I’ve been spending
these last few weeks introducing my new housemate, Kathy, to life here in
Sierra Leone. I’ve really enjoyed being her guide through her introduction to
missionary life. I think my presence here gives her and her family some comfort
because that way she’s not alone. Though, I feel so bad for her because her
experience has been completely different than mine. When I first came to this
country, nobody told me anything about anything. For the most part, I had to
figure out everything on my own or ask for help when I came across a problem I
couldn’t fix on my own or a situation I didn’t understand. And I preferred it
that way. I didn’t feel overwhelmed with information and bombarded with
problems. I just took them on as they came about.
But Kathy is
getting all this knowledge I’ve accumulated over the past year in just a few
days. It would make me want to curl up in a ball in my room and never come out.
But I think she prefers it this way. Maybe having all that knowledge makes her
feel more secure. She’s been writing in her blog about all her experiences, and
I think so far, they’ve been positive ones. She talks about a cardinal coming
to Sierra Leone and us attending the mass he presided over. She talks about us
going out and shopping for the things we need now that there are two of us. She
also talks about the hospital and how shocking it is that they lack so many
resources. It’s been so long, I had forgotten about how much it shocked me when
I first came to the hospital. You guys should check out her blog and the other
Lay Missioner blogs on the site.
I certainly would
have loved to have had more friends when I first came to Sierra Leone. I had
the sisters and the priests and Janice’s friend Sheku when I first came, but no
one who could understand needs I had coming from a first world country. Luckily,
I’ve made ex-pat friends, and they’ve invited me and Kathy to dinners and get-togethers
and giving both of us more tips and tricks about living here. I’m glad Kathy
has that support. Plus, now, there’s a new restaurant that has opened in Makeni
that sells the gelato from Gigibonta in Freetown! Ice cream within walking
distance is a dream come true! We both were also invited to have dinner with
Bishop Bob in his new guest house right next to the bishop’s house. It was
where the cardinal and his entourage stayed while they were here. I always love
seeing Bishop Bob. He is always so warm and welcoming. But I can tell he is so
tired. He has been so busy these past few months I was surprised he had time to
host a dinner for me and Kathy. Please pray for him that he gets some rest.
Right now, I’m working
on improving communication in the hospital. On Friday, I led a workshop for the
hospital staff about Closed-Loop Communication as a follow-up for my last
presentation. Kathy even helped me with the presentation. I was so grateful
that she was there to reinforce what I taught. I’m hoping that encouraging practicing
using the tool will help the staff use it more often. I started by saying why
it’s important to use Closed-Loop Communication and why some people might not
use it at work. Mostly, it’s because it’s not something you use in day-to-day
life. But also, because of the culture here, people tend to not ask questions because
they are afraid of questioning people’s authority.
After I completed
the workshop, people even said, in Sierra Leone, there’s a saying here; “Don’t
ask questions.” It’s something everyone needs to overcome working in a hospital
setting. I then gave examples with Kathy about good examples and bad examples
of Closed-Loop Communication in English and Krio. Then we had the audience
practice good examples of Closed-Loop Communication. When the workshop was
finished, we talked about making sure to practice it at work. I put up posters
everywhere about Closed-Loop Communication, hoping it will help remind people.
These next few weeks I will be trying to find opportunities to reinforce using the tool throughout the workday. If you guys are asking what you can pray about, pray that me and Kathy are able to start helping the people change their attitude and habits about communication. I think that will really save lives here.
