Day 14: Morning to Night

Mornings in ghana are wonderful, the air is still cool and we all come together with our sleepy faces to share breakfast. Our day begins at the academy with Caren, Katelyn and Vanessa doing morning devotions with the kids. They spoke on 'the Golden Rule' and included a skit and questions that got the kids interacting and getting excited about the lesson. Janice, Lina, Abby and Kayli all got to be in the operating room today for 3 c-sections and a tubal ligation. A couple of them even got to scrub in and assist the surgeon with suturing. This was exciting because one of the reasons we all came to Ghana, was to take part in rare and amazing hands-on clinical experiences that we can only be a part of while here in Africa.

Katelyn, Caren and Vanessa speaking on the Golden Rule at Manna Mission Academy.

Abby assisting with a C-section.

Caren and Katelyn stayed at the academy and taught. Katelyn taught division to the 3rd graders. Caren taught 4th graders about synonyms and antonyms and since the teacher had called in, Caren took over and had her own class. The kids loved them and scored well on all their post tests. Vanessa visited the peds ward after praying for the patients in womens ward and found a 7yr old girl crying because she was in sickle cell crisis which can be very painful. She needed an injection and vanessa was there to hold her and comfort her. Afterwards she was much calmer and we were glad to hear that in a couple of days she could go home. Jen, Kayla and I were in the eye clinic today and all agreed it was one of our favorite experiences at the hospital. Joyce, the director and main examiner at the clinic was so welcoming and patiently went through every step of a patient's visit at the clinic. When patients starting coming she also let us be a part of the examinations and showed us skills in determining the diagnosis and treatment of many eye disorders. At one point we were left alone with an elderly patient who seemed a little uncomfortable. She didn't speak much English but  we asked her if she would like us to sing for her while she waited. She nodded and as we began singing the worship and then the praise song we had learned in tree, a huge smile spread across her face. Then Ms. Joyce came in and joined us and even the patient was soon singing with us and laughing. This actually happened twice while we were there, and I have heard similar stories from the other girls on my team... I don't think we had any idea when Patience taught us those songs that God would use them so often to connect and minister to us, our patients and with the staff here.

One of Caren's students practicing their lesson in front of the class. 

Kayla examining a patient at the eye clinic.

After clinicals, the rest of the day was spent working on projects and preparing for our trip to Ada the next day. Though we aren't looking forward to a 5:30 am departure we are so excited to travel to an island and be a part of a rural clinic there. Night devotions have just been getting better, as we are beginning to trust each other and open up about our lives and our walks with God. Going to sleep we hear the far off cheers to the televised football game, the crowing of our confused rooster and wind rustling the palm leaves outside our window. Goodnight Ghana.