It's official!!! After two months and hours standing in line and a crazy test and okay interview and a little more waiting...I have a temporary medical license in Zambia (good for 2 years). I am very excited to now practice medicine here.  Thank you to everyone for the prayers.

It even has a red seal!

Garden is planted.  Tomato seedlings, green beans, swiss chard, butternut squash, and lemon grass.  Grateful for the much needed plant/dirt therapy.

Prize from Zambia to the first person to name the three types of plants in my new pot.

Spent Thursday through Sunday with an amazing team from Florida.  We went to a little village called Chibomb about one hour outside of Chipata in Eastern Province.  So many adventures were had.  We did a combination of children's outreach and medical clinic.  Three doctors saw about 300 patients in 2 days.  During the day the other team members did children's outreach in the villages with puppets and skits etc.  At night we had a service and prayer time.  It was the first time this village had done this.  We were warmly received.  I was impressed with the team.  We lived real bush style.  Slept in tents and used a family's pit latrine and pot of warm water for bathing in the reed shower stall.  Ate nshima, greens and village chicken.
   
One of my favorite times was visiting the grandmother of one of the village church children's workers.  She had a stroke a number of years ago and is bedridden.  This family takes such good care of her.  They move her outside during the day, change her diapers (and Depends are not available) and feed her.  She has no bedsores and even had pet therapy with the family cat! It was good to meet her and talk with the family and pray with them.  She has been a faithful member of the church.

 Wonderful women of the village who welcomed and worked hard for us.

 Patients waiting to be seen.

Exciting times seeing patients in a room that needed the bat droppings swept out first.

The team.

Two days ago I got my dirt and we started the makings of my demonstration gardens and transplanted five Moringa trees.  They are in desperate need of planting, growing through their bags and into the ground.  I'm hoping they aren't too big to make it.  Below is the mud brick above ground garden.  Redson and Mr. Daka did a great job.  It is now filled with dirt but I still need to get the plants/seeds.  Next week's project.  I'm doing above ground gardening here because this site has too much water in the clay soil.  The mud bricks can be made in villages.  I'm going to try a concrete brick one also. Later will try some mealie meal bags for tomatoes etc.

From a quiet week to a very exciting and busy one!
Yesterday I took the pediatric specialist test and interviewed with a Zambian doctor panel for the next step in licensing.  I had heard a few stories so was somewhat worried.  The test fit the stories.  Some good and fair questions and then some where all answers were right or none were and the typos were many.  The interview went well.  They asked very pertinent questions to the practice of pediatrics.  It's good to know they are checking that qualified people are working here.  The process took all day long.  Zambians have the patience of saints.  Today I went back to find out my results.  I passed and they have approved me to practice!  I took my papers over to the Ministry of Health so next step completed.  They said to check back Monday since the right person was at a meeting today.  Hoping soon I'll officially be a Zambian doctor.

Tomorrow morning I leave with Amy and her team from the States to go to eastern province, Chipata.  It's the only direction I haven't been.  We are teaming up with a Zambian medical team and one of the US team members is a physician.  We will be doing a health and kids outreach.  Should be exciting.

Little important blessings:  renewed my visa at immigration (while waiting for my work permit approval) today without a problem and he gave me two months before I have to go back.  And the line wasn't even long.

Please pray for one of our fellow Canadian missionaries.  She had to be admitted today to the hospital with abdominal pain.

It has been a quiet week.  Most of the missionaries are off to meetings in South Africa or in the States.  I've had time to read, work in the yard, spend time taking a friend to a clinic and start my next pastoral license class.  I now have the time set for my medical license test and interview.  It is this coming Tuesday at 11 am (May 14th).  Please pray it goes well.  What will be on the test is a little unclear.  I want to  be able to practice medicine here as soon as I can.  Next week two different short term teams from the States will be coming.  Should be exciting sharing with them in ministry.

Yesterday I found my way to University Teaching Hospital and after much walking and asking for directions (helped by very nice people), found the school of medicine dean's office. My interview and test for assessment of competency is scheduled for May 14th. Little bit nervous not knowing what they will ask me. The secretary said they cover questions on surgery, ob/gyn, peds, and internal medicine. Grateful for your prayers.   I impressed myself by finding my way back to my car through the maze of buildings-imagine the first time at any of our U.S. tertiary hospital mazes-it's the same here. I must have walked at least one kilometer. Then unimpressed myself by getting lost on the roads on the way back. Thankful Christine got me turned around and had a lovely lunch with her.

Today we went to the Community Health Evangelism committee/CHE meeting of the group in Nkoloma. They have beautiful gardens and goats. We didn't get to see the goats because they were too far away to walk to today...next time. Also got to see the son of one of the CHEs. He needs further evaluation of his seizures. Pray the process is smooth for the family and he gets the right care. He is three years old and his name is Albert. FYI: Zambians are happy people they just like to look serious for photos. 

Nkoloma CHE gardens...green beans!

We also spent two days camping on the shores of Lake Tangynika.  It was amazing.  I felt like I was at Lake Michigan with the addition of mountains and crocodiles.  Okay, I didn't actually see any crocs, but they are around.  We went swimming anyway.  I got to kayak too.  Hoping we missed the bilharzia and cholera.

We climbed a very rough trail to get to Kalambo Falls, the second tallest falls in Africa.  It was two hours up 5 kilometers.  In the picture below Christine is standing, not kneeling behind me.

The rest of the trail looked mostly like this.  Ten foot grass with a minimal path.  Christine and I were huffing and puffing while Lovemore was singing! Our young men guides were always in front of us so we kept pushing, thinking we were holding them back.  After reaching the Falls, they said we were one of the fastest groups ever.  Some even turn back part way up (I completely understand why).  On the way down they were impressed we only stopped twice because some people stop 10 times for 20 minutes at a time.  I told them if I stopped for that long on the way down, I wouldn't get started again.  Our legs felt like jello.  You could see them shaking.  "You are strong ladies."

                                                                View from the top.

And then come along these guys carrying large, heavy objects on their heads.  I could barely balance carrying only a small back pack and needed to use hands and legs to crawl over some rocks.  We met them going the opposite direction on the way back too.  Gotta have speakers for the party!

Truly is amazing the strength of these people.  Daily they go up this mountain to get to their fields on the plateau.  I maybe able to share some medicine and advice about nutrition, but they can teach me a lot about exercise and persistence.  I more fully understand what the family means when they ask me to make a house call because the patient is too sick to walk to clinic.  

And finally the reward for all that work.  The Kalambo River falling 220 meters. We were watching the birds fly below us...you know you're high up when.  Tanzania is just across the river.

 Amazing tree.  Insert comment about tenacity.

Completely unrelated to the Falls but related to Mpulungu.  Here's the Zambian version of fish and chips.  You can compare it to my previous picture of fish n chips in London.  No, I did not eat the head.  The birds and worms need something.

I apologize for the gap in writing.  Still figuring out the internet here and was very remote when my time ran out.  Christine, Lovemore and I spent an incredible 10 days traveling and training the first level of training classes for community health evangelism in Mpulungu, Zambia.  It is located in the very northern province on the shores of Lake Tangynika.  Depending on your source it's the largest or second largest lake in the world. Mpulungu has about 100,000 people but is spread out and remote.  There is no gas station in town (30 minute drive), no Shoprite (regular grocery store), and one small good restaurant.  Below are the 24 people who finished the first level of training (there are 3).  It was great working with them.  They come from villages spread all up and down the lake; some a 6 hour boat ride away.  

Below Christine and I posing with three of the trainers.  

Below are three amazing people with disabilities that won't be stopped.  They get around by "PET mobiles." These are made in Kitwe by a Christian group.  I've met them at missions conferences but it was great to see them in use.  These people go and visit other people with disabilities, bringing them help.  Makes any of my complaining pointless.

Below is a picture of objects representing the most important problems in the villages in this area, followed by the word descriptions.  Alcoholism, love of money, lack of education, and witchcraft were the top four.  It was very touching to me when the older gentleman put down the cross made of grass to represent lack of the Word of God.  I think 10 of the 11 problems could be fixed by that one.

Below is the group discussing what should be requirements of a community health worker.  Level of education, ability to read or write, and Christian are always interesting to hear different points of view.  

The needs in this area are great.  There are only 2 Zambian doctors in Mpulungu and only 2-3 outlying clinics in the large surrounding area.  Many villages are greater then one day's travel from any medicine or medical care.  Malaria, bilharzia, HIV, malnutrition, and cholera all are present.  People are very traditional in their way of life and beliefs.  Many feel mzungus (white people) bring the mosquitoes.  Fishermen fish only...they don't grow gardens hence lack of micronutrients in a diet lacking veggies.  We heard multiple stories about people turning into crocodiles, climbing mountains in 5 minutes or crossing the lake without a boat (all through witchcraft).  I feel very drawn to this area and people.  I look forward to seeing where God leads.  I am excited to return in a couple months to help with the second level of training of the trainers (TOT2).  We hope to also go out with the local missionary nurses to a few village clinics along the lake.