La Sonya

Friday we visited 3 schools. A large elementary school with such cute little people it made me want to teach again. Then a high school with over 1,000 students all ranging in age from 13 to 30. (hold on while I get on my soap box) The part that makes it hard to understand is that after high school they can take an entrants exam for university. But it’s a very hard test and sometimes/ most of the time it’s more of who you are and not so much how much you know that gets you in. so if they don’t go there what do they do?? This is just one of hundreds of high schools in Tchad. So they can do great things with education but what do they do when they’re done with school? I guess open a business – sewing, mechanic, ect or teach. Sometimes inside I’m afraid that education is a waste. I guess it never is because education kills ignorance and can help self esteem, and encourage a better, healthier living. (Okay, I’m done) The third school we visited, all on the same dirt road, was the Adventist ...

We arrived here last night after a very eventful day. . We left Béré a little after 800 hours for a long hot trip in the back of our hoptial truck. We stopped in Kelo to give a shout out to our favorite postmaster – Papa Jacob. He’s so funny, I told him we would be leaving in 2 months and he asked me if we would send him anything. I just assured him we would. He also asked Esther if she was feeling better and if she was strong, which of course she is and has been since Christmas. But he wasn’t convinced then. At least he let her take the boxes by herself this time. I’ve noticed that every time I live in a foreign country I always develop a specials relationship with the mail people. I guess it’s because they are my only connection to home – my connection to the outside world. After we got the mail we headed out for a hot journey to Pala, then on to Lere. From Béré to Pala the five of us westerners sat in the bed of the truck. It was us 4 SMs and Stan. It was definitely crowded in the b...

With Stan’s arrival came a long awaited present from Andrea. It was a video she had put together for me. She originally sent it the day after Christmas in box that has yet to show it’s face around here. The video included things from all around Southern and a whole hoop-la of friends from back there. Right away when Stan gave it to me Saturday night I watched it. It was lovely, it was so fun to watch the people I love back home! I laughed I cried I was moved :o). I think even if most everyone didn’t know the people in the video, they enjoyed it too. Secretly I had plans on watching the video at least a couple hundred times before I would be tired of it. Since I had known about the video I had talked about it to my famil back at my hut. So the following night I got out the corn kernels and onion salt to whip up a batch of popcorn with my famil, cooked over a coal fire in a wire basket (the thing they always use for cooking) then we all sat down together and ate popcorn and watched a mo...

23/2/08 What will life be like when I get home? We haven’t had internet now for 22 days. I have no idea what’s going on at home. I’ve only talked a bit to my parents, Andrea, and now Alexa. But what about the daily lives of my friends? What’s been going on? We’ve got this theory here with the SMs the longer it takes you to reply to emails the less people reply to you, hence less and less emails. It’s also making the planning process for going home, planning my work at camp and working on options for work or Grad school after camp. Life outside of Africa has come to a standstill. Life inside has definitely not come to a standstill. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4/3/08 Can’t believe it’s already the 3rd month of the year! Next month I’m 25! Since so much has happened in such a short amount of time I am going to tell some back stories. This one is from Friday Feb 22. Stan’s coming! Tonight we went to the Béré welcome sign ...

Editor's Note: These are several blogs that were all written in February and part of March when there was no internet. No guarantees they're in order... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***News update*** Rebel forces are 400km outside the capital. They want the Pres to come out and fight in the dessert. They’ve been reinforced with all sorts of weaponry from Sudan. Here’s where it gets tricky. Sudan is in support of the Tchadian rebels and they are because Tchad is in support of the Sudan rebels. (They’re from the same tribe as the pres, Dibie). So basically they (Sudan and Tchad) very well could be at war with each other! At least I’ve gotten to talk with Andrea. Mom or Dad hasn’t been able to get through yet – I sure wish they could! But I have a feeling we won’t be using the internet for quite a while. I have always wanted to go to a refugee camp and work in a war torn country or a war zone and now it looks like I just mi...

Communication has greatly improved since last Sunday! It must be a sign things will be over soon. I got a phone call! Yup me! It was Andrea. She said everyone had been concerned and worried about us! I figured that she probably knew about the coup because of being in communication with Stan , the short term pilot from Cdale, but apparently my parents had known! And were a bit (to put it lightly) concerned! She said Maria found out Sat night. Good ol’ Tia Sole who loves the BBC. That was all fairly early on. Then since Andrea’s helping Gail out while she’s on a business trip on Monday when Daddy called the SM office and was concerned for me it was Andrea, someone he knew who was able to talk to him. She just told him all she had been doing to stay informed which was basically checking our three bogs. Mom called too and it was again Andrea who was able to talk to her. Through out Friday night both Liz and Esther talked with their parents and they reported that my dad had been in contac...

Right now we are stuck in a quandary because there’s not a whole lot of time left yet there is. 3 months can be a lot, yet it can also pass like the blink of an eye. It’s like Heather May said, “It’s like ridding down hill on a bike; you just put your feet out and go wee”. James changed his plans on leaving. He’s decided to travel with Sarah after all. This means they are leaving Béré on Tuesday. It’s put us all in the going home mind set. We can imagine being here without James and Sarah? But we don’t blame him for leaving early. It’s hard on him. Imagine never being able to really go home from work, having no choice but to help at all hours of the night, knowing you’re the only one anywhere close by who could help. It’s a lot of pressure for 1 person. Pray for another doctor to come here. We don’t blame them for heading out on vacation while we’re still here. We’re just going to miss them greatly. Friday nights won’t be the same any more, neither will our “family” get tog...

If you are reading this blog that means my email fast is over!!! Of course it was an email fast that I did not start out of my own will. But it was a fast by any means. In fact it was a 40 days and 40 nights fast. I learned a lot during it. I spent less time at the computer and more time at the hospital or watching movies on the computer because I did not need the battary to write. But during the time I learned to wait on God. I learned that at times in our life I just need to be quite and realize that God is incontrol of me and my future. He's got my life in His hands. I don't need to worry about it. Besides if I am for God who can be against me. If I am where God wants me to be and I go where he wants me to go than Who cares about anything else! I am not afraid because It is for God that I work! I will die for Him if He askes me to! So thank you rebels for attacking my capital over a month ago so that I could realize once again that God is who I work and live for!!

The start of the night shift was not going well. I only wanted to be helpful and it felt like I was being a bother on all sides. Then I was being proposed to a billion times and I can only fight the battle of polygamy for so long until I just get anger and want to leave. Then a woman came in with a breech birth and wanted to refuse a C-section I was shocked. Then James explained to her the risks and the whole process and they agreed to it. They were in the process of paying for it when the phone rang again. Wanting to not have to ask them to call back yet again I told Liz to go and that I’d finish with the family. Now unfortunately for the situation we’d told them a number first and then after James corrected us the price jumped from less than 20$ to 60$. I was having trouble explaining myself to him when another nurse came in and he started to try and help explain but as he was talking to me he was very loud and I very much dislike it when someone assumes that because I don’t understa...

This is Andrea the blog manager again. I have recently been made aware that Sonya would like you all to know that she would love to write more blogs (indeed, she probably has a stack waiting), but still is unable to email because the internet is still down. There is still hope that it might be back soon, but until then, I write this on her behalf. Sonya also wanted everyone to know that she delivered a baby ALL BY HERSELF the other day. How many Social Work graduates can say THAT? And finally, Sonya wishes to extend a reminder and invitation to any and all who wish to contact her by phone, at least until the email is back up (although I'm sure she wouldn't mind it even after it is back up). Remember to be sensitive of the 6 hour time difference however (she's 6 hours ahead of Eastern Time). That number once again... My number is: (011-235) 964-3799 Esther is: (011-235) 681-0567 Cheers, Andrea