African greetings

Hello everyone! Greetings from Zambia!

I have managed to arrive safely, and am settling in at the hospital. The journey involved three flghts to get to Lusaka, which was thankfully uneventful. I and another midwifery student from England stayed in the capital for a couple days, with some of the SIM team. It was a good time to catch up on some of the lost sleep, but also chat with some of the outbound missionaries from other parts of Africa - very encouraging to hear what God is doing!

After loading up on food we flew on to Mukinge. Landing at the rough grass strip we were greeted by a few of the resident missionaries and a lot of the local children (who came to see the plane!)

Most of the missionaries here are working either in the hospital or teaching in the school. They all work extremely hard and are very passionate about their work. They have all been very friendly and welcoming, which has been great!

The hospital here is a little dated and a little basic, and absolutely nothing like I am used to! But it is functional, and staffed by a very dedicated bunch. I have been fortunate to spend the remainder of week on surgery. The pathology here is incredibly varied and apart from the ceasarian section, the operations have all been new to me.

Despite an incredibly dedicated staff, the resources are finite, which leads me to a few prayer requests!

Prayer points:
For the staff, who work incredibly hard and faithfully. That they would be encouraged and feel supported.
For the patients, and continuing opportunities to share with them.
That the hospital will be able to source some blood soon, as there is very little available, and it is very much needed!

Feel free to continue to pray for the ebola outbreak in west africa, and those affected by it. A big praise point in that the doctors discussed in the last blog appear to be recovering. Amen!

Sorry to keep it short but I have only my phone to write on, and very big thumbs. Thanks for your prayers and support!

Matt.