VBS Take #4

Hello Oak Hills VBS kids! I hope that you have all had a great week of getting to know each other and getting to know more about Jesus. One of the coolest things about being a missionary oversease is I get to see how people from all different cultures and backgrounds worship the same amazing God. The Cameroonian people love the drums, singing and dancing and that is how they praise God. Each Sunday for church we sing songs with the African drums and dance while we're singing. When I come back to church in the States, it seems so quiet and still without those drums and all the people dancing while singing to God.
Here are some pictures of 3 different people. The first two people are in the hospital because they just had their legs amputated. They stay in the hospital for a few weeks after their surgery so that there won't be any infection from the surgery. It is so important for these patients to have ACE wraps right after surgery. This is because there is a lot of swelling in the legs after surgery and the ACE wraps decrease the swelling and help keep a good shape of that amputated limb. If there wasn't an ACE wrap on their leg, their limb will swell and then they will not be able to fit any prosthetic leg on. The last man had his leg amputated 2 years ago. Can you tell which leg is the prosthetic one? It's the right leg! He still uses his ACE wraps when he doesn't have his prosthetic leg on, but he can walk all over his village and in the market now because of his prosthetic leg!
One of the main languages here in Cameroon is called Pigeon English because they use mostly English words but the order of them is different. When you say good bye to someone that you won't see in a while, you say 'walka fine'. This means to walk good and strong in terms of health, life, and most importantly-God. As this is the last VBS post for the week, I wanted to send you off with saying 'walka fine' to you all. There are some times being over here when I miss my family, friends and Oak Hills family. However, knowing that you are praying and thinking of me really encourages me and lifts me up. Thank you all!!

VBS Take #3

Hello again Oak Hills VBS kids! Hope you are all having a great day. In Cameroon, there are only 2 seasons-rainy season and dry season. Right now it is rainy season so almost everyday it starts to rain in the afternoon. I went hiking in the mountains yesterday and it started raining so much that my pants had mud up to my shins. I have to bring an umbrella everywhere I go just in case it starts to rain.
This is a picture of a little boy named Joel. He is over 2 years old. When he was a baby, something happened in his head that blocked the flow of fluid in his brain. It's called hydrocephalus. That's why his head is so big. All that extra fluid in his head affected the way he sees, hears, thinks, talks and moves. His muscles are really tight, especially in his arms. If your arms are tight, you can't do things like reach for food, feed yourself or even use your hands to get up. So we made a splint for both of his arms to stretch his muscles out. We melted some material to shape it perfectly to his arm and then we used wraps to hold the brace on. If we didn't have someone deliver the supplies to make this splint, his arms would stay tight. We are so thankful to people like you who are willing to donate money for the supplies so that kids like Joel will have a better life.

VBS Take #2

Hello Oak Hills VBS kids! I hope you are all having fun and learning a lot! I am always learning something new here. Today I learned how to make ice cream because there are no stores here to buy ice cream.
This is a picture of a boy who got an infection in his leg and had to have it amputated. He is doing really well and is staying at the hospital for a few weeks for physical therapy to learn how to walk with a prosthetic leg. In this picture, he just got done walking with physical therapy and took his prosthetic leg off so he could rest. Whenever he takes his prosthetic leg off, he puts on an ACE bandage. If he doesn't put on his ACE wrap, his leg could get swollen and then his prosthetic leg wouldn't fit. If his prosthetic leg doesn't fit, he can't walk. That's why it is so important that he puts his ACE wrap on everyday. Isn't it cool how such a little thing like an ACE wrap can change this boy's life so he can walk?

VBS post #1

Hi to everyone but especially the kids at Oak Hills VBS that is starting next week! The Oak Hills VBS team has decided that the offerings from the kids are going to go towards the Mbingo physical therapy department! We are always in high need of bandages, splints and other materials. For every $3, an ACE wrap will be purchased and used to help somebody who really needs it here in Africa. This is so great because we see many patients in the hospital who need these ACE wraps in order to get better faster.
In the States, people who need a bandage or splint can just go to the store or get it in the mail. But here in Cameroon, there are no stores that people can go to to get bandages. All of our bandages have to come from Europe or North America which is very expensive and hard to get for us.
For this post I wanted to show you what the hospital looks like. There are about 150 hospital beds here at Mbingo for patients who are sick. The physical therapy department helps these patients get stronger and walk again.
There are 10 physical therapy staff here at Mbingo including my 4 students. My job is to teach the Cameroonian people how to do physical therapy. The Cameroonian people are so friendly and great to work with. If you don't great everyone you walk past in the morning, they think you are being rude. The Cameroonians love to sing and dance and they have even tried to teach me how to dance a little bit. We are so excited that the Oak Hills VBS kids are learning about our hospital and are willing to donate and make a difference in someone's life who needs healing!