People along the Path

August 4, 2007

by Carey Schlieker

I have been reflecting this month on how many people have crossed my path lately. They are often unexpected blessings that just "arrived" when I least expect them. They all have an impact on my life in various ways and I'm so grateful!

I have been having a great time this past month spending time with the Malian nurses I work with at the hospital! They are dear people and I have grown to love them all. Betsy and I had a movie night in July. We made them dinner and then watched "Ever After". The nurses were more entertaining than the movie as they openly cheer the heroes and heroines and then boo the villains! The night was to simply to enjoy time together without the stress of work. They are dear sisters in Christ and I will always be grateful for their impact on my life.

Thanks to our great friends in Shelby Ohio, another 40-foot container of medical supplies arrived this past month as well. As we were unpacking supplies and machines, my Malian friend Bintou said, "Kadia, doesn't this remind you of before the hospital opened?" I was thinking the exact same thing! Before we opened the hospital we sorted hundreds of boxes of supplies. Remembering how overwhelming that task was helped us all keep perspective this time around as we unloaded boxes and thought, "this is nothing compared to the last time."

We had a "changing of the guard" a week ago as Dr. Petty handed over the medical responsibility to Dr. Wong. Dr. Wong, also an OB/GYN physician, will be staying until the end of August, then Dan will be returning. Dr. Wong got initiated in his first few days by 3 c-sections in 3 days. He is doing great and a joy to work with. We are so thankful for him!

We have 7 new nurse interns at the hospital now. Needless to say, we are busy training, training, and more training! Some are nurses and some are nurses' aids and have various levels of experience so it's always a challenge to determine what level each is at and then teaching them appropriately. We are thankful for missionary nurse, Brenda Michelson, who came to help us for 7 weeks. She is a blessing and also has become a good friend. A nurses' aid from France, Wendy, is also here helping training nurses' aids. She was here last October and decided to come back! We can't thank these ladies enough for being willing to share their expertise with our staff.

God bless you all for your interest and support of the work here in Mali at the Koutiala Hospital for Women and Children. Speaking for the team as well as myself, "We couldn't do it without you!"