Life and Times

It's been another busy week in Mango.  And I have lots of photos to share, showing you the ins and outs of life here....

Construction update:

I mean, really, that's why we're here in the first place so it seems a pretty good place to start. 

Remember that the plan is for Nate to help build 2 (or possibly 3) homes for doctors who will be arriving to work at the Hospital of Hope full time.  When we arrived in November, House #1 was simply a foundation.  Here it is today - I just took this photo this afternoon. 

Now that looks like a house!

The next thing to go on would be roof trusses. The trusses are almost complete (they build them here) and then they'll put them up. After that, roof steel goes on, interior walls get built and so on.  There is a container coming from the USA with most of the construction material required to continue building the house - the good news is that this container is supposed to arrive this week!  Just in time for them to keep going on House #1.

House #2 is for another family that is supposed to arrived in about 18 months.  The foundation is done and the walls are going up on this house as well.  They have about 4 rows of block already on House #2.

It's not much to see right now but it's coming!

The construction site is a happy place.  Nate and his American co-worker, Bruce, get along fabulously with the Togolese workers.  They're all working hard together and the houses are coming along nicely.  It's so nice to see the job sites busy and the men all working together.  

The days have continued to be hot and as you can see by the photos, there's not a lot of shade.  And not a lot of green.  It's dry season here - which is super!  You need lip balm about every 5 minutes, but the nights cool off beautifully - so much so that we actually need a sheet or thin blanket over us at night.  We're super thankful for the nights and early mornings where the breeze is cool!  The Togolese consider this winter, so they're all wrapped up in winter coats and hats.  In a few short weeks things will start heating up again and we'll be experiencing the hot season....and I mean, HOT. Last time we were here, our thermometer registered 52 degrees Celsius.  I'm not eager to feel that again....

Now that the construction update is complete, let's move on to....

BABIES!

This is Baby Bird.  This little boy is a malnourished 9 month old that weighs less than 8 pounds.  Mom is having a hard time with this little guy - he has been at the hospital for weeks now and just can't seem to gain weight.  We allowed his momma to go home for a week to take care of her other children while several of the medical staff took turns taking care of him.  He gained almost 2 pounds in the days that she was gone with the careful and regular feedings that we gave him. Mom came back and took Baby Bird home.  The nurses had taken special care to explain, show and teach her how to feed Little Bird - he has an NG tube so he doesn't eat by mouth - and then took them back to their village with the hopes of seeing them in a week for a surgical consult. 

Sadly, Mom came back only 5 days after taking him home and he'd already lost over a pound.  He looked awful - it was devastating to all of us who had worked with him, fed him, loved him and prayed for him.  Thankfully though, Mom did bring him back for help.

In the meantime, an x-ray of Baby Bird determined that there was something amiss with his lung.  However the kind of surgery Baby Bird needs requires a specialist.  Someone very skilled and knowledgeable in lungs and hearts.

God gets all the credit for this, dear readers, because guess who arrived on Monday here at the Hospital of HOPE??  That's right - a world-renown CANADIAN thoracic surgeon who was completely and utterly willing to look at Baby Bird's case and see what could be done.  

This morning, Baby Bird went into the operating room.  We were praying SO hard that he would make it through.  He's weak and oh-so-little. 

Here's Baby Bird before he went into the OR.  Somedays I give Baby Bird an oil massage (his skin is so dry) and I almost cry every time.  He is just so skinny.

Here he is - wearing a little hat knitted by our very own Nana!

And here is Baby Bird after the surgery:

Poor little guy.

I know he doesn't look awesome to you, but after what this little one has been through today, he looks AWESOME.  The swelling is minimal. He breathed well right after surgery. His heart rate and blood pressure are good.  And, he's alive.

Turns out the lung issue is not what they thought it might be, but it's something they're going to watch and keep an eye on for the next while.  There are complications with this little guy.  To begin with, he lives in a village without clean water, in a mud hut, with a mom and several siblings that all require her attention.  The conditions of his life are not ideal but God knows all about it.  We trust that God has a plan for this little one, just like He does for all of us. And so we just pray and trust, and pray and trust, and pray and trust some more.

On a happier note, here's a photo two little baby boys who were born at our hospital as tiny premies - and look at them now!!  This success story makes our hearts so happy to see them being taken care of by their momma.

Baby H and Baby F are the sweetest little boys.  They were both less than 2 pounds
 when they were born.  

We're all learning so much and God, in His love and grace, is kindly showing us the absolute seriousness of these life and death situations we witness.  I mean, we know that life and death are serious but facing it first-hand and seeing the suffering of others makes it very real.  And at times, very difficult.

As we serve at the hospital and on-site, it has become very obvious that there is a huge need for more help.  If you know anyone who would be interested in coming to Togo to help, the list of skills needed is long: nurses, doctors,  an anesthetist, skilled trades (if you're able to fix vehicles, small engines etc, get yourself out here!), teachers etc.  Seriously - there is a need for you here, short term or long term! Let us know and we'll help you get started.

Mango Snapshot:

I have so many interesting photos hanging around on my computer that I thought I'd do a little segment on each blog of a snapshot of Mango life.

Today's edition is our neighbourhood...

Across the street from our home. 

This is our next door neighbour's house. Sheep included.