Learning not to take offence at being hissed at...

     Well a lot has happened since I last wrote. I keep meaning to write an update and then something comes up to distract me. In the past week and a half I began working evening shifts, got sick, went on two overnight trips, and met some very interesting people. Although this experience started off a bit slow, it has gotten very busy. I have been in Africa one month and I now see how quickly this trip will go.
     Ok, well for highlights, I am enjoying working. So far I have taken care of more adults then children. When I get to take care of the kids, its such a treat. They are my favorites for sure. The children here are beautiful! I took care of a sweet little girl who was just under two years of age and she only weighed eleven pounds. She was malnourished due to chronic feeding difficulties as a result of her cleft lip and palate. Her mother was so sweet and thankful that her daughter was able to receive a surgery that will allow her to now receive the nutrition she needs for life. Another patient that sticks out in my mind was a young teenage girl that had abnormalities in her jaw which severely restricted movement. Post surgery, I had to help this girl perform jaw stretching exercises so that her jaw would not return to the state it was in pre-surgery. The goal was to have her perform exercises for five minutes on each side of her jaw each hour. Through the translator, I explained to the patient that she needed to begin her exercises; after 10-15 minutes I came back to check on a different patient in the same ward and I heard a hissing sound. I turned around and the patient's caregiver, her grandmother, a sweet, little, wrinkled woman was hissing at me. This is the normal sound that locals here make when they want to get your attention. Guys hiss at you on the street when they want to say hi, and shop keepers hiss at you when they want you to see their wares. At first, I felt it was really rude until I understood they do not mean it in a rude way. So anyways, I went to see what the woman wanted and with distress she pointed at her granddaughter who still had the stretching objects in her mouth. I realized then that they had not understood my instructions. They had been waiting for me to come take the objects out when I thought they understood to take them out after approximately five minutes. The caregiver seemed upset and frowned deeply at me. I grabbed a translator and apologized and then proceeded to re-explain the instructions. The caregiver and patient both accepted my apology. The old woman told the translator she didn't know what five minutes was, so I let her borrow my watch every hour. I showed her how to watch the second hand go around the face five times. Her face lit up with understanding and she was so diligent after that to make her granddaughter perform her exercises. After that we were fast friends. She taught me how to say your welcome and thank-you in her local dialect. I have realized that these people are a gracious and forgiving people. They are warm and appreciate physical touch.
     Through my interactions with Africans thus far, I am learning that I need to be a learner and observer. I have always had too high of an opinion of myself. Being humble and ready to admit I am wrong seems to go a long way with the people here. In the simple circumstance above, my immediate gut reaction was to be annoyed that the woman hissed at me and was upset with me. Internally, I thought I was not wrong, she just did not follow the instructions I gave her. Thank goodness that the Holy Spirit prods us to act outside of ourselves. If I had not apologized, I would not have had the blessing of getting to know such a sweet woman. I hope that God uses this trip to smooth more of my rough edges. I am realizing everyday how many I have.