Togo--post 7 and 8

Today I got to visit my little friend Dorcas again. We had a tough time today trying to get her to respond to our teaching. I think she's quite a bit overwhelmed with this new vocabulary. Fortunately I was able to find an American Sign Language (ASL) dictionary and also an instruction book on the language and sentence structure of ASL. These have proven to be helpful tools. However, there are some more relevant words here like bucket and machete that I don't know the signs for. In this case I will probably just teach them using the motion used as the word.

Here's a little lesson about the culture of ASL. ASL is an official recognized language. It is not in any way mime. ASL has many distinct words and its own sentence structure. This is very important for people to recognize in order for a person to learn the language. (Sorry, this is all kind of just my soap box, but I know that the deaf community would echo what I say here)

I will meet with Dorcas again on Thursday. Please pray that I will know the right things to teach her and her family with the short amount of time that we have together. I think her mother, Abra, is frustrated and discouraged. She was asking today about the possibility of getting Dorcas' hearing back. The truth is, the only way to do that is with a cochlear implant and I know that her family could never afford that, and the doctors here do not know how to do it. Your prayers for wisdom would be much appreciated!


Summary of the work on the airplane: in civilian language... and more.

Dale Fogg of ABWE came out with us for the first three weeks of this trip. During his time here he gave us a basic understanding of what missionary aviation in Togo would look like. There is an airstrip here at the hospital compound that is in excellent shape. There is also a large hangar that could probably hold four or five Cessna 206's. Unfortunately, many of the supplies needed to work on the airplane did not make it out on the last container that came here from the states. This means that there was no electricity, no compressor (for riveting and power tools), and many parts were not here. However, throughout the time spent in the hangar, new parts were found and Dale, Ryan, and Lois were able to do some odds and ends things on the plane. As the plane sits right now, there is no interior on site. The interior was sent back to the states to be redone. Also, the instrument panel is mostly bare. Many of the instruments are also in the states. The body of the airplane is flyable, though there will need to be some work done on that at some point. The engine is "pickled"; meaning, it is basically filled with oil to preserve it while it is out of use. Unfortunately, here in Togo it is very humid and things like rubber hoses and interior deteriorate much faster than they would in the states. However, Dale says that the airplane is in excellent condition for the amount of time that it has sat with no one to care for it.

In order to get this aviation ministry off the ground, it needs pilot-mechanics here. Right now, the aviation ministry does not have a voice in the overall Togo mission. Truly, we can't blame anyone for that. Dale has said that once a pilot moves out here it would take less than a year to see the plane doing the work it is meant to do. The Fuss family has been appointed to come here, but they have been having a difficult time trying to raise support out of Michigan. Apparently, Michigan is considered "dried up" as far as ministry funds are concerned. Once they are able to get the rest of their support they will have to spend another year or more in language school. So we're looking at not having this ministry in full swing for at least another two years or more. Hopefully it will not be that long.

Dale went back to the states last Thursday, so once again the airplane is sitting in the preserved state. Ryan and Lois and I have been allowed to explore other ministry aspects since then, and we will continue to do so for the remainder of our time here.

Today we went to the hospital to go on rounds with the doctors. Unfortunately, my stomach is not as strong as Ryan and Lois', so I could not stay long. It's discouraging to me that I am not able to stay in the hospital long. It is even more baffling because I used to want to be a nurse. Blood and guts used to thrill me, but now the thought of tumors, IV's, incisions, and especially death make my ears ring and I start to pass out. Last night, Ryan got to go the the O.R. to watch two surgeries. Unfortunately, the first surgery did not even get beyond moving the patient to the operating table. She moved herself onto the operating table just fine and apparently disrupted something in her abdomen that caused her to immediately convulse and die. I don't know how Ryan could see that and then go on to the next surgery, but he did. The next surgery was a c-section which he got to help hand over instruments and such. The result of the surgery was a healthy little boy. I got to see the mom and baby this morning. It is a pretty little baby.

Babies are the one thing that I truly enjoy seeing in the hospital. Even the babies, though, I can't stay around long, because the mother with an incision is usually very close by and I can usually see the bandages and catheter. Also, all of the female patients are in one large room with several beds so you may see patients with several different illnesses all in the same room. It is also very hot and muggy in the hospital.

I am so sorry that all of this is very random. However, I think you should be able to see a better picture in your head of what we see and do here. We take many pictures everyday, so we will have lots to share when we return.

May you ponder how much Jesus means to you today!
Stephanie