9/11/15

Friday, September 11, 2015

Today was our last day of clinicals. We awoke for 7 am breakfast and coffee and packed up the vans to make the 1 hour journey to today's site. First of all, we saw 503 people today! I don't know how we did it, but then again, WE didn't. The team has been dealing with some sickness and we are all very weary.  The dusty, bumpy, off road travel out to the country side sites with the sun beating down on your bald head really takes its toll! (Yeah this isn't Erika or Leigh) We saw 1803 people at 5 different sites this week and wrote about 5000 prescriptions - what an honor! But, this evening most of us took a tour of downtown Antsirabe by Pousse-Pousse (think rick-shaw).  It was a twenty minute ride that was actually very relaxing - the beggars did get overwhelming on the main streets at times but seemed to avoid the side ones. Being able to sit back and enjoy a slow paced ride while taking in the sights and sounds of this strange place on the other side of the world was definitely a memorable experience. It cost 3000 Aryary plus a tip which means.......$2.

We all packed up tonight after dinner and are excited to head to Andisabe tomorrow to see Lemurs and other native Madagascar sights! The journey is about 4 hours. Pray for good health for our sick team members!

We have Lutheran hymnal supplements here and as I was paging through it tonight I came upon one of the greats - 'Church of God, Elect and Glorious'. To quote some lines from it, 'Be the people He intends; strong in faith and swift to answer each command your master sends...Give your lives in joyful service - Sing His praise, His love declare."

Talk to you soon!

~Ryan

Day 1 and Day 2

Sunday, September 6, 2015 430PM (930AM Boston)

We made it! Somehow we managed to get 13 bags all the way to Madagascar! Only one got lost in Paris but will be here tomorrow (Monday).

After waiting in line until our arms fell off (2 hours) at the Antananarivo airport at midnite we received our luggage and visas. Our hosts were there to meet us (Thank God!) and we piled in the two vans headed for the Hotel Ivato. There were numerous beggars following us around asking for money while trying to carry our bags for us to the vans. We couldn't get out of the parking lot at first because the gate wouldn't go up. Finally someone came over and lifted it up by hand so that we could pull through. We arrived at the Hotel Ivato a few minutes later only to find (you guessed it) a locked gate that wouldn't open. The buttons didn't work and the hotel wasn't answering their phone. Our driver (who we later discovered loves the horn) tried honking, backing up and pulling forward, even revving the engine (not sure why), until finally the sleepy-eyed staff came out and opened it up. The alternative was most likely to drive 2 hours to Antsirabe in the middle of the night! Whew!  After about 4 hours of sleep we were up and ready to head to the Lutheran convention in Antsirabe for a worship service.

The convention was a 2 hour drive and we ran late, but we were still able to catch the last half hour. It was held outdoors and was attended by about 30,000 Lutheran Christians over the week. But, let's talk about the two hour drive first...

They drive on the right side of the road but there are no lane markings, no speed limits, no rules about passing, and random police check points. Our driver passed other vehicles on blind corners like it was going out of style, just about burnt out the horn, and got us into a few near miss situations. We were stopped at police checkpoints 3 times but quickly let go each time. Just another day here.... However, what a beautiful country! The poverty is apparent. On our drive we saw endless terraces for growing rice and potatoes. We learned that Antananarivo is known for its brick making and we saw 'ovens' all along the way where they bake the bricks.

After the convention, we were driven about 5 minutes to the hospital guest house where we will be staying. We then had a home cooked meal including chicken, french fries, rice, bread, pasta, and... COFFEE! Our bags are unloaded and we got settled in. Then the fun began...

We won the award for 'most supplies brought by any team' which is great but it also meant that we won the award for 'most supplies organized by any team'. We spent a couple hours doing all this and it was absolute chaos. There is literally, thousands of pounds of antibiotics, hydrocortisone, anti hypertensives, etc etc the list goes on and on. We have enough toothpaste and tooth brushes to take down a destroyer thanks to you all...it will be put to good work starting tomorrow (Monday).

We only get wifi next to where we are staying at the hospital guest house so bear with us! More to follow...