I am here!!

Just a quick note to let you know that I made it safely to Bujumbura, Burundi!  It was definitely a long couple of days of flying, and I am happy to be here.  It is 10 hours ahead here, so I arrived on Sunday evening around 7pm local time here.  (as I am sending this now it is Monday afternoon here).  I was met at the airport by LaCharite and her husband.  LaCharite is the campus hostess.  They were a little bit late, so I did have a few minutes of anxiety, wondering if anyone was going to pick me up.  I did have a cab driver who spoke English, offer to give me a ride J

It definitely is warm here, and very humid, kind of felt like a sauna when I stepped off the airplane.

So far I have been impressed with the people I have met, and their ability to speak English, although I think the ones I have met so far are in administrative and more developed roles, so I am not sure that will be the same for my students.

My VISA that I was worried about, where I had to change the 7 to an 8 because the woman at the embassy had made a mistake, they didn’t notice anything about that…however, the date that the VISA started on was for today and not for yesterday…another mistake!  But, they let me in anyway, phew!!

There is another missionary family here, and they are currently living in a house on campus. They are planning to move into the home in the city soon so they can be closer to where their children will be going to school, they are long term missionaries here, and I believe will be here for a few years.  They have been in Africa for 6 months, and in Bujumbura for about a month, so it is great to have them here as a resource.  They are busy taking French classes, as they expected to be teaching and working at the clinic by now, but it is not open yet, so they are using this time to improve their French.  Today their children were going to watch some French cartoons, I think I might need to participate in that, so I can learn some French as well. It seems that the hold up with the clinic has something to do with needing to get permission to close off the road leading to the clinic for a day, so they can tear up the road to give either some water or electrical access, Joel was not sure which one.  He was thinking it could be another month before it opens.  I really am hoping and praying that it will open soon, as I would really like to have some kind of exposure to the clinic while I am here.

I will start teaching my first class on Wednesday afternoon.  I am kind of nervous about that, as I thought I would have a week or so to get prepared before I would start teaching.  It seems that the school does not so much operate on the schedule I was given (Summer session starting June 25^th), and more operates on when they have faculty available, or something else, I am not sure.  So I am not really clear on the exact plan, but will need to figure that out soon, so I can provide my students with some sort of schedule on Wednesday.

Eric, the director of the nursing program took me on a tour of the library and the nursing lab today.  The library actually has quite a few resources, most of them are old, but they are available.  I noticed several of the nursing textbooks were the same textbooks and editions that I used in nursing school.  The nursing lab has a nice big screen TV hooked up to a computer so I am hoping that I will be able to use that room to do most of my teaching.  It is funny that they have this big screen TV, and then other things are so obviously underdeveloped.  

The nursing lab has one bed with a manikin in it.  It is a manikin like what we use in the states to teach CPR.   Eric kind of laughed when he pulled the sheet back to show me the manikin.  I am not sure why, maybe he thinks it is funny, or he realizes it is different from what we use in the states.  I am impressed that they even have a manikin, and I think it will work just fine for what I need to do.

Prayer requests: 

Pray for the clinic to be able to open soon.  That I will be able to have the knowledge and ability to teach these students on Wednesday in an effective way.  Also pray that my computer continues to work…it was acting a little funny before I left on Friday night, and now every time I turn it on, it runs some kind of disk scan that I have never seen before, I hope and pray it is nothing serious!

Here we go....

Well, it is finally here!  A year and a half of planning this trip to Burundi, and I leave in the morning!  I would be lying if I said that I wasn't nervous, but I also am incredibly excited!  I can't wait to get there, and to meet all the people and to see what God has in store for me and all those whom I will encounter.  I wouldn't be able to make this dream come true if it weren't for all of my amazing friends and family and supporters.  Thank you to each and everyone of you that has encouraged me, supported me, prayed for me, donated your time, money, and gifts to make this possible.  I might be setting out on this journey my myself, but I know that I am not alone...I know that I have all of you in my corner.  I hope that I will make you all proud!  I love you all so much!  I hope to be able to update this blog fairly frequently, but I am not sure yet the exact situation of the internet where I will be.  I would love to hear from you during my trip, it just may take me a little bit to get back to you.   Feel free to leave messages on the blog or email me at mikeljonelle@gmail.com
Love, Mikel

No turning back now...

Things are starting to come together quickly for my trip.  I have now been vaccinated against yellow fever, polio, tetanus, and typhoid.  I had some reactions to the vaccines, but it sure beats getting one of these diseases while in Africa!  I bought my plane ticket to Africa this past week as well.  I leave June 9th, and it will take me a couple days to get to Bujumbura, Burundi.   The plane ticket was expensive, and I am so incredibly blessed that so many of you have donated money towards this journey, and helped make purchasing this ticket possible!   I wouldn't be able to do this without the support of all of you.   Thank you for partnering with me to make this possible.

I mailed my passport off this week to the Embassy of Burundi to get my VISA.  I have to admit, sending my passport in the mail, makes me very nervous. I am praying that it comes back soon, along with my VISA and the permission to enter the country.

My next big task is mapping out 5 weeks of classroom lectures, assignments and exams for these students I will be teaching.  I have to have everything planned out before I go, along with what kind of activities I might want to do with the students so that I can take the right supplies with me.  I need to bring my own paper, pens, ink cartridges, chalk, etc.  These types of supplies will not be available, or will be very expensive to get in Burundi, so it is recommended that I bring all of my teaching supplies with me.   I am planning on taking one suitcase with me, with just these types of supplies, and a second suitcase with my clothes and other things I will need to live there for 2 months.  

Thank you again for all of your love and support! 

A funny thing happened on the way to your room...

As it gets closer to my departure date, I am being "filled in" with all kinds of information.  As I get the information I plan to post it here on the blog, more for my own journaling about this adventure than anything.

So, read at your own risk :)

Today I received a phone call from a woman who has spent the last few months in Burundi teaching at the same place I will be going.  She had a lot of useful information to share in only a few short minutes...
Although I have been told that the students are to know English to be in the nursing program, I was informed today, that usually by the time they finish the program they know some English, and that is because their instructors often speak English and that is how they learn.  

So, I will be teaching my students in English, and they will understand little to none of it.   It was suggested to find a student in the room that speaks some English and have them translate for me as I lecture.   She said, it is very hard to keep control of the classroom, because even if you raise your voice, they don't have a clue what you are saying, so it doesn't matter much.   At this point in the conversation the image of the teacher from Charlie Brown pops in my head, where all the students hear from the teacher is "mmmwaaah mmmwaaah mmmwaaah".   Well of course it is hard to keep control of the class like this.   I guess the first thing on my list to do before I go is learn how to ask them to be quiet in French!

When I asked her what I should plan on teaching, she said, "med-surg".   When I pressed for more specific information to this, she said, well "just teach them what you know and you are comfortable with, even if they have had it before, they won't know."  Ha!  Okay then, this is going to be fun :)  But, really we do not realize how blessed we are here in the U.S. to have universities that have curriculum's and standards and course objectives, textbooks, etc.  These students are left to the mercy of who ever happens to volunteer to teach them. 

This instructor shared with me a few things to expect about the students....she said that they have little to no manual dexterity skills, and just taking a blood pressure or weighing a baby is a huge task for them.  She attributes this to the fact that they have never had any toys or anything to play with to work on these types of skills with their hands.  When I think about teaching my beginning students here in the U.S.  they too struggle with taking blood pressures in the beginning, but once you show them one time how to put the blood pressure cuff on, and how to inflate the cuff and where to hold the stethoscope, they pretty much get it, and the rest of the learning curve is learning how to listen for the correct sounds, and what that means for the patient.  For these African students, just learning how to put the cuff on takes many many tries, because it is such a difficult skill for them.  Makes me think how difficult it must be for them to learn to start an IV.

There is a group of masters students at the university that I will be asked to help with their research and thesis projects as well.  This is not something I have done in the U.S. as an educator and was a little concerned about taking on this task....until I heard what the thesis projects were.   One is about hand washing before caring for pediatric patients (not just patients in general, but just pediatric patients!  Yikes, that makes me think they probably do not see a need for washing your hands prior to caring for adult patients), and one is on the effects of giving pain medications after surgery.   Wow....such a different world I will living in for 2 months!

A brand new hospital just opened across the street from the university.  This is where I will doing part of my teaching.  Apparently when they built the hospital they forgot to put any electricity in the neonatal area, but they put up beautiful long and expensive golden curtains on every window.   They built the operating room on the first floor, but all the patient rooms are on the second floor, and their are only stairs.  *insert screeching halt sound here* Yikes, I can not imagine transporting a patient after surgery -- up stairs to get to their room!  This sounds dangerous for both the patients and the people that are carrying the patients.  I can't even imagine the injuries and complications that can come from this little excursion after surgery...hence the title of this blog...a funny thing happened on the way to your room!   Maybe I can suggest this as a research project to one of the masters students...

I was feeling overwhelmed before this conversation, thinking, "I don't know if I am going to know enough or be able to teach them anything valuable."  But now I am seeing that there are so many things they need help with and need to be educated on, this is surely going to be a grand adventure!  It is probably a job big enough for a whole team of nurse educators!

Preparing....

It seems like for so long I have been saying, "I am going to Africa next summer," but as I am looking at my calendar, I am realizing that I will be leaving in 2 1/2 months.  I am so excited, yet admittedly nervous too.   As I am making preparations to go, I am getting a lot of questions about what I will be doing, and how I feel about it etc.  I have learned already, that when working with the people in Africa, I need to be flexible and not get too set into any one idea.

Originally I had been asked to go teach students at the Kibuye hospital in the rural area of Kibuye.   Recently those plans have changed, and now they are planning on having me teach on the main campus in the capital city of Bujumbura.  Just last month a new clinic was opened, that is across from the University campus.   The plan right now, is that I will be teaching a group of 20 students in the clinic in the mornings, and then teaching a lecture class in the afternoons to 60 students!  Towards the end of my 8 weeks in Burundi, I will then plan to go to the rural area clinic/hospital and work with the nurses there.  As the nurses there are all recent graduates of the program, and could use some help as well.  Although this is different than I had originally been planning on, this new plan will allow me to have contact with so many students.  I am excited to be able to share with them some knowledge so they can go back to their homes and villages and start impacting the health of those around them.   How exciting, and I couldn't be doing that without all of the support from all of you!!

Yikes!  This is a big load!  The availability of supplies and resources will be limited, so I will need to prepare my lecture notes and handouts ahead of time and take enough copies for all of my 60 students.  I also need to bring my own chalk and pens and paper, etc. Pretty sure I will forget something :)

But, I am ready.  I might not be packed and have all the items I need, but I am ready to go, I am ready to serve and ready to do the best I can with what I have and be open to what God has in store for me and for the Burundian nursing students.  I am certain I will learn just as much from them as I am able to share with them.   I recently heard a new song by the Sidewalk Prophets that speaks to how I feel about my trip coming up...it really hit home.  Especially this part.... "I want to live like that,  And give it all I have, So that everything I say and do, Points to You"

It is called:  Live like that (click on the link below to listen to the video)

Sidewalk Prophets: Live like that

Sometimes I think
What will people say of me
When I'm only just a memory
When I'm home where my soul belongs

Was I love
When no one else would show up
Was I Jesus to the least of those
Was my worship more than just a song

I want to live like that
And give it all I have
So that everything I say and do
Points to You

If love is who I am
Then this is where I'll stand
Recklessly abandoned
Never holding back

I want to live like that
I want to live like that

Am I proof
That You are who you say You are
That grace can really change a heart
Do I live like Your love is true

People pass
And even if they don't know my name
Is there evidence that I've been changed
When they see me, do they see You

I want to live like that
And give it all I have
So that everything I say and do
Points to You

If love is who I am
Then this is where I'll stand
Recklessly abandoned
Never holding back

I want to live like that
I want to live like that


I want to show the world the love You gave for me
I'm longing for the world to know the glory of the King

I want to live like that
And give it all I have
So that everything I say and do
Points to You

If love is who I am
Then this is where I'll stand
Recklessly abandoned
Never holding back

I want to live like that
I want to live like that

Thank you!!

I want to thank everyone who has helped support my trip to Burundi so far....my two fundraisers were a huge success, and I could not have done this without all of you!  (Check out the money thermometer on the side bar).  Thank you for partnering with me to help make a difference in Burundi!

Ipad winner

Thank you everyone for all your support in buying raffle tickets to support my trip.  The winner was drawn this week, and Marci Williams of Jefferson City, Montana was the lucky winner!