July 14, 2002

Carol and I are most thankful that our son Seth is home safe and sound from his tour of duty with Special Forces in Afghanistan. Many sleepless nights were spent in prayer for his safety, as well as petitions that peace might prevail in war torn areas, including Uganda. Even in the area north of where we work there are incursions of rebel groups that routinely abduct schoolchildren for child solders and prostitution. Because of Seth's return and him having the opportunity of a few weeks of vacation we moved forward our date to come back to the US. This compromised our plans for leisurely winding up our first years stay in Uganda.
This last month has seen wonderful projects and outreach. We had the great joy of having the assistance of Camille Salisbury from Nevada City, Calif. who helped get the accounting of the clinics on an even keel. She presented an accounting workshop that was attended by the majority of the personnel of the 11 church clinics, which was very well received. It was such a success that we encouraged her to perhaps pursue a future career giving accounting seminars, but she will await God's leading in this matter.
Ben Elkon a pre-med student at U. of Colorado also spent a month with us and solidified his interest in medicine. He showed great compassion and skill in assisting in complicated medical problems. He even had an opportunity to remove a huge superficial chest wall tumor from an elderly gentleman (with assistance) under the shade of a large ficus tree. A crown eagerly observed with rapt attention his surgical skills. Wesley Fletcher, a member of the Young Adult Service Corps, finished her year teaching in a village nearby and also joined us for six weeks. She was a great asset in running the clinics, entertaining the children and uplifting us all with her music and spirit filled life.
With regret Camille's stay ended and she departed for the US, although she did seem anxious to return to warm showers, decent food and a comfortable bed. Ben and Wesley had another week before their departure so an adventure was in the offing. We loaded our camping gear into our vehicle, and after dropping Camille at the airport headed to N.E. Uganda to climb Mt. Elgon, the fifth highest mountain in Africa.
Our plans took a sudden turn when along a rather deserted stretch of road inhabited mainly by baboons an ominous metallic grinding sound could be heard from the front of the vehicle. Our front differential had frozen. We were able to limp into a German road-building compound for repairs and Wesley and Ben proceeded along to Mt. Elgon. The crew at the camp proved most hospitable dismantling our front drive shaft and assisting in every way. Most appreciated was the provision of an air-conditioned house, replete with hot shower and tasty meals. For three day we basked in the lap of luxury while the vehicle was being repaired. The overarching benefit though was that we had window of time to sit, talk and reflect on how important our love for each other is. We thought that we had come to climb a mountain, but the mountain came to us in an appreciation of how God had so richly blessed our relationship over the last year.We did eventually collect Ben and Wesley who in spite of sore muscles and a multitude of blisters had a wonderful climb and were able to summit the peak.
Carol and I returned to our home in Kanungu a bit anxious as we only had a few days to pack. Originallyn we had anticipated plenty of time to wrap up our affairs but as we had advanced the date of leaving, time was running short. As it turned out our preparations would be even more compressed. Our friends Bob and Pam Macauley who work in a hospital in northern Uganda expressed an interest in visiting us, and the only time that fit was the few days just before we departed. Bob is a pediatric specialist and Episcopal pastor and Pam a seasoned professional journalist. Married just over a year Pam is 5 months pregnant and a real trooper. Although we had only afew days together they were some of the most meaningful of our year in Africa. We traveled to the most remote pygmy settlement for a mobile medical clinic, Pam had wanted to take some video footage and Bob's pediatric expertise would be very useful. The clinic proved to be relatively small, as they had no advanced notice of our arrival. About 50 people greeted us but soon the crowd swelled. As usual there was a plethora of sick children. The first child Bob examined was a two year old with severe malaria, and had lost 2/3 to 3/4 of her blood volume. Intravenous access was almost impossible, but with persistence and prayer Bob was able to start a central line in the internal jugular vein (see photo). The day also had its usual complement of patients with typhoid, malaria and malnutrition. Carol's help with the tropical ulcers and wounds was indispensable. We finished at dark returning to our camp with two of the sickest infants to monitor throughout the evening. Despite the IV feedings and medications, around 6am the 2 year old began seizing and died shortly thereafter. It was an very sad time for the family and especially for Carol, Pam, Bob and myself. Bob was particularly hard pressed as it was Sunday and he was soon to preach at the service. . As it turned out attendance for the service was so large that the church was unable to accommodate all the participants. The congregants gathered under the shade of the ficus tree where the day before patients had crowded together for medical attention. Prior to the service we had joined together and talked about the recent events. We realized that we have a tendency to concentrate on results only, which are frequently out of our hands. However in God's equation His call is for us to use all of our skills, serving with compassion and love and leave the outcome up to Him. Bob's message deeply spoke to the people and to Carol and myself.
After the service as we prepared to leave, one of the older men approached us and asked if we were still interested in purchasing a certain plot of land to build a hospital. I was a bit surprised, as the previous negotiations for this property had gone so poorly. There had been arguments between the owners and their neighbors, the price had esclated many times and the family could not even agree if the land should be sold. Now however they had changed their minds offering the property at a very reasonable price and even expanding the boundaries. I expressed surprise at this unexpected turn of events as we had long ago given up hope of ever purchasing this piece of property, which seemed a perfect location. The group of elders responded that they had been negotiating with both the family and neighbors. They had come to the conclusion that too many of the local pregnant mothers and young children were dying and that they could not tolerate any more this devastation due to the lack of medical care. They would help with the purchase of the land and with the hospitals construction if we would be willing to provide some economic and medical assistance. They asked „were we ready to join with them to help heal this village? Subsequently the village elders, church leaders, Carol, Pam, Bob and the pygmies and myself, signed the document of sale. This project with God's help was finally becoming a reality.
In reflection our year here had been spent in developing relationships and preparing our hearts and minds for the work that lies ahead. We anxiously look forward to the time spent with family and friends in the US but we also encourage all to come on over and participate in the challenges and joy of working with the pygmies of equatorial Africa.
May God bless,
Scott and Carol