Angela's Parents Have Landed

We are happy to say that Angela's parents are here!  They arrived to Mbingo on Monday and are staying for 3 weeks.  We are enjoying spending time with them.  Of course, Mike has been working at the hospital (he is an internist), but we don't think Betty has left Isaac's side!

 This was a couple days after they arrived and we went on a short hike to the airstrip.  It only takes about 15 minutes to get there and the views are memorable.  We are at 5000 feet of altitude here, but Mike and Betty have started to adapt and did well with the hike.

This is Isaac on the airstrip.  Few planes land here anymore since the road was paved about 15 years ago.  This used to be one of the best ways to bring in supplies.  We sometimes have a prop plane land with a patient (even from Nigeria), but mostly it is a nice place to take a hike.  Isaac is here suggesting that Nana and Papa just fly direct next time from Charlotte.

 We introduced Mike and Betty to the market, which is mainly on Saturdays.  We buy all of our supplies for the week and this week we put Angela's parents to good use by helping us carry all of it back to the house.

 As we have mentioned before, we teach medical residents, medical interns (house officers), nurse practitioners, and nurse screeners here at Mbingo.  This week, the nurse practitioners and screeners needed a lecture on the pediatric exam, so Isaac got to go to the hospital to be the "patient".  He actually did quite well as Angela demonstrated and taught how to examine a child.

 We also wanted to share with you guys some of the building that is taking place.  This is the outpatient building that was started years ago.  We are actually working in the part closest to us, but as you can see, much of the rest is still under construction.  The rest of this floor should be finished in the next few weeks and there will be more room for clinics.  At this point, the medicine, pediatrics, ob/gyn, and ENT clinics share about 8 rooms.  After the expansion, the clinics will have more of there own space which will allow us to see more patients and provide better care.

 Teaching is a component of many areas here at Mbingo.  This is one of the head carpenters giving a geometry lecture on an unfinished wall to a group of students.  We stubbled upon this scene, but were happy to see that the teaching is not limited to the medical side of the hospital.  Even the carpenters here  will leave with more skills and knowledge than when they arrived.

This is Darko with Chuck and JR.  Darko is a chief medicine resident at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona.  He was here for a month and did an incredible job teaching many lectures a week in addition to rounding on the wards and seeing outpatients.  He learned how to hike and he also became a friend.  He is on to become a cardiologist but is welcome back anytime.

Thanks again for all the prayers, emails, and support that we receive from each of you.  We hope you enjoy following along as much as we enjoy sharing.