Dad and I in 1963!

Dad and I the summer of 1963!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

I left Omaha on December 8th in a snow storm, missed my flight from Chicago to NYC, missed my flight from NYC to Africa and had to find a hotel in NYC. The next day I flew through Germany to Libreville Gabon with a stop in Accra, Ghana as well. With a complication that smoke was detected in the baggage hold so we had to stay several hours in Accra while the firemen checked out the plane. All was "ok" so we boarded again and made our way to Libreville. I arrived about midnight on Thursday evening December10 and flew down to the Bongolo Hospital area the next morning.

Thanks for praying for my settling in at my Bongolo Hospital home. I have moved much of what I want from the attic downstairs into my side of the duplex. I have not yet found the two can openers that  I KNOW are upstairs somewhere. Joanna Thelander loaned me a can opener until I can find mine.

Becki Thompson has turned over the Director of the Bongolo Nursing School responsibilities to me and I have also been working on the two courses that I will start teaching the week of January 4th. I did learn that one of our Nursing Students was let go at the end of the last semester because of bad grades. Two other Nursing Students of the nine who are left are on probation and must improve their grades this next quarter!

The Christmas season has arrived at the Bongolo Hospital Mission Station here in Gabon. It started  last Sunday afternoon with a "Cookies and Photo Shoot" party at Keir and Joanna Thelander's home. Above see the photo that is the result of the one opportunity that we had to have everyone together after my arrival and before the departure of Dave & Becki Thompson and Karen Fitch on their six month Home Assignments! We took many group photos but this one was the BEST. Can you tell who pushed the camera button and ran to get in the photo? Tim Kelly made it into his place, all but one foot!

Ten Days of Christmas movies are being shown at Paul and Meladee Davis' home. Each evening they are showing a different Christmas movie and anyone attend. I have been two evenings so far. I also had one evening where I invited my African friend Christine over for dinner and the movie "White Christmas". Three missionaries joined us for dinner and two of them stayed for the movie which we watched in French with English subtitles. Christine loves musicals.

Christmas Eve at 5:30 many of us are going to a new restaurant in town to celebrate Dr. Renee Valach's Birthday! From 7-8:30 pm we are going to Paul and Meladee's for a "Cookies, Cocoa & Caroling" party.  I am not sure where we are going to go caroling but it should be fun.

Christmas Morning we will go to Christmas services at various churches. I think that I will probably stay here at the Bongolo Church for Christmas morning. The Bongolo church is right next to the Hospital and every Sunday has many patients and/or their family members who attend the services. I am sure that many will also attend the Christmas service.  At about 2 pm we Missionaries will all meet together at Tim & Amanda Kelly's home for a  Christmas Potluck dinner. I am preparing two chickens, a pie and a salad of some sort, maybe cabbage.

Good News! The Bongolo Cessna 207 Plane should arrive in Gabon on Monday, December 11th! Check out the website of Steve and Alace Straw at: http://gabonpilot.blogspot.com/2009/12/azores-check.html for the news.  The Bongolo Ambulance Service is about to begin! Thanks for your prayers for this over many years.

The Bongolo Hospital Nursing School students will start their third year of classes beginning January 4th. I will be teaching five hours a week, 4 hours of Traumatology and 1 hour of Bible (an Evangelism course). Lisa Nicky will be teaching the other five hours. The students have practical work in the hospital each morning and classes for two hours each afternoon, Monday through Friday.

Have a very Blessed Christmas as you celebrate the birth of Christ during these next days.
Luke 1:14  "And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth"

Fire Trucks in Accra!

I wrote this blog entry on another site but wanted to share it here too:

Where is Accra? It is in Ghana, Africa. What was I doing in Accra? Well, here is my story...

I flew out of Omaha on Tuesday, in the beginning of their snow storm that dumped ten inches of snow on the city. We were late flying out so I missed my flight in Chicago (two flights in fact) and finally got to NYC about midnight. Of course I had missed my flight to Casablanca so I found a hotel room for the rest of that night. The next day my travel agent was able to get me on a flight going to Frankfort Germany and then down to Libreville, Gabon which is the city I had been aiming at all the time. My flight to Frankfort was uneventful. The flight out of Frankfort was delayed a bit but not too bad. We had a normal landing in Accra Ghana to let out most of the passengers and then the plane planned to take the rest of us, about twenty passengers, on to Libreville.

Before landing or maybe on landing the pilots noticed the smoke detector went off in one of the baggage holds so they activated the FOAM covering. Three fire trucks met us on the runway! We all had to get off of the plane while the firemen checked out the baggage area and all of our baggage was put into another hold. There was no fire found so we were able to get back on the plane and take off again. I don't know exactly where to foam was because my suitcases didn't look like they had been sprayed. Oh, all those of us from Economy class were bumped to Business class for the rest of the flight!

I got into Libreville just before midnight and to the Guest House before midnight. I did a little online and then went to bed and slept well, not long enough but well. Today I will take my last fight which will get me two hours from Bongolo Hospital. The hospital chauffeur will pick me up. I think he will be driving my own car as it needs a safety inspection!

Today's Positives:
1. The travel agent was able to get my tickets changed and get me to Africa!
2. There was no fire on the plane.
3. The Police process to get into the country only took about twenty minutes.
4. I was able to sleep in a bed last night, instead of sitting in a chair!
5. My last flight is today and I should be HOME!
6. So many friends have prayed for me during this 36 hour trip!
7. God is so good!

Update: I had a great flight to the provincial capital and then a two hour ride to my home at Bongolo Hospital. It's great to be home. Home Sweet Home! Thanks to everyone who  prayed for me during this trip which lasted from Tuesday morning through Friday.

Stuck in NYC!

Well, I left Omaha for Africa yesterday in a big snow storm. My flight was delayed by 4 1/2 hours but I was actually at the airport over seven hours. Two hours of that time I was on the plane, even taxied out to where the de-icer tried to de-ice the plane. That machine got "frozen breaks" and had to have a mechanic come fix it so our plane could get de-iced properly.

While still in Omaha my next flight out of Chicago was changed from one airline to another because I would be missing my flight. With the delay on the plane I missed the SECOND flight too. The flight to Chicago was uneventful but then I had to wait until a later flight, having missed my flight. That 5:30 flight didn't leave Chicago until about 8pm local and I didn't get to NYC until about 11:30pm and to a hotel at nearly 1am!!!

Now you ask, what about my flight to Africa? Well, it was missed of course. The next open seat on that airline is not until SUNDAY!! My travel agent is now working on it, if to convince the airlines that I must travel before Sunday or else to try to change airlines.

The Lord has reminded me of the following verses for this trip:
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths." Prov. 3:5-6

Todays Positives:
I had friends help me with last minute packing!
I made it to NYC, without getting stuck in Omaha nor Chicago's blizzard!
I found a good priced Super 8 Motel that gave me an AARP discount!
I have wireless internet here at the hotel!!!!!!!
The Lord is directly my path!