Mwalibizya buti!

Greetings from Zambia!

My Tonga, which is the local language here in Macha, is coming along little by little. When the students here ask me what new words I have learned today, we always have a good laugh since most words I learn are related to Maternity. “Tonka kamu tonka” is always a laugh producer (meaning: push, push). I have been working in the Labour & Delivery/Maternity ward for the last many weeks and find myself enjoying it more and more as the days go by. Whenever my parents phone or skype and ask how clinical was today, my typical response is, “Oh good...just delivered a few babies today...”

After the first few weeks of adjusting to the different culture and way the hospital is run and even the difference in the role of the nurse, my experience has been absolutely wonderful! I have been able to focus my learning towards the Maternal Child aspect of nursing, as this is one area I will not have experience with in Canada before I graduate. While in Maternity I have been working alongside a wonderful and knowledgeable nurse. He is a great teacher and pushes me to learn and try new things. Not that it takes much effort on his part as I love the challenge of learning new aspect of nursing care. He is very patient and under his watchful eye, we have completed many procedures together. It never ceases to amaze me how brave and composed these Zambia women are while in labour, with no option of pain relief. Most will not make a sound throughout the whole process of labour and even during the delivery. At first it was very challenging for me as I had no idea when they were having a contraction, no outward emotion was seen on their face or in their body position. It has only been over weeks of watching that I can now notice little cues.

As the weeks continue to slip by, I have been able to build some very neat relationships with other locals. Some of the cleaning ladies both at the hospital and the school have been a source of joy. While in the operating theater for c-sections, one of the cleaning staff for theater and I connected. This week I have been invited out to her village for church and spending the afternoon with her and the family. She is very eager to introduce me to her daughter who shares my name! Another family who works in the hospital and lives on the school campus have a little son. For the first whole month he would run away and cry every time I came near. My white face was the first he had ever seen. After persistence, waving whenever I saw him and frequently stopping by to talk with his mom and aunt, he has slowly warmed up to me. No longer does he cry, but brings me a toy so we can play together. How I will miss these individuals! As our final four week are ahead of us, I am trying to make every moment count.

This coming weekend, the Nursing Christian Fellowship at the school is taking a trip to Livingstone. We will be joining the crew and even staying a few extra days to enjoy Victoria Falls, among other adventures :) Everyone tells us that we have not really been to Zambia if we have not visited Livingstone. So as of Saturday we will finally have been to Zambia!

These past few weeks I have had some great discussions with the students here on campus. Being a Christian nation, much of their culture revolves around values set by the bible, and yet some areas are seemingly discarded or considered not important because their traditions tell them something different. I have been able to challenge a few to consider how can we be examples to the world and show how Christ saves and redeems us if we are living just like the rest of the world? This verse from Philippians has been a huge encouragement for me: “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God.” Philippians 1:10-11 

Please pray for:

-          My friend who I came with. May the eyes of her heart be opened to see the saving grace of Jesus and accept him as her saviour

-          One of the students who just lost her father at the hospital. Pray for peace and comfort in this difficult time

-          Our final weeks here, that we can continue to be a blessing to those we come in contact with

-          Continued strength and health to finish well

To the glory and praise of God,

Kylie

Here are a few pictures (taking a long time to load, but here are two). Tom, hopefully you can see the 'beautiful' coloured soil :) 

Some girls I made friends with at a local football game

Helping make the nshima for dinner one night at the school.