We Have Arrived!

Yes, finally!  After months of planning we received a great send-off from many of our church people, family and friends.  Then 24 hours of travel from London to Toronto via shuttle coach, flights from Toronto to Brussels with a layover before flying on to Accra, Ghana and then finally to Lome, Togo – we have arrived.  

 

Mother Linda, sister Tammy and Christine (remembering
fondly wearing a hoody to keep warm!) on the day we left.

The boys were exhausted after the travel.  We stayed overnight at an inn in Lome, the Lucia Guest House, for those who know it.  We awoke to do some power-shopping for house supplies and to fill the fridge of our new home before the 2+ hour drive north to the hospital just outside Tsiko.  It was a great introduction to the country for Christine and the boys.  At one point Logan pointed out the window of the van and exclaimed “There's a guy riding a moto with a table on his head!!”.  Kofi, the hospital's Togolese driver just laughed from up front and said quietly, “You haven't seen anything.”

We arrived in Tsiko with enough time to unpack a few of our bins before heading up to the dining hall at the guest house for dinner and the Sunday evening church service that the English-speaking hospital staff have each week.  We were introduced there and met a few of the people we will both be working with.  There are several medical staff that remember the Westons from their memorable stay here.  Dr. Kuehler is here for a few more weeks.  He bandaged up a couple of those kids!

Getting Settled

We are using a borrowed internet connection, at approximately 2G speeds, so this might take a while.  We were unable to get our phones hooked up in Lome when we were picked up because the TogoCell stores were closed.  That's one reason why email and a blog post has been so slow in coming.  We plan on getting connected with an internet stick and SIM cards late this week when someone is heading back to Lome.  Plans are still being put together for that.

A quick shot of the small mountain range behind the compund.

We are in a great house on the hospital compound grounds.  House #2 is where we are.  I've attached a couple of pictures of it.  More will likely come later.  One thing Christine did want to mention is that we do have a guest bedroom in the house.  Just saying...  Parents, are you listening??  And, for all of my concern about getting correct adapters for computers and phone chargers, God has answered, of course  Our house is wired with both the African 220/50  AND  North American 110/60 circuits!  Seriously, I shouldn't be surprised that there are regular plugs in the wall.  It was meant to be.

View of our house from the front...

... and a view from the main laneway of the
residential area of the compound

Can - 1; Can Opener - 0
to be continued...

The white pineapples are amazing, the mangos are delicious.  We've been introduced to "Ghana bread" – a denser loaf than we're used to, with a slight sweet taste to it.   It makes great French toast.  Keenan has discovered a chicken & bean chili / soup that he has declared his 'favourite meal ever'!

The boys are finding lizards all over the place and are as distracted as squirrels by each one that scurries away.  They have caught one already... but mom wouldn't let it become a house pet!

Showing off their new Team Togo soccer outfits

 

The Heat 

Okay, we knew it was going to be hot here.  And guess what – it is!  Smoking hot, and humid, one doctor said it has been the hottest he's experienced.  We get hot and humid in Southwestern Ontario, but this is at a whole other level, and with no reprieve of air conditioning, except in the Operating Suites or in a couple of the other houses.  Our house, no A/C – but we do have several fans blowing hot air!  On the bright side, only six more months of this to deal with!

Time To Get To Work

The medical staff have been delighted to have us here.  They are all friendly and welcoming.  We've been accepted into the family immediately.  Christine has received some direction as to the work she is going to be doing.  She's prepping the resuscitation equipment for the OR and delivery rooms.  There is lots of organizing to be done, as some of these pictures show.  These are before...

 

Nothing gets thrown out, it all
gets cleaned and reused.

'Cleaned' is a subjective term.

In case of emergency, grab something from here!

She's gone on rounds in the mornings with the doctors and has enjoyed seeing all the patients and being able to listen in on the prayers being said on their behalf.  What an experience.  This doesn't happen in North America!  As the days go on she will be filling out her days more and more with work in the Intensive Care ward, the OR and with the babies.

Some equipment in one of the OR suites.

Through the little half door is a handyman's dream!

I have spent a couple of days with John Teusink, the head of the maintenance department - and he can't wait to give me a 'to do' list of my own!  On a hospital compound with 25 year old buildings that are getting used heavily, and equipment being exposed to high heat, humidity and dust, things only last so long.  The old saying of 'two is one, and one is none' applies perfectly here.  There is one of the two heavy duty washing machines apart, waiting for parts to arrive from overseas.  There are two wells on site.  As well, there are tandem generators for when (not IF) the power goes out.

Thanks for reading this.  If you want to follow along you can sign up for email updates on the right side of the page.  If you want to email us, we'll try to respond as quickly as the sketchy connections allow.  Our email address is penny.missions@gmail.com