Katatura State Hospital

Many of you know that I was able to start last week at Katatura State Hospital in Windhoek, under the guidance of Pediatrician and fellow AIM-er, Dr. Steve Brown. I spent Thursday and Friday there, as I will be doing each week from now on, and it was wonderful!! It felt so refreshing to be back in a (somewhat) familiar environment, and I really enjoyed getting to use some of my training to provide care for some pretty tiny patients! For those of you who are praying for relationships with the staff there, thank you! Sister Erica, who I worked alongside on Thursday in the PREM Unit (similar to a NICU) was a really neat woman, and I am looking forward to getting to know her. Additionally, I met a German nursing student who is here for four months, and she and I ‘stuck together’. Svennia is her name, and I am looking forward to continuing to develop a friendship with her as well!

Here are a few pictures:

This is Katatura State Hospital from the front. 20 years ago it was the 'black hospital' in Windhoek.

This sweet little Nama girl has an AV Septal Defect (heart). The cardiologist comes up once a month from South Africa to see the patients, and he was in last week.

'One-eyed Raoul' as I took to calling him :) Reminded me of a little pirate, and ever so cute!!

The sunset outside of KSH on Thursday evening... breathtaking!!!

That's all for now... thanks for the prayers!

Much Love

Mackenzie

A few fun pictures!

Kristen and I found a giraffe on the side of the road to jump in front of :) Can you see it in the background?

Last week my team had the sweet opportunity to make around 200 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and take them to Block E (the poorest section of Rehoboth). It was great to be able to give these people something, as we sought to share the gospel with them as well.

I'm back to helping out at St. Mary's, and arrived on the unit on Tuesday to find little Amalia asleep on the floor in the hallway! This sweet girl has been in the hospital since I arrived and the nurses think she'll be around until March or April.


Last Monday, my teammate MollyBea had a little run-in with this road sign involving a trip to the Casualty Room (ER), some stitches, a big bump on the head, and a good laugh (after making sure she was okay, of course!)

Holiday is officially over and school is back in session as of this week! This is our host sister, Jemca, on her first day of school! She was so excited and looked SO adorable in her little uniform!

That's all for now!
Much Love,
Mackenzie

Thirsty

So, as most of you know, I live in a desert. ‘Hot’ seems like an understatement here. It’s beyond arid… I’m convinced every drop of moisture within me vanishes upon my first step out the door in the morning. Because of this heat, I have a constant, unquenchable thirst. This isn’t a place to have a glass of water in the morning, and be sustained for a few hours or until your next meal. My Nalgene never leaves my side. Really. I’ve found that nothing else satisfies the way constantly drinking cold water does.
Because of my ever present awareness of my need for water, I have been so struck by the analogy of God as our ‘living water’ lately. I want to dwell on my need for Jesus, my love for Jesus, and my desire to look more like Jesus every moment of every day, the way I desire my Nalgene to never be out of reach. I want to be acutely aware of my reliance on him to live, breathe, love, and do anything of worth, the way I am aware of my need for water.
God, forbid me to forsake you, the only fountain of living water, the only giver of eternal life, true joy, and satisfaction. God I pray that you would forgive those of us who, with broken cisterns, try to fill our own cups with things that don’t satisfy (Jer 2:13). Bind our hearts to your fountains.
And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
Isaiah 58:11
God I pray that you would guide us in your will. Bring our hearts into alignment with your desires for our lives, relationships, money, and families. Strengthen our bones, and allow us to grow like a watered garden, that we would follow you all the days of our lives, seeking your glory to be prized and praised above all else.