From: Charles & Bev Truxton 
Date: Sat, 20 Oct 2001 07:58:31 +0100
Subject: Shermeen's update #3

Paulman, please send. THANKS!
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Ina Kwana?! (directly translated: 'how did you sleep'=good morning greeting)



First things first:  THANK YOU ALL for your faithful prayers.  I have to say

this again and again because prayer IS the battle, it's powerful and I'm
convinced.  This week especially, I've been just struck by how grateful I am

for you labouring warriors, thanks TEAM!!

I'm writing at 11:48pm, Friday night after we sent the MKs (missionary kids)

off, back to their (relaxed, I hope) parents after our Friday night 'open
house'.  I think we fed them abit too much sugar tonight though...oops!! We
shared from John 15:1-4.

v.4 "Remain in me and I will remain in you."  As I reflect on this week,
that verse does stand out as the central theme for me.	I'm reminded acutely

how dependent I am in Christ, on Him, His character, His redeemption,
atonement and I am enjoying the circumstance and time to 'soak before/in
God'.

This morning, I witnessed my first real 'death' and I'm still trying to
process through and come to terms with it.  Although I've had a couple of
babies pass away in the last few weeks, even ones I saw admitted, I never
witnessed their actual deaths.	Today, however, I walked into the
Paediatrics ICU and saw 8 year old Joseph naked, unresponsive and surviving
on the tired efforts of the Paeds staff ambu bagging him.  There are no
respirators here, in fact, the most hi-tech thing at Evangel seems to be an
ultrasound machine.  His pulse was still here, but faint, I had a hard time
getting a good 'thump' from his carotid, but could hear it with the
stethoscope, he already felt cold to the touch. 45 mins later, Dr. Kogo
'certified' him when his heart stopped, pupils fixed and dilated.  Young
Joseph died of cerebral malaria.

Before he died his family had already dug a plot and notified their family
and friends of his approaching death, they were ready to come and get his
corpse when I was in the ICU, even before he was really 'dead'.  Sometimes I

just don't know how to understand nor comprehend the brevity of life here,
the 'acceptance' of death.  I can't reconcile the stark constrasts between
medical care at home and here, not because the doctors aren't extremely well

trained here, in fact, the doctors here are amazing, they are very well
trained.  But at times I feel like we are in a completely different
paradigm.  With so few doctors to care for so very many patients and so
little money to buy current equipment, what else can health care workers do?

No CAT scans, no crash cart, no blood bank, no fancy lab tests, no physio
equipment, no guarantee of 'real'/pure medication (patients are prescribed
medication and their families buy them from pharmacies in the hospital or
city)...

After morning rounds with Paeds and then tagging along the surgical team, I
had enough by 10am today (Fri) and headed home.  I wanted to just run home
and cry.  Cry for who/what?? I didn't even know Joseph, I was in the bush of

Africa when he was admitted, but I ached for a child, a family who lost
their son to something so preventable as me taking my anti-malaria drug yet
this malaria endemic kills sooo many here.  So many people here suffer from
easily preventable causes.  I feel helpless.

We came back safely on Thurs afternoon after our overnight trip to 'Zandi'
and 'Gandi', two remote villages in the bush.  This trip has been the most
incredible experience to date, it has opened up my eyes and heart in a way
that I can't quite articulate, it was truly quite life changing.  We went in

2 vehicles: a Toyota van and a Land Rover.  I will never criticize Toyota
vans again.  I owe my bum and a viable trip into the bush to that Toyota,
never underestimate the power of prayer and a Japanese car!! ;0)  One nurse,

4 pre-meds, a couple of pastors, evangelists and a village boy became the
'hospital' for the day as we listened, treated, dispensed health care and
medication & gospel to the very many people who packed the very crowded,
dusty, hot room.  I wrote this in my journal:

"Picture bush, dirt, a small clearing for a road, streams, rocks, mud, sand,

whiplash, concussions, rodeo...I realised 2 things: 1. I do really enjoy
medicine; 2. I felt such a burden to get my medical training so that I could

be of help, some help to them.	It stuck me that they, so, so so, many of
them needed medical attention for the most basic of
necessities..paracetemol, multi-vits, worm medication, antibiotics...."

You see, the 'road' in was anything that didn't have trees or bush in the
way.  MOst of the time, it was somewhat 'cleared', more like a really
challenging mountain bike trail with lots of rocks in it.  The ride was
plain 'bumpy', it was Playland times 10!!  It put me to sleep though, and I
hit my head on the side window many a time (concussion #5-6-7), but it was
one of the most incredible and FUN trips I've ever taken.  When we got to
the village, it was market day and many people from the surrounding towns
were there.  I felt like I was in one of those World Vision videos.  Between

taking blood pressures (BPs) and learning how to diagnose and dispense drugs

and being stared at and smiling, my heart and mind was busy trying to 'take
it all in'.  WOW.  What a priveledge to be a small part of caring and being
a practical witness in Jesus' name.

See, a couple of years ago, a boy named Moses came to Jos as an 'orphan'.
His mother died during childbirth, his father practically disowned him.  He
was taken in by one of the missions here and taught how to read and write
Hausa/English and taught a trade.  He came to Christ, went back to his
village and shared Christ and now there is a church started there.  Moses
and Daniel (the pastor of this village church and the person who shared
Christ with Moses) brought us to their village, Gandi, where we spent the
night.

We worshipped with the ~25 new believers that night at church, slept in mud
huts at night and fellowshipped at morning devotions (5am!!) the next day
with Moses' family.  There is so much more to this story but I can't let
myself start because it will take many pages.  I will have to show you the
pictures and let you listen to the taped (I brought my audio recorder)
church singing/service for you to understand what it was like to travel to,
as Daniel said, the 'most remote parts of Africa', live and fellowship with
'family' in the village, and behold the beauty, tranquility of the African
night sky with the bright stars, away from cars, city, anything, really.

Praise God indeed for this awesome experience, for the hospitality of Zandi
and Gandi, of Moses' family (his father and him have since reconciled), and
for the bond of unity as children of our Father in heaven.  I am also
personally thankful to God for safety and for helping me survive that trip
as I was scared, let me tell you!!  I'm finding I can get scared and fearful

of many things here, ha!, not the crazy adventureous nutcase you and I
thought I was afterall!!! Africa has a way of showing you just how 'hardy'
you are...more often than not, it's when you allow yourself to dream up all
these scary possibilities that you fear.  When you're actually there, you
realise that either your fears were augmented or that "too bad", you're here

now and you'll just have to go and eat, drink, and sleep in faith!! :0)

Prayer Items:
1) Please pray for our Sat 'Kids Club', an hour long weekly ministry that
Helena and I have taken on that the Medical Director, Dr. Ushie had started.

The local Nigerian kids that live on the hospital compound come out to that
(and then visit us everyday there after....). Pray that we'd be used to meet

them at their needs and be a loving witness and teacher to them.

2)Pray for this coming Wed/Thurs/Fri as Helena, Dr. Kogo and I lead Praise
and Worship for chapel time at 7pm at Evangel. Pray that the planning and
the actual times will be God honouring and glorifying.

3) Also please pray for Helena and I as we lead Praise and Worship every Wed

(chapel) for the students at HillCrest School (MKs and expat and upper-class

Nigerians attend this school). We are also 'helping'/mentoring/encouraging
their senior high Praise Band as they learn to lead PW.

4) Personal prayer requests:
-pray that sun church times will be timees of personal 'watering' and
'refreshing'.  This is abit difficult as we will be going to different
churches each week
-that as the inital 'excitment' starts tto wear off, that I will find my
'niche' here in Jos, whether that be in the hospital, at Hillcrest, at other

ministry sites etc...
-that my times with God will continue too be the most satisfying, necessary
'soaking' times
-that we will not fall sick with the manny bugs and viruses that float around

here
-that I will not fall into the trap of bbeing too busy with 'ministry' for
all the wrong reasons nor all the right reasons
-that I will not compare myself to otherrs nor to the image of a
'super-missionary', but rather be secure and confident in God alone, His
pace for me, and the desire to want to please Him alone
-that God will somehow use me, despite mmyself: selfish, deceitful,
tiresome...; my lack of medical training, helplessness; language
barrier....that God will change me...that God will use this broken vessel to

share the truly GOOD NEWS of Jesus Christ.

Thank you for your endearing sacrifice of prayer and support.  If you've
made it this far into the email, you truly are amazing!!!
love,
Shermeen

    Source: geocities.com/shermeenchan