About the same distance from HCJB Global offices in Accra, Fante Mayera has about double the population of Hateka. Our patient numbers reflected this difference as the team saw 260 patients and Dorothy Nelson spent the day surrrounded by children.
"It seems like each day we get a little more organized," said Jeremy Maller. Things progressed so smoothly that he took some time in the late afternoon to play with the local kids. He set up relay races on the soccer field, having the kids hop and run. "They really started competing when I set the teams as boys against girls," he said.
Dr. Susana Alvear said Fante Mayera residents seemed better nourished, and possibly more literate, than in the other community where we worked. A ot more pregnant women who were doing fine. Her one surprise was noticing quite a few heart murmers in the young men, possibly due to anemia.
Dr. Paola Velez also saw differences in this community, commenting that people seemed more familiar with the city. Alvear chimed in that she saw her first female patient who was wearing pants, a huge exception to the normal village attire for women.
Velez said today that each day "is like a dream with lots of nice people who are smiling and so happy to see you."
Dr. Bob Carpenter, the team's chiropractor has been steadily treating patients all week for various aches and pains. He said it was interesting that the Ghanian people he has been adjusting call their malady "waist pain" instead of back pain.
He also noted that many seem to have thoracic pain on the upper back. He believes the origin is that many people are sleeping on their stomachs on hard bed surfaces, placing a common twist at that point of the spine.
Several local soccer players watched him work from across the road until he began to encourage them to come. After adjusting a couple of their backs he saw them telling their friends about what was almost certainly their first chiropractic treatment. Soon all the players showed up for adjustments.
The day ended with a birthday celebration for HCJB Global missionary nurse Jessica McMillan who turned 30. Michelle Sonius, Lee's wife, pulled out all the stops, cooking heaping plates of lasagna and providing Jessica with a birthday cake complete with candles and ice cream.
Jessica's most memorable birthday gift was the chance to gnaw on a chicken foot as part of a local dish known as “fufu”. It is common in most of West Africa and is made by pounding cooked cassava root into a rubbery mash and dipping globs of it into a spicy sauce. Jessica commented with a smile that she received gifts originating in Ghana, Cote d´Ivoire, Ecuador, the UK and the USA--a true international party.
photos: Steve Nelson
2 comments:
Thanks for the updates Nate. You describe it all so well. Praying for you and the team. Suzanne Slater
Happy Birthday to Jessica! We think of her and pray for her often. We look forward to greeting her in Whittier soon.
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