an ambulance? *3*

Afenkyia Pa! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year...

I've now been here for a little over a month and have seen 4 births. The clinic is far from bustling... and i'm antsy for a little more action!

My house is about 1 mile from the clinic, down a long dusty road. Every morning, taxis speed up and down, honking their horns and leave me in a cloud of red dirt. by the time i finally arrive at work i'm a shade darker....just one step closer to fitting in! unfortunately that will never be the case.

the walk alone is both exhilirating and exhausting. i guess it depends on the day. being a white girl walking through the village is somewhat comparable to being the most exotic float in a National Parade. People gather around and oogle at me, some are brave enough to reach their hands out and lightly brush against my skin (i still wonder what they expect), others jump up and down and cheer me along, and I, I just walk with my head held high. its really strange. i thought the excitement would die down by this time, but alas it has not!

some days i get a little frisky and squirt the kids with water, or stop and do a little dance. i made a mistake of shaking some childs tiny grubby hand, and in a matter of 5 seconds i was surrounded by at least 30. i don't really enjoy shaking hands in the first place, if i could make failure to wash hands a petty crime, i would. i prefer hugging, i think its more sanitary. people don't wipe with their arms, or their chests. so anyways, it seems i had gotten myself into a quandary, so i quickly fixed it.

now when i walk through the village, the children run up to me and point their fingers out like Tinkerbell and then i take my pinkie finger, and lightly touch the end of theirs.

its perfect. i've appeased the more neurotic part of myself and am connecting with the locals.

once i make it within the distance of the clinic, some adult usually comes out to greet me and aggressively shoo of my followers.

i'm starting to understand the reasons for Jesus' travel tactics, over water, at night, in secret. i can't imagine performing miracles and healing's and trying to make it through a town/village without getting mobbed, or just trying to make it through period.

so more about the clinic... its official name is The Huttel Health Clinic. it is a 1 story structure separated into 3 different entities; the ward where sick men and women stay, the maternity section, and an office and dispensary. i have been floating around, checking out what happens in all the areas, mostly because there isn't much to do in maternity if no one is giving birth.

the midwife i am working under is 60+ years and has been doing this line of work for quite some time. Her name is Ma and she reminds me of a foghorn. Shes very stationary and very loud, and large. It seems i have only seen her in 3 spots since i've known her. one is behind her desk, the other is sitting in her living room in a chair leaning against the wall (where a big vertical black grease mark has accumulated from her hair, i think?) and the other is between patients legs.

a woman will come in, clearly in labor, and Ma doesn't leave her spot until the last possible second.

"is it coming?" she asks.

i can see the little tuft of hair making its way into the world and the lady seems to be pushing harder than ever so yes, that seems like a good sign that the baby is coming.

"YESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!"

"okay, okay." she says. and gets up to walk over and deliver the child.

we are operating on two different extremes. she is very casual about labor and delivery, i am not. she laughs at me when i reach my hand out so it can be gripped fiercely during contractions and tells me

"its okay. its painful. you can't help them."

Ma has a real assistant (that is not me) who runs around like an army ant doing all the grunt work and i envy her job so much. i keep telling her (she goes by Efreeyeh) that i can help do whatever she needs me to do. She looks at me and laughs and sometimes lets me do stuff and sometimes does it all herself.

the other day i was sitting in the office when a taxi pulls up and a woman wobbles out, just about to have her baby right there on the grass.
i ran over to her and helped her walk inside.
Efreeyeh was ready with gloves on, but Ma was nowhere to be found. I was ordered to run to the back of the clinic (where Ma lives) and call for her. So i sprinted faster than i could have imagined and called for Ma. She was sitting in her living room, leaned up against her favorite spot. I ran back to the clinic just in time as the woman was pushing and the baby was coming. The umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby's neck, making it impossible for him to come all the way out.

This is a situation i have read about and have considered high risk and dramatic.

Efreeyeh dealt with it beautifully. Shes young (22) and her hands are not as wise and gentle as Ma's, but after about 10 seconds, the kid let out first a gurgled, then throaty cry, and Ma walked in to see us 3 all sweaty and inexperienced, proud of a job well done.

after each birth, Ma plops down on her chair and praises Jesus over and over. "oh thank you yesu! thank you yesu!" it adds flair to the situation and helps remind me how fragile and out of our control those moments really are, and how it needs to be guided in prayer, how every moment naturally is a prayer for the baby to come and be healthy, and for the mother to live.

The clinic is far from any hospital so if any serious complications should occur it could be tragic. the organization no longer has an ambulance, one of the many things that have broken down. They asked me if i could buy them an ambulance, that it is only about 2,000 dollars. I said I'm afraid that i don't have those type of funds, but i would put the word out to my friends and family (which is what i'm doing now :)) and i'll see what happens. so there it is, if you feel led in any way small or large, please contact me!

i'm on vacation now for a few days on the other side of the country, staying with my buddy and his father. this morning i delighted in simple pleasures, like running water, electricity, and T.V. I watched a show with Senams father about "the myths of eating oysters" then switched it over to the other channel which featured a Mexican Soap Opera. We chatted a bit about China possibly taking over Taiwan and the prospects of introducing Family Planning (population control) into rural Ghana. Things are casual and going well. I'll be returning to the village in a few days, 2007, and wish you all a wonderful new year full of love and lessons, and remember i cherish your emails!!!!!!!!!