Desert Gills

I love our national staff... which is a good thing because we have about 144 nationals compared to 10 westerners working at the hospital. They really make the place hum, and flavor our whole work atmosphere. It's been amazing how many nicknames they invent for me. Perhaps it's partly because my name doesn't really have a cognate in Hausa, so I am left with 'Matiyu,' 'Matta,' 'Mattheus,' 'Magyll,' etc. But other influences also affect their thinking. The previous tall white doctor in my role was called 'Likita Chop-Chop,' - Likita means Dr. and Chop-Chop means fast. So I often get called Likita Chop-Chop, especially if I am moving quickly. This name is definitely preferable to the name another predecessor had, Likita Brake, and so I am always trying to dodge that appellation. I have tried to promote Likita Tsaka - "Doctor Just Right" as a speed somewhere between chop-chop and brake, but it has not really caught on. ...

Ir and E had a ball on their Kenyan safari, exploring the 'wilds' with our friends. While its true that we did not see any lions, we saw tons of other animals and were duly impressed. Particularly since we were not at Kenya's top parks!

There were many things we enjoyed about this trip to Kenya: re-connecting with fellow post-residents, good conference teaching, etc. But certainly one highlight was seeing classic African animals. West Africa does not really have your classic African animals, although there are some giraffes, lizards, etc. But Kenya is the safari capital of Africa, and had lots of fun things to do and see. We went on a mini-safari and even got to feed a giraffe...

Here is our gang packed into the back of a 4-seater Cessna. October saw us travelling to Kenya for a conference... only problem was that there was no easy way from our place to Kenya. So we took this flight to Accra, and from there found our way across the continent. The kids love the little plane, although the noise can get tiresome... and E threw up three times.

Here's our family on the occasion of E's 2nd birthday. E really enjoyed the wooden airplane he received, but just recently went through a spell where he kept crying that the plane had "sharp teeth" and was going to "bite him." We couldn't figure it out, until we remembered that Richard Scarry books portray airplanes with toothy grins.

As we enter the Advent season, we could not help but mention our little guy's contribution to last Christmas's duet. His toe additions to the top octave needed a little restraining.

Ir and E sometimes get to slip into the hospital with me while I am on a quick errand. They always enjoy it, work on their Hausa greetings, and see the sights. Ir usually has numerous questions for me when we leave... about kinds of illness or a particular child that caught her eye. She recently even made cards that I was instructed to bring in and deliver to 'a small boy' or 'a small girl.' Here is Ir with one of my local staff-friends, S. She's a great counselor and go-getter... of course, in a hospital with about 10 Westerners and 144 local staff, the flavor and atmosphere of our ministry is tremendously influenced by our African colleagues. And they speak Hausa perfectly! I am so grateful for our talented staff.