A trip to Chad, Africa

I had the privilege of visiting TEAM missionaries (The Evangelical Alliance Mission) in the village of Tchaguine, Chad!!!  I arrived into the capital city of N’Djamena and less than 24 hours later, I boarded a small 4 seat airplane to fly the hour and half to the village of Tchaguine, and there spent 10 days with missionaries Mark and Diane Vanderkooi.  They are they only missionaries in that area and are doing Bible translation of the Kwong language as well as finding creative ways to help these people hear and read the Bible in their native language!  They run a radio station that broadcasts twice a day from solar power, and they are teaching the people in the village to read. 

 

                    

 

There is a small mission clinic in the village that serves surrounding villages as well, somewhere around 10,000 people.  The clinic staff includes 4 Chadeans, one nurse, one partially trained midwife, and a few assistants.  They have very limited resources, and yet, God is working in spite of their limitations.  While I was there a small boy came in with severe malaria and while he needed to go immediately to a hospital, the family was unable to get him there due to finances and flooded roads.  The boy was treated at the clinic and God spared his life.  I’m still amazed that his condition improved without the standard malaria treatments he needed! Because of their extended stay at the clinic, there were multiple times that the family heard the Gospel.

             

During my time there, I spent a lot of time at the clinic, or traveling with the clinic staff to nearby villages to see patients, give vaccines, and have prenatal checkups.  In this area, rainy season usually means flooded roads that are impassable by car.  One day we were driving to a village and when we were only about 5 kilometers away, we had to drive through a very large area of water.  The first part was sand, so it was no problem, then we got to a section and the vehicle was slipping and sliding around, but with a bit of skill and 4 wheel drive we got through the mud and started up the slope onto dry land.  As we were all starting to take a sigh of relief, the right side of the vehicle dropped into the mud and we were stuck!!!  

                  
               

Even with the attempted help of many people, including a caravan of Arabs and about 30 men from the village, it took 3 hours to get unstuck.  As we tried to get the vehicle turned onto more sturdy ground, the left side of the vehicle became stuck.  Thankfully, the second time it only took about 15 min to get unstuck.  The men used their machetes to cut down branches and make a bridge to the section of better road.  Then the missionary and a man from the village waded out through the area of water to find a pathway that would allow us to get back through the large area of water and mud, and once they were happy with a path, the missionary and I head back while the clinic staff walked, rode bikes, or took a moto to get to the original destination and see the patients as planned for the day! 

 Another day, I borrowed a bike and rode with the clinic staff the 30 minute to the nearby village for a clinic.  After a long clinic day with only some hot milk and hot tea, someone in the village invited us to eat.  I was so hungry I couldn’t wait!!!  In this cultural, typically the men usually eat outside and the women eat inside, but they never eat together.  The clinic staff consisted of both men and woman, so, after prayer and washing our hands, I follow the other lady into the dark room where we had done some prenatal exams earlier in the day.  We sat on the rug on the dirt floor and she closed the door so that we could not see the men, but yet still had some light since there was no electricity. 

 There was always a lot of activity happening around the house, from women gathering for Bible study to children coming to play with legos, uno cards, read, or use the soccer ball.  Their soccer field was overgrown with weeds and their soccer ball about to fall apart, so we used the new soccer ball I brought with me to help motivate them to clear the weeds on the soccer field.  Each day they had to clear a certain amount of weeds before they could get the soccer ball.  By the time I left it was almost cleared!!!  And the ball has the same colors on it as a wordless book does, so every time they asked for it, we also shared the Gospel with them!!!

                

 

 

               

Millet is the staple of the people’s diet there.  They grow it and then store it and it is usually barely enough to get them through until the next crop.  One day we were able to go with a family to their day of planting the millet seeds in what is like a nursery for the seeds.  Once the plants start they are then transferred to different fields in the more flooded areas where they will continue to grow.  How do you plant these seeds?   With your feet!!!  It’s simple, shoes off, follow behind somebody dropping seeds, and cover them with a bit of dirt!  It was fun and nice to be able to help them in a practical way!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The missionaries flew back to the capital, N’Djamena, Chad to refill supplies.  So, as we prepared to leave, the people from the village lined the side of the airstrip to say goodbye and see us off.  Daily life in a village like that would be very, very difficult, but what a neat place and amazing time I had there!!!

 

This experience was amazing, and I’m so thankful for the time in the village and with the missionaries there!  It gives me a lot to think about as far as where God would have me in the future.  In a remote village doing primarily community health work, or in an area with more access to health care and then traveling out to the villages.  I’m still praying through these things and know that God will give me clarity about it as I follow Him step by step!

Nursing Students

Most of my time here is spent working with Togolese nursing students.  So, I thought I'd give you a little glimpse into what that looks like! 

 

There are 20 students, and they are half way through their 3 year program.  A new class starts every 4 years because they do not have enough faculty or space to train multiple classes at the same time.  A new hospital is being built in northern Togo and this class of nursing students have all committed to move to northern Togo is they are needed to fill nursing positions in that hospital.  Their week consists of 3 days of lecture and 2 days of clinicals.  The students are from all different towns around Togo and move to the nearby villages of Tsiko or Adeta while they complete their nursing education. 

Each day starts with prayer, singing, and Bible study. Here is a song in the Ewe language, I really enjoy hearing them sing, even if I can't sing along!

 

My role has been to work with them during their hospital clinicals.  This is an interesting challenge as we have to communicate through a translator.  The students all speak French as well as another tribal language.  My translator also speaks another tribal language, so it's a blessing to be able to communicate with patients who speak many different languages!  The students are very patient with me and if they know English they practice using it as much as possible!  At this point, I have even been able to communicate a little in French, and have the students understand me!!!

 

I spend as much time in the pediatric ward as possible!!! 

   

The day before the student's clinicals I search the whole hospital for patients that would provide a good learning experience for the students.  Then prior to their clinical day, the students go to the hospital and research their patient so they are prepared to answer lots and lots of questions!  After their clinical day, they have to write up dreaded nursing care plans.  Fellow nurses know well what i'm referring to =)   I then share the responsibility of grading these 20 care plans every week.  Grading care plans has felt like an impossible task because they are all written in French.  While I can now recognize quite a bit of French medical terms, in the beginning I knew nothing - imagine looking up every word =(  Needsless to say, I have not even come close to grading my share of the care plans!!!  Google translator has become a handy tool when I can get a good internet connection!!!

 

 

I also taught a short section on pediatric cardiology, and will teach a short section on pediatric respiratory coming up in a few weeks.  We have also been working on different skills, one of those was injections!  That was the brave director of the nursing school letting me demonstrate on her =)

 

The students have a lot of demands on their time and work very hard and desire to be excellent nurses.  Outside of the nursing school, these students also have many demands and responsibilities, a few are married and have small children.  You can imagine that even simple daily tasks can be complicated here in Togo - like cooking meals over a fire, walking 30-45 min. each way, and studying with the electricity frequently going out.

I consider it a priviledge to work with these students and have to opportunity to get to know them!!!!

The Panya

The panya is simply a piece of about 2 – 3 feet of material.  They are sold in the market according to their quality and so the ones on the lowers shelves are cheapers, and ones on the higher shelves are more expensive.  The most expensive one I’ve come across was a fun colorful piece made in Ghana that was 3 panyas for 20,000 cfa, or $40.  The cheapest one I bought was for my curtains, and that was 2 panyas for 1,500 cfa, or $3.   It is very overwhelming when looking for panyas, although lots of fun!  You never know what colors and patters you’ll find that day =)

Panyas come in all color combinations, all styles, even faces of people like the president of Togo or the United States end up on panyas. 
 

                                                 

Many times panyas are bought and then taken to the seamstress to have something made out of it.  It takes 3 panyas to have a shirt, skirt, and headdress made.  Other times, panyas are bought just to have a panya.  Why?  So that you can carry many panyas around with you, just in case you need it for:
 

 

                                                                     

 

       Carrying a baby (or stuffed animal)      

Skirt

Shirt

Dress

                                                  Blanket                                                  

Robe

Kleenex

Diaper

Rags

Restraints in the hospital

Money pouch

Carrying things on top of the head

Hat

Umbrella

Shawl/Coat

Colostomy bag

Towel

Burb cloth

Dressing/gauze

Catching throw up or other bodily fluids

Fan

Curtains

Chair cover

Pillow

Seat cushion

Wall decorations

Hot pad

 

These seem to be just a few of the uses that I've actually seen, I feel like there are hundres more uses for a panya.
But my favorite use of all so far???  Taking a panya to The Cuisine with me and putting it on the ground and then having it full of children listening to stories from the Bible!!!!   

Hello from Togo!!!

It caught me by surprise that my 3 month visa needed to be renewed, how is it possible that I have already been here for that long???  I apologize for not being able to send out more frequent updates! 
Our internet connection is unpredictable and very slow!  I would appreciate your continued prayers and have included some specific prayer requests throughout the letter.  I’ll try to give you some
glimpses of what has been happening over the last couple months:

Supervising Nursing Students

My ministry here has been primarily to work with the supervision of nursing students in the hospital.  The month of May I worked with four Cedarville University nursing students.  Starting in June I have transitioned to working with the Togolese nursing students.  They are a class of 20 and about half way through their three year program.  There are many challenges as I work through translators and try to grade work done in French.  Please pray that these students would be well prepared for a future ministry as a nurse!!!  Please pray for me to have wisdom in supervising the students and in improving my French to better communicate with them!!!

The Cuisine

On the hospital compound there is a place called The Cuisine for families of patients to cook meals and sleep. Often patients and their families stay after discharge while waiting for follow up appointments, money to pay their bill, or rides home.  I enjoy going there to see former patients and play with the children.  It can be challenging because of the language barrier, but I found a lady who speaks some English as well as French and Ewe, which is one of the local tribal languages.  I started taking a French children’s Bible and having her read stories to the children, but she had to return to her village. God has provided another women who reads the stories in French and then in Ewe.  There are now a consistent group of about 8 women and 4 children who have been coming to listen to her read from the Bible.  Many people are asking for Bibles of their own.  I have asked them to memorize 6 verses and then I will give them a Bible!!!  Please pray for wisdom in this ministry in The Cuisine and for someone to always be able to read the Bible in their native language!!!  Please pray for wisdom in giving out Bibles and the funds to provide them!!!    

Community Health Ministry

I have had the opportunity to see some of the Community Health ministries happening in villages surrounding the hospital.  One village received some pigs to raise, other villages have received machetes to help plant fields and gardens, many hand washing stations have been set up, and village workers have been established to teach people about improving both their physical and spiritual health.  Please pray for this ministry and that the projects they do will empower the community to make needed and lasting changes!!!   

A trip to Chad

In August the nursing school will have a break between their trimesters.  I will take this time to travel to the country of Chad to work with TEAM (The Evangelical Alliance Mission) and learn about the Community Health Development ministries in that country.  Their ministry is different from the one here in Togo in that they do not have a hospital, but they are strictly focused on Community Health.  The trip will be from Aug. 25 – Sept. 6.  I will arrive in Ndjamena, Chad, the capital city, and as soon as possible fly to Tchaguine where the community development work is happening.  Please pray for this trip and for all the logistics to continue to come together, as well as for the time there to be beneficial in learning about community health ministries.   

Trip to Ghana

The first 2 weeks of July I enjoyed a trip to the neighboring country of Ghana to join a ministry team that my mom was a part of.  I was able to meet children that my mom has been working with over the past 8 years and it was such a joy to get to know them and spend time with them.  I miss them already and would love another opportunity to go back and visit them!!!  I was a special trip that I am very thankful for!!!    

Financial Update

I have been so grateful and amazed by the financial donations that have been given towards this time of ministry here in Togo.  I am humbled to be the steward of such generosity!  Currently the amount of money donated will pay for my time in Togo through Sept.  The remaining costs for my time here in Togo from October through December and the time in Chad will be approx. $5,000.  My church will continue accepting donations toward my trip through the end of the year if you feel that God would have you financially partner with me in this ministry.  Please pray for me to be a wise steward of all God’s provisions!!!

Donation Info: Checks should be made out to College Park Church, but do NOT write my name on the memo line; Send to: College Park Church, Attn: Global Outreach, 2606 W. 96^th St., Indianapolis, IN, 46268; please include a note that the funds are for Amie Bockstahler. They will provide tax-deductible receipts at the end of the year.

Prayer: ·         Relationships: with the many people I interact with in a variety of settings ·         Strength and contentment: that I would rest in the Lord and be available to do whatever He asks me to do ·         Protection from discouragement: especially seeing great needs, and in times of missing family & friends ·         The Hospital: for the hospital staff and for the patients seeking medical treatment ·         Traveling: continued protection *** Thank you for your prayers!!!***                      Please let me know how I can be praying for you!!! Praises: ·         The community of missionaries and Togolese that surround me ·         The few skype and/or telephone calls that have worked ·         So far I’ve had great health ·         Working primarily in the pediatric ward – which is my favorite!!!

Quick Facts: ·         The house I live in is on the hospital compound and about 2-3 min. walk to the hospital ·         I have only seen one snake . . . and thankfully it was dead!  I still try to never walk in the dark without a flashlight! ·         My French lessons are twice a week ·         The Togolese people are very creative and resourceful! ·         We see many different diseases, including malaria, injuries from fires and accidents, infections, complications from herbal medicines, and many other things. ·         Patients often wait at home or go to a healer before showing up very sick at the hospital ·         I attended a Togolese wedding which was a fun cultural experience! ·         The weather is comfortable and it is currently rainy season ·         I take many walks up the mountain and enjoy a great look out over the hospital compound, valley, and surrounding mountains ·         In August, I might be going to northern Togo to the city of Mango, where this mission is in the process of building another hospital

I'm glad that i'm here and enjoying this time. It's hard at times when I’m missing family and friends and some of the big events happening in their lives. There have also been times of struggling with not feeling qualified for the responsibilities given to me, and wondering if the ministry I’m doing is having any impact.  But, I still feel a peace about being here for this time. Regardless, any little sacrifice that I am making right now is nothing in comparison to the sacrifice that Jesus made when He died on the cross for us!!! So, sometimes there is lots of smiles and laughter, other times there is frustration and discouragement, and other times there are just lots of tears.  But, in the end, God sustains me through it all!!!  Psalm 66: 8-12 “Praise our God, O peoples, let the sound of His praise be heard; He has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping.  For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs.  You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.”   My prayer is that I can praise God in the midst of difficulties and challenges and allow God to use those things to bring me to a place of abundance!!!

Joyfully,

Amie Bockstahler

Life in Togo

I will try to give you a few glimpses into life here in Togo!!! 

 It is a tropical area, so with the rainy season, everything is beautiful and green.  The compound is in a valley, but at the base of a mountain.  We often go for walks up the mountain road behind the hospital which looks out over the valley – this was especially beautiful at sunrise!!!!

 The hospital is on a large compound that is walled in.  On one half of the compound there is the hospital building, clinic buildings, an administrative building, and a small building for the nursing school.  There is also a shelter area for patients and families to stay while waiting to travel home, or waiting for frequent clinic visits like daily dressing changes.  This is a unique area as there are only a few private rooms and the rest is common areas where they are able to sleep or have fires to cook over so they can eat.  The other half of the compound has about 8 houses, a small school building, the guest house kitchen and rooms, a pool, and a basketball court.   

 I live in a 4 bedroom house with 3 other single missionaries.  We are able to share life together, cook together, and enjoy fun movie or game nights every once in a while. There are two amazing things about living on this compound: clean drinking water, and a generator.  The water here on the compound is clean and drinkable straight from the tap.  The electricity goes off frequently, however, all you do is count to about 5 and then the generator kicks in and the electricity for the hospital and all the houses on the compound turns back on!  Only one time it has not worked, but that is very very uncommon!!! Without that, life here would be much more difficult!!! 

 Cooking is basically all from scratch, and food mostly comes from the market, a roadside stand, or picked fresh from the tree.  On the compound there are mango, orange, lemon, avocado, and grapefruit trees, so we just help ourselves to fresh fruits!!!  We have ladies who come once a week to help clean and cook - they make us some wonderful African dishes!!!

I’ve not lacked for any good food while here.  Some examples of the meals we have made are: pizza, parmesan crusted tilapia, granola and yogurt (both homemade) with fresh fruits, cinnamon rolls, avocado tacos with homemade tortillas, avocado smoothies, peanut soup and a number of other African dishes, and we have even had chocolate chip cookies!!! Peanut butter sandwiches are amazing since they are made with homemade bread and homemade peanut butter!!!  The best might have been the chocolate torte that was made for me on my birthday!!!   

 The roads through the village that I’m living in are paved, but there are huge potholes in the roads which makes for very bumpy rides.  Walking through the village or town is never an uneventful experience as all the children yell “Yova” (which is their term for a white person) and excitedly smile and wave.  Try as I might, I will never be able to blend in here =)  Watching for cars and motos swerving to avoid potholes can also makes you pay extra attention while walking down the road!

Getting clothes here consists of going to market and choosing from hundreds of brightly colored fabrics.  Then choosing a design and going to a seamstress to have it made.  A piece of cloth here is called a panya, and can be used for basically everything!!!  I’m working on list of all the uses for panyas!!!!

Life here for me does not seem that much different than life in the states.  Life for the Togolese however is very very difficult and yet they are amazingly resourceful!!!  I have a lot to learn from them!!! 

First Week in Togo

I can hardly believe that it’s now been over a week since arriving in Togo! 

I’ve been really thankful to be part of the Cedarville nursing team and have enjoyed my time working with them!  After an uneventful flight, we arrived in the capital city of Togo, along with every piece of luggage, and spent the night there before making the 3-4 hour drive to the hospital the next day.  The morning after we arrived at the hospital, we hiked to a waterfall nearby.  The hike wasn’t bad, but we were so hot by the time we got there that jumping into the ice cold water felt really refreshing!!!!  We also got to eat a few fun new things along the way – including part of a cocoa bean pod. 

I’ve spend 4 days in the hospital this past week working with the Cedarville nursing students.   It’s been interesting to be trying to teach the students how to do things while I’m still learning things myself.  Just finding the supplies and the meds I need has been a challenge!  But, we’ve had fun learning together!!!  What a joy it’s been to serve alongside of the Togolese nurses!!!  They have been so patient with us!!!

I’ve been spoiled with the most amazing mangos and pineapples here!!!  In fact there are so many mango trees here on the hospital compound that mangos lay rotting on the ground because there are too many to eat.

Internet is slow and unpredictable.  Remember back to the days of dial up and you’ll understand my frustration and lack of communication!!!!

Instead of staying at the Guest House, I moved right into a house with a couple other single female missionaries, which has been a lot of fun!  Although, I’m spoiled right now to have all my meals cooked for me at the Guest House until the Cedarville team leaves!  One of these days I’ll have to learn to cook on my own =) 

I appreciate your prayers as I continue to adjust to being here!

Preparing for Togo

I'll be leaving on May 9th to spend about 7 months in Togo, West Africa!!!  What a privilege it is that God has chosen me to go!!!  I will have an opportunity to work with some Cedarville University nursing students, some Togolese nursing students, nursing work in the hospital, and community health programs. 
The month of April is going to be crazy and full of preparations and lots of goodbyes.
I will need lots of people praying for me!!!
Many people have been asking if I will get paid, but due to the nature of the ministry I will be doing, I need to raise my own support! 
Let me know if you want a prayer letter!!!!