Update Lettter DRC July 2016

Hello, all,

I’m writing to you from my desk in Nyankunde.  I was able to take a little bit of vacation to see 2 of my sisters and my nephew at the beginning of June.  I’m sure if you’ve been following along this last year, nothing seems to go quite as planned.  When I scheduled some time off, I had planned on taking the bus with a friend of mine from here to Uganda, then leaving a day or two later to fly to Spain to meet up with Heidi, Sarah, and Xavier.  I was going to take 2 weeks in Spain to rest and relax, and then fly back to Nyankunde through different flights.  What ended up happening was completely different, but ended up being good.

My friend who supposed to travel with me had to leave earlier to take care of her mom.  So, I started looking for different ways to get from Nyankunde to Entebbe, from where my flight was to be leaving.  I called, e-mailed and asked around.  It seemed like the only option was to fly with MAF (Mission Aviation Foundation) to Uganda.  But, about 4 or 5 days beforehand I got a message from the Samaritan’s Purse (SP) program director  for the DRC that there was someone leaving from Beni (a town south of here) and that I could catch a ride with them, but I’d have to leave the next day.  I was excited to go.  I had been working a little too much and was more than ready to take some time off.  So, I already had most of my stuff packed and ready to go.  I walked down to my neighbors’ house to see if I could catch a ride with them….take a ride north in order to get south.

We, the Dutch physicians who will be moving to a different area to help support another small hospital, and I headed off the next day by car to Bunia where I was supposed to be able to get to Beni.  We went on our way.  We got stuck for a short time in the mud trying to take the road to the newly completed bridge project, stopped on our way to get mangos, and then stopped at the hospital in Bunia.

We had been travelling only a short time on the hour and a half drive to Bunia when I noticed that the bug bite on the back of Willem’s neck was getting worse and he started itching.  About three quarters of the way to Bunia he started clearing his throat and his face started swelling slightly.  When we arrived in town I told him to immediately go to the pharmacy where we got some medication, but he was getting significantly worse in the 5 minutes we were at the pharmacy.  So, we headed to the branch of our hospital in Bunia where he proceeded to get treatment for anaphylactic shock (severe allergic reaction) for that bug bite he had gotten earlier in the day.

It’s amazing how quickly he responded to the treatment, once we were able to locate the medication.  After getting a second round of treatment, I took them to the airport in Bunia to fly back to Nyankunde, instead of their intended destination to start setting up their new house.  I then took their car to the local garage in order to get some repairs that were planned.

Definitely unexpected, but we were so thankful that we weren’t farther from town, that we knew the hospital, that we have the knowledge to know how to treat the problem, and we had the resources to do so.  And, I was thankful that I was there to help Joanna.  She was a bit overwhelmed with how sick her husband was on top of trying to take care of a 1 year old child who needed to constantly move about.

Well, I stayed in Bunia overnight and then was scheduled to take a flight with the UN (United Nations) from Bunia to Beni because the road had been closed because of rebel activity.  I was supposed to be staying with some friends of mine in Beni until riding with someone from SP to Uganda (I know this is really complicated).  So, I got a ride to the airport, checked in with the UN people in a separate area, and then went to their waiting room.  Well, 20 minutes later they come in to say that they would not be going to Beni.  So, I gathered up my carry on and my 2 suitcases full of random things like Spanish books and quilts that accidently made it here, and I headed on my way to the main part of the airport in order to see if I could catch the flight to Entebbe with MAF, which I found totally ironic considering I was trying to avoid this in the first place.  Thankfully, they had the space for me and my luggage.

While I was waiting in the airport again, I ran into a missionary for Wycliffe (translate the Bible into other languages) where she was sending off her first group of visitors since moving to the Congo 7 years ago.  I started talking with some of the people that had come from her church to meet people and pray for them.  They then offered to pray with me.

I don’t know if you’ve ever had the experience of someone else telling you exactly what you needed to know or hear without talking about it beforehand, but that was the experience for me.  She prayed for strength, perseverance, and the ability to work in a difficult environment with love and patience.  It was like a balm to me.  That started my travels right and encouraged me in the work I had been doing.

Without much delay, we got on the flight to Entebbe.  Where, on take-off, I had an instant feeling of peace and freedom.  Something I have been struggling with in Nyankunde.  And, it has continued ever since I came back.

Well, the adventure didn’t end in Bunia.  It continued in Entebbe, Uganda.  Because I had made such last minute changes on a Friday, I didn’t have any lodging or transportation in Uganda.  And, as I became aware of that fact, I realized that I didn’t have any minutes on my cell phone.  So, after hanging out for 6 hours at the airport waiting to see if I could change my flight to Spain, I grabbed my bags and headed out to the area where I could buy some minutes for my phone and start calling around to find where I could stay and how I could get there.  It was a bit of a fiasco, but one of the taxi guys outside the airport let me use his phone (mine was now dead) to call someone in the DRC who called someone in Uganda who called yet another person who called me back with directions to where I was supposed to be staying.

After a 3 hour car ride and a stop at KFC (if you can believe it), I made it to the SP guest house in Kampala where no one was told to expect me.  Thankfully, someone that I knew opened the door.  I was welcomed in, given a room, and then told to explain how I’d gotten there.

I spent the next week in Kampala.  I had another adventure there which included spending 4 days traveling all over the capital city in order to get a multi-entry visa into the country, which I still have not gotten, a surprising friendship with the new finance manager for SP in Uganda who had just moved from the Philippines, and the opportunity to raft down the Nile river in a town called Jinja.  After a very good, mostly restful, and interesting week, I made my way back to Entebbe to catch a flight to Spain.

I was able to spend 2 weeks enjoying the company of my 2 sisters and nephew as we spent most of the time at the beach, the pool, or the park.  We went pretty much tech free during our time there, which allowed us time to talk, to argue a little, to share life, to play games, and to just rest.  It was definitely needed on my end to see family and to be off from work.  And, I even got to celebrate my birthday with them.  It was a great blessing for me to be there, to see a different part of the world, to meet some great people, and to leave the responsibilities in a different country.

So, the return home was not so adventurous.  I did get delayed again in Uganda, but made it back home to Nyankunde without any real incidence, other than my 2 suitcases with medical supplies are still at the airport in Bunia, I hope.

I’ve been back to work over a week now with a lot of interesting cases that they seemed to save up for me while I’ve been gone just over 3 weeks.  But, it doesn’t seem as overwhelming as when I left.  I try to take one day at a time, one patient at a time, and try to rest when I can.  I’m thankful to have Joanna back (the Dutch physician working in maternity) who helps share the load in the maternity ward.  She will be missed when they move to their new hospital. 

I’ve also decided to give the majority of the administrative responsibilities back to the medical director and administrative staff of the hospital.  It was frustrating me to have to try and direct the administrative side of things when I was expected to change things but had no authority and no backing from the administration to do so.  Letting go of this responsibility has given me freedom to work better and to spend more time in the community rather than to focus energy on something I can’t change.

So, I’ll focus on the things I can change: my own attitude and actions.  I can’t change the circumstances, but I can respond with kindness and compassion, and I can do my work well.  I’ve been reading in the book of Philippians lately.  You should take a look.  It’s quite challenging to look at the standard, especially the second chapter.

Thanks for your continued prayers and support.  Thanks for sharing in this adventure with me.  I know I don’t write to you often enough, but I think of you often and am thankful for you.  Please, write.  I’m happy to respond when the internet is working.

Much love,

Michelle

Project Opportunity

Our ultrasound machine is not working very well and is very important to the work that we do here.  We found a really good deal on a new machine, but I do need some help in covering the cost.  The price for the machine with all the equipment and shipping will be around $9000.  If you are interested or know anyone who is, let me know (medoran82@aol.com).  I’ve already started the process of ordering it with the help of SP.

Prayer

1.     That I will be able to locate and get my 2 suitcases with medical supplies fully in tact.

2.     Praise God that I’ve been healthy for the last several months.

3.     For the staff as they often work without pay.  Pray also that the administration would find a way to better manage their money.

4.     Pray that we can find someone who is honest and good at their work to

manage the replacement of the piping from the water source to the hospital.

5.     Pray for peace in this area.

6.     Pray as I think about checking out another hospital in central Africa with Samaritan’s Purse.

Timeline (very tentative):

February 2017-travel to Thailand for 2 weeks for medical conference
June 2017-contract ends
July-October 2017-work in the US (and maybe even pay off my student loans!)

October 2017-take the last step of my board exams

Contact:

Email: medoran82@aol.com
Blog: michelledoran82.blogspot.com (updated monthly-ish)

Giving:

You can send checks with my account number on it (#004864) to:

Samaritan’s Purse

P.O. Box 3000

Boone, NC 28607

You’re also able to give online by searching my last name (Doran) at http://www.samaritanspurse.org/medical/wmm-doctors/