Highlights from Rundu, Namibia

Six months ago I left home to begin a grand journey.
My life has grown and changed and I will never the same again.

Village Life.
Within a couple of months of moving to Namibia I saw an opportunity to break cultural norms and prejudices by moving from town to a local village Kaisosi. Just this morning when telling someone where I live she was shocked. She said, "But only black people life there!" Little did I know that much of my ministry is to break down walls of apartheid. There are many ways one can break down walls of apartheid, and living in the village is just one. Moreover, I have learned that it is essential to treat all people no matter their race or socioeconomic level with love and respect. In 1991, Namibia gained independence but deep-seeded roots of "Whites are better than blacks" still exists. Just yesterday, I was telling a boy, "Not we ‘white people’ are not better, just different. He thought because we had more things we were innately better. The clothes one wears and the job that one has does not make you innately better or worse. Even in the West, we compare. "I'm more attractive (better) for I get to wear name brand clothes." We need to stop comparing.

Rundu State Hospital.
Another main area of ministry is working and serving at Rundu State Hospital. I primarily work in the Theatre. We do not watch movies *unless we are really bored!* typically we just watch surgery. Yes, the Theatre means Operating Room. Some days are very busy and others are quite slow. Most days I scrub at least a couple of cases and lately we have been a bit understaffed. I realized recently that there are only six people in all of Rundu that are trained to do my job, including myself--only six people who know how to scrub surgeries! In the theatre, I have seen some strange and unique things, but the most frequent cases we get are exploratory laboratory and c-sections. We often get cases from a day of two travel into Angola. These cases frequently are quite complex and very advanced. One of the biggest hindrances to health care is its lack of availability. Angola has a poor system of health care so being a bordering city to Angola, we receive a large number of cases from Angola.

Upcoming adventures.
My time with Africa Inland Mission is quickly coming to a close. I anticipate spending a couple weeks in July with my parents who will be visiting. Together, we will travel to Zambia and work with a family from the church my dad pastors, the Zebells. We will be assisting in the building of a Christian school in Zambia. I also plan on doing a bit of travel before returning home in August.

In Christ,
Alysse
alysse.cuthbert@gmail.com