Another Voice Part 3

So, you've heard us talk about the many overwhelming needs that are always present at the Nyahuka Health Center. Time to hear it from someone who is in the thick of it day in and day out...

Meet Jessica Ankney, 

one of our team's 2 American physicians that Derek will be primarily working with when we arrive in Bundibugyo. Thanks for taking the time to let us peek into your world, Jess!

1. What is your primary role on the Bundi Team?  Most of my time is spent on the pediatric ward, taking care of the hospitalized children.  Some of the most common illnesses we treat there are malaria, sickle cell disease, pneumonia, severe malnutrition, and diarrhea.  I helped to restart an outpatient program to treat moderately malnourished children, and now most of my role with that program is supervisory and teaching once/month.

2. What does the flow of a typical day look like for you?

A typical day would look something like this:  

waking up early for time in the Word and prayer.  

Working out with a teammate at 7am (we are doing P90X).  

Breakfast (toasted homemade bread and yummy peanut butter from a care package).  

 

Walk to the hospital at 8:45. 

 Hope my interpreter will come on time.  Hope that a nurse will come at all.  

 Greet the patients.  

 Try not to be overwhelmed by the foul smell of the ward and the number of patients waiting for me. 

Fill up my medicine "trolley" with supplies and meds.  

Pass out the patients' hospital paper and book, which involves invariably mispronouncing some of their names and subsequent laughing.  

Then, I try to make some order out of the chaos and see as many of the kids as I can.  It seems like 35 to 40 is my maximum number, so I always hope the census will be less than that.  

After seeing lots of sick, but adorable, little kids, I head home, thirsty, hunger, hot, and sweaty.  At home, I fill up on cold water and leftovers and spend a few minutes recovering from the exhausting day.  

The late afternoons and evenings vary--leading a Bible study for small group of girls at Christ School Bundibugyo, language lessons, trips to Bundibugyo town for supplies, meetings, visiting people, etc.  

 The evenings end with cooking meals from scratch, lots of dishes, and good fellowship with my teammates.  "Missionary midnight" is 9pm, but usually I can stay awake until at least 10!  

I hope that my sound machine and ear plugs will drown out the noise of barking dogs, loud parties from the town, the squeaking bats outside my window, and the early morning call to prayer from the mosque.  

And by the grace of God, He wakes me up for another day--another opportunity to serve Him here, to love the Ugandans, and to learn about dying to myself in the process.

3. What is your greatest challenge in ministering in Bundi?  The most challenging part for me is to see the injustices and wrongs here, wanting for them to be righted, impatient that change is slow, and that my ability to make significant change is so limited.

4. What has been your greatest reward in ministering on this team and in this people group?  I have a deeper gratitude towards God for even giving me life, good parents, the rich blessings and conveniences of America.  Before I came here, I took so much of that for granted and now I am thankful for so much more.

5. What do you hope to see transpire in Bundi in the next 5 years?  I hope for:  more Christian leadership in the community, as local leaders rise up to take responsibility for improving the community; government workers (nurses, teachers, etc) actually coming to work and doing their job faithfully; less malnutrition; children with sickle cell disease having less hospital admission because of overall improved health from preventative health care.

Thanks, Jess! And, just in case you need some comic relief at the end of your long day, here you go:

{Thanks also to Chrissy & Alisha for the photos...}