Chris Week 3

The last 2.5 weeks have been long and educational for all of us in the Gifford family.  This is the first time that having Chris out of the country has been challenging for me at home and for the kids.  I know that it is because we are all emotional with what it means for him to be there. Though we all know that moving forward to life in Cameroon is where we are called to go at this time there is a certain amount of strain that it is causing emotionally and mentally.  Many prayers are being said are a welcomed in this area.  

Chris has seen many patients that are so sick and in need of care that we here in the USA we cannot not fathom the type of disease and suffering the Cameroonians are experiencing. He had a patient the other day that came to the hospital with lab values that you would make you assume that the man would be dead.  Of course he was incredibly sick, but still alive! There has been times when Chris has felt helpless in how to care for the people at Mbingo Hospital because there is just not enough resources to possibly cure or treat them effectively.  But on a side note he has been able to provide care to others who became well and were able to return to their life.

The kids and I have been here just sort of gliding along.  I have been going through cabinets and sorting stuff into trash/garage sale/and keep piles.  I am sure I will have to do this again like 3 more times and whittle away at our things to keep only what we really need.  This is emotional and challenging.  To sit and go through 3 years of build up and in some cases 14 years of build up because we have just packed it and moved to the next house.  

Micah and Caj are doing well. They still are not completely sure about moving and what that will look and feel like, but Chris has been able to send pictures and that seems to have helped.

Micah has one of the major parts in his play at school and has been practicing his lines and songs.  We are excited to see him as Tom Sawyer.

Micaja chipped her tooth and had to have that repaired. She is fine and did not have any pain.



Chris will be back on the evening of 3/1.  We are looking forward to seeing him and towards taking the next steps for preparation for our move.

Update on Chris in Cameroon Feb 2016

We been able to speak with Chris a couple of times.  He traveled for around 36 hours before he actually arrived at Mbingo hospital.  He spent a couple of days getting acclimated to the area and spending time with some of the missionaries that are there.  On Sunday they had a Super Bowl party.  (He of course had already experienced the game on the actual night it aired, but enjoyed the fellowship with the people there.) 

He was able to work in the outpatient clinic for yesterday and did some rounding in the hospital.  At this point he is just taking it all in.  He is seeking to understand where he fits and what will be his main area of focus while we are in Cameroon. It is only day 3 in the hospital so I told him not to worry.  It will all pan out.

Chris says that the area is beautiful.  The hospital is in the Valley of the mountains. The landscape is a little brown right now due to it not being the rainy season, but there is fresh produce available all the time. He was able to have some tacos yesterday with fresh avocados, tomatoes, and lettuce.  (That totally made his day.)  If he can have Mexican food Chris can live anywhere.

Please pray for Chris's time in Cameroon continues to be informative, safe, and enjoyable.   We thank you for your support and cannot express how much it means to us.  I will update again when I know more. Have a great day!

With Chris being away from us for this time it brings me constantly back to remembering our families motto: The Will of God will not take you where the Grace of God cannot protect you. 

Chris is in Cameroon!!

Chris left yesterday morning and jetted off to Cameroon. He is going to be there for 20 days!!  We are so blessed that he was alloted the opportunity to go there as one of his elective rotations for his residency program. 

Earlier today He sent the kids and I a message letting us know that he arrived in Douala at 2p. The next leg was 5 hours by car the Mbingo hospital.  There is not much more at this point , but I will keep you posted on how he is doing and what we learn.  Please pay for his continued safety. 

January 2016

We have been tirelessly working on making a letter to send out to all our family and friends to update them on our future endeavors.  I had no idea that making a mailing list, letter, labels, and stuffing envelops would prove to be another part time job.  However, I enjoyed getting to think about all those who care for us, love us, and have provided us with so much knowledge and skill over the years.  I was able to read the names and pray for each family that a letter was made for.  (What a pleasure to have all the names in front of me to see and recall as I have a terrible memory at times.)

So here is the latest news!  Chris is heading to Mbingo Hospital in Cameroon on 2/9/2016 and will be returning at the end of the month.  He is going to work with the doctors there and gain some much needed knowledge and information about the hospital, the care we will be providing to the people there, and what we will need as a family to take with us. We are very excited about him getting to take this opportunity during his residency. 

We had a another event that encouraged us this last week.  We found that Micah and Micaja's passports will be expiring shortly after we arrive in Cameroon.  Which means a trip to the post office for new forms to be completed and everything else that goes along with that.  We arrived at the post office at 10:15am and found that you cannot get a passport without an appointment.  We stood there in line waiting (slightly dejected) thinking, "When are we going to be together again in order to have these passports ordered?  Chris is working all the time and when we are together the post office is closed." We get to this door on the side of the room and one of the employees there says we can come in.  I explained that we needed to get new passports for the kids and needed to make an appointment.  She asked how many children we had because there were 2 friends with Micah and Caj.  I told her 2 kids.  She looks at the clock and it is 10:40am.  "It looks like the 10:30am family that was supposed to get their passports today are not coming.  I will just do it now if you have the documentation needed." she says to us.  A wash of relief covered me.  With many thanks I begin pulling all the papers out of my bag.  She tells us how surprised she is that we have everything with us.  We explain that we are moving to Cameroon in what we are going to be doing there.  I told her we were so grateful to her for allowing us to get the passports for the kids that day.  As we walked out of the building, Chris to his car as he is heading to work and me to the van with the kids and 2 of their friends, I say to "Well how about that?  We must still be doing what we are supposed to be doing with our lives. I was so concerned we would not be able to come back until March.  That is God showing us again He has this." 
Chris looks at me and just says, " Of course." 
Encouragement received. 
Thanks for checking in on us.  We love you and there will be more posts to come.
Ashley

The Beginning

Hello all!  Welcome to this new page that is dedicated to our journey in service to the Cameroon people at the Mbingo hospital.  Hopefully you will learn our passion and desire to serve.  We will do our best to keep you updated on all the things we are experiencing.  The plan is for you to be able to walk with us and be apart of this leg of our lives as much as possible.  We plan to share our hopes, joys, fears, and growing experiences. 

Please feel free to talk to us here or you can send a private email.  We want to hear from you!  We want to tell you all we can!! 

We are now in the process of paperwork right now. We are getting the needed documents for visa's and licence. This is a big process, but the team in charge of all the needed information to make these things happen is hard at work and keeping us on task.  (It can be overwhelming to just start thinking about what to do.)  We are working on a letter to let everyone know what we are going to be doing in Cameroon and the medical mission service we will be doing. Soon prayer cards will be sent out, and we will start traveling to meet with everyone we can to share our passion, vision, and goals. 

Thank you for your interest in our lives and those we are going to serve.