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.

Holiday Pictures

As many of you know, I was incredibly blessed by a visit from my parents this past week. We had a wonderful time and truly got to 'get away' for a while. Our time in Swakop and Etosha was lovely, and I've posted some pictures HERE if you'd like to see some of what we did :)
Enjoy

Year in review...

Well, I figured if a picture is worth a thousand words, I could say a lot with a little 'review' of the year with pics that highlight some of my favorite memories. So here we go...

Don't know if I can honestly say the studying part of the picture below was noteworthy, but the better part of my spring semester was spent doing just that - hitting the books with fun friends at our favorite study spot :)


We finally made it to graduation day on May 2nd - woohoo! Here is Kate, Meg, and I recreating a picture we took at our induction into nursing school:

To celebrate graduating, Meg, Carrie and I took an amazing trip to Chicago for a few days and had a blast exploring! Here we are at Millenium Park:
Birthday celebration with the Besties at the lake was a memorable few days with lots of laughs and loads of fun! This pic was post-scanoe competition :)
I spent my summer working at Lifetime and nannying Lo, Nay, and Adrienne Bailey, which was a blast! I love these kids!
The end of June brought a trip to Cleaveland to visit my friend Laura doing an internship there. It was so much fun to see her and explore 'little Italy' with her!
July 19th brought a very special day as I got to stand up next to my dear friend Amy in her wedding. She was a beautiful bride!!
I also got to spend a week at Young Life's Castaway Club Camp in MN with some awesome girls from Southeast High School in Lincoln. This was a wonderful way to end my years with these girls (whom I miss dearly!!) Here we are before our team volleyball competition:
August 29th my dear friends Dave and Rivers welcomed their second beautiful baby girl into the world, Lydia Rivers... who has already grown SO much!!!

One of my last weeks here Katie, Kris, Emily and I took a little trip to Lawrence for a night out/ concert... I laughed so hard I cried this night!
September 8th brought a tear-filled goodbye at the airport with my parents as I headed off for Namibia (apparently we decided to be 'team green' this day...)
My time here so far has provided me with some unforgettable memories, and growing experiences that I pray the Lord will continue to unpack in my heart for years to come. Here's me with my favorite Martin ;)
Here's Kristen and I in Swakopmund, Namibia at the sand dunes on holiday with my parents! 2008 was a wild year - filled with mountain top highs and rocky hard times. Through it all God has continued to be my sustainance, and sole source of joy when I felt I had nothing to be 'happy' about. He has grown my passion for his glory, his story, and his people, and I pray that these passions will grow exponentially in 2009 as well.

Wishing you a wonderful New Year!
Much Love,
Mackenzie

Children's Home Pics

Hello! I have posted some pictures of our week at the Children's Home in Windhoek HERE. We had a wonderful week and I think the kids did too!
I hope you and your family have a blessed Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

"And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6

These verses have been running through my head all week. The significance of each of the names Christ was given before he was born overwhelms my heart. God knew exactly who he was sending before he came as a baby. Christ has been so faithful to fulfill each one of these names in my life throughout the past 4 months. I have had days when I had no idea what to do or where to turn and God was my Wonderful Counselor, he gave me wisdom, insight, and guidance in each moment I needed it. As he has directed and led me here I have become aware that he is Mighty God in my life. He has never left me, and has been strong and faithful through the many ups and downs. Just this week at the Children’s Home I got to see his fulfilling his role as Everlasting Father to the many orphans we worked with. They may not know the love of an earthly father, but they do have a heavenly father whose perfect love can fill them completely. Lastly, he truly has been my Prince of Peace. On a continent where ‘peace’ is not what rules, I am so grateful for the perfect measure of peace he gives my heart each day to make it through.

I hope and pray that the names of Christ come alive in your heart this Christmas season, as you celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior… Merry Christmas!

Much Love,

Mackenzie