The Church: There is a village north of the Sancta Maria Mission about a three hour walk. They built a stick and mud church and after a few months a heavy rain storm washed it away. They desperately needed a church but have no money. Fr. Bob and our committee decided to fund the materials, and the village is providing the labor. They work very hard, and are excellent with utilizing the minimal resources. We first helped with building the wood rafters. The wood is hand sewn, so it is of variable widths, heights, and lengths. There is hardly a straight piece! To purchase the straight, consistent size lumber costs 4-5 times more, and they are very frugal and humble. We then helped paint all the rafters with creosol thinned with diesel fuel. This for preserving the wood from moisture and insects. The village workers are very nice, and we have been able to joke and laugh with them. We will get back on it tomorrow and hopefully finish the roof and start plastering the walls.
The Hospital: We began morning rounds in the pediatrics ward where we saw dozens of children hospitalized for diarrheas and dehydration. They are rehydrated until they improve and then sent home with counseling on prevention of diarrheas and oral rehydration solution. We even saw a young boy who came into the hospital a week after being bitten by a snake. Luckily it wasn't poisonous or he wouldn't have made it for so long. Later we walked towards the male ward where we saw two teenagers being treated for second degree burns after falling into a fire. One was also being treated for seizures as a result of volume loss. We moved into the female ward where we saw again dozens of patients packed into two wards. We saw patients with HIV/AIDS, cases of pulmonary, abdominal tuberculosis and post-op patients all in the same room. In the afternoon we brought a newborn into this world. A 21 yr old female delivered a beautiful baby girl via c-section and it was the most magnificent experience.
We would just like to thank the doctors for allowing us to follow them around and be able to have such great experience. It was very apparent that even though they didn't have all the resources to treat their patients they did the best that they could with the little they had.
The Mother's Milk Program: Our afternoon started with a drive out to Simakumba. It is a village about 20 kilometers from Lukulu. Along the way Sr. Pat picked up as many women and children that she could fit in her 13 passenger Land Rover and dropped them off at their destinations as we went. When we arrived in Simakumba we were greeted with the most heart warming and welcoming song and dance. The people of the Mother's Milk program are so grateful for Sr. Pat and our Love for Lukulu mission organization. (This is a great time to say thank you again to all of our donors. To see what we saw today and to know that these babies and young children's lives were saved because of YOU and your genorosity to the Mother's Milk program is such an incredible feeling. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!) While we were at the out village, Sr. Pat gathered information about each child in the program. Then she gave each child some biscuits (cookies), a drink and a toy. Again these toys that brought complete joy to the children were donated by you, our donors. Thank you! As we finished up, said our good-byes and headed back to Lukulu, again picking up people along the way to help shorten their journey. It was a true blessing to have spent the day with Sr. Pat and be a part of this beautiful program. God is good all the time!
Our apologies for sporadic posts. The wifi is not our friend.
We would like to give a shout out to Deb and Tommy. From you know who. ;)
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