It's been more than 2 weeks since I landed in the warm heart of Africa, Malawi, and truly felt at home all too quickly with the incredible welcome and showering of love From everyone on ABC's campus. Its been a comforting piece of home spending time with Nick and the missionary families here and yet quite a change from spending 24/7 with 50 other college students. A much quieter, rejuvenating, more relaxing, less constant energetic change of pace that has really allowed me to reflect on my time since I have been away.
Right now, and for my remaining time in Africa, I am staying on ABC's (African Bible College's) campus in Lilongwe, Malawi and working in their clinic 5 days a week. The entire campus provides elementary through high school academics, as well as a college and post graduate school. There are living quarters, sports facilities, and best of all- a medical clinic all right here on campus. The clinic provides immunizations, medical check-ups, and maternity and pediatric wards. Already I have been taking blood, testing for malaria, doing daily vitals, scrubbing in on surgeries, and learning more then I ever imagined from the doctors and nurses working here. It has not only been a privilege to provide care to the patients each day but also an honor to be able to practice my nursing skills in such a practical way. Outside of the clinic I have also been able to help out in mobile clinics and a weekly epilepsy clinic in one of the towns near by, which both I have thoroughly enjoyed. Each of these experiences have not only been medically eye opening but culturally as well. They have allowed me to see the need for understanding the medical implications within the town as well as the cultural differences in order to provide the proper care...
It has been interesting, coming from South Africa to Malawi. I find that I no longer compare the cultural differences I am experiencing to my life back home in California but instead I am constantly finding contrasts between life in Malawi to life in South Africa. Both countries in Africa, and yet both still completely different worlds nonetheless. We tend to categorize all 54 African countries as simply one "Africa", but oh how misleading to think in such a way... Malawi is a country very much defined by their poverty and being one of the poorest countries in the world it is evident in the limited resources of the country. Within the first week of being here the crystal clean water had my stomach in knotts and living next to my bathroom for the next few days. It is in these times that I am able to thank the Lord for the abundance of resources He has given us at home.
And thanks to my sister, the count down begins, 27 days until I make the journey back home....
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| Our medical team in Guzu |
