I spent a wonderful afternoon with a dear mentor and friend Monday. Leanne Turk has spent years in the Central African Republic with her husband and boys. She invited me for lunch, but I was just as hungry for her advice and encouragement as I was for the food she offered!
I have a terrible memory, so part of the reason for this blog is also for me to remember the things I learn and want to remember as I go along.
Some of the things I learned during our visit....
-the measure of success isn't "Did I get a lot done?" or "Have I accomplished my goals?" but, "Am I closer to Jesus than I was when I started?"
-the best thing we can do as a team for the current missionaries is visit and encourage them... even if we don't DO a lot, they need us to BE with them
-Doxycycline may be as good or better a malaria preventative as anything else; plus easier to get, may be cheaper, and fewer side effects
-take gloves and wound care supplies... if I don't use them, I can leave them and someone will definitely use them
-take a BP cuff, stethoscope, and pulxe oximeter (I have a stethoscope, but still need to get a cuff and pulse ox)
-if it "gets out" that I am a nurse, I will have work to do! That is both exciting and scary, because......
-my own observation: I might have a handle on common illnesses in the US, but I know NOTHING about medicine in Africa... time to start researching malaria, TB, and others. The missionaries there know more from experience than I do! Talk to doctors I know have spent time in Africa.
Thank you all for your support and encouragement... it means so much to Emma and me!
-Michelle
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