Snippets

I have so much to share.  And I have to run off to the Bazaar so that we can eat dinner tonight, so I’ll share some brief snippets…

Is your work busy?  Yesterday, one senior doctor, two residents and one intern saw 130 outpatients, managed the maternity ward and taught two medical students.  And we still found time for tea and lunch.  I am beginning to get the hang of the faster pace in the outpatient department.  I only get slowed down when the language is Hindi instead of Nepali.

That is fresh chicken!  Today, I stopped to buy some chicken for dinner and while I was waiting for it to be cut, 32 live chickens arrived, all hanging from one motorcycle.  The delivery man had just come in from the village where the chickens are grown: all free-range, no hormones, and who knows what they are fed!  (See photo.)

Beines vs. Rodents.  We’re having a competition with the rodents for our precious food.  The rats like to move our potatoes to their nest in my towel drawer.  The mice like to chew on my apples and relocate my peanuts.  They both like to eat my plastic bags and release their contents.  So, we’ve declared war.  Our renters (who were here just prior to our arrival) caught one big rat on some glue-coated paper.  We snapped one giant rat in a trap.  Dave beat one rat ruthlessly with his flashlight in the middle of the night, but it still got away.  And this morning, when Josh woke up, the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was a rat foot hanging out of a crack in our burlap ceiling (the burlap keeps the mud from falling on our heads).  Subsequently, there was a scurry of feet across the burlap.  I think we’re ahead on the score, but it is hard to tell when you don’t know the exact number of your opponents.

A theology of suffering?  I wonder sometimes if I have removed suffering from my theology.  The Scripture doesn’t do that.  As a team, last weekend, we pondered the feeding of the 5000.  In Mark’s gospel, he records that the disciples had just come back from a stint of hard work.  Jesus offered them a getaway for rest.  However, when they reached their remote getaway venue, a crowd was waiting.  I might have felt frustration and disappointment.  Jesus felt compassion; he saw the individuals in the crowd as sheep without a shepherd.  He turned to his disciples and asked them to feed the crowd.  Some rest, eh?  Of course, He also came through with a miraculous supply of bread and fish.  Do I look for the miraculous in my exhaustion?  Am I ready to serve with compassion when I was expecting rest?  Do I understand that this life is hard, and heaven promises delightful rest?  I wonder…

Thankful for immunity.  Herd immunity is great, isn’t it?  What is that?  That is the freedom to choose whether or not I want to immunize myself or my children because the vast majority of people in my environment are immunized and I am protected from so many illnesses spreading epidemically.  Here, in Nepal, we have chosen immunization for protection as the “herd” is not well-immunized and not so protective.  I am thankful for the option.  In my first two days of clinic, I saw a case of measles, a case of mumps, and a case of suspected typhoid.  I am so fortunate to have immunity to each of these (through immunization) and now I can keep on serving patients.