Visitors in Mattru

The last few weeks have been full of activity in Mattru Jong.  In January, we had a team from Engineers Without Borders come for a couple of weeks.  Their task was to work on some projects at Centennial High School, and supervise the building of latrines for the outpatient department of the hospital.  This was quite a necessary project, as the administration and outpatient wing of the hospital were built without any bathrooms whatsoever.  With the poor conditions of the other bathrooms in the hospital, there was no place for relief, so to speak.  So we enjoyed getting to fellowship with them, and we are enjoying the extra bathroom space. 

Immediately following them, Dr. Ron Baker and Elaine Metzger (nurse and wife of a former missionary doctor) led a team of 6 physicians, and a teacher/maintenance person here for 10 days.  Dr. Baker is a legendary person in this area. His father started Centennial School back in the 1950s, and he grew up here, before coming back to Mattru as a medical doctor for many years.  In fact, we often heard about his exploits even in Freetown, when we first came to Sierra Leone.  One person we met on the street in Freetown told us that “if Dr. Baker said you would live, you would live, and if he said you would die, you would die.”  I would love to have that kind of power…Anyway, with his ability to speak Mende, and his previous work here, he is much loved, and patients flocked to the hospital to see the team.  This made a couple of very busy weeks, but it was nice to have a surgeon on staff here to do the more difficult surgeries that we had saved up for him. 

Jon and the Medical Team held a clinic for the children with disabilities that Heleen is working with. Here Jon and Dr. Baker are seeing a little boy with Down's Syndrome. 

With the new ultrasound machine the doctors were able to do an echocardiogram for one of the children with a heart defect.

Kids for Peace (USA) made it possible for every child to receive a backpack with some toiletries, a toy and a small book.

The following week, our US director, a pastor from a UBC church and one of his members came here on an exploratory trip to see how they might assist the businesses that support the hospital.  This was a very good trip as well, and hopefully will lead to partnerships in the very near future. 

We continue to find pleasure in long walks in the forest or around town, and seeing the beauty around us.  We also have things that brighten up the day, like the time a little kid got up on the roof of the neighbor’s house, much to the consternation of his mother bleating away on the ground. An interested crowd of onlookers helped until he finally found his refuge back down on the ground…

Up a creek without a paddle.

Where is my pace-setter?  Oh, yes, she is taking the picture!

2 Roads diverged in a brownish-green wood

This week Sierra Leone will elect its next president and parliament. Over the past weeks Mattru has hosted frequent rallies of the main political parties and last week over 350 people were trained in election procedures. Wednesday is the big day. We will be lying low, avoiding unnecessary travel, and hopefully start a new puzzle! Please join us in prayer that everything will work out peacefully. May God bless this country with leaders who will serve their people with integrity.