Blog Troubles top the Month!
Most of us who are missionaries use blogs to communicate to our supporters, family and friends. We depend on their availability and ease of access. We also need our blog to look appealing to attract people to read them....especially if you are not a great writer...which I am not. Since I am not the best and most entertaining writer, I hooked up with a person who told me he and his new company could help me build a website and blog as well as post the stories for me. As many of you know, I have used www.cherylinchimala.com as my website and blog page for the last two years. It worked really well and looked good. I got use to posting my own stories and you, my readers, knew where to find me.
Well now I have a sad ending to that story and a new story to this blog site. The man who "helped" me with the new site, is no longer reachable with the information I had on him anda a neither is his company. The company who runs the web page browser can't or won't help me get into my own site as the person who set it up was not me....So here I am, back on my old blog site and I have lost all my stories for the last two years. That'll teach me....but what, I'm not sure. hehehe.
Glad you have found me again, here at blog spot. Think I will just stay here for the rest of my missionary journey!!
NEW ANESTHESIA MACHINE
Our hospital has not had an anesthesia machine. When we perform surgeries, we use an IV sedative. Having an anesthesia machine is a great asset for us and our clients. We are so grateful to our Christian sister who is working with us to make Chimala Mission Hospital a better source of medical care for our community.
BIG VISITOR!
Earlier this month, this guy was found while cutting the grass. The rainy season started in December and so we have lots of tall, green grass which needs cut frequently. Of course, here most of the grass is cut by hand with pangas (machetes or whips). This guy was pretty well hidden, but not well enough.
This is about a 9-10 ft python! He is not quite dead yet, but he is very injured. I had to pick him up to see how heavy he was and what he felt like. I know, sounds crazy, but how often does this kind of opportunity occur? Crazy, huh?! I was thinking awesome!
NEW MAMA/BABY CLINIC
In December, we started a new clinic in a village called Kapunga. Our first clinic there, we saw 312 children! Wore me out! When we returned to Kapunga earlier this month, we saw 263 children. I focused more on assessing the under-weight children this month. We saw 26 who were malnourished. We talked to the moms about bringing them to the hospital for further work up. Seven of them were brought in the next morning. Through our investigation, we found that one of them actually had TB and that was the cause of the low-weight. Another was identified as HIV+. These were diagnosis which very probably would have gone un-diagnosed for months if not longer. This early detection will help these children have better outcomes. The other 5 were started on treatment for malnutrition. We are now following up to find the other children and get them in for investigation. It is due to our mobile clinics that many children are diagnosed early. Early treatment equals better outcomes.
NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS
Did you make any? To tell you the truth, I did not at the first of the year. But during the last 10 days or so, I have been thinking about what I should do better this year. I want to follow Christ better. I want to show Christ's love and be a better Christian. As you know, if you have been following me for any length of time, I have been in Africa now for 6 years, and Chimala for 5. I continue to believe this is what God wants me to do. I am asking you if you will help me continue this work. Will you make a resolution to help support me and the work at Chimala. The information for donations is listed on the right side of this page.
CHIMALA MISSION FARM
As I have lost my other blog, I cannot remember what I told you last month about the farm. The farm is up on the mountain where the original mission was back in the 50's. The mission continues to have land there. We are planning a way to use that land to provide food for the schools and money to help support the mission operations. For the last year, I have been working on the farm. We have about 16,000 pine trees there which should provide a source of income in about 10-13 years. In the meantime, we would like to start planting cash crops to help with income. This year, we have planted potatoes and maize. I am hopeful we will have good return on our efforts. These two crops were planted by hand. We need to have a tractor and some other smaller equipments in order to increase our crops and thereby, provide more food and income for the mission.
If you would like to partner with us by helping to support the farm, please contact us or send a donation to NYA church of Christ in Arlington with a note saying you want to support the farm.
Please stay tune for more updates. Oh, and another thing I hope to do better this year...update more often! I love you and God loves you.
Cheryl
Well now I have a sad ending to that story and a new story to this blog site. The man who "helped" me with the new site, is no longer reachable with the information I had on him anda a neither is his company. The company who runs the web page browser can't or won't help me get into my own site as the person who set it up was not me....So here I am, back on my old blog site and I have lost all my stories for the last two years. That'll teach me....but what, I'm not sure. hehehe.
Glad you have found me again, here at blog spot. Think I will just stay here for the rest of my missionary journey!!
NEW ANESTHESIA MACHINE
Our hospital has not had an anesthesia machine. When we perform surgeries, we use an IV sedative. Having an anesthesia machine is a great asset for us and our clients. We are so grateful to our Christian sister who is working with us to make Chimala Mission Hospital a better source of medical care for our community.
BIG VISITOR!
Earlier this month, this guy was found while cutting the grass. The rainy season started in December and so we have lots of tall, green grass which needs cut frequently. Of course, here most of the grass is cut by hand with pangas (machetes or whips). This guy was pretty well hidden, but not well enough.
This is about a 9-10 ft python! He is not quite dead yet, but he is very injured. I had to pick him up to see how heavy he was and what he felt like. I know, sounds crazy, but how often does this kind of opportunity occur? Crazy, huh?! I was thinking awesome!
NEW MAMA/BABY CLINIC
In December, we started a new clinic in a village called Kapunga. Our first clinic there, we saw 312 children! Wore me out! When we returned to Kapunga earlier this month, we saw 263 children. I focused more on assessing the under-weight children this month. We saw 26 who were malnourished. We talked to the moms about bringing them to the hospital for further work up. Seven of them were brought in the next morning. Through our investigation, we found that one of them actually had TB and that was the cause of the low-weight. Another was identified as HIV+. These were diagnosis which very probably would have gone un-diagnosed for months if not longer. This early detection will help these children have better outcomes. The other 5 were started on treatment for malnutrition. We are now following up to find the other children and get them in for investigation. It is due to our mobile clinics that many children are diagnosed early. Early treatment equals better outcomes.
NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS
Did you make any? To tell you the truth, I did not at the first of the year. But during the last 10 days or so, I have been thinking about what I should do better this year. I want to follow Christ better. I want to show Christ's love and be a better Christian. As you know, if you have been following me for any length of time, I have been in Africa now for 6 years, and Chimala for 5. I continue to believe this is what God wants me to do. I am asking you if you will help me continue this work. Will you make a resolution to help support me and the work at Chimala. The information for donations is listed on the right side of this page.
CHIMALA MISSION FARM
As I have lost my other blog, I cannot remember what I told you last month about the farm. The farm is up on the mountain where the original mission was back in the 50's. The mission continues to have land there. We are planning a way to use that land to provide food for the schools and money to help support the mission operations. For the last year, I have been working on the farm. We have about 16,000 pine trees there which should provide a source of income in about 10-13 years. In the meantime, we would like to start planting cash crops to help with income. This year, we have planted potatoes and maize. I am hopeful we will have good return on our efforts. These two crops were planted by hand. We need to have a tractor and some other smaller equipments in order to increase our crops and thereby, provide more food and income for the mission.
If you would like to partner with us by helping to support the farm, please contact us or send a donation to NYA church of Christ in Arlington with a note saying you want to support the farm.
Please stay tune for more updates. Oh, and another thing I hope to do better this year...update more often! I love you and God loves you.
Cheryl
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