Little is much…When God is in it. (Remembering Lorrie Klem)

It has been an interesting few weeks.  Its week 4 of second semester, I still have no clue how time goes so fast here.  The days are often long, but the weeks seem so short!    

My Obstetric Complication class is going pretty well (based on the first test I'm just about finished grading.)  I've struggled a little more with it that I have the Normal Obstetric class I taught last semester.  Mainly, the struggle has been figuring out what the students actually need to know and what can we actually do about it here. 

We got some new text books from Northwest Nazarene University (thanks sooo much, they really are a great help!!)  A few of them are relevant to my class and the students are using them for their major assignment.  But then the really interesting questions come! For instance, our PNG text book, written in 2002, briefly discusses, in two paragraphs, placenta previa (condition where the placenta is attached to the uterus close to or covering the cervix) and what needs to be done here.  The US text book has pages on the condition and its treatment!  One of the pages states that the condition can resolve in many cases.  There is nothing about it resolving in the PNG text book, only treatment when the woman comes in bleeding.  First question from a student, "How can placenta previa resolve while the patient is bleeding?"  Answer from me, "Well, it can't, the book is talking about placenta previa resolving when it is diagnosed early on in pregnancy by looking at an ultrasound, and then as the uterus expands the placenta ends up not covering the cervix…" Next comes some blank stares from a few students and more explanation is given by me. 

Ultrasound is not something that is done routinely in prenatal care in PNG.  Overall, in the country, it's rarely done.  Very few places have a machine, and only a few of the patients would be deemed medically necessary to have a scan done.  So, very, very few placenta previas are getting diagnosed on ultrasound and "resolving" in PNG.  Where do you go from there?  Why can't every woman get an ultrasound in pregnancy here? Why do babies (and mothers) most likely die every day from this condition in this country and very, very few probably die yearly from it in the US?  Why do I have to teach that there is basically no treatment for hydrocephalus, when I know there is one, and the US textbook explains the treatment in detail?  Why is most of what I need to teach basically the same few steps for treatment, for such complicated conditions?  Why are there only so many steps that can be done here?  Why can't the care plan at the end of that US textbook also be in our PNG textbook?    

One of our Doctors here, Mark Crouch, shared recently about his similar feelings on the OB ward.  I totally understood his frustrations and it hit home with what I had been experiencing these last 4 weeks trying to teach all of this.  (see my Facebook page for the link to his blog)

Tonight in Fellowship, the first year students sang the song "Little is much when God is in it."  And I was holding back tears the whole time.  My frustrations with what to teach had set in again as I finished the second test this afternoon and gave it to the ladies in the printing room to print for me.  Also, a wonderful lady at my church in Illinois, a friend of mine, has just passed away after a valiant fight against cancer.  Lorrie embodied this song.  She could throw a party for a whole community with $50 or less it seemed!  She always saw a harvest field in front of her.  One of my best friends (and many other people) is a Christian today, because Lorrie witnessed to her at work, and invited her to church and showed her what being a Christian is all about.  Lorrie did much with little all the time.  So I sat there tonight, hearing the students sing the following lines, thinking about what little we have here, and what little Lorrie worked with much of the time as well. 

In the harvest field now ripened
There’s a work for all to do;
Hark! the voice of God is calling
To the harvest calling you.

Refrain

Little is much when God is in it!
Labor not for wealth or fame.
There’s a crown—and you can win it,
If you go in Jesus’ Name.

Does the place you’re called to labor
Seem too small and little known?
It is great if God is in it,
And He’ll not forget His own.

Refrain

Are you laid aside from service,
Body worn from toil and care?
You can still be in the battle,
In the sacred place of prayer.

Refrain

When the conflict here is ended
And our race on earth is run,
He will say, if we are faithful,
“Welcome home, My child—well done!”

Little is much when God is in it!
Labor not for wealth or fame.
There’s a crown—and you can win it,
If you go in Jesus’ Name.                                (Kittie L. Suffield, 1924)

If that wasn't enough to get me straightened out, Pastor Joseph then shared from 1 Samuel 16 about the time when David was chosen over his seven brothers to be King.  "The Lord does not look at the things people look at.  People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."  (verse 7b)  Another wonderful message, but I wrap up with the prayer that is now on my heart. 

Oh help me Lord to see what you see, to look at what you look at when you see all that is this place Papua New Guinea and its beautiful people, and not see this place you have called me to labor as "too small and little known."  It is great because you, God, are in it, and I know you will not forget your own.

And may a little(or much) of Lorrie Klem live on in each of us, as we make the best of what little we have, with you, Papa God, always in it. 

The People of Papua New Guinea

Back in May, I shared a little about my prayer request for what I am to do the next few years.  I just couldn't come to peace with leaving and not returning after December.  I prayed about what this would mean for me, how it would work out, and if staying was really even necessary here, or what God wanted.  The answers have come and I am now planning to stay in Papua New Guinea through March of 2016.  I am not planning to come home until then.  That date was chosen because I would like to see the class of students I started teaching last year graduate and that is when they will!  These are the students I am currently teaching an Obstetric Emergencies and Newborn Complications class.  These are the students that are on my heart all the time.  I love all the students here, all three classes, but the current second year students are the ones I have taught the most, have seen the most, and who have put up with me the most!

I was thinking the other day about what I am thankful for lately and mostly it was people who came to mind.  I want to share some of them with you all. 

First, there is Angela, one of the women who works in the College printing room.  She knows I am really trying to working on my Tok Pisin.  She loves to make me laugh by starting out a conversation with me in Tok Pisin and then switching to her Tok Ples halfway through our conversation and seeing me get all confused!  As soon as I realize she switched languages, I roll my eyes and she just laughs more and more, until we are both laughing so hard others come to stare at us!  I got her the other day by asking another of the tutors a Waghi phrase (her tok ples) and saying it to her before she had a chance to talk to me! 

Next, there is Sister Grace, one of the senior tutors at the college.  She asks how my lesson plans are going and is always there if I need some input on how things work in PNG.  She also has a great laugh, and thinks I'm extremely humorous, (even though I doubt most others do!)  She and her daughter love to read and Grace has been so thankful for all the books given to her when the missionaries recently cleaned out and downsized the station Mission library.  We chat about books, obstetrics, our families, and our love for the students and love for Christ.  She shares from her garden with me, and I made a cake for her son's birthday.  You have never seen anyone happier over a simple chocolate sheet cake with "Happy 7^th Birthday Moses" written on it! 

There is Emily, and Lin, Ann Marie, Queensley, and Sylvia, my neighbor girls that love to do anything with me from weeding my garden, to taking down laundry to baking cookies.  They also like yelling "Hi, Sister Staci" as often as they can as I try to get their correct name out.

There is Moris, the woman who has come over a few times a month for the past few months to help me clean and do yard work.  Her cheerful spirit while doing these simple tasks puts me to shame and makes me smile at the same time.  She too is helping me learn Tok Pisin, and loves to find a new word or two to teach me each time I see her.  At K10 ($4) for 4 hours of work (the going rate around here), I truly get the best part of the deal just by getting to know her. 

I could go on and on; about my national friends, about the missionaries here as well, about patients I met on the ward that I think about and pray for but I'll end with sharing the names of those 38 students who now make up the second year class and are continually in my prayers.  –There is Andrew, Bruce, Chris, Danny and Dimas.  Everlyn, Elizabeth, Israel and Louis.  Jacob, John G and John M, Joshua, Jonah, Joy, Josephine, Jennifer and Jeminah.   Mata, Max, Mec, Moses, Madelyn, Mero and Michael.  Nathan, Philemon, Robina, and Rebecca.  Samson, Shedrick, and Sera. Tracy, Timothy, Tom, Thomas, Terry and Wilfred.  And there are a few that are no longer in the class that are also still in my prayers.  (And yes, I did that without looking them up, it helps that I attempt to grade their papers in alphabetical order to make it easier to record grades.)

These are many of the reasons I've had to be thankful lately and there are so many more, but I'll leave that for another day.  These are the some of the people who are my "People of Papua New Guinea." 

 

 

The Humbling Hike

So, yesterday I went on a hike with a group from Kudjip.  The 12 of us "white skins" met at 6:00 am and headed out to get our national guides for our hike to Kurumal.  We picked up Isaiah, a 3rd year Bible College student, at Tamban church and got to see a glorious sunrise there. 

I was feeling good and ready to enjoy a fun day of hiking with some friends, old and new.  Erin, my physically fit, doctor friend, had told me that the hike was more difficult than the previous one we had went on, and there would be times we would hike straight up the mountain through peoples gardens and then hike back down again, and that we would cross the river a few times. 

So I was prepared for it to be a tough hike, but that explanation doesn't do it justice by any means!!  I've seen patients in the hospital that have fallen out of their garden, and sustained major injures!  Crazy to understand for this Midwestern girl, that falling "out" of a garden is a real thing here.  I'm also not in the shape I was in college when ROTC hikes and strolls in State parks were something I could accomplish with minor aches (and Illinois, Wisconsin, and Washington are nothing like PNG!)  But I have been swimming regularly recently, getting some cardio and strength/flexibility in for my back and feeling pretty good. I also love nature and getting any excuse to be off station and enjoying it sounded great. Our last hike, with basically the same people was at a nice pace, not overly fast, not rushed and had plenty of stops for pictures and chatting with those we went by.  I guess I though this is sort of what our day would be like, just longer and a bit harder.  Little did I know what was in store for me! 

It started out easy enough, good pace, wide enough, well-used, packed dirt actual "trail."  Then our group began to grow as we went.  A few kids would join here, some ladies there, a man as we crossed his garden, till we had about 51 people in our crew.  The trail took us higher, up more narrow spots, and really wasn't a trail anymore, but worn down grass, and rocks and mud.  We got to those vertical gardens and by now I have a man in front of me who must be a trained trail guide.  I don't know at what point he decided he was going to be my personal guide but at some point he just made it clear he was. 

Now, I think of myself as a pretty easy going person, but I also am very independent, and very use to doing things for myself, and all by myself.  I'm a nurse, a former Army officer, a missionary, a first born child, an introvert, a 32 year old single woman; I've done well, just me and Jesus, making things work so far.   I kind of had a hard time accepting his "help" the whole way up.  I wanted to put my hand in one spot to push up, he would grab my hand with a death grip, and pull me up.  I'd let go, he would grab my hand again.  All of this was done in a very respectful, thoughtful manner, but I just could NOT do what I wanted to do, without this man, or some small child, or who knows who else right there to "correct" or "hinder" me!  The pace was no longer something I was in control of.  I was being dragged up a mountain I wished to climb.  I couldn't stop to breathe when I wanted to.  I had to put my foot there, and not there.  I couldn't get my hand out of his.  I couldn't stop if I wanted to without ten people crashing into me (at least it felt like this!) There was little shade at this point and I was getting very hot and thirsty.  I finally somehow was able to communicate that I had to stop and got my hand free.  I was able to get some water then, but was so hot, stressed out and claustrophobic and too many eyes were watching me that the shortness of breath I had had, quickly turned into wheezing and now I was really panicking.  Here I am on the side of a mountain, now hours from medical help, and even with a doctor, a CRNA, and 4^th year medical student in the group, I knew none of that would matter if I couldn't calm down and figure out how to make this work.

 PRAYER.  Short, and specific.  The wheezing calmed down some, the water helped and then Sid, the CRNA, a former Army man, and a dad, said the first words I heard clearly in a while, "Sometimes the lessons we learn on these things are not the ones we hoped for, humility…." I can't remember the rest now, but that one word was enough to bring Philippians 2:3 to mind, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.  Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of your to the interest of others." 

I had to let go of what I wanted to do.  I had it fixed in my mind that I could do this myself, but fighting for that was getting me nowhere.  I resigned to the help.  He wanted to help, I probably did need it.  Not being selfish in this instance meant relying on those around me, and one man in particular.  I still haven't sorted through all the implications that can be taken from this like I like to do, but for me yesterday, that one man, became a symbol of my pride.  That man, whose name I could never pronounce right even after three attempts and I have no clue how to spell, wanted to help and I had to let him.  I caught my breath, and then we moved again, me still struggling with the whole issue, but determined to be humble. Once we got to the top of that section, we were able to talk and worked out a plan a little better to help them understand my pace and back issues and all, but a lot of the success of the day just came from me reaching out and accepting the offered hand, or foot hold or whatever it was.  And there were many of them, and many spots I still didn't want help but it was there and I took it.  I hated having my hand held like that, but it was the lesson I needed yesterday. 

I came to Papua New Guinea to teach and to serve and go as He commanded, and I have done some of all that, but God wanted me to learn something yesterday and receive some help.  As I looked at the Philippians scripture today for my personal study, I went back to the first verse of chapter two. "Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in the spirit and of one mind.” (Emphasis added)   I received encouragement, comfort, love, shared stories of our common faith, and got lots of compassion yesterday.  Pride goes before the fall, and I fell a lot yesterday, and that pride is gone, along with the backside of my pants, which now have a significantly large hole in them.  Hard to have a lot of pride when you have to borrow a shirt to cover your backside!

 

 

 
I'll say the hike to the waterfall was worth it, even though the uphill climb was tough, and going back down wasn't much easier, crossing slippery rocks in the river was difficult, and hanging on to barely a ledge alongside the river was crazy.  I won't forget the hike, the views, the smiles, the lessons, the stress, or that hand that kept reaching back for mine.