is in all the pictures! Of course I think I will be dumping red sand out of my shoes for the next year, but it was completely worth it! :-) The best day we had was when we climbed the Sossusvlei sand dune and then went to see Deadvlei, which is an area of white sand with lots of dead camel thorn trees surrounded by the largest sand dune in the area (in the world too I think). It is just awesome!!! After seeing Sossusvlei we went to Swakopmund, the Atlantic coastal town that Brad & Angelina were next to. Aside from the cold wind coming in off the ocean, the town itself is just beautiful. I can see why they fell in love with the area! I even got to see some seals there! It was after sunset that they were pointed out to us, so I have some pictures but they aren't very clear. I was thinking that eventually I would like to see the seal colonies, so this was just a little taste that confirmed that! We had an afternoon and a morning to enjoy Swakop, then we returned to Windhoek to shop, eat, and enjoy our time together until Kristin left. It was a good trip and I hope to get the pictures up on the website sometime next week.
Benin
I sent out an email to several of you to pray for a situation in Benin, where I came to Africa the first time. The church in Ouega was having major opposition and the church members threatened with death if they returned to have service in the hut that they called their church. Praise God no one has been harmed (although one church leader did come down with Typhoid fever) though services continue to be held each week, however they are being taken to 'court' with the claim that the land the church building is on isn't theirs. Please continue to pray that God will show Himself mighty and that He will receive glory and honor from the decisions made.
Baby Shiloh
A while back I also asked you to pray for baby Shiloh, my friend's baby that was born overseas with some medical problems. They returned to their homeland of Texas and so far they have seen several specialists, but I don't have any of the results of those visits. As soon as I hear anything (hint hint Joy) then I will share it with all of you.
Email
Just a reminder to everybody that I have very slow dial up and am charged by the minute. Please try not to send me emails with attachments as they take a long time to download and can be very expensive for me. Thanks!
I love all of you and miss you! I hope this finds you doing well!
love and hugs,
kimmie
Praises:
- Kristin and I had a great time on our trip!
- Mary and all of her things arrived safely in Rundu last week!
- My friends from Zimbabwe were incredibly welcoming and loving when I saw them today. They are truly part of what makes me enjoy living here in Rundu!
Prayer Needs:
- Mick & Suzanne still don't have their work visa renewed. Apparently at any time Home Affairs could give them only a two week notice to get their things in order and leave the country. Please pray that God will grant them favor in the eyes of the government and that their visa will be renewed quickly!
- Speaking of, my work visa which was supposed to be for two years was only granted for 10 months and expires in February. During December and January not much is done in the government because of the holidays, so timing might be a little tight. Please pray that my paperwork will be dealt with in a timely manner and that a 2 year visa will be granted.
- There is a volunteer from the Philippines that was in a bad car accident with multiple injuries and she has already had several surgeries. I don't even know her name (God does), but please pray for her, that she will heal quickly and pray for her family that is so far away during this stressful time. Minnie went to be with her during this, so please also pray for Minnie who hasn't even recovered from the stress and shock of Joseph's death.
- Continued prayer for Joseph's family
- For Mary as she settles in. She was struggling with having left her family and friends (I know the feeling), which is hard to deal with.
- For me and my family as this will be my first holiday season out of the country. I have lived far from home, but it is definitely different being in another continent!
- On Wednesday the 15th my stepmom, Robin, is having surgery on her elbow. Please pray for a successful surgery and a speedy recovery. Please also pray for my dad as he is going to have to provide some nursing care for her during her healing time!
- One of my best friends is getting married in December. It really makes me sad to miss this happy occasion and makes the sense of my distance much more of a reality and makes me homesick. Please pray that I will not be homesick the first week of December (or during any of the holidays for that matter). Please also pray that her and her family will keep their sanity as the day approaches and that all the final details will fall into place.
Posted by thekimmieconnection
at 8:59 PM GMT
