My first week at the clinic and other updates

Hello Everyone!

I hope you all enjoyed Newman’s post. I’m sorry that mine are not as funny or entertaining. I am going to try to keep everyone informed and updated, while Newman will probably focus more on the humorous things that come with living here as there are many.  

I would say that we have become pretty comfortable here by now. We know how to get what we need for the most part, and we have begun to form relationships with the people here. We have been welcomed so warmly by everyone we have met. I just walked by a man who I don’t think I have ever met and he asked me, “How is Newman?”  Everyone knows we are the new Mazungus in town even if we have not officially met. The family that I have mentioned before that lives on our footpath to the clinic gave us a taste of Jack fruit last night on our walk home. It was actually very tasty. I dropped off some tangerines on my way to work this morning to repay the favor. I did not tell Newman I had done this, and he asked me, “Why are the children asking me for more oranges?” They are such a sweet family, I couldn’t resist.

So to recap the last few days:
Saturday, Amanda drove Newman and I to the sugar plantation close by which has a private club with a pool and golf course. We went for a couple hours that afternoon just to get away and relax. It’s another thing that is just good to know it’s there. Michael had a lot of work to do for his master’s program, so he couldn’t join us, but we went back to the house and grilled steaks and had a delicious dinner. The “grill” that we used was simply a steel box with legs and a couple layers of chicken wire on top. A little makeshift, but it worked!  On Sunday, there was a big soccer tournament going on in town, and PMI had a team which played 2 games and won both! We went to watch some of it and it was a really fun community event. They had music and a lot of people came out to watch. It was good team building for the clinic staff as well. To continue to staff bonding, there was a party that night at one of the local hotels for all of the staff as a thank you for their hard work and also as a welcome to Newman and me. We had local food which was pretty good, and then they started the dancing, or should I say Newman and I started the dancing. They insisted that we start the dancing by having us get in the middle of the room and dance to a slow song in front of everyone. The song of choice was a Celine Dion song, which I cannot remember right now which one, but let’s just say it was quite hilarious and embarrassing. They immediately started laughing at us when we started to dance, and we quickly motioned for everyone else to join in which they happily did thank goodness! They quickly changed the music to a more up-beat song, and even the babies could dance better than me. One of the staff’s sons, Jack, who is about 3 or 4 had on a 3 piece dark suit and nice black shoes and he was cuttin’ a rug! The next day at the clinic, he spent a few hours on a bed in the hall sleeping. It must have taken everything out of him.

Monday was my first day at the clinic and it was also our one year anniversary! We both worked for a half day and then went to the Masindi Hotel for the afternoon. We spent pretty much the whole time outside opening anniversary cards and gifts and relaxing in their shady courtyard. It was so nice. We then ate a huge yummy dinner. We did not know what to order, so we just ordered a lot. We also had Tuesday morning off, so we had a nice breakfast and then headed back to the clinic that afternoon. That night, 2 pharmacy students from SC showed up for a one month rotation here at the clinic, so we greeted them and they went to the clinic with us that afternoon as well. It’s been nice having more people from home here.

So to sum up my experience so far at the clinic, it’s been really good and I’m figuring out how I can be helpful. I’m still kind of stepping back and observing how they operate right now. I have helped with a few things like starting IVs, giving injections, and making assessments. I taught this week’s CME this morning which is their continuing medical education. I taught on hypertension, and I think it was well understood and received. I am anxious to get into the storage containers which are full of supplies and see what is not being used and if I can train the staff on how to use the supplies so that they are not just sitting there. I have heard several times from them that they think they have some things in the storage containers, but because they don’t know how to use them, they just sit there unused. The staff overall is really great and they have been so kind and helpful to us.

I know this was a long post but I haven’t written anything in a while so I wanted to get everything up to date. There are still more stories I want to share, and I will in future posts. The PMI team from home comes this Saturday so I can’t wait to see everyone. It will be a very busy week but I will try to post some because those trips are pretty amazing. Love to you all and hope to talk with some of you soon!

Below are some pics of the kids that live across the field, and they came to hang out with us. We had just had our laundry done and it was hanging up on the porch. We had our small athletic socks and my sports bras hanging up which I guess looked like small clothes and they asked if they could come see the baby.  I told them there was no baby, and they asked then why do you have these tiny clothes. I just laughed and said there is no baby and gave them some stickers (thanks Lynn by the way) I think they will become frequent visitors.

Thoughts from Newman

While Trish will probably be the one that keeps you all up to date with our lives I want to throw my 200 shillings in from time to time as well.

First off, showering in Uganda… Those of you that have lived with me know that I tend to take long showers.  I’d like to think that this makes me cleaner than those of you who take short showers.  Here, showering is a bit different.  Our shower consists of a hose with a handle and shower head like many people have at home.  They are great because you can shoot water in any direction you want that is, assuming the water shoots.  Water pressure here in the guest house is good, you can turn the water on full blast and it seems to be like a faucet running at maybe half capacity.  I am glad I have short hair.  The good thing about the low water pressure is that there is no shower curtain or tub, so basically we have a drain in the floor about two feet over from the toilet.  Since there is no water pressure though I don’t have to worry about anything getting wet except for whatever is about 2 inches from the nozzle.  The electric hot water heater is about three feet away so rest assured the water will not spray that far and we are not at risk of electric shock while showering.  We do have a hot water heater, when the power is on, so I am still able to take nice long hot showers much like I did at home. 

Second, Trish has mentioned the mosquito net.  We do sleep under a mosquito net do to the threat of malaria, which is very common here and what a large percentage of our patients at the clinic have been coming in with recently.  Our bed is somewhat of a combination of a romantically decorated four poster bed and my camping tent.  We crawl under the net at night and then argue over which of us will have to get back up to turn the light off or find the secret stash of M&M’s in my backpack while we watch a movie in bed.  The funniest event to date involving this mosquito net happened our first night in the guest house.  We have gotten ready for bed, had a dvd on the laptop, and even had the M&M’s and bottles of water close at hand.  Trish decided that she needed to get up just one more time before going to sleep so that she wouldn’t have to get up in the night… She crawled out from under the net, put her house shoes on (we never wore house shoes before), turned on the light that is on the wall outside of the bathroom, and as she sat down she remembered we have no toilet seat.  She looked at me, the toilet is about ten feet from the bed and the door was open, and she said “Dangit, I forgot where we were.”  Apparently the mosquito net hadn’t served as enough of a reminder.  I did go the next day to our local “Lowes” and purchase a heavy duty toilet seat since it was only $1.50 more than the regular one and soon I will purchase another mosquito net to hang on every bed we ever own since apparently is can be used to disguise our real location from Trish. 

Lastly, and this is probably one of my favorite things so far.   Many things that are said here are said as rhetorical questions.  I find it hilarious that every other sentence ends in what? It ends in the word what.  Follow that?  Here’s another one for you, maybe a little easier.  I am typing this blog on what?  On my laptop.  Tonight we are going to have what?  We are going to have dinner.  Of course this is all funnier in the Ugandan/ English accent and in context but that just means that you all will have to what?  Come visit us and hear it for yourself!!

That’s all I have for now.  We are doing well and have come to appreciate our senses of humor and patience.  We look forward to sharing more of our lives with you all and hearing about yours too as we will miss many gatherings and events.  Feel free to make life size cutouts of us and take us out to dinner or to your parties as we would love to actually be there. 

End of our first week

So we have officially been in Uganda for a week now. The shock of being here is wearing off some, but everything still feels new and different. We have had such a good transition time thanks to Michael and Amanda and everyone else here who we have met. The hospitality that we have received has been incredible. It’s been a great week from being in Kampala and being welcomed into many people’s homes and for meals to coming to Masindi where we have experienced the same treatment. We have eaten already at all 3 of the Mazungu’s favorite restaurants in town and have very good and very different meals at each. We have plans this weekend to relax and go to a nearby pool for the day Saturday and then possibly cook out. Sunday there is a soccer match with a lot of local teams and PMI has a team, so we are going to watch that which should be a lot of fun and very hot. The weather here has been really nice most days but pretty hot. I am glad that we are in the rainy season though because it apparently is much cooler now than it will be by the end of the year. Last night our power went out so our new fan we just bought wasn’t running and it was very hot, but then the rain started and really poured and cooled down everything which was great. The rainy season also means that internet is often not working so I am actually typing this ahead of time and will not be able to post until the internet is back up and running. We went to visit the local Masindi Hospital today for the first time. Amanda walked around with Newman and me. I had heard horror stories about the local hospitals and luckily today it was not too bad, but it was definitely not somewhere I would want to be if I was really sick. There seemed to be a good amount of staff there which was good, but the environment was just depressing. There was no air flow, the air was stale and hot, and there were people packed into tiny shared “rooms.” I put that in quotes because they are not what we think of as a normal room. They are more open and part of the reason, which is good, is so that the staff can have a better view of the patients. There have been issues with staff not being trained to keep a close eye on their patients. When people here go to the hospital, their family generally comes with them. Health care facilities do not provide meals for the patients, so families come to cook for each other. Family means everything here. Although the family support is good, it makes for very crowded spaces. We peaked into a delivery room where a woman had just given birth. I know not everyone wants to read details about that, so I will not be too descriptive. Let’s just say it did not look like a sterile environment to me for what they were doing, and I didn’t see anyone wearing gloves. I cannot wait to see the impact that the PMI Masindi Kitara Medical Clinic Labor and Delivery unit has once it is up and running. I think it will be absolutely life changing for these people. So that’s it for today but I want to throw out a quick Happy Anniversary to my parents on the 25^th, Happy 1^stBirthday to our beautiful God daughter Elizabeth Klauber today, the 27^th, and Happy Early Anniversary to Bob and Lynn, Newman’s parents, tomorrow the 28^th!!! We are so very blessed to have you all as such a huge part of our lives and for all of the support and encouragement and prayers that you offer so abundantly. If the internet is working long enough, there will be some pictures in this blog, but if not I’ll have to try another time. Love to you all and thanks so much for all of your support!!
Below is a picture of the guest house where we are staying and the second picture is of some of the bota botas or motorcycles that are everywhere you go.

Made it to Masindi

Hello Everyone!

We have made it safely to Masindi and are settling in. We spent our first night here in Michael and Amanda's house and moved into the guest house which is owned by the church the next day. Its a pretty large house but very simple. We just got our Internet hooked up today which is great and when the power is on, it works really well. The power goes out all the time here. There is a little foot path between our house and Michael and Amanda's, and it literally cuts right though a family's property. They have 2 small homes on either side of the path so its a little awkward to walk through but apparently thats completely normal. They have about 4 or 5 small children who are always around and who have made me smile each time I walk through. Even though they are usually always asking for something, their sweet faces and the way they laugh at us makes my day each time I walk through. They began to follow us earlier down the path and Newman jumped around and scared them and they all burst into laughter. Its these moments that are helping me ignore the difficult parts of living here. I'm not going to lie, there have been a few moments where I have thought, this is going to be really hard, or why are we doing this, but thankfully those moments don't last long and I know that we are both growing so much from being here and from having to trust in God. He has been providing for us all we need and more and we are so thankful.
Currently as I type this from under our mosquito net, there is a GIANT bug slamming himself into our light and there is a small lizard in our bathroom. I am very thankful for the net. I know I will get used to all of these things, but it may take a week or 2.
It has been a long day, so we are headed for bed and I am sorry there are not pictures today, but I have some and I think another video or 2 for the next blog.
Love to you all and please continue to pray for us as the real work and the reality of this all sets in.
Thank you so much!!
Love,
Trish and Newman

Day 2 in Kampala

Hey Everyone!
Its day 2 for us in Kampala, and its been great so far. Its almost 5pm here, so the day is not over yet, but I thought since I had a minute I'd write a little and try to add in some pictures and a video. Hopefully the video will work. The sound quality isn't great because I think we keep putting our fingers over the microphone, but I'll post it anyways. We are new at this. Today Newman I think was feeling the jet lag because he did not have time like I did yesterday to sleep in. He slept in most of the morning and then he and I headed out for the first time together into the city. Michael and Amanda had things to do so it was great for all of us just to do what we wanted for the afternoon. I have to admit, I was a little tense as we began our walk down the hill and into the heart of Kampala because everything was so new and different, but as we walked more and as I said a few prayers I began to feel more and more at ease. Its a strange feeling being a minority in color and in nationality. As we got into the busier part of town, we began to see more mzungus or "white people" like us. We got my cell phone set up and got some minutes for both of our phones. Then we exchanged some money and went to lunch at a yummy little place that I honestly have forgotten the name of already. Java something?? I was pleased to find food that looked very familiar to me. We then got a call from Michael and Amanda that they were taking a run into town and they met up with us to do a little grocery shopping for drinks tonight with friends and for tomorrow. We are meeting up with Olivia tonight who is from Charleston and has been living and working in Burundi. Newman was at the Citadel with her and has many mutual friends from Burundi, so we are all looking forward to getting to know her better. So thats about it for today but enjoy the pictures and the videos. The pictures are mainly from our trip over and from the view from the house we are staying in right now. Love to you all!!

We're here!

Hello Everyone!

We have arrived here safely in Uganda! We got here last night around 10pm and Michael and Amanda picked us up from the airport and we all drove to Kampala. We are staying here in Kampala for the first few nights and Michael and Amanda have lots of fun things to do with us while we are here. We will head to Masindi Monday. Luckily, where we are staying, we have great internet service, so I will try to add in little bits and pieces of our adventures along the way. I want to thank everyone SO SO much for all of your prayers and support while we were traveling! All of our flights went so smoothly and every transition has been so great. We are hitting it off so well with Michael and Amanda and we already are feeling at home here. Newman is out all day today with Michael going to meetings in Kampala and Amanda and I have slept in and have just been hanging out together and are about to head to a friend's house to work out before we go to a fun party tonight. They have a full and fun weekend planned for us here, so I am so excited to just dive in and get to know this place and its people better. Please continue to pray for us. Especially pray for the connections we are making that we would have opportuities to share about the Lord and build meaningful relationships. Thanks again so much to everyone and I am sorry this is a short blog, but I have to run and will add more details and pictures later!

Love to you all!

A short update and how you can help!

Hello Everyone!


I have loved hearing from some of you friends and family who have said they will be following our blog. It means so much to us to have your support and your interest in our lives and this stage of our lives in particular. We have really gotten busy packing up our house now, and its making the move seem so much more real. Our plane tickets have now also been officially purchased so we are truly going! We leave the afternoon of April 18th from Charleston, and will arrive in Uganda around 10pm on the 19th.


We have had several people asking us how they can support us or how they can support PMI, which we want to say a HUGE THANK YOU for that!!! God has blessed us and PMI so much, and it is through generous hearts that make all of this possible. While we are in Uganda, I will be working as a RN and raising my own support through donations. If you would like to support me or PMI, you can donate either online or by mail. The website is http://www.palmettomedical.org/ . Click DONATE at the top of the page and its very easy to do. Or, you can mail in checks to Palmetto Medical Initiative P.O. Box 542 Charleston, SC 29402. If you want to support me, please make sure to add my name to the "For" section of the check or write it in the comment section if you are giving online. Again, THANK YOU thank you thank you!!! One of the best things about mission work I think is stepping out in faith by giving and watching how God provides.


Also, even more importantly, please just PRAY! Pray for the people who we will be serving, pray for PMI, and pray for Newman and I. I've heard this saying before from several people regarding missions and I cannot remember who I heard it from first but its goes something like: Those who can go, go...those who can give, give...but everyone must pray. Forgive me if I misquoted or if I don't give credit where credit is due for that, but I wanted to mention it because I think it is so true. (if you can cite that for me, let me know in the comment section below) So please, keep us in your prayers and if you can come please come and if you can give please give. God will bless you for it.

Thanks so much for everyone's support, and keep watching for a video in the next post hopefully!