Kayira be! (Peace to you, a common greeting here)
Well, I have officially been here in the Gambia for 3 weeks. Things are very different here as you can imagine. I arrived during the hottest part of the year if you can believe that from where you sit. The period after the rain starts is the most humid and hot part of the year. I was not informed of this until I arrived so you can imagine my surprise at experiencing “the dawg days of summer” in the middle of October. I am adjusting (mainly in front of a fan) and learning different ways to cope and work in this climate.
When I arrived at the airport, the team leader came to retrieve me and another short term worker. On our way to the country headquarters she made the comment that “Africa is extreme both in color and in noise.” In my mind I wanted to add, “and heat!” As I watched out my window, I could see she was right but I could not imagine how right until later in my orientation. We visited a traditional African market on my first Saturday in the country. What I experienced is hard to put into words and to imagine so I will just say if you are claustrophobic or have crowd anxiety; an African market is not the place for you. No one told me that before-hand. I found myself on the verge of a panic attack with no room to have one! By God’s grace, I survived the experience and will recover enough to try again someday soon.
Officially, I am still in Orientation and will be this way for about a month, maybe more considering how little experience I have. I think I surprised the team regarding my age and experience related to nursing so I appreciate your prayers that I learn and adjust quickly so that I can be of more help than a burden. I spent one day on the ward and felt so inadequate to be of any help. Most of the patients were children and infants. I was asked to help with vital signs and struggled very much because of the noise on the ward and the noise in their lungs. Many children have respiratory infections this time of year. I left that day feeling very discouraged. My team members encourage me saying I will adjust in time and come to enjoy working in and around the clinic.
A recent bright spot this week was spending time with the local youth group. There are around 15 to 18 wonderful young people that attend. Some are secret Christians from Muslim families and for this reason we do not meet at the church but in the classroom on the clinic compound. While they still cannot share with their family the faith they have in Jesus, you can tell they are hungry for His words and the fellowship of other Christians. Please pray for these teenagers and my relationship with them.
This week, on the 15 of October, there was a great celebration of Tobaski. Tobaski is a Muslim holiday where they believe Abraham offered a ram on Mt. Moriah in the place of Ishmael. Much of Islam has Scripture from the Old Testament with twists in all the stories we know and love. In honor of this, Muslims sacrifice a ram and eat it with their families. The Gambians take it a step further and make it into a party. This particular year the party has lasted 3 days as the president declared Tuesday through Thursday public holidays. Tobaski is also a time when everyone dresses up in their best clothes and the children run around in the village asking for “sallyboo”. From what I can tell, it’s their version of Halloween. They usually receive a piece of candy, a small toy or a small amount of money.
The people remind me of the Epicureans, “Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die”. They don’t have a concept of planning for the future and even though they are a happy people, you can see some still are searching for more. They look for a hope only Jesus can offer. The Christians and missionaries seek to share that hope. Hebrews 6:19- 20 says, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.” Pray for me and the other missionaries that we remember the hope we have in Christ and to share that with our patients and neighbors.