Saturday 6 October—Bonga, Ethiopia--lush, green, and beautiful landscape, warm and gentle people...
I reflect on today and yesterday with wonderment. And now as I type, I hear the gentle but
steady split-splat upon the corrugated tin rooftop that provides shelter to
this guesthouse. Now the rain is coming
down faster and faster—tap tap tap tap tap.
And almost as quickly as it started, it has now come to an
end…with simply the thud thud thud of what sounds like a single stream of rain
repeatedly hitting the same target on my roof above. Perhaps I’ll open the window before I sleep
(good thing for mosquito nets!) to allow the fresh night air to flow freely in
my modest but comfortable room.
Back to the past two days—yesterday, we conducted an ALSO
Instructor course for a dozen of the most motivated students who completed the
ALSO Provider course. These were
primarily medical interns (see 4 Oct entry for further details). They did a phenomenal job preparing their
brief lectures ahead of time. One or two
really grasped the concept of providing feedback in relationship to how well
the student taught or conveyed information, rather than focusing on the lecture
content itself. I think they got
stretched beyond their comfort zone as they learned to give feedback to one
another, and in the process, further develop their skills as teachers. At the end of the day, we “graduated” a dozen
of Jimma University’s first ALSO Instructor Candidates. And 5 of them volunteered to use their
vacation time to join us in Bonga to teach an ALSO Provider Course to midwives
and health officers next week. Win-win
situation, but in the immediate short-term, a windfall for us. They bring with them not only energy and
zest, but also language skills that will help bridge the gap between the
learners and us. God is so very good and
faithful.
Speaking of which, before we left Jimma on Saturday, I was
able to connect with the BLSO Course coordinators in Addis. Dr. Lou will be the course director – he and
Jenny split from our team to head north to Addis for this purpose – but the
course itself is being coordinated through Addis Ababa University/Black Lion
Hospital. I’d previously suggested to
Project Mercy that they send 2 nurses to this training but hadn’t heard an
update…then touched base with Deme on Friday, who confirmed that two midwives
had been identified by Dr. Fekadu…but how to get them registered at this late
hour? As the Lord wills, that’s
how! I spoke with Dr. Sofia, the
appointed Ethiopian ALSO Champion, who connected me with Dr. Aklilu and
Haimonot in Addis. After a few
persuasive conversations, they agreed to accept two new students, our Project
Mercy midwives. A call to Dr. Fekadu in
Yetebon and a few more text and email exchanges, and it seems that these
two midwives will indeed travel to Addis on Monday for the three-day
training. They will return to Yetebon as
BLSO Instructor Candidates, ready to teach their first course with the Zubers
and me 18-19 Oct. How the Lord
provides!!
Our drive to Jimma was beautiful and rather uneventful, save
the stops to capture “Kodak moments” and interact with the baboons traipsing
along the road, eager to steal a snack from a willing driver. The team split in two—one half staying in town
at “Coffeeland Hotel” with the rest of us staying at the guest house at the
edge of town—a lovely, quiet dwelling nestled upon a hill with visions of
colorful flowers, fragrant trees, and the sounds of dozens of songbirds filling
our senses. We enjoyed a quiet evening
of much-needed rest.
Sunday 7 Oct—we awakened with a plan: hiking to the waterfall.
We parked at the Catholic Mission and were blessed to hear
the sound of hundreds of voices singing songs of praise. Two school-aged boys voluntarily led the way
up the muddy, uneven path flanked by tall eucalyptus trees. On the way back, I was flanked by two young
boys, each holding my hand…one a little more eagerly and longer than the
other. On my iPod I listened to “On
Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand…” with such joy
in my heart. Any time I freed my hands
to snap a picture (or two or a thousand), the boy on my left would immediately
place his so I could easily grab it again.
Such warmth. I thought to myself,
these two precious boys beside me are like Ashley and Harrison roaming freely
through the forest, befriending a stranger and leading him or her along the
way. Hmmm.
No comments:
Post a Comment