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"