Charis Around the World

Tidbits from Ebony
Elizabeth Carmichael

Hello friends!!
We are back to real "tidbits" again! I hope you have fun with these. :-)

This beautiful girl has a nose ring on the same side of her nose as I do! :-) Usually women have the ring on the right side. Yesterday, I did a prenatal exam on a woman with rings on BOTH sides of her nose. They were HUGE too....much bigger than this girl's ring.

_________________________

I recently visited a clinic here in Glory Land (the city where I live).

The head doctor was so proud that they had recently been given a brand new ultrasound machine!

"We can now start doing deliveries again!" he said.

"Oh...you weren't doing deliveries before?" I asked.

"Not since our last ultrasound machine broke. You know, you can't attempt something like childbirth if you are coming at it with blind eyes."

And "progress" from the West keeps on spreading....

_________________________

A man who has worked with Pushpin people for many years made a joke the other day that I wanted to share with you!!! A group of friends were discussing the difference between the less complex trade language of Ebony (we will call in "Droopy") and the more complex language of Pushpin. Our friend was trying to make a comparison from the perspective of a proud Pushpin. Here is what he came up with:

"Droopy is for ... picnics.
And....women!

Ah......but, Pushpin!
Pushpin.....is for
MEN!
And.......WAR!"

And, this is the language I have signed up for......oh my!

_________________________

I went to a personal security training course for two weeks last month. I learned so much!! We covered everything from how to be safe in Ebony, to how to avoid and survive a kidnapping, to how to manage a crisis (such as an attack or threat) on our non-governmental organization. Needless to say, it was a very intense week, but I have come away feeling confident and prepared to do my part in this work.

_________________________

I have FINALLY been able to start observing at local clinics in Glory Land and conduct needs assessments in view of our team's future health project. I have been having a great time getting to know various local midwives, doctors and patients. It is exhausting, but rewarding. Upon my first visit to one clinic, the midwives and I got into deep discussions in between patient visits. After only three hours, we established that I am not a "Cousin" (the religion they follow), that I follow God, that I don't have sex (I am single), and that my parents are divorced. We also determined how much I weigh in comparison with the other women! Hilarious! I made them give their "wada" --their promise-- not to tell anyone else what the scale said!

_________________________

A Visit:

I walk in the door to a room full of kisses and hugs. One of my favorite families in Glory Land is greeting me on my return from the capital! They also have a guest in their home who traveled from a nearby province so she could see a doctor.

As we sit and drink tea, she tells me about her ailments and pulls out all the medications she was given. So, of course I have to look through all the meds and talk about what they all are for -- even though everyone else present has already been through that process with her. I am always surprised at the prescriptions here. She has joint pain and they  gave her antihistamines!

We had a wonderful visit for several hours. It is good to visit in homes with other team mates, but it is also a rare and exciting opportunity to get to muddle through the conversation and not be corrected all the time by someone else or feel self conscious. It is so easy to judge each other in language study AND to measure our own worth by our progress and our ability. May we live free of that bondage!

As we were visiting, a beggar woman and her daughter came to the door. It was wonderful to watch the family interact with her. I felt like I was watching their potential as believers. The women of this family are going to be beautiful Lights some day!
Before I left, I asked the English speaking daughter if it I could have permission to pray for her sick relative. She said, “Of course! And pray for my father too - for his blood pressure. And pray for me!” :-) I prayed in English over the family and, as I left, the guest (in typical Pushpin dramatic style) cried and hugged me and kissed me.

She told me about another foreigner she had met years ago when she was a refugee in a neighboring country. The other woman was like me, she said. I wondered what that meant. But, I was reminded that we may think we are the first link in the chain, leading people to His love and mercy....but, sometimes we are the fifth link, or the twentieth link. He is always at work. And we get to rejoice when we realize we have joined Him in that work!

As I rode home, I thought “I am so glad to be here. I am so glad we can get out and visit like this.” Thank Him with me for bringing our team to this place and giving us opportunities to serve the Pushpin people!

There are five children in this picture. Can you find them?

This picture (and the one of the girl with a nose ring) were taken by a friend travelling through areas of the "Pushpin Belt" - areas of three different countries where the Pushpin people live.