Closed Loop Communication

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.