Seriously?? I've already been here a month?

I am writing this update as I anxiously await the arrival of the team from First Baptist – Washington. This has been a really good last week with Baylor, and I have been really busy. Wednesday, I went to Hlatikhulu where Baylor has a satellite clinic. This is in the southern part of the kingdom and is near Nhlangano for those of you familiar with Swaziland. I worked with a Baylor doctor that I had not spent any time with yet and got to know her. I thought I was going to do homestead visits, but instead I stayed at the clinic and saw patients.  I joined the pediatrician at the Hlatikhulu for rounds that morning and was given a tour of the hospital. I absolutely loved my time in Hlati. I really felt like these kids were sicker and had more extreme poverty than what I see on a daily basis in Mbabane (the capital city where I am staying). There were also a lot more social issues and the Swazi culture was much less watered down by western ideas and practices. Wednesday evening, I went to a nice restaurant with my two roommates. We sat on the patio and watched the sunset. I have included a picture from the clinic, one with my roommate, Nina, and a snapshot of the sunset that does not do it justice. As a side note, when you look at the photo of Nina and me, you can probably see why several of the Swazis thought we were the same person and others thought we were sisters. The resemblance is unreal. ;)

The clinic

My roommate, Nina

                                                                            Sunset

Thursday, I went to Mbabane Government Hospital with one of the Baylor doctors to do morning rounds with the pediatricians there. Out of anything I have done in the hospital, this most resembled my 3rd year of medical school. There were several physicians in training that the attending was teaching as we went along. I learned a lot and saw a few things I have never seen. I continue to be amazed at the lack of resources at these facilities…whether it’s labs, medications, imaging, or available physicians. Some children were simply there waiting to be transported to South Africa so they could see a cardiologist willing to see patients their age.Thursday afternoon, I went over to the Rehmeyers and helped sort through medications for the upcoming clinics. I joined them for dinner as well, and then Nina and I watched Little Mermaid when I got home. Friday was my last day at the clinic. I saw a few patients and attended some of the meetings and teaching sessions before saying good-bye to everyone. I have had a great experience and learned a lot. I am going to miss several of the staff members at the COE (Center of Excellence – aka the Baylor Clinic) and really enjoyed getting to know them. Nina also completed her rotation yesterday and left sometime before lunch. When I got back to the visiting scholar cottage around afternoon, I spent a little while packing and then headed to town. I met up with one of my friends, Ntombi, and also ran into another friend, Sakhile, who joined us for ice cream at KFC. Then, I met Joelle Rehmeyer in town, and we went to a dinner at her church. I had a wonderful time. It was actually a Shabbat meal so we had worship, sharing, Lord’s Supper, a meal, games/fellowship, dessert, and prayer time.

                                           Enjoying time with my friend, Ntombi, at KFC

                                                      Sakhile wanted a “funny picture”

This morning, I am waiting for my friend, Simanga, to pick me up so we can go and meet the team at the glass factory. I am so excited to see everyone and really looking forward to spending more time with Simanga as well. I haven’t even begun to truly reflect on these last 4 weeks with Baylor so sharing about specific situations in my blog updates is rather challenging for me. I have, however, written out a few stories from patient encounters for one of the missionaries to use in her prayer letter. If you are interested in reading some of those, feel free to email me, and I will forward them to you: hunterjohnsonmd@gmail.com. Thanks again for your continued prayers and support. I am loving being here…feels like home to me. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Hunter

PS – By the time you see this, the team will be here!!