The Container 10/15/14

In 2011, some well meaning folks from Texas visited Kono, made some connections, and proceeded to partner with a Sierra Leonian Pastor and a Teacher in order to build a church, school, and medical clinic here. As part of that project they filled a 20 foot container with medical supplies and it arrived in 2012. Unfortunately, conflict came and the project never was completed. The container remained here full. Somehow, Phebian developed a relationship with the folks from the USA who had sent the container and when they heard about the clinic, they donated the contents of the container to us. Phebian packed all the contents into a large room where they remained until today.

My entire day was spent sorting through every box. What an experience! I think a conservative estimate of the retail value of the contents would be somewhere between $500,$1,000,000. We sorted them into 4 categories.

1. Usable items for our clinic: gloves, gowns, suture material, sharps containers, splints, casting materials, syringes, IV tubing and fluids.
2. Donate to the Koidu Government Hospital: surgical supplies, gloves, orthopedic supplies.
3. Take to Freetown to see if a specialty hospital could use them: chest tube kits, intubation supplies, various catheters.
4. Throw away because no on in Sierra Leone will ever use: PICC lines, Swan-Ganze catheters, cardiac stents and balloon devices, arterial lines.

I estimate that 1/3 of the containers contents will be actually usable by the Sierra Leonian Health System.

Living here with Phebian's family has given me a clearer picture of her life. Ever day from morning to night people come by to see her. Politicians, radio reporters (we were interviewed yesterday), constructions workers, family, hungry children and sometimes people with medical need (she's not providing medical care now). She always handles these people with grace and compassion. This morning I noted that even 4 dogs were lying outside her steps and she even fed them. All of you should be proud of her and keep her in your prayers.

I am healthy. I am running every morning with Pastor Joshua at 6:30. There is no running water here so I'm learning to scoop up the cold water and take a bath. I am reading more. Life seems to slow down here.

I do terribly miss Joyce, the kids, and my Jericho Road family. Although I love being here, I am also counting down the days to come home. Thank you for standing with us here in Sierra Leone. My encouragement to all of us is to put the science "facts" and our faith in an Almighty God before fear.

Myron.

P.S. World Hope has arrived and will be installing the solar electrical system. Our clinic will soon have lights!

Our mission house and medical clinic