One day at a time...: April 2011

A Day in the Masiphumelele Wound Dressing Clinic

Our sophisticated numerical waiting system. It's first come first serve around here, although some patients can wait for hours. The kids who are in school come on their recess breaks and have a special door knock to let us know they are there. When we run out of numbers, we just yell "Next!"

8am waiting room, soon to be full!

Gloria cleaning a heel injury

Phundi dressing a baby's arm burn

Phundiswa & I making up lots of Jelonet & Flammazine guaze dressings for burns.

9am

10 am

Gloria & Hanneke

Hanneke making Jelonet

Hanneke applying a dental abcess dressing.

Trying to get it to stick just right!

Hanneke & Me

Sometimes we get a few cute stow-aways!

---------------------Spoiler alert. Skip this next one if you do not have a strong stomach.-----

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Boiling water burn. I see this now everyday. This is actually about 2 weeks out from the initial burn and you can see a lot of improvement in the upper part of his body where the skin is healing. We snapped this photo for comparison purposes to see if the infection on his side was getting better or worse.

A map of the Masi township.

State run community clinic across the street where our patients pick up their meds.

What we do!

Hope you enjoyed your virtual tour of a day in my life and the life of our patients!

Sister

Have I told you what they call nurses here?

That's right...

They call us...

Sister.

As in nun.

As in Catholic.

As in habit.

As in purity, chastity and poverty.

As in "Are you the Sister on duty tonight?"

or "Sister! Come quickly, I need you!"

As in I now answer the phone, "This is Sister Amy, how can I help?"

As in I now sign my name Sr. Amy Helms RN

Hopefully you find this as humorous as I do.

Half the time I have to laugh before I can answer seriously. "Yes, I am the Sister in charge."

The title is leftover from the times when the only nurses were nuns, or "sisters of mercy" from religious orders, and hospitals were primarily religious facilities responsible for the training of new nurses.

In the states we've obviously moved on from those times, but in South Africa...

They hold with tradition.

And... if you are really lucky.... and you get put in charge of the whole she-bang....

They call you Matron!

Just thought you'd get a kick out of it. Because I do.

Yes, you may call me Sister Amy.
Because now everyone else does too!

~making my day~

Looking at the bright side, these two items make every rainy day here a little bit better... my polka dotted wellies that my Dad bought for me and this functional yet adorable door mat.

Who knew wet mud could be so cute?

Rainy Holidays

It's been a cold couple of rainy gray days around here, but fear not, I will take a break from watching movies to blog just for you :)

The reason I'm watching movies is because there have been LOTS of public holidays here lately. To be exact we have had 5 days off spread out over 2 work weeks which has allowed me plenty of time to nap, do dishes, read and organize my little nook of an apartment.

When we weren't on holiday, I did get to participate in two days of staff training that was very interesting and helpful, and which I highly recommend. Have you heard of "Strength's Finder"? It's a popular book/development training module that helps people to identify their natural talents and then go and use them! Living Hope is using it with every department and, so far, it has been really useful in helping us to understand the people we work with better, as well as how we can work most effectively as individuals.

Strength's Finder was designed by the Gallup organization (yes the one that does all the polls) after a nationwide survey of revealed that only 20% of people believe that they are doing what they do best in their current workplace. Sadly, that means that as a whole, we are only operating at 20% of our potential productivity. Strength's Finder makes the argument that if we could all do what we do best, then productivity and overall job satisfaction could go up significantly!

You have to purchase a book in order to take the online assessment, and the one-time-use code is in the back of every book. You can buy the book here that includes an in-depth application to working in your community and includes scripture, or you can get the plain version instead here.

After you take the test, Strengths Finder identifies your top 5 key "themes" or "strengths" out of a total of 34 and only gives you the five that you score the highest in. (ie) It only tells you what you do well, not what you don't do well. They are very big on not focusing on your weaknesses. The entire premise is that if you focused only on what you do well, you are more likely to greatly excel and achieve in those particular areas, rather than trying to do something that you would not not naturally excel in. It differs from personality tests or spiritual gifts assessments, in that personality tells you WHO you are, spiritual gifts give you an idea of WHAT you should be doing, and Strength's Finder tells you HOW you should be doing it. I think it's a nice supplement to other personal development tools, especially if you are making a job change or wanting to do better in the job you already have.

I was a little surprised by my top 5 strengths, mostly because I was hoping for more "concrete" and well-rounded giftings, but since the other people in my training were not surprised by my "giftings", I guess it's accurate enough :) Apparently this is the way God made me, sharp edges and all!

1. Activator- You generate enthusiasm so people become as eager as you are to transform an idea into something tangible. People who are especially talented in the Activator theme can make things happen by turning thoughts into action. You challenge others to view major and minor assignments as opportunities to excel.
2. Input- People who are especially talented in the Input theme have a craving to know more. Often they like to collect and archive all kinds of information. Because of your strengths, you often can be found reading books, publications, or Internet sites. Because you continually satisfy your hunger for information, you typically have facts to share or stories to tell.
3. Positivity-People who are especially talented in the Positivity theme have an enthusiasm that is contagious. The glass is always half full. They are upbeat and can get others excited about what they are going to do.
4. Learner- People who are especially talented in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. Driven by your talents, you earnestly direct your attention toward the ideas, issues, situations, or possibilities that stir your curiosity. In fact, you devote more time than most people do to exploring topics, problems, prospects, opportunities, or techniques that pique your interest. When something has to be completed, you are eager to acquire the necessary knowledge or skills to meet the challenge.
5. Achiever- People who are especially talented in the Achiever theme have a great deal of stamina and work hard. They take great satisfaction from being busy and productive. When obstacles arise, you become even more determined to succeed. Driven by your talents, you throw yourself into your work even when you are personally inconvenienced.

You can also see how easy it could be for your biggest strength to become your biggest weakness, if not used properly. Positive people get their feelings hurt easily. Activators can be very impatient. Achievers step on other people without knowing it. Learners are know-it-alls. Therefore, taking the test is just the first step... developing your gifts comes next.

So now I know, and I'm off to work on sharpening the above talents into usable skills. But I'm curious, has anyone else done the test? What did you think? What are your top 5?

-Thoughtful Thursdays-

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the only thing that makes one place more attractive to me than another is the quantity of heart i find in it.

~jane welsh carlyle

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It's literally a jungle out here...

Can we talk about the wildlife? It's like watching the freakin' nature channel in your own backyard. I know it IS Africa and all, but I didn't expect to see such varieties of wildlife roaming free in civilized areas! I have yet to see most of the animals, but from what I have seen, it's crazy! I feel like such a tourist every time I stop the car to get another picture. So far with my own eyes I have seen:

Baboons:

~Here's one big guy I met crossing the highway the other day.~

The threat of baboons is probably the most real and problematic animal issue here. Baboons are extremely clever. If you throw something at them to make them go away, they will simply pick it up and throw it right back at you to make you go away! They are big and they are MEAN! They can open car doors as well as windows. You must keep all doors and windows on homes and cars completely closed and locked at all times, or if you do keep them open they must have "burglar" bars on them to prevent entry. There are road signs everywhere warning you of the areas that baboons generally hang out in and there are even paid people that "travel" with the groups of baboons! Baboons generally travel in large "troops", even up to hundreds in the same group, so you can imagine the havoc they can wreak! Humans assigned to travel with the groups are called "baboon troopers" and their job is to signal to cars that baboons are currently present in the immediate area to prevent road accidents. The troopers can also prevent the baboons from breaking into homes, damaging property or making messes of trash and what not through the use of water guns, as baboons hate water. Or you can be like my car guy Archie, who keeps a slingshot and a paintball gun handy to shoot the baboons away from his house & garden. He assures me that he is a very good shot, so I'm not to worry! I hope I never have to find out how good of a shot I am!

~lizards~

~ elephants ~

~ ostriches ~

Ostriches here are neither rare nor exotic, as we Americans would tend to think they are. Here they are no different than cattle, specifically raised as a mass market food source. And I must say, they taste just like steak. Good steak.

~ really big jellyfish ~

These jellyfish and the great white shark attacks here are exactly why I'm not a huge fan of deep water ocean swimming. I like to see the bottom of what I swim in, thank you very much.

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~In this open space you may mentally

insert a photo of large long black snake

which I chose to run away from rather

than sticking around for a photo-op.

You are welcome~

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~seals~

~penguins~

Peacocks also roam free here and I've gotten to see lots of those as well! Whale spotting season doesn't start until later in the year, so hopefully I'll have some good shots of them later. Let's hope I never have the chance to see the multitude of Cape Cobras, poisonous scorpions, Puffers, huge venomous spiders, or a Great White Sharks. I'm totally fine to go home without having met those species anyway.

That's all for today from Amy's African Animal Association. Check back some other time for a "4A" update. It's like 4H only better :)

Township 101

So as I begin my clinical work in and around the townships, I don’t want to assume that everyone knows what I’m talking about. Hopefully, this post will give you a better understanding of where LH works everyday! The issue of townships is large and complex, so please know that this is just my experience so far, rather than a summation of the entire issue.

How about I explain?

What is a township?
A township is generally a massive urban squatters camp or a large grouping of official or unofficial shack settlements. "Slum" might be an accurate term to describe some of the poorer settlements, but since some of the townships are actually more established than others, you can't classify them all as slums. Most of the homes are “built” from thin, loosely-connected, corrugated sheets of iron, but again, in the more established townships, houses could be made from concrete and have amenities more like what you and I would be more accustomed to. Most townships do have running water and electricity but the majority of toilets are outdoor latrines, and sewage is a big problem.

How many of them are there?
Per some government calculations there are 66 townships spread out over South Africa. Many have up to or over one million people living in a particular township. In addition to the known 66, there are hundreds of others that are either illegal or just not large enough to yet count. In most cases, shacks extend as far as your eye can see and then some beyond that. Government estimates are considered highly inaccurate when it comes to accounting for the number of persons living in townships because as you can imagine, that many people living in squalor doesn't look good for any government. The administration definitely paints a rosy picture to it's constituency, and to the world, whenever possible, but there are signs that they are working to improve services in the townships, albeit rather slowly.

How did they get here?
Starting in the 1950’s, during the Apartheid Era of the South African government, any persons that were non-white were forcibly removed from their homes by government forces and "relocated" into segregated areas. Imagine being rounded up and moved hundreds of miles from your home, job and family, just because of your skin color. Their homes were bulldozed to the ground and they were transported far away from the city centers to live in out-lying, low-level, barren wasteland areas. If you resisted you were jailed or possibly shot right then and there. Separate "townships" were established for each of the three designated non-white race groups: blacks, coloreds and Indians. Basically, this was legally institutionalised segregation, or in another light, it was a way for the white ruling minority to control the larger majority of non-whites and thus guarantee a maintenance of power. What's difficult to grasp is that these injustices happened in our modern times, just a few short years ago. Most of my peers, colleagues and co-workers here spent the majority of their lives in a township and many still live there today. While the white population marched into the modern era as a first world nation and enjoyed the highest standard of living in all of Africa in the last 50 years, the ethnic majorities remained totally disadvantaged by almost every standard, including income, education, housing, and life expectancy.

Why don’t the people just leave?

Long-term, government-sponsored oppression and marginalization of large ethnic people groups, such as what occurred under Apartheid, induces wide-spread impoverishment. Corrupt governments withhold money and aid from their own people for their own gain. Poverty stricken people are put at risk for illness, disease and general malnutrition relating to the absolute poverty of their circumstances. Limited access to clean water or adequate health care worsens any underlying conditions making people chronically ill. As part of structured oppression, the government made it illegal, or at the least very difficult, for those same people to get an education. So then, under those circumstances, a society of impoverished, ill, and under-educated people unaturally comes into existence.

Can you see how over the course of many years, generations of people come to exist in a nearly unbreakable cycle of poverty? Even if certain individuals were healthy enough or had the level of education required for a job, they have no job experience, they don't own a car, likely can't drive a car, they have no official documents to get a job, and they live 3 hours via train or taxi from the nearest place that could offer them work. So then, we have impoverished, chronically-ill, sub-optimally-educated, and non-optimally-productive people living in forcibly-compressed, highly-overcrowded urban areas. Add to that the incidences of violence, domestic abuse, drug and alcohol addiction, HIV and a little bit of leftover tribal-witch-doctoring-mysticism and you have a recipe for a disaster of epic proportions.

One might also take into consideration that no matter how "bad" some of these environments may appear to be to us, these settlements are the only home most people here have ever known. Their entire family and culture exists only within these geographical systems, making it very difficult and scary for them to leave. It's not just as simple as moving.

Are they dangerous?

Yes and no. South Africa, in general, has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and violent crime against women and children is also very high. But just because there is risk, doesn’t mean we remain safely inside our bubble at all times. In any urban area where there is overcrowding, disease, unemployment and poverty, there is bound to be crime. Managing your risk might be a good way to look at it. Townships are especially dangerous at night, but generally safer in the daytime. I never go anywhere alone, and I keep my car doors locked at all times. I never keep my purse on the seat while driving and anything of value is always locked in the trunk. Foreigners are generally only targets for opportunitistic crime, or petty crime such as theft, rather than the highly reported violent crime that occurs within the townships. Just be smart about your safety.

*Yes, I did take this photo myself in one of the townships and yes it did take my breath away. Even though I knew these were only toy guns, the manner in which these children used them gave me great pause to think about the violence that has been modeled for them.

So now what? What does Living Hope do about it?

I'm so glad you asked! Living Hope has a motto that guides all of our interventions laid out by Pastor John Thomas: "Poverty is an acquired mentality, not just a financial state." LH understands that people don't instantly or automatically rise out of poverty when given a certain amount of money. It's really not even about money or about "not having" material possessions. Poverty exists within a deeply rooted and profoundly-interwined, learned set of views, values, and norms that are written into a person's cultural DNA. And we all know that DNA replicates itself. Breaking that cyclical replication is very difficult. So, we do it in four parts:

Prevention & Education through "Living Right" - LH chooses to start breaking the cycle of poverty with young children, for the very reason that the next generation is our hope for sustainable change in the future. Avril Thomas, the founding pastor's wife, who leads our children's programs says this: "It is easier to build a whole child, than to mend a broken man." So then, we start from the very beginning and challenge the mentalities that poverty creates. We do this by instilling in our children the possibility of alternative future outcomes other than poverty. BUT we do it within the existing culture. Let me be clear, this isn't about "enforcing" our "correct" culture on someone else's culture. We only present alternative patterns of thought and behavior through listening to and supporting the people or groups of people in that culture. We listen to what the people want for themselves and their communities and act only in the ways that assist them in accomplishning their own goals as best we can. Our ultimate goal is to work ourselves out of a job as the communities themselves ideally "fix" their own issues.

Job creation and economic sustainability through "Living Way" - We do more than just give ideas. We demonstrate the power of ideas through opportunities for economic empowerment. Vocational training, computer training, enterpruener development classes, small business incubation, financhial management courses and a worker readiness school restores people's beliefe in their own potiental to overcome poverty. They have to be taught to believe that they can move forward through the use of their own unique talents and gifts that are then applied in the workforce.

Drug & Alcohol Rehab and Homelessness Ministry through "Living Grace" Sometimes the most vulnerable members of a society are the most difficult people to truly love and care for. Those that are homeless or unable to overcome addiction live everyday with a lack of security or protection, illiteracy, drug and alcohol abuse, hunger and malnutrition, inadequate shelter, abuse and threats to their health. Living Grace tackles these issues through a daily feeding program, secure spaces to store their belongings, showers, laundry facilities, food parcels, obtaining proper ID books, access to social services, oversight of medication for TB and HIV, as well as health and substance abuse support groups. Some will recover and others we will continue to love no matter what.

Healthcare through "Living Care"- You already know that this is the part of Living Hope that I work in! In all honesty, it is totally impossible for people to rise out of poverty and live full, long meaningful lives if they are hurting, injured, sick or at risk for becoming sick. Take a minute and think about how you have felt when you have been sick or injured. All you want is comfort. All you want is rest. All you want is to feel a little better. You want to know how to prevent this from ever happening again. You want to move on with your life. You don't want to be scared of what is happening. You want your pain to go away. People living in poverty don't always have those options. My job is to give it to them in every way possible. My own personal vision in working at Living Care, is that healing comes in as many forms as illness, and even if we only ease suffering, we give hope. Physical healing is only one of the many steps in a person's total healing, but it opens the door for hope to enter in.

And in fact, there is an open door for hope to enter in every one of these areas! These "problem" areas are our greatest opportunities! They are the door which we are walking through, to bring Christ's ultimate hope to anyone who wants it.

Yes, there are real challenges. Yes, there is hopelessness to overcome. BUT we have hope. We resist those who would steal, kill and destroy our work and our joy, and we rest in knowing that there is One who has come that we may have LIFE and life to the fullest! (John 10:10)

So we hold out, and we hold onto Hope.

I promise you, it doesn't disappoint.

-Thoughtful Thursdays-

"How could God permit such great misery?"

The Haitian peasants answer with a proverb: "Bondye konn bay, men lipa konn separe."

In literal translation: "God gives but doesn't share."

Farmer went on to explain, "God gives humankind everything we need to flourish, but He isn't the one who is supposed to divy up the loot. That charge was laid upon us."

Tracy Kidder- Mountains Beyond Mountains

Meet the Lankfords

Yes indeed, my down-the-road neighbors are so awesome, that they get their own blog post. They are just too great to muddle in along with my other blithering posts.

The Lankfords are a family who moved here last October, also from my home church, Brentwood Baptist. I didn't know them before moving here because our church is rather large, so I was anxious to get here and get to know them! In less than a day, they made me feel right at home and my heart instantly felt a connection with their delightful family.

The first time I met them was 6:45 in the morning at their house when they invited all the other volunteers over for an entire day of quality time. You know that they are nice people, when they are nice at 6:45 am! All the roads around Cape Town were closed for the entire day due to an annual bike race, so the Lankford’s graciously opened their home to us for the day so we wouldn’t be stuck at home alone. In the first 12 short hours we spent together, I got a clear picture of what they as a family are all about.

Let me introduce you to:

Briley is one heck of a smart savy and sweet little 9 year old. She’s my hero. As the oldest, she's the second mama in the house and she is doing a great job helping out with the little ones. Just as unafraid as the boys she runs the pack barefoot with the best of them.

Braxton seems quiet when you first meet him but he is incredibly observant and smart, always curious, as you can tell by whatever he's examining in the water. He's always counting something, organizing the UNO cards by color and making wizened statements about the state of the world. This kid is a genuis! Plus... he beat out all his little South African schoolmates at rugby which he has never played! You go bud!

Baron is sass-and-a-half in a three-year-old tough-dude body. He lately has refused to respond to any name but Spiderman. He runs like the wind, climbs trees, has a cute little lisp and overflows the bathtub to boot! Watch out world!

And then there is Bristol, sweet-precious-angel-baby with her little knock kneed self and crazy curly hair. My favorite Bristol activity is to ask her to show you her surprise face, and on command, she opens her eyes really wide and acts surprised. It's adorable!

Courtney is the mom to beat all moms. She is super laid back and so at home in barefeet. Naturally gorgeous, her heart and spirit are just as beautiful. She makes raising 4 kids in a foreign country look like a walk in the park. Joey refers to her as "his hot chick" on a regular basis which is what anyone who's been married for 11 years should be striving for, in my humble opinion.

And then there is Joey, the local neighborhood celebrity. I'm convinced Joey knows everyone in the valley. He also has great patience with his children and the fact that he was able to have a quiet time at the breakfast table with 10 people in his home tells you a lot about this guy. Joey really is a good 'ole boy from TN and not ashamed of it. He's bringing the "below the Mason Dixon line of thinking" to "the below the Equator kind of thinking" and the locals love it!

So in case you every get worried about me, don't... Joey & Courtney and their awesome family have me covered!

Plus they know the way home to Tennessee...

Baptism & Walking in New Life...

I got to be a part of a really neat story this past week. I'm sure you'll think so too.

After one of our long-time patients prayed to receive Christ a few weeks back, we brought in a local pastor and our chaplain to baptize her, right there in the Health Care Center. Neziwe was far too weak to be moved or to travel, so we had to make due with our Health Care Center's bathtub as the baptismal. Thankfully, the place didn't matter, as it was much more about the declaration of Neziwe's renewed heart and life.

It was a first time for the Health Care Center to hold a baptism, and definitely a first for all the staff here to participate in. Her family came in from far away in the Eastern Cape, and it was truly a privilege for all of us to witness and participate in the declaration she made that day.

At 31 years-old, with end stage HIV, there is very little hope for Neziwe. Yet, she has Hope. Her hope is Jesus Christ. Neziwe is saved, she knows her Lord and she is ready for the life hereafter in Jesus' presence. Soon her pain-filled life here will be no more. Her days upon days in a hospital bed, struggling with every breath will cease, and she will dance on the streets of Heaven with her Maker.

Buried with Christ, rasied with Him to walk in new life, Neziwe went home to be with the Lord just six days later. Her faith now made sight, we rejoiced in the moments we had with her, but rejoice now even more so for the life she now has in heaven. This story isn't a fairy tale. It's not religious mumbo-jumbo or ritual to make anyone feel better. It's fact. It's the story a precious child who is now standing in the intimate presence of the holiest one to ever exist. The face of the Lord ever before Neziwe, she lives in the highest heights of love, never hurts for joy, sits in the still depths of peace and enjoys sweet and pure goodness all the days of her eternal life. I'm sure she has run out of words by now to describe that radiant perfect light that is Christ. May it be the same for you and I when our eyes last close.

*Although I had verbal permission from Neziwe & her family to take these photos, I did not obtain official written consent before she passed. I would ask that you please use your best judgement and not re-post or re-publish these photos. Thanks so much.

What is a Rusk?

Ah, I'm so glad you asked!

A rusk is a small piece of dry, hard, twice-baked, biscuit-bread around these parts that you eat after dipping in in coffee or Rooibos tea. Very similar to biscotti, but better.

There are a few different varieties, but so far my favorite is the plain buttermilk. People around here eat them for breakfast, tea break and dessert so they can enjoy them all day!

Now I must say, for the record, I generally hate anything dipped in my coffee or tea. Soggy bread is not my thing. Crummy bits of leftover shrapnel in the bottom of my cup? No thank you, I will not.

But I've seen the light... and been forced to change my mind about enjoying these little yummy bits of goodness. Surprisingly the soggyness makes it good!

So now, when you come to visit, I'll put on the kettle, serve you a proper cuppa and you'll know what to expect...

Rusk!

Pop Song SA Style

So, as of late, I've been finding myself unconsciously jamming to this song that's all over SA radio. I'm not sure if it's old or new, and the video is a little strange, but I like it for some reason!

My favorite is the little boy playing the guitar. His smile kinda stole my heart.

What a fun way to represent our little corner of the world Cape Town! Way to go!

About:

Supported by her home church, Brentwood Baptist in Nashville, TN, Amy moved across the world in 2011 and accepted a volunteer missionary nursing position with Living Hope in Cape Town, South Africa, where she works with impoverished people affected by HIV, TB, cancer and other life threatening illnesses. She went on to marry Steve in 2013, and in doing so has made South Africa her second home. She now considers herself to be in a long- term cross-cultural relationship, both in marriage and in ministry. Keep reading for stories from Living Hope and from life in South Africa. Thanks for reading along!

A Day in the Masiphumelele Wound Dressing Clinic

Sister

~making my day~

Rainy Holidays

-Thoughtful Thursdays-

It's literally a jungle out here...

Township 101

-Thoughtful Thursdays-

Meet the Lankfords

Baptism & Walking in New Life...

What is a Rusk?

Pop Song SA Style

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What Time Is It in South Africa?

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