Well the last two weeks have really flown by for me. Before I left Chimala mission, Dr. Ephriam and I made a follow-up visit to Mfumbi. We had given the children there enough medicine for two weeks and now it was time to check on the progress. I was so happy to see so much improvement in all of the patients we had treated. Of course, the treatment for fungus takes 4-6 weeks...so we gave out meds for another two weeks and actually treated another 20 or so patients. In all, we have treated more than 40 people at this village. I made arrangements for Dr. Ephriam to make one final follow-up visit on July 7th. At that time, hopefully we will find most of these patients are ready to finish up with their treatment. I am sad that I have to leave Chimala and will not be making the visit myself. I am praying for the opportunity to go back to Chimala one day and begin a mobile medical clinic and I know that Mfumbi will the first village on my list!
I left Chimala on June 19th to fly to Dar es Salaam which is the capital of Tanzaniz. I flew in a small single engine plane which had seats for about 10 people. The runway was gravel and dirt. But the view was fantastic. We only flew at about 300 mph, but I don't remember the height. I do know I was able to clearly see the ground most of the time. The only time my view was blocked was when we ran into rain and thankfully, that was for only a brief period of time. I must say you feel the "rock n roll" of the plane much more vividly in a small plane.
My plan from Tanzania was to return to Takoradi, Ghana in order to close up my flat and say goodbye to the many friends I had made while I lived there. In order to fly from Tanzania to Ghana, I had to fly through Istanbul, Turkey!! Crazy, huh?!! Anyway, my flight to Istanbul left Dar at 3:30 am on June 20th. Before I left Istanbul, I had a 4 hour lay over at their airport. Wow, it was a whole different whole from Africa. I guess I really didn't expect such a difference. The airport was like a giant shopping mall and food court. It was extremely busy...planes and people coming and going constantly.
I arrived in Ghana about 24 hours after leaving Tanzania.
For the past week, I have been meeting with my landlord, moving furniture, visiting with friends and saying my goodbyes. Most things went very well and without much difficulty. However, I was only able to see about 60 or so of the students from OAVI to say goodbye. I met with a few of the church leaders of the Central Takoradi Church of Christ as well as a few of the OAVI school board memebers. It was very emotional for me.
This work was something I felt very strongly about. I had wanted to stay and work there for many years. I truly believe that many people were helped and taught good information during the one year I was there. I am so thankful for the time I was blessed with to reach out and spend time in this country with these people. I pray that the impact we (me and the people who helped me) made will last.
Anyway, that part of my trip to Ghana is complete, but my flight home is not scheduled until July 3rd. When I made the reservations I was not sure how long things would take in Takoradi. After 5 days, ia was done both with the business and emotionally. I have tried to get an earlier flight home, but the airlines are not too accommodating in that area....so I guess I will just have to spend a few days at the beach waiting for the 3rd to arrive. It is really a hardship.... :)
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