Thanksgiving

Sadly here in india they dont celebrate thanksgiving. At home its a big holiday for my family we all travel to NC to my aunts house and we eat as much delicious food as we can stuff and fellowship with are friends and family who we only get to see once a year on this occasion. So as you can imagin i was missing home quite a lot, and all i was doing here was working in the hospital. They dont have the same food as home obviously so i could not even make the food i so love to eat, that was a bummer. At vespers ashish asked me to speak about thanksgiving for 10 min and i was petrified. I do not like public speaking at all, but i succomed to his bajering. So i explained how it all came about with the pilgrims giving thanks to God and than what a typical American does, watch football, the Macy day prade, and eat turkey. I also told them about what i do every thanksgiving and how i try to do somthing new last year it was carveing the turkey (obviously only a little but becuase dad said i was to slow), and i shot a gun which was the last time in my life i hope. In church i told them that coming here to india and speaking with them was my new thing for thanksgiving even though it was nothing like my normal one. I Told them they dont have to be American to celebrate thanksgiving because its a time for everyone to thank God for all that he has done for us this past year. The next day at church i also gave the children story so i steped out of my box twice in the same week. Being a missionary has opened up so many possibilities and new experiences for me that i am so greatful. I just got a package from TAS all full of thanksgiving food, mashed potatoes, green bean casserol mix, yams, crandbery sauce, and so much more. This made my day so much now i get to have my thanksgiving feast and get to share it with my friends here in india and show them the great food we have.

Wagah Border

The Wagah border is a ceremonial border of India and Pakistan where each evening, there is a ceremony called 'lowering of the flags'. The two guard units attempt to outdo each other in martial displays: shouting, and stomping around the border in mock military maneuvers. When this starts the air is very energetic and a thrilling parade is done by the border security force (B.S.F), of India and Pakistan soldiers. And to be one of these soldiers you are required to be freakishly tall. Ever soldier on the indian side had to be around 7 feet tall no joke. My friend Flo from germany is 6'6" and all the guards toward over him. It is very aggressive but is really entertaining for the crowds from both sides. It is just too good and the only show of its kind in the entire world. Soldiers from both Indian and Pakistani sides hoist their flags, open their gates, confront each other and slam the gates shut over a thirty minute span. Patriotic music is played on both sides with Indians shouting "Vande Mataran" and the Pakistanis shout ' Allahu Akhbar." And all around is a frenzied and cheering crowd. Soldiers from both countries marching in perfect drill, going through the steps of bringing down their respective national flags. But the most memorable thing is there attempt to outdo each other in showing their anger and contempt against each other. Soldiers raise their boots to show the soles to others across the border, they puff there chests out and touched each other when they came face to face, and they stamped there feet so hard that the road must get damaged somehow. The soldiers adopted every conceivable gesture to show their hatred in a most unsoldier like manner. The shouts of joy and sometimes not so gentamenly remarks are made from both sides of the crowd. People were cheering the soldiers as if they were gladiators. I have never seen such a show of patriatism before in my life, Indians and Pakistanians are so proud of there country its amazing. Kerry and I got to sit on the curb so we had a good seat but i had this old indian lady who kept leaning on me while shouting 'hindustan" in my ear. It was a great expereience i will never forget. And the three indian guys denyl, ashish, and niam that took us, i had never seen them look more proud. After the show it seemed like i was on display everyone asked me for a 'snap', everyone wanted a picture with the white girl it seemed, i thought it was so funny.

Mumbai Terrorist Attack

Hey everyone dont worry I was not near the terrorist attack yesterday in Mumbai and bombay, I am over 1,000 miles away in Jalandhar. The country is on red alert for all foreigners everywhere. I am here in India doing his will so God will protect me. I just hope that you all will keep india in your prayers right now with all the turmoil going on. Here is an article about the incident.

NBC News and news services
updated 6:23 a.m. ET Nov. 27, 2008
MUMBAI, India - Indian commandos were preparing to storm the Taj Hotel, Trident-Oberoi and a Jewish center in India's financial capital where militants had trapped or taken hostage scores of people, witnesses and TV channels said, Reuters reported on Thursday.
A short while earlier a huge explosion was heard in the Taj Hotel.
Earlier, black-clad Indian commandos liberated some hostages and recovered a few bodies in the Taj Mahal hotel, nearly a day after teams of gunmen stormed landmarks in the city, killing at least 101 people.
The attacks, which were blamed on Muslim militants, targeted two luxury hotels, a popular restaurant, a crowded train station and a Jewish center. Anees Ahmed, a top state official, had said authorities believed up to 15 foreigners were being held hostage at the Taj Mahal hotel.
Dozens of people were still trapped or held captive on Thursday, among them Americans, Britons, Italians, Swedes, Canadians, Yemenis and New Zealanders. Officials say Australian, Japanese and British nationals are among the dead.
Witnesses said the attackers had specifically targeted Britons and Americans.
Police and gunmen had been exchanging occasional gunfire at the two hotels and dozens of people were believed held hostage or trapped inside the besieged buildings. Pradeep Indulkar, a senior official at the Maharashtra state Home Ministry said that in addition to the 101 people slain, 314 had been injured.
Officials said eight militants had also been killed in the coordinated attacks on at least 10 sites that began around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday.
'Save us' A series of explosions had rocked the Taj Mahal just after midnight. Screams were heard and black smoke and flames billowed from the century-old edifice on Mumbai's waterfront. Firefighters sprayed water at the blaze and plucked people from balconies with extension ladders. By dawn, the fire was still burning.
At the nearby upscale Oberoi hotel, soldiers could be seen on the roof of neighboring buildings. A banner hung out of one window read "save us." No one could be seen inside the room from the road.
Mumbai, on the western coast of India overlooking the Arabian Sea, is home to splendid Victorian architecture built during the British Raj and is one of the most populated cities in the world with some 18 million crammed into shantytowns, high rises and crumbling mansions. The Taj Mahal hotel, filled with Oriental carpets, Indian artifacts and alabaster ceilings, overlooks the fabled Gateway of India that commemorated the visit of King George V and Queen Mary.
The motive for the onslaught was not immediately clear, but Mumbai has frequently been targeted in terrorist attacks blamed on Islamic extremists, including a series of bombings in July 2006 that killed 187 people.
Since May a militant group calling itself the Indian Mujahideen has taken credit for a string of blasts that killed more than 130 people. The most recent was in September, when explosions struck a park and crowded shopping areas in the capital, New Delhi, killing 21 people and wounding about 100.
Relations between Hindus, who make up more than 80 percent of India's 1 billion population, and Muslims, who make up about 14 percent, have sporadically erupted into bouts of sectarian violence since British-ruled India was split into independent India and Pakistan in 1947.
Officials at Bombay Hospital, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a Japanese man had died there and nine Europeans had been admitted, three of them in critical condition with gunshots. All had come from the Taj Mahal, the officials said.
The NDTV news channel reported that an explosion had been heard at the Trident hotel and that several Israelis were among hostages being held on the 19th floor. NDTV said commandos were preparing for a counterassault there.
At least three top Indian police officers — including the chief of the anti-terror squad — were among those killed, said A.N. Roy, a top police official.
Alex Chamberlain, a British citizen who was dining at the Oberoi, told Sky News television that a gunman ushered 30 to 40 people from the restaurant into a stairway and, speaking in Hindi or Urdu, ordered everyone to put up their hands.
Chamberlain said he managed to slip away as the patrons were forced to walk up stairs, but he thought much of the group was being held hostage.
"I guess they were after foreigners, because they were asking for British or American passports," said Rakesh Patel, a British witness who lives in Hong Kong and was staying at the Taj Mahal hotel on business. "They had bombs."

By ANITA CHANG, Associated Press Writer
MUMBAI, India – Black-clad Indian commandoes raided two luxury hotels to try to free hostages Thursday, and explosions and gunshots shook India's financial capital a day after attacks by suspected Muslim militants killed at least 119 people.
About 10 to 12 gunmen remain holed up inside the hotels and a Jewish center, a top Indian general said. The remaining gunmen appeared to have been killed or captured, Maj. Gen. R.K. Huda told New Delhi Television.
Authorities said 119 people died and 288 were injured when suspected Islamic militants — armed with assault rifles, hand grenades and explosives — launched a highly coordinated attack against 10 sites in the city Wednesday night.
Officials said eight militants were also killed.
Dozens of people were being held hostage at the hotels, as well as a nearby Jewish center, by the well-trained and heavily armed gunmen, authorities said.
While hostages trickled out of the hotels throughout the day, witnesses said many bodies remained inside and the two-day siege showed few signs of ending quickly. Several bodies were carried out of the five-star Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel.
The attackers had specifically targeted Britons and Americans inside the hotels, witnesses said.
Dozens of people were also apparently still hiding in their hotel rooms, terrified by occasional bursts of gunfire and explosions, as well as fires burning in parts of both hotels, and waiting for authorities to get them to safety.
After dusk Thursday, police brought hostages out of the Oberoi, one of the city's best-known five-star hotels.
One man, a who identified himself as a Pole but did not give his name, told reporters he had seen many bodies inside, but refused to give more details, saying he had promised police not to discuss details of the rescue operation.
The Maharashtra state home ministry said 84 people had been freed from the Oberoi — 60 of them hostages — and dozens more were still trapped inside.
Police said they were going slowly to protect the captives.
A previously unknown Islamic militant group claimed responsibility for the carnage, the latest in a series of terror attacks over the past three years that have dented India's image as an industrious nation galloping toward prosperity.
Among the dead were at least one Australian, a Japanese and a British national, said Pradeep Indulkar, a senior government official of Maharashtra state. An Italian and a German were also killed, according to their foreign ministries.
The most high-profile target was the Taj Mahal hotel, a landmark of Mumbai luxury since 1903, and a favorite watering hole of the city's elite.
Police loudspeakers declared a curfew around the hotel Thursday afternoon, and commandos ran into the building as fresh gunshots rang out from the area. Into the night, brief exchanges of gunfire and explosions could be heard coming from the building.
The attackers, dressed in black shirts and jeans, stormed into the hotel about 9:45 p.m. Wednesday and opened fire indiscriminately.

Eye Camp - Bapla

On Sunday all the eye department left at 5 AM for Bapla a village 2 ½ hrs away from our hospital for are free eye camp. Now I am not a morning person so I was not pleased about leaving so early but I got myself up because I knew there were people that really needed this. We reached the sponsors home and had breakfast of prata, curd, lessi, and homemade butter. They were a more well off family they had wheat fields, a few cows, two cars, and a house with several rooms. We than traveled to the gurudwara this is a seek temple where we were meet by a flock of hundreds of people already waiting to be seen by the doctor. We set up the OPD where the doctor diagnosis, the BP, IOP, and urine sugar stations and set to work. The doctor saw hundreds of people but could only take 230 cataract surgeries. They were than sent to get there blood pressure taken, intraocular pressure, and urine sugar. If any of these are too high than they are not a good candidate for surgery. There were still people that needed surgery but we had to cut it off at 230. We than had lunch of rice, dal (lentils), and Kayla (banana). We than went and set up the OT in a close government hospital that was sorely lacking of a good cleaning and equipment. We brought all of our own equipment and supplies just for this case. And started on the cataract surgery. It is amazing how the system they have everything flows so well because everyone knows there job. First the pt gets a local block, than we paint with bedadine and gets placed on the surgery table. There are two tables set up so one can be prepped while one is having the surgery. The first assistant gets the pt ready by opening the eye with the speculum and the doctor takes over and does the surgery with the assistant. The second assistant cleans up the pt once there finished and switches all the instruments. The circulating person makes sure to autoclave everything and if we need any other supplies he gets it for us. It’s a very well oiled machine. We operated 230 cases in 7 hrs. It was the longest I have stood in the operating room. At the end every part of my body ached. I found new parts of my body I never knew I had because I could feel the ache in them as well. We had dinner at 11 PM once we had cleaned up the OT and packed. And finally hit the road back to ruby nelson hospital. Our driver got completely lost made a complete circle back to the gurudwara so it took us 4 hrs to get back instead of 2 ½ so we reached back at 4:00 AM I was so tired from being up for 23 hrs working. I was glad to be able to help all those people but it was a long long day. Its just so amazing now 230 people can see again all from a 5-10 min operation.

Badminton Tournament

Today we had the inauguration of the new badminton court at ruby nelson hospital. They went all out for this occasion. They had a banner set up, fire crackers, music, and sweets. Ashish and Praven were the organizers of the court so they spoke a few words. And Dr. Jacob made the commencement speech. All the staff and families came out for the big event. This is something that has been long in the process for this hospital. All the doctors cut the ribbon making the court official, and the games began. I have not really ever played badminton before so I did not know the rules. People kept telling me its like tennis but its really nothing like it. So they made me play, kerry was my partner we played against Ruby and Honey. Now Honey was all over the court jumping and twirling in the air everywhere she was so funny. The badminton racket is much much smaller than a tennis racket so I could not hit the shuttle for anything. Every time it came near me I would miss horribly. Everyone was laughing but at the end of the game I was starting to get the hang of it. But I sadly lost my first game of badminton. Now the staff of Ruby Nelson is going to have a tournament we will play every night for a month. So this shall be an experience, lets just hope I get better and start jumping and twirling like Honey.

Karsog Multi Medical Camp

Karsog Multi purpose building


Me extracting teeth


assisting ashish

On my birthday November 14th I had to work half a day in the eye department and than Ashish and I left for simla to go for a multi medical camp to Karsog. Now we were suppose to leave a t 1 but this is india and nothing starts or leave at the time that is stated. We left at 3 and it’s a 7 hr drive so I was not looking forward to this drive in the dark because the roads are very curvy and narrow. We reached simla at 11 PM and than left for Karsog at 5 AM so I did not get very much sleep. Maranatha built this multi purpose building for the congregation of Karsog as a church on Saturday and than during the week to use it as a community center/medical center. Asian Aid funded the project Mr. Gareth from Nebraska was the representative from America and Mr. Ravi was the Indian representative of Asian Aid. Mr. Gareth and I got along very well he gave me all the food remaining that he brought with him from America one thing being delicious fudge. I don’t think anything has tasted so good to me before.
The inauguration of the new building was the 15th so the whole simla church and the medical team went for the inauguration and the first church service. The singing was in Hindi but thankfully there was a translator for the sermon so I was not completely lost. Now let me paint you a picture. The building is on the tippy top of a mountain and the road up is so rocky and bumpy that vehicles really cant be driven up so we have to walk. Now there are two ways up the short cut or the long long way up. The long way is a “Z” pattern all the way up twisting back and forth to make it less steep but it takes a long time its like going up the mt twice. The short cut is this little foot path almost straight up with big rocks and trees all around you. You pass a few houses along the way with cows outside, and the natives there just walk right passed you like the mt is no big deal. I took the short cut because I did not want to take any extra steps than I had to. It would take us around and hour to an hour and half to walk from our guest house to the community center, I just kept telling myself with very step I take im losing weight that is the only thing that kept me going. When everyone gets to the top we were all panting and my face was red but we made it.
The following day after the inauguration we started our free medical camp. In one corner was the eye department scanning for cataract, the opposite corner was the surgeon and anesthesiologist giving free check ups and scanning for any surgery, the dental was set up on one wall with the portable machine that Dr. John left with ashish on my first dental camp 2 months ago. And an ultrasound machine was set up in the adjoining room. When we finally reached the top of the mt everyday it was looking bigger we saw the huge crowd of people waiting. We were not expecting this huge turnout that we got because this was the first camp at this location as well as the long hike to make it up. We worked all day for two days straight seeing as many people as we could. I was assisting dr. ashish with the dental and since I have done it once before I got the hang of it much faster. He even let me extract 3 teeth to two very unexpecting pts. I had a blast on this camp and really got to help a lot of people. One girl we restored her three front teeth she was 10 yrs old and never smiled because of this, but Dr. ashish reconstructed them and now she can smile and make a great match in life. Now the accommodations were not the best part of the trip. I shared a room with another lady that did not speak English, we had to share a community bathroom that did not flush very well, there was no geizer so we had no hot water when ever we wanted to take a bath we had to go outside and ask the owner to bring us some, and than we had to walk 1 ½ hours twice a day. But it was all worth it because we got to help so many people. We brought back around 50 people to be operated on and they were all so thankful.
Dr. Ashish and I traveled back to simla with everyone on Tuesday once we reached we were there for 3 hrs and than back on the road to Jalandhar because we had work on Wednesday. I feel asleep because we left at 8:30 PM and was woken up around 1:30 by ashish saying that we had run out of gas. I could not believe it we were on the side of the road in Punjab its well known for its drinking. Thankfully we were in the city so the driver left and said it would take him about 30 min and be back with gas. 2 hours went by and he finally came back with gas. The whole time ashish was paranoid saying “don’t sit up, so people wont see you and come over here”, when I turned the light on he told me to shut it off not to bring attention to us, and one time he told me he saw a drunk driver swerving on the road thankfully driving away from us on the other side of the road. We finally made it back to Jalandhar at 4:30 AM safe and sound but after many adventures. Praise God for taking care of us and for bring the people to get free medical treatment.

22nd Birthday, November 14

On Thursday the 13th it was holiday for all the schools, hospitals, and government run places. Guru Purav birthday, he was the first guru of the seek religion so we had holiday, no work yay. Ever since I have reached India I have been craving homemade chocolate cake, and have not been able to make it because most families in India do not own ovens, baking is not done in every home. So I had to ask all the families that live on campus, some of the married older couples had but none of the bachelors, they were lucky if they had food in the house let alone an oven. I finally found Dilpreet family had an oven but when I say oven its not like what your thinking trust me. It is a stand alone circular metal container. I have never seen an oven like this before and Dilpreet says her family never uses it so be careful not get zapped, so this made me feel even more comfortable right. So I went out and bought the ingredients and this was an adventure as well trying to figure out the hindi names, all food is a little different here, and they don’t have fine sugar only the rocks so I was a little confused. Kerry and I went over to Praven’s house and started making this cake it was such a funny time not having the nice equipment that I am use to. Now Praven is a bachelor so he does not have any baking equipment not even a measuring cup, and everything is measured in grams not cups so that throws me off completely. So we finally figured everything out and we started to pre-heat the oven and all of a sudden kerry says “what is that smell and noise.” You will not believe me, bugs were being popped in the oven they came out of the cracks so we did not see it we were so scared and freaked out, so now you know how long since this oven was used. Both of us were to grossed out to get the oven roasted bugs out so I called Ashish over to be our Knight. He thankfully cleaned the 10 bugs or so out and laughed the whole time. We finally got the cake in the free bug zone oven and it took forever to bake almost and hour and half instead of 45 min it should have taken in the states. So the time it should have taken was an hour took around three. While we were making the cake the boys Denyl, Ashish, Viraj, Kevin, and Praveen were making the food. We finally ate lunch at 3:30 but we all had a great time together and they sang me happy birthday a day early. That night I went shopping with dilpreet at the market and stayed over her house for the night. She is a dentist at ruby nelson at only 22 yrs old. Her brother and sister speak English but usually they only speak Hindi, her mother and grandmother cant speak English But they all sang me happy birthday at midnight and gave me a candle to blow out onto of some ice cream, it was so funny seeing grandma sing in English. India has a tradition when it is your birthday everyone at the party feeds you a spoon of cake or ice cream. Now I thought this was very strange but I allowed dilpreet and her mother. I appreciated this so much this family has taken me in and treated me like family and I really needed that on my birthday being so far from my home and family.

KARSOG COMMUNITY CENTRE THANKSGIVING & CAMP

Dr. Yvonne


The impatient crowd wanting to be seen


This article is written by Dr. Yvonne about the last medical camp i went on.

Karsog is one of the most beautiful valleys of Himachal and for almost two years we have been planning a Community Centre in this region, with the help of Asian Aid. At long last the building is finished: the land is fenced and it is time for a Thanksgiving service. Dr. Bazliel and his team advertise widely in the community that there will be a 3-day long Out-Patient-Clinic including Dental; Eye; Surgical and Medical patients.

Mr. Gareth Reese, Treasurer of Asian Aid and Mr Ravi Dass Superintendent of Asian Aid for India, were to be our special guests for the occasion. On Friday morning, our CEO had the brilliant idea that he would invite our entire Shimla Church to join in the Thanksgiving, using our big hospital bus. After this service and lunch; the Church members would return to Simla, leaving the hospital bus free to return to Karsog. The members of the Karsog Church, who have waited so long for a place of worship, would be able to use the hall on Sabbaths if the rest of the week were devoted to the community.

These were our plans, but Satan had quite different ideas! The road to the Community Centre had been blocked for many, many months. Two ladies through whose land the road passed had blocked its entrance and put a case in court, because the Government bulldozers had carelessly damaged their houses and agricultural land. This year’s monsoon was extremely heavy and the road was practically totally blocked with landslides. But we needed that road if patients were to reach the Centre; all the hospital equipment was to be brought in, and if I and my wheelchair were to see the land and the building for which we had planned and prayed for so long.

Lekh Ram (our hospital maintenance man) who has worked tirelessly to complete the project was the only person able to persuade these ladies to open the barricade of bushes with which they had blocked the road. What joy it gave us when we heard his voice on the cell phone; “Sir, the ladies have agreed, provided we open and close the road and use it only for our vehicles. I have arranged with a bulldozer and he is already on the job.” How this bulldozer crew worked: from early morning until late night, using their lights. Carefully they avoided pushing boulders over the edges. With three hair-pin bends to traverse, they carved over the mountainside, and every 5 minutes or so, they cleared a landslide. If that were not enough, they carefully smoothed the surface removing the residual rocks. Those of us who were obliged to travel these 2 km of roads twice daily for three days can never express adequately our gratitude to this crew.

On Sunday morning, two of our vehicles traveled the road searching for the first sight of the Community Centre. Would there be any patients? Remember, this was the first time that this type of Out Patient Clinic was being tried. Suddenly Dr. Bazliel caught sight of the enormous mass of people crowded around the Centre. His previous anxiety was only realised when he said quietly, “Thank you Lord!” I turned to look at his face. Misty eyes only endorsed both his sense of gratitude and relief. I couldn’t help but join in. Most patients had come walking: a few came limping: more were being led with sticks clasped firmly in hand: one or two had come by vehicle and what appeared to be three young men on a single scooter had negotiated the road. We wondered if they needed psychiatric help!!

Soon the Clinics were established in the one large hall of the Community Centre: Patients for surgical / medical treatment, occupied one corner: for dental care were given a little more space: patients for eye care had a fourth corner. Finally in a quiet room was Dr. Sheilagh with her ultra sound machine. In one little spot, with my wheelchair, I am trying to take in all the sounds and sights, while the patients take me in!! But if there was quiet mania in the room, there was TOTAL mania outside. The reasons are not difficult to understand:

1. Most Indians have never learned to stand in a queue

2. Every patient wants to be seen first and will push and pull to obtain this privilege.

3. Our village folk have developed the idea that an ultra sound is not only a diagnostic test, but also a curative treatment. This means that almost everyone wishes to have an ultrasound, and is prepared to stand in line for it.

4 Although this was advertised as a free Out Patient Clinic, each person expected free examinations; free medicines and free surgery.

5. Parents and school children now know that teeth can be filled and it is not necessary to wait until they need extraction. This kept our Dentist continuously busy, and no matter how his team tried to hand out numbers or explain that each one would be seen, these patients found waiting almost impossible.

We had promised that any patient, who was willing to come to our Simla Sanitarium & Hospital for the needed surgery, would be picked up by our hospital bus at an easily reachable spot; and taken to Shimla at no cost. We would do surgery at the lowest possible cost and would then deliver them back to the same pick up place. What more could we do? Some of the cataract patients and the general & gynae surgical cases promised to accept our offer but would anyone come?

Monday morning greeted us with the same huge crowd, as on Sunday. The patients had gathered long before we could reach the Clinic. But the mania of the previous day was very much less, because Mr. Gareth Reese had learned how to handle the crowd. I watched him in the boiling sun separating “Eyes” from “Teeth” and these from “Surgical and Medical” and somehow he convinced them that they would be seen. I was so grateful when he re-appeared in a hat stuffed with a T-shirt draped over his shoulders. How could we have had our guest suffer from heat stroke? Meanwhile Mr Ravi Dass was doing his best to learn to be a dentist!! The boys, Rana Singh and Lekh Ram made certain that each patient sat in the right row of chairs, so there was relative peace in the hall.

Eventually our cooks arrive with lunch. The doctors barely allow themselves time for eating and soon in each section of the hall and Clinic work begins again at full speed. I sit in my little corner trying to convert the sounds and sights to my laptop. Mr Hitaksha brings a fifteen year old girl for me to see. One eye is completely filled with a malignant tumour. “”Will we be able to help her?” I asked; struggling to hold back my tears. “Oh, we could remove the eye” he replied, “but she will need a biopsy before doing that and she needs to go to the P.G.I Hospital in Chandigarh.” I think of the immense distance between their village and Chandigarh and feel sure that the journey will never be made. If only I were a millionaire!!

Suddenly I am aware of a silence broken only by Dr.Ashish’s dental machine. I seek out Dr. Bazliel’s face. His reply to my unspoken question is clear. ”We have seen 572 patients and cannot handle more.” Now I understand what he has told me so many times before; how difficult it is to close a Camp, because there are always some who simply cannot be seen. Had we stayed here for another week, there would still be a crowd awaiting us each morning! We make our last trip along the two kilometer road, which by now is a sandy, dangerous “boulevard.” The hospital Scorpio fortunately has 4 wheel drive facilities, but the Tempo Traveler has to be pushed by a combination of our staff and patient volunteers who cope with the skidding and huge clouds of thick dust.

Let us fast-forward to Tuesday morning. Will any patients come? We could have saved ourselves the anxiety! Patients and their attendants are crowded around the doctor and nurse – each one determined to find a place in the bus. Believe it or not, there are too many people for our large hospital bus. Twenty six surgical cases + twenty six attendants need to be accommodated. But they have been promised a free trip to Shimla and there is no alternative except to hire an extra small vehicle. Finally every patient and each attendant is seated and on their way. The two remaining vehicles are quickly filled and the ‘Karsog Community Centre Thanksgiving’ programme and ‘Out Patient Clinic’ are things of the past. Could we have done things better? I watch my husband’s face as he drives our ancient hospital SUV, and know that he is already planning for the next attempt at this Community Centre and how it can be improved. But I think it has been a wonderful experience and thank God that I could be a part of it.

Dr Yvonne Bazliel

bible youth camp in manali

Solang Valley - Beautiful

The youth group from the jalandhar church went to manali for four days with a guest speaker Dr. Rohini. Ashish invited me to go along i was glad i learned so much and had alot of fun. 40 of us pilled into the hospital bus for a 12 hr drive. it was a long trip with alot of people with motion sickness alot of throwing up outside the windows. During the day we would have lectures from dr. rohini the theme was "transformed by your grace." She taught us about how we go to God last so without knowing we treat God like we treat our enemies. We can not save ourselves we can not connect with God without Jesus coming down to earth becuase he was part divine as well as in the sinful nature. She really helped me look at everything in a different light. i learned alot of the basics i should have know but made them so much more clear for me. It was a good bonding experience with others from jalandhar. We went up to rohtang pass becuase half of the people on the retreat had never seen snow they went crazy. but the night we came back i got very sick throwing up everywhere stupid food poisoning.

They ganged up on me!

The bus ride

My first Yak ride - hehe

Diwali

Diwali is a major hindu festival also called the festival of lights. In the legend, the people of Ayodhya welcomed Ram by lighting rows of lamps, where the lights or lamps signify victory of good over the evil within an individual. On the day of Diwali, many wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks as well as light fireworks. Some North Indian business communities start their financial year on Diwali and new account books are opened on this day.Diwali also celebrates the return of lord Ram, King of ayodhya, with his wife sita after a 14 year exile, and a war in which he killed the evil and demonic king raven. It is believed that the people of Ayodhya lit ghee lamps along the way to light their path in the darkness.
I went to Dr. Dilpreet one of the dentist at the hospitals house to celebrate with her family. I had so much fun and it was fascinating to learn about the festival. We lit clay made lamps and placed them around the outside of the house as well as under every faucet. Around 7 pm people start lighting firecrackers and they dont stop untill after 12 its crazy i have seen nothing like it before you look around on the roof and you see firworks all aroud you 360 degrees its amazing. I enjoyed the festival. i got to light the fireworks myself becase back at home its illegal to light them yourself so this was the first time i could it was a blast. I even burnt my hand while lighting them i guess it is somthing you have to go through.

Ruby Nelson Hospital

I have been volunteering at Ruby Nelson Hospital for 5 days now. Its an Adventist hospital named after a missionary woman killed while serving here in India. Everyone is very nice here and there taking good care of me. I was craving peanut butter and they found it for me and now giving it to me every morning for breakfast. On the campus is the hospital, a school with 1000 kids, as well as a church. The church is very nice and conservative, here in india its a sign of respect to take your shoes off so pretty much everywhere you go you take them off even at church that is something i have had to get use to i dont like walking bare foot in church but its an experience. They speak in Hindi but sometimes they have a translator in english so than i can understand they are a very warm and welcoming people. On sunday we had my first eye camp. We traveled at 8 AM to a village 1 hour away we set up the OPD where we screen the patients if they need surgery, medicines, or refraction. All of the camps are sponsored by an outside representative from the UK, US, etc. The people are so thankful they always give us food, have a ceramony to celebrate its just miraculous. We saw hundreds of people from the surrounding village and it came out 60 people needed cataract surgery where we bring in our bus back to Ruby Nelson to our OT. We were in the village till around 3:30 PM and came back started setting up the OT at 5 where we get all the instrauments together. And started surgery at 6. There are 2 first asisstants, 2 second assistants so he has two patients on the table at a time so he when Dr. Jacobs is working on one patient the second is getting prept for surgery so he can just move over when done. Everyone knows exactly what to do he has a very well oiled OT. We finished at 9:30 it was a very long day for sure but rewarding now 60 more people can see only in a matter of minutes. On Monday we will do refraction for everyone that needs glasses. Keep up your prayers for all the patients.

Basically India is very different from the US in every possible way. Everywhere i go people stare at me its so funny, but i cant look back becuase in this culture only prostitutes look men in the eye. So this is something that i am trying to get use to becuase in the US your taught to look into someones eyes of your weak. Thankfully most of the circles im going with are christian so they dont live by this. Another thing that drives me crazy is that everyone just throws there trash out in the street so there is garabage everywhere, there is no where in india that does not have trash lying around. So when ever i see someone that im with about to throw trash out the window or on the floor i try to stop them first but its built in to them to throw everything on the floor. Spitting and picking your nose is a normal thing here as well every other minute you will hear or see some one spit everywhere. And driving here is an art for sure. you drive at top speeds and pass the horse drawn carts, the rickshaws bicycle or otto, trackters carring rocks or dirt, motorcylces with a family of four on it. The drivers are amazing here with how they drive in these conditions i would never want to drive becuase its a skill of reaction that i dont have for sure. Dr. viraj and i traveled from simla to jalandahar where im going to voulunteer my services indefintaly for a while because we dont have medical camp for a while. We took a very rustic public transportation bus let me give you a picture its a very old bus with ratty seats close together stuffed to the brim with all kinds of different people and when there is no more room inside they sit on top its so scary i always think there going to fly off becuase the drivers drive crazy fast on the twisty moutain roads dodging other vehicles, animals, falling rocks from the landslides. I would never want to drive here it takes alot of skill and good reaction time. I love how everyone in India is so caring they look out forevery one even stangers. If someone needs something they will give what little they have and offer it. These people are so generous and thankful for everything. They also have so much faith and belief, there are so many different types of religions here its amazing how devoute they are in what they believe in. They are always thinking of others and how to help out. We also took a second bus here which was on the opposite spectrum it was the nicest bus i have ever been on much nicer than alot in the US. It was called a deluxe bus only 175 ruppes which is around 4 dollars for an AC, recline seats, and a TV playing movies. This is traveling in style for sure. Im staying in the hospital where they are giving me delicious peanut butter at my meals its hard to find in the north of india and i was craving it and they were so nice to find some for me. Im volunteering in the eye department indefintaly becuase there is no medical camp with shimla right now. Im asissting dr. jacobs and dr. viraj while im here learning all i can about opthamology. We have camps every sunday in surrounding villages where we have sponsors from the US or the UK that pay for all the expenses for these people that would not get any help other wise. I really love it here in india and the people i have met are so amazing i hope that i will always remember the experiences i have here and the lives that have touched me so.

Rekong Peo Medical Camp

Sorry it has taken me so long to post another blog but i get so busy and very little internet connection. We left Monday at 5 AM from shimla to rekong peo and meet up with dr. lagi and his group of med students from New Zeland. We traveled for 12 hrs on twisty mountain roads with boulders in the road still from the land slides and made it safely and than set up the eye and general OT (instead of OR operating room its OT operating theater in India). I asissted dr. viraj he is the opthamologist. In the morning we would run the OPD and screen all the patients. I took the blood pressure for all of the eye surgeries, i took more manual BP during this week than ever in my life, and it was a very old fashioned mercury device boy it was fun. I got to learn how to scrub in basically you wash your hands and arms twice really well untill all of the layers of your skin are off. And i assisted dr. viraj with the surgery giving him the instaments and so fourth, the key is to touch the eye as short as possible to have recovery faster. Than after surgery i would go help out in the ward with all the post op patients from the general surgery. They would do histerectomy, hemroidectomy, choleysistectomy, etc. I learned how to take care of fresh post op and take care of there IV, as well as i gave my first butt shot. In the states we dont usually give them in the but usually the arm because of the siatic nerve but here in india they only give IM injections in the upper portion of the bumm. So i got to give quite alot of them, the poor patients knew the drill and would roll over for me. In this type of situation you become very close with the other nurses and dr i really had a great time with nurseing and bonding. Indian people are so thankful thats something that i love about this country they could be in so much pain from a procedure you did to them and they still pour blessings on you. We worked at the hospital for 6 days straight and completed 60 general surgeries and 61 opthalmic surgeries. So i really know how to asisst in catorac surgeries now since i helped in 61 over 6 days. i have made long time friends at this place. i hope to get a chance to visit again some day.

Jalandhar

After our dental camp John, Jim, Sue, Anna, Joyce, and I traveled to Jalandhar with Ashish because this is where his dental practice is located at the Ruby Nelson Hospital. This is such a nice, well equiped hospital in memory of a missionary that was killed while leaving India. There main emphasis is the eye and dental wards. Dr. Jacobs is a doctor here that is the fastest in the area with catorac surgery, he can complete one surgery in 2 minutes and i witnessed it. He can do 100 + surgeries in one night, he is very humble and explaines everything in detail. I was able to watch him preform 8 of these in a mere couple of minutes. This is a very rewarding surgery becuase they can instantly see in a few minutes. We visited the Golden Temple where hindus come from all over to visit and worship here. You have to have your head covered to go in with no shoes. Before you walk in there are pools of water that everyone washes there feet, i was nervous and thought i was going to get a fungus but so far i have not thankfully. When you walk in its a big pool of water and the temple is in the middle with a bridge out to it. It is an amazing beautiful site all in real gold. You walk around the temple and people are bathing in the holy water because they believe they will be healed. When you walk in everyone is shoulder to shoulder there are so many people. They have priests there singing and drumming a chant the whole day. People sit around meditating and reading there little prayer book for hours on end. They are very devoute touching every step they walk up as well as walk out backwards from the temple for respect. I enjoyed myself greatly. On our way out of the city we all took our first rickshaw ride it was so great. Anna and i shared one and the driver was hallarious he told us that he was the safest rickshaw driver and not to be scared, and ashish baught us all ice cream that was delicious im very much spoiled since i have been in india. I have meet alot of nice people at this adventist hospital, dilpreet just graduated from dental school working with ashish in there newly built with updated equipment, dennyl the only general doctor on staff that can eat anything, and praveen the finance for both this hospital and simla sanitarium, as well as the nurses mrs. smith and mrs. saloman.

Rekong Peo 2nd attempt & Kaza

We left at 5 AM with 2 dentists, 4 nurses, 2 teachers, dr. bazliel, and 2 handyman on our second adventure up the himalayans for a 12 hr trip. India is so beautiful i cant get over the mt and the rivers. The towns that we pass are all different, some small others big but they all have in common are cows everywhere and the woman carring big loads of hay, sticks, or water jugs on there backs or heads. The indian woman deserve an award with all the work they do while it seems the men just sit around but i bet they work when im not looking. We had to traverse over some small landslides but all in all the roads were better with all of our prayers. We stayed in a guest house right by the hospital where four of us shared a room, bathroom, and had no hot water to take a bath so we had to get it from another room. Rekong Peo has the 5 star hospital in the state and this clinic was a sore sight nothing was very clean and most equipment did not work but we made it through with hard work. Our dentists Dr. John and Dr. Ashish worked around the clock doing restorations and extractions as well as root canals. They saw patient after patient never taking a break while us nurses could at least sit down every once in a while. Anna and Jim both got to extract teeth and were very excited while doing it and there not dentists, i did not want to pull for sure. I would assist the dr. with what ever they needed by getting them gauze or holding there teeth. The power would go out freaquently so i sacrificed my personal torch (flash light) to the cause and had it stuck in quite a few mouths. We had alot of fun and hard work and helped alot of people. We stayed there for three days and saw hundreds of school kids. Our next stop is kaza another 12 hours up in the mt. We traveled up to kaza leaving at 5 AM and started working the next day in the hospital. This hospital again was not up to the US standards at all but we had willing hard workers and again God blessed us in helping alot of needy people. I have seen so many teeth that are rotten i am sure i wont ever need to see again. People here dont brush there teeth everyday, there is a branch from a tree that the people use to scrap the fuz off there teeth maybe once a week so alot of them are rotten away to just stumps. The people are so thankful here they always bow there head to us after we just yanked out 4 of there teeth. I got so much out of this trip that has made me a better person i will be always greatful to the people of india, as well as the others on this trip with me. I have made lifelong friends with: Anna, she was a trooper she is pregnant and came through all the tough hikes and long days with out complaining, Janet she is so hallarious the girl from canada who is staying till january with me, John a rare kind of guy but found the laughter in everything, sue my adopted mother who always looked out for me and gave me comfort, jim my adopted dad all the time was joking and made us laugh when we were dead tired and always made a jib about jersey when ever he could, ashish a great dentist can do anything with just the simple things and has a great faith in God, joyce the life long traveler that has been in any situation as a nurse and loves to share her stories, nater my favorite driver he would always be laughing and smiling and i never knew he could understand and speak english untill the end of the third week, khyali an amazing cook a guy that never complains when put in the uncomfortable seat, and dr. bazliel he would always be paying attention when we talked about wanting somting and he would try his best to get it for us with out our knowing. This was a great group to spend three weeks with and i will have a place in my heart the "chello, chello, bus gang."

Recong Peo 1st attempt

India has not had this much rain in 47 years. Because of all the rain, land slides have been very destructive covering multiple roads and multiple deaths. The medical team of 21 doctors, nurses, and handyman from simla left the 21 around 11 AM and we had many obsticalas in our way. There were piles of rocks and trees and dirt covering the road at every turn. We drove over 6 hours and could not pass Sijon becuase of a massive and slide over the whole road. We waited for them to get a bull dozzer to clear it but none came so we had to bunk down 6 people to a small room for the night but we made the best of it. We got up and waited at the site they had two bull dozzers, dinamite, and hand labor trying to clear this path. We waited there another 8 hr and decided that it was not going to be cleared in a long time pluss mulitple land slides behind that one was blocking our way to Recong Peo. The devil was working over time to not let us get to all the people that needed are medical help. Right now we are back at Simla Hospital waiting for the land slides to be all cleared so we can try again in a few days to take the 15 hr bus drive back up to Recong Peo. Please keep this is your prayers.

Safe and sound

I made it to Shimla India safely only by the grace of God. I flew into Delhi at 11 PM with a layover in Heathrow. I thankfully made a friend on the plane named Jesprete, he was very helpful with telling me important info about india before i got there. I stayed in an SDA hotel for two nights, so i got to go tour around Delhi and see CP the spot where bombs went off just three days before down the street where i was staying. I had a blast with Cherry she took me shopping, and we had tea right in Delhi. On the 19 i met up with four americans; john, jim, sue, and anna, plus an indian dr ashish. We traveled to shimla together on a very adventurous train At the train station at 7:30 AM the porters were going crazy and trying to take our bags we were fighting with them ut we lost the battle and had to pay them for there unwanted help. We did have alot of bagage between the 6 of us, plus medical supplies we brought from the US. The first 5 hour train was nice with coushin seats. they fed us indian food, gave us tea, and water.This is when we met up with another Dr jiraj. This was a much smaller train for 5 1/2 hours, with no food, we were sitting on our luggage practically, and we were joking that it was a boat not a train because it was leaking water in like crazy becuase it was raining hard all day. But we thankfuly made it to Shimla just in time becuase today land slides are covering all the roads around here. It was terenchal rain pour for 48 straight and it is still going. Our first surgical camp is suppose to leave tommorrow at 4:30 AM but now we are postponing it indefinatly pending on the land slides and how fast the state can clear them. So we will need all of your prayers for that. I am having a great time even with the bucket baths and undesierable bathroom situation.