Compliments of the Season

 “Compliments of the Season!” “Happy Christmas!” “Happy 2014!”  These were the three most frequent comments heard during the holiday season here in Zambia.  Even though I live in Zambia – officially an English speaking country – by the twists on the English language, idioms, and slang I grew up with, I can say that, “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” 

The holiday season was definitely packed with excitement.  We seem to have had a nonstop stream of family and friends in Lusaka over the last few months! 

1. Dr. Omar Hanuch, Dr. Andrea Sandoz, and their three children (Manuel, Felipe, and Cecilia), from Rochester, NY, visited us in Zambia for three weeks (December 15, 2013 – January 3, 2014).  

Omar is an experienced ophthalmologist, and it was great having him around to bounce ideas off.   

Andrea is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, and she was able to give some lectures to the Psychiatry residents at University Teaching Hospital.  

Manuel and Felipe, both teenage boys, helped out doing visual acuities and organizing things (like the big box of eyeglass frames that were donated by one of Cornerstone Eye Associates’ frame vendors).  They even spent a few days with PJ Minor helping build a “One-Day School” and a “One-Day Church.”  

 

Little 8-year-old Cecilia, a gymnast, artist, and pianist, helped babysit Jaycee, keeping her entertained and giggling.  Colored rubber bands are the "thing" these days, and Ceci was able to make some beautiful bracelets and works of art.  Jaycee just liked to play with them and wear them. 

By the end of the Hanuch family stay, Jaycee had learned how to dribble a soccerball (thanks, Felipe) and do a headstand (with Ceclia’s support). After so much play time, she certainly was a happy camper.

Many thanks to the Hanuch family, Cornerstone Eye Associates, Genesse Park Blvd SDA Church, and Manuel’s high school (Harley School) who were able to raise money for the purchase of much-needed surgical microinstruments for Lusaka Eye Hospital!

2.  Christmas Day was celebrated in a special way with the Hanuch family and the Minor family by going out to the local community to sing Christmas carols and give out gifts.   

Our keyboard in tow in the bed of the truck, which we eventually plugged into our generator, played to the tune of violin accompaniment by PJ and Manuel, we were able to recruit a small audience.  However, when the gifts started to come out, it turned into a small mob, as everyone wanted a bar of soap or pair of jeans.   

The whole ordeal frightened little Cecilia to tears, but everyone eventually calmed down and seemed to appreciate the effort we had made to share Christ and some of the gifts we had prepared.  The Christmas lunch, prepared lovingly by Carla Minor and Mom, was especially tasty after that adventure under the hot sun. 

3.  Paul and Dr. Matt Hayden from International Caring Hands were able to reconnect and serve the people of Zambia using the mobile dental clinic once again.  They were able to provide free dental care to the people of Kafue. 

4. My cousin-in-law, Dr. Tae-Woong Im, and his daughter, Taylin Im, also had the opportunity to visit us in Zambia for a little over two weeks (December 26, 2013 – January 10, 2014)!  Although they arrived the day after Christmas, their arrival truly felt like Santa bringing huge bags of presents to eager children on Christmas Day.  The large bags were filled with exotic tasting snacks (like Happy Cola candy or Wasabi flavored rice crackers), presents for Jaycee (thanks, Helen, Jaycee LOVES the pink roller bag/backpack and clothes you got her), presents for us (Bluetooth speaker), and goodies sent from my parents. 

My niece, Taylin, an accomplished pianist and bright college student from Brown University, had a chance to shadow me in clinic and in the operating theatre.  Try as I might to convince her that ophthalmology is the best.field.ever, I’m not so sure I succeeded.  =)  I remember that tender age of 20 as if it were just yesterday – having dreams and goals, but not sure any of them were going to come to fruition.  Regardless of what field she ends up pursuing, I’m sure Taylin will be amazing at whatever she does.  

During the time they were here, Tae acted as my personal business and management consultant.  He has built up two hospitals back in California, has had to deal with all the administrative challenges that I am learning to face, and has had to strategize on ways to improve efficiency or terminate doctors sensitively or motivate slacking employees.  He took time to observe how things ran at my hospital, then offered feedback and suggestions on how to make it work better.  All at no charge!  =)  Thanks, Tae, for the long chats over the dinner table.  You have no idea how much verbalizing some of the problems and solutions has helped me become a better leader. 

5. No year is complete without finishing it off with a trip to Victoria Falls!  Paul, Paul’s Mom, Tae, Taylin, Jaycee, and I spent some time down in Livingstone from December 30, 2013 – January 2, 2014.  The highlight of the trip definitely included our time whitewater rafting down the Zambezi River.   

Jaycee was a little underage for the whitewater rafting, so she stayed back at the hotel with Mom.   

She especially enjoyed the swimming pool.  

 

 

But, we thoroughly enjoyed an experience that has been dubbed by both National Geographic and Frommers as one of the top 10 whitewater rafting experiences in the world!

 

 

 

 6. Immediately following our trip to Livingstone, we headed out for a weekend getaway and Part 2 of our New Year Adventure, to a place we had heard about but had never ventured before.  The Lower Zambezi.  This is a National Park that is known for its wildlife and beauty.  Unfortunately, since it is the rainy season, we could not drive to the National Park.  Thus, we were forced to charter a private plane, which was to land on a short straight airstrip 5 minutes from the lodge.   

The flight was supposed to last only about 25 minutes, but as we arrived at the airstrip we ended up turning around and going all the way back to Lusaka, as the pilot found the clouds too low for us to land.  

 

5 hours later, after a significant clearing of the dense rain clouds, we finally tried again, this time landing safely near the Royal Zambezi Lodge. 

The game drives were different from others we had been on – much more green and lush, much more rain and mud to slosh through.  

One of the game drives turned into the off-roading adventure of our lives, as the Range Rover worked its 4x4 to the max, sloshing mud everywhere, driving through rivers, getting stuck a few times, and finally breaking down (fortunately another safari vehicle was able to pick us up).  

It is always a thrill to see the majestic and beautiful cats – leopard and lion – on any safari trip.   

 

The river safaris were great, with tons of crocs and hippos to view. 

 

 

 And the canoe trip down one of the channels off the Zambezi River was serene and peaceful. 

 

7. After that escapade and arriving home tired on Sunday night, it was back to work on Monday! The trend is for January to be extremely slow, but by God’s grace our clinics and theatre days have been filled and busy.  We are especially grateful for the fact that we have a donation of 8-10 corneal tissues coming in this week, brought by Midwest Eye Banks, and facilitated by the group of American ophthalmologists that volunteer their services at the Zimba Eye Clinic.  We are also very grateful to Loma Linda University’s Global Outreach office (especially to you, Jerry Daly), for sending us a huge air shipment filled with amazing things like a donated operating chair, nasopharyngeal airways and trach tubes, ophthalmic suture, gloves, ophthalmoscope/otoscope wall units, pulse oximeters, eye drops, etc.  This is such a generous gesture on the part of Loma Linda University’s Global Health Initiative, and it is certainly greatly appreciated. 

8.  Back at home, we continue to attend the Lusaka Eye Hospital SDA Church.  In the last few weeks, we have seen some progress when it comes to installing benches at our church, and we hope that the benches will finally be installed by June 2014.  It’s great to have a bit of back support during our long church services. 

Jaycee is now able to participate in the children’s Sabbath School.  She enjoys listening and clapping to the children’s songs, and she doesn’t seem to mind when others play with her hair. 

 

9.  By the way, we have recently gotten wind of a new little video clip that was made by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission, featuring the work at Lusaka Adventist Dental Services and Lusaka Eye Hospital.  Enjoy!

The End.

 

That Was Fun

1.  Chirundu Dental Outreach

Paul always enjoys venturing out into the bush, providing dental care to the needy. In the middle of October, he headed out with a team from Oregon, International Caring Hands, headed by Dr. Matt Hayden and Mr. Randy Meyer, who have brought out a fully fitted mobile dental clinic for the work in Zambia.  

Out of this mobile clinic, the team was able to have a fully functioning, generator run, comfortably air-conditioned two-chair dental clinic in the middle of nowhere.  

2. Senanga Eye/Dental Camp

On a Tuesday morning in the month of October, at the early hour of 05:00 am before the crushing Zambian summer heat had a chance to raise its head, our team of 10 individuals boarded a bus for yet another eye/dental camp experience.  This time, the team included Mom & Dad.  Their first mission trip of their lives.  And of course, our nanny and Jaycee tagged along.  

We were off to a remote area in Western Province.  A total of 10 hours by bus – 8 hours west to Mongu, through the Kafue National Park, then another 2 hours south to a little town called Senanga – the trip seemed to last forever.  We passed mile after mile of mud huts with thatched roofs, children sitting in the shade of the shelter, smiling and waving carefreely as our bus zoomed by – as if they knew us and that we were there to help their people.  Barber shops and makeshift tuck shops along the side of the road.  Huge bundles of charcoal for sale for any interested passers-by.  The sleepy villages awakened as we sped by, and soon the heat of the day beat down relentlessly upon our Eye Hospital bus.  Windows were cracked open for any relief from the heat, and we slowly inched away from the window that exposed us to the hot October African sun.

Finally, covered in dirt, with blackened nostrils, we arrived in Senanga.  Almost on cue, after parking the bus in front of the district hospital and unloading all of our eye equipment, we were greeted with a sudden torrent of rain and fierce wind.  “You’ve brought the rains!” happily exclaimed one of the locals from Senanga to our team.  It was the first rains after the more-than-six-months period of a dry season.  And, indeed, it felt refreshing to feel the moisture fill the atmosphere after such a period of arid heat. 

We settled into our guesthouse (definitely not five stars by any means).  Feel free to place your own star rating based on this picture of our bathroom sink faucet. 

The mosquito net seemed a bit too small for two.  The evangelistic crusade 3 blocks away seemed to be just outside our windows, with the loudspeakers blaring singing and preaching into our room until late at night.  Finally, we drifted off to a deep, exhausted sleep – a sweet, refreshing sleep after a long day of traveling. 

The next day, our eye team prepared for a long day of surgery, while Paul’s team prepared for their dental work.  

We completed surgeries on 23 patients, most of whom had very mature, dense, rock-hard cataracts (aka “cata-rocks”).  What an experience – for the first time in our lives to work side by side with my own mother (who has been a registered nurse for years - OR scrub nurse and circulating nurse, in addition to post-op care nurse) – out in the bush of Africa. 

 

Thursday, we saw all the post-ops – my favorite part of any eye camp.  Hearing patients say, “I can see,” never gets tiring. 

Before their postop check, they were asked to wash the ointment out of their eyes.  They obediently did so, gathered around an outdoor tap.

We had saved Thursday for the second eyes of patients who had bilateral cataracts.  So 6 patients that had been completely blind in both eyes just two days earlier ended up getting this sight-restoring surgery in their other eye.  A girl who had undergone trauma with a stick from a tree just two days earlier during the sudden downpour and storm underwent an exploration; fortunately her globe was intact and not ruptured.  Friday morning, we quickly saw our post-ops and made some purchases (the local staff all bought plenty of fish; we all got rice and mangos) before making the long trip back to Lusaka.  And by God’s grace, we made it back safely. 

3. South Luangwa National Park

My parents had not yet seen the beauty and majesty of South Luangwa National Park, so as their treat and reward for so diligently babysitting and cooking for our family for two whole months we decided to head to the Eastern Province for a few days of rest, relaxation, and game-viewing.  

 

We convinced our friends, the Minor family, to join us in our adventures, so that made the trip even more enjoyable.  This was Jaycee’s first safari where she was aware enough of animals to point to every single impala, bird, elephant, and lion.  Emphatically.  Vocalizing the same word over and over: “eun-ttah.”  One day, when she’s more verbal, I’d like to ask her for a literal translation of “eun-ttah.”  This is Jaycee pointing at a sleeping lion.

Getting to see the pride of 21 lions on several different occasions was a treat.  This is the lions devouring a baby hippo.

 And this is what they look like after their huge meal.

The view of animals from our lodge was absolutely amazing, with all kinds of game passing by constantly to drink from the stream.  You'll notice the zebras in the background. 

Besides the pain of getting eaten alive by Tsetse flies (and having such a bad allergic reaction that my ankles swelled to double its size), it was a lovely vacation.  I even got a birthday surprise with all the waiters singing a Zambian twist to the birthday song and a nice birthday cake!

4. Christian Medical Fellowship of Zambia

During the first weekend of November, our family had the opportunity to attend the National Conference for the Christian Medical Fellowship of Zambia.  It was held in a lovely location, Fringilla Farm, and the theme of the conference was, “Practicing Medicine in the Image of Christ.”  We had the opportunity to meet and fellowship with other Christian doctors and medical students in the country, and it was a chance to get away from Lusaka to listen to some inspiring messages.  Jaycee especially enjoyed the gigantic playground. 

So much so, she didn't want to leave.

5.  Loma Linda University International Ophthalmology Rotation

As we said goodbye to my parents at the end of October, we awaited yet another guest into our home.  Nicole Kohan, a senior ophthalmology resident from Loma Linda University, is the second resident to come all the way from Loma Linda to Zambia for her international elective.  

Her stay was the highlight of our month of November. We spent quite a lot of time together in the operating theatre, in clinic, and over the dinner table chatting about the meaning of life and our future goals and dreams.  She advanced quickly in her surgical skills and competence, especially in the manual small incision cataract surgery technique.  

I especially enjoyed her work of art during her lecture to the clinicians during our Thursday lecture sessions.   

The month passed quickly, and before we knew it, Nicole’s husband, Emil, all too soon had arrived so they could spend the last week traveling together, and then he whisked her away back to the U.S.   

She had quickly become part of our family, and so we miss her dearly. 

6.  Peace Corps Volunteer

We also had the pleasure of hosting Brian Lee, a Peace Corps volunteer working in Rwanda, for a few days during the Thanksgiving holidays.  After hearing about his situation in Rwanda (cooking and even baking over a charcoal fire, etc.), it reminded me never to complain about my oven-that-doesn’t-shut-off-when-it-reaches-a-certain-temperature.  I’m just lucky to have an oven.  And electricity.  Although I’m a missionary living in Africa, I still have so many luxuries life has to offer.  Its always good to put things into perspective, remind myself that I should complain less and always be thankful for what I have.

Brian’s presence added one number to our low-key festivities for the Thanksgiving holidays.  Thanksgiving Day was directly preceded by Paul’s birthday this year, so Brian got to join us in that small celebration as well. 

7.  Annie Yoo

The start of December not only brought in the festive month, but also my mother-in-law! Besides the fact that during one layover in Beijing she had an encounter with a smooth-talking Chinese man who demanded $100 from her for helping transport her from one terminal to the next and attempted to take her luggage hostage while she screamed for help with her powerful singer’s voice until he ran away, she has arrived safely and happily into Lusaka.

What a blessing it is to have her here for the next 5½ months!  She is able to help take care of Jaycee while we’re at work.  Plus, makes the most awesome food.  Nom, nom, nom! 

8.  Visiting Ophthalmologist

Drs. Omar Hanuch and Andrea Sandoz in addition to their three children, from Rochester, NY, have arrived in Lusaka today!  We look forward to these next few weeks of serving with them. 

9.   It’s Lonely at the Top

As we reflect on the last year of both institutions – Lusaka Eye Hospital and Lusaka Adventist Dental Services – we are thankful for the steady growth and progress that we have seen.  Both institutions continue to be financially stable. 

LADS has been doing very well financially.  This supports our suspicion that the local patient population is now beginning to trust the Lusaka Adventist Dental Services once again.  Paul is definitely doing his best to provide quality care for each of his patients.  Word of mouth is strong here, as Lusaka is really “one big village.”  The Dental side has also spent some funds on capital projects this year: building a wall fence around their back property, reroofing the dental clinic, repainting much of the clinic, and purchasing attractive mirrors and décor for the inside.  They have also managed to fit their clinic with an all-digital x-ray system as well as fix their Panorex machine.   

Ultradent (a quality dental supplies company) has generously donated supplies and material for the work out here.  Another great recent development has been the sponsorship of Beit Trust to purchase and install two new Adec dental chairs for the clinic.

LEH continues to work with different donors and partners (Radian Stores/LG, Colin Glassco Foundation, Standard Chartered Bank, Sightsavers International, and Cheshire Homes).  We have obtained donations from the Loma Linda University School of Medicine’s National Auxiliary (B scan and portable A scan machine), Loma Linda University/Adventist Health International (surgical microinstruments, gloves, disposables), Alcon (cataract kits), and individuals (thank you, Enoch, Kar-Yee, and Mervyn).  We have been able to upgrade equipment (including the purchase of much-needed computers for or hospital, fixing one small autoclave, fixing our hospital-grade washing machine, etc.). We have seen staff come and go.  The dirt road to LEH has been partially tarred, which is big news for our area!  This will help improve patient access to the hospital, especially during the rainy season. New directional road signs have finally been placed (after a year of paperwork through the Town Council).  We have even managed to create a new logo for Lusaka Eye Hospital!

And we continue to have successes, but we also continue to have struggles.  Trying to guide and lead an institution in the African/Zambian cultural context has not been easy.  No matter what you do, it seems to be wrong.  My administrative committee worked very hard last year to create a working policy with the hope of protecting the institution and placing some guidelines that we can follow, but now some individuals are wanting to get rid of policies. We have tried so hard to increase staff salaries and benefits, despite our difficult financial situation, but some still complain about their paycheck.  I have tried to lead the institution prayerfully and transparently, cleaning up our books, having each department give regular reports, and I have been accused of being power-hungry, overstepping my boundaries, and not trusting the local Zambian staff.  The best intentions of any leader often go misunderstood, which is why it is often lonely at the top.  But despite our challenges, I see how far we have come in this past year, and I believe the Lord will continue to guide our future.  

Please continue to keep our institutions in prayer, as that is what keeps us going!