I relish interactions and relationships with the people I meet at hospital and beyond. Over the 12 years that I’ve been permanently based at Chitokoloki, I’ve made many Zambian friends who are now spread throughout the country. In Zambia, you are able to freely share the gospel, you’re not just whispering it. There is openness and freedom for religious discussion here; supermarkets will commonly play Christian music, and it is normal to talk about God. I count that as a special privilege, that I don’t think we have in the UK, where many people are anti-Christian. Zambia’s status as a ‘Christian nation’ does give some challenges; everyone will say they are a Christian, regardless of what their beliefs are, or whether they actually know Jesus personally and have a saving faith.
Work here feels meaningful and has eternal significance. I did a Tropical Medicine course in Liverpool and studied with a big group of people working in very similar situations to me, but with different motivations. Their motivations were in themselves good – eradicating poverty, hunger, etc, but it felt a bit empty. Eradicating poverty and hunger is an unachievable aim, but we can help people to eternity and also give practical help and encouragement to those who are suffering.
Many times, I find myself ‘on my knees,’ asking God for help. In the UK, it often seemed theoretical that God can provide, but here there is so often a sense of really needing the Lord’s help. On our recent orthopaedic marathon, Dr West (visiting orthopaedic surgeon) advised about one specific femoral nail that would be required to fix a fracture. I’d never seen this before, and didn’t even know what to look for, so got shown a picture from a Google search. I just had to pray, ‘Lord, if we have this instrument, you have to give it to me!’ I walked into one of our equipment stores, and immediately found the exact kit, with one implant only on the shelf, which happened to be an exact fit for this patient. The lack of resources here makes God’s provision more obvious, and certain things like water or electricity are better appreciated.
‘Things’ can block you from the Lord. People here in Zambia look to God – they know they can’t do things themselves. In the West, people don’t feel the need for God, and forget that without God, we have nothing.
An excerpt from an interview between Julie and the Fergusson's.
I first visited the said hospital for a haemorrhoids operation. I had done the pre-op things and another missionary colleague from a neighbouring hospital came by. We began chatting. This continued as I walked down the corridor in my gown to the theatre talking to the friend who continued to chat as I entered the room, got upon the table and the surgeon came in..."perhaps you should go now said the doctor...see him later" "oh yeah - catch you later then - give my regards to the brothers in Chingola."
That operation/procedure continued and several polyps were cauterised and banded. I then went to enjoy the hospitality of the missionary doctor and his family. Lovely. A rather uncomfortable journey home on the flight but nevertheless the condition was successfully treated. Some months later I had to go again for a prostrate examination. Whilst lying on the table waiting for the examination the same doctor asked me how the haemorrhoids were...."no problem" I said..."tell me did we give you anaesthetic that day, did you react to it?" "Didn't have any - should I have had some?" "Oh yes it would have been much more comfortable for you - but well done for not needing it - would you like some today?" "Yes please!"
This humourous story shows both the relaxed and family-feel atmosphere of a mission hospital, showing Christ at the centre with hospitality you would never find in a secular hospital.
If you are coming to work as a missionary, I think you need a strong ‘call’. If there were a get-out clause, I wouldn’t have stayed. For me, this call was in the form of lots of little things, confirmation upon confirmation. I always wanted to do something for the Lord, but had no set ideas. That had partly motivated my decision to do nursing. When it came time to choose my nursing elective, I considered Murchison Hospital in South Africa. But in the end, I sat down to read through the Echoes magazine (for mission supporters), and wrote down the names of those missionaries who were currently on furlough at home in Northern Ireland. This led me to Betty Magennis, who was (and is) working as a nurse/midwife at Dipalata Hospital in North-Western Province, Zambia. Through Betty, I ended up in Zambia on elective in 2002. It was my first time leaving Northern Ireland on my own, and my first time in a plane! I had a fabulous time at Dipalata and felt the Lord with me. It felt like the kind of work I wanted to spend my life on. I’d also heard of the McAdams [David McAdam is Chitokoloki’s missionary surgeon], so spent 2 days at Chitokoloki at the end of my elective.
After finishing my nursing training, and praying through my future, I came back to Dipalata in 2003 but it didn’t quite feel like the right place for me. I again came to Chit for a week’s experience and felt a strong sense of calling. At the time, there was a nurse called Sandy based here and I went out with her doing village work, teaching Bible stories and so on. As I spent more time at Chit, it seemed so obvious that there was a role for me here.
When I returned home, I told my parents my intentions, and while supportive, they told me to slow down a bit! I applied for a few jobs, and ended up getting a job in the theatre department at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast. I was placed in the neurosurgery theatre. I enjoyed neurosurgery, although I wouldn’t have chosen to work in that area myself - it didn’t seem very relevant to a future in a mission hospital. However, the Lord knew what was best – when I was in a big neurosurgery case, the long length of time taken for each surgery would mean that the anaesthetists would have time to teach, and gave me extra skills that have been invaluable at Chit. Also, it was common in neurosurgery for our all-day case to be cancelled, and I would get to work in almost every other type of theatre, where I got a hugely varied experience.
Another confirmation of my call to Chit came from a phone call from an individual who said, ‘the Lord has told me that you are going to be a missionary in Zambia… I’m going to teach the Lunda language and grammar to you.’ I had known how important language skills were, and in 2006 I got a work permit against expectations to work in Zambia, which again seemed to confirm I was on the right track.
On my previous visits to Zambia, I had been struck by how many of the medical challenges came in the form of obstetric emergencies, and I had a strong sense of wanting to also be trained as a midwife. The programme was competitive, with 600 applicants for 40 places, and I prayed that if God wanted me to get in, I would get an interview. I applied for midwifery training, then when I received an interview, I quit my job and came to Zambia again for another spell of volunteering. While I was out here, I heard that I’d been accepted for a place. I finished midwifery training in 2009, then things moved quickly; I received support from my local church elders and Echoes (mission service agency) to come permanently as a missionary nurse at Chitokoloki.
An excerpt from an interview between Julie and the Fergusson's.
Working with Dr. Ian Burness some years at Chavuma and now 9 years in a remote clinic with sister Betty Maggenis, along with Dr David McAdam at Chitokoloki, but I am sitting up with my leg elevated because of a major infection. My wife is a nurse R/N, Betty a midwife and my daughter a R/N-midwife.
Dipalata came to pass by Irish missionaries back in the late thirties. All are very remote areas with people infected with all kinds of illnesses. So missionaries came in and established medical clinics and hospitals to the finest degree. Notice I mentioned all UK folk above. We as Americans have benefited from the generous folks like MMN who support these facilities over the years. Do not think it lightly what MMN does for us by sending medicines to these facilities.
I am still in Zambia today with this infection being healed rather than being transported out, which is costly. But because the right medication is available with proper medical staff and all the right technology, we can stay on the field and be of great help not only to the mission community.
Dr McAdam is currently treating a severe case of the virus at Chitokoloki. We serve nearly 5,000 plus Africans from Angola and our local area. Sister Betty could write about 46 odd years of her being here. MMN serve, allowing God's Word to continue sowing the seed. Our Lord Jesus did not just come to preach, He healed the sick and did much more. His actions brought people to Himself.
Contributed by Jeff and June Speichinger
