In order to live at Langano, and in Ethiopia in general, one must learn to roll with the punches, make the best of things and, most importantly, improvise with what you have. Last week I was busy with 4 workers cleaning out our workshop (which itself was improvised and made from a shipping container). Over the last several years the shop has accumulated all sorts of interesting items that do not belong in a maintenance/construction shop. Some of the more notable items include a box of burlap curtains, a large bag of lightly used baseball jerseys and 3 vials of chicken vaccines. So I was very grateful for a day to thoroughly clean, organize, sort and throw out things in the shop.
But I digress; the point of this blog post has to do with a message I received during the process of cleaning out the shop. The message informed me that I was needed down at the clinic. Now, this is not too uncommon as there are many maintenance issues that arise there. For example, earlier in the week my handyman skill set was required to open a jammed drawer that contained the delivery equipment. A stuck drawer may not seem that urgent, but with two women in labor and one with twins, access to the drawer was vital. Fortunately I was able to open the drawer with time to spare. But on this occasion, I was asked to bring a few different tools with me, like pliers and metal cutters. So I quickly gathered the tools (which could be found easily in my newly organized shop) and headed to the clinic. As I walked into the patient room, the nurse quickly tried to hide the plethora of tools I had brought with me while telling me not to let him see them. It was then that I saw a young boy on the table with a large fish hook in his thigh. With the hook firmly lodged in the middle of his thigh, the plan was to push the end of the hook further in so that the tip would be visible. Once the boy was numbed, this part of the plan was easily accomplished. At that point my skills (and tools) were called upon. I took the, now sterilized, wire cutters and snipped off the sharp end of the hook. We managed to pull the rest of the hook slid back out the way it came in without causing any further damage or pain. The boy was very relieved and the nurse provided him with an oversized bandage to help embellish the story for his friends.
When we decided to follow the Lord out here to serve Him in rural Ethiopia, we knew there would be many challenges and opportunities. But I never thought that I would get to play ER surgeon for the day!
But I digress; the point of this blog post has to do with a message I received during the process of cleaning out the shop. The message informed me that I was needed down at the clinic. Now, this is not too uncommon as there are many maintenance issues that arise there. For example, earlier in the week my handyman skill set was required to open a jammed drawer that contained the delivery equipment. A stuck drawer may not seem that urgent, but with two women in labor and one with twins, access to the drawer was vital. Fortunately I was able to open the drawer with time to spare. But on this occasion, I was asked to bring a few different tools with me, like pliers and metal cutters. So I quickly gathered the tools (which could be found easily in my newly organized shop) and headed to the clinic. As I walked into the patient room, the nurse quickly tried to hide the plethora of tools I had brought with me while telling me not to let him see them. It was then that I saw a young boy on the table with a large fish hook in his thigh. With the hook firmly lodged in the middle of his thigh, the plan was to push the end of the hook further in so that the tip would be visible. Once the boy was numbed, this part of the plan was easily accomplished. At that point my skills (and tools) were called upon. I took the, now sterilized, wire cutters and snipped off the sharp end of the hook. We managed to pull the rest of the hook slid back out the way it came in without causing any further damage or pain. The boy was very relieved and the nurse provided him with an oversized bandage to help embellish the story for his friends.
When we decided to follow the Lord out here to serve Him in rural Ethiopia, we knew there would be many challenges and opportunities. But I never thought that I would get to play ER surgeon for the day!
