A Place of Hope - Africa » Chase

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Joey Starling — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 04:49:43 +0000

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“Every body loves Raymond?”

Joey Starling — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 13:55:47 +0000

While Joey was riding our main mode of transport – a Chinese manufactured motorcycle – down to the work site late one afternoon, an old man stopped him along the way and said he was very sick. Joey told him he could go to our house and perhaps “mum” Beverly could find out what his sickness is and how to treat it.
The next day, the man showed up at the house asking for help. I asked him a myriad of questions regarding his condition and symptoms. I dived into my Special Missionary Medical Books to make sure that my suspicions were correct. The man was around 70 and he just was balling saying that he knew he was dying. His grown daughters and extended family had helped him to pay over 30,000 Naira ($200 US and enormous amount of money for a poor old man) for two different hospital stays and treatment. He said they had told him it was his heart and that there wasn’t much they could do about it and the swelling in all of his lower body & limbs. After my examination and research, I decided all indications were pointing to filariasis as the major cause. This disease is another tropical, mosquito born, disease. The mosquito takes larvae from an infected person and the larvae go through their life cycle inside the mosquito. When the mosquito bites again, much later, the young larvae now are transferred to the new host.
Raymond was so grateful… “Madam, you are so kind” He would say “Thank you” over and over again! He asked us to write down any expenses and he would find a way to pay us later. I consulted the doctor our children have seen about the case and we decided on a course of action and the appropriate medication. Joey purchased it in town and we also decided because of the severity of his case, his age and possible heart condition, and the possible reaction to the medication to keep him overnight! He kept thanking us. He quickly made himself at home…telling all the children, including Jordan and Chase what to do!
We gave him the medication and monitored him during the first 48 hours! The swelling began to reduce some, but it will take weeks to kill all the parasites. Because of an accident combined with the swelling, he has a bladder incontinence problem. There are no depends here and so it complicated matters here. We all had to pitch in to help the Raymond. Beverly had given him a small bell to use whenever he needed anything, since he was sleeping on our small porch. He did not spare using at all! Ring, ring, ring… and soon the nick name “Everybody loves Raymond” began to be an inside joke with our family. We took him to his home and he seems to be doing ok. The swelling is still there, but has reduced some and he is doing much better, however, there may not be a total cure for his condition. So please pray for him!
Anytime we are reminded about the whole bell experience someone will say; “Everybody loves Raymond” and we all chuckle!

Life on the Edge
Sometimes, as we ride down the highway or through the usual traffic in Nsukka on our “machine” (motorcycle), we are reminded of how good most of us have it back in the USA. A vehicle that has 4 wheels and a traffic system and laws help to keep us safe, for the most part. Here, it is amazing how risky it all is. But we are thankful we don’t have to walk everywhere! We really are in need of a small pick-up truck. We have just do not have the funds at this time for this luxury. The most of our funds are being used in the construction and development of the land. Please pray that somehow we can manage to find the funds to purchase a vehicle. ($12,000 USD).
We have gotten our house back into shape and purchased some shelving (Carpenter made them) to be able to put some things up. The place is beginning to feel like a home again. Screens had to be cleaned and new ones installed and general cleaning, cob web removal, and finding a place for everything. We are happy that we are finally having a kind of schedule. The boys are home-schooling and we are forging ahead with plans.
Helping the Community
We have met with the Nsukka Local Government Area Mayor as we had brought Safety Vests donated by our friends at Allied Waste (now Republic) in Fort Worth to the city clean-up workers. The meeting was very productive and a Bull Dozer which will be in the area soon was promised help us clear and level the land. Also we were able to share some disposable bedding/gowns for the pediatric ward in the hospital. These were donated by a manufacturer in the USA. We hope to do more of these types of donations to the communities we will be reaching and involved in.
Bev has been so busy with the locals in Amukpa village. There are so many sick ones. Many of them are basic things she can diagnose and treat. However, some of the problems are quite complex and she has enlisted the help of a Doctor who comes to a nearby hospital several times a week. One of the patients, a young mother, had what looked like intense mastitis and infection. Her child was dying from lack of nutrition and she was in incredible pain. Beverly carried the woman and child to meet this Doctor and he performed a minor surgery (I won’t go into the gory details; suffice it to say that it was a terrible untreated infection). The Dr. indicated that had they not come in, the baby probably would have died and the mother may have lost her breast. Beverly has been teaching the mother (and grandmother) about the care the child needs to survive (including expressing milk – giving vitamins), and making sure the woman continues her treatment.
Due to a particular vitamin deficiency and other particulars, a three-year-old boy who is extremely bowlegged was brought to Beverly. He is need of the proper care, which may be found at Enugu City 1.5 hours from here. We would like to take him to an orthopedic hospital there. The treatment will not be even ¼ of the cost of such treatment in the USA. We are seeking a sponsor for his treatment. We know this is not life-threatening, but in Africa he will be reduced to tremendous discrimination in the future if he does not find a way out. If you are interested in sponsoring his treatment, let us know and as soon as we have the details, we’ll let you know.
Through the experiences of dealing with so much sickness and the lack of education and resources of the people of the village, Beverly has decided that she can enlist some local physicians to donate a day every month or two and will open a weekly clinic. This will be a one-day a week “free” clinic. We are still trying to plan a medical team visit from the USA to help us for a week or two. We will rent a small room for now to see and treat patients. Pray for these plans there is still much to do and think through.
We are not a bank and we know you aren’t either! But please spread the word and if you haven’t joined our financial support team, please join as soon as you can!!! Let your friends and family know that this is a very worthy cause and that the donations are truly benefiting the children! There is so much need and we can’t solve it all, but together we can do something.
We are in the process of retrieving some new additions in our orphan care. Please pray that we are able to negotiate with town leaders and villagers! Sometimes they hide the children, fearing what the white man might do with them!
Thank you for your prayers and financial support. We couldn’t be here and do what we are doing without you!

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Snake! Snake! Snake!

Joey Starling — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 10:49:46 +0000

The sound of people screaming & jumping and most running away was what Jordan & Chase heard as the excitement of seeing a cobra begin to spread. Yes, we have cobras around our village. This one was black and longer than Chase is tall – about 5’2” long.
The shouts were heard around our house and someone came and told Ebuka, our watchman, so he asked Chase and Jordan if they wanted to go and see… they didn’t just see it, they killed the Cobra. The villagers were happy as they are a threat and people have died from their venomous bites.
The boys and Kyrsten (who works for a veterinarian back in the USA) enjoyed dissecting it and later The boys enjoyed cooking it over an open fire… just another day in Africa!

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We are home in Africa!

Joey Starling — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:09:32 +0000

We finally made it back to our home in Africa. The warm airport on Tuesday evening reminded us that we were in the tropics again… and as we gathered all the pieces of luggage, the sweat began to roll… what fun! We only had two more “load & unload luggage” points and we should be home to Opi and hopefully no additional stops along the way!

On Monday, we were blessed to have Kyrsten Rivas join us on our journey to Nigeria. She has been working her job diligently for over a year to be able to come and assist A Place of Hope in Nigeria. Her mom and dad have been friends of our family for a long time and helped us lug all our things to the airport on Monday. Jerry Keeney, was kind enough to bring his Pick-Up and we loaded all 18 pieces of luggage and all the carryon luggage & pillows.

Of course, each piece had been previously weighed and each was compliant. British Airways allows missionaries to carry three 51 lb. pieces and 2 carry ons. We would pay for 2 additional pieces. Chase’s guitar & the smaller of the keyboards would go on-board.

The airport was not so busy and we had a very kind counter agent taking care of getting us all tagged and checked-in! After saying our goodbyes, we went through security….which took a while with all the carryon baggage, laptops, and pockets! Because of the banks being closed for President’s day, and me forgetting about it until Saturday evening, I had had to find creative ways to get cash out of the bank! Then, I had gone around getting $100 bills from the $20’s the ATM had given me. I still had about $400 in $20’s to exchange for $100 bills. I managed to run around the terminal and found the $100 bills. In Nigeria the exchange is noticeably lower for anything less than $100 bills. After boarding, getting all items arranged, we settled in for the 9 hours in the air. In London, we were not allowed to carry the instruments on-board, so we packed the keyboard case with our pillows and prayed the keyboard would not be damaged.

After another 6 hours in the air we landed in LAGOS. A couple of hours later (collecting 18 pieces of luggage is not all that simple here) we were on our way to Emeka & his cousin’s houses for the night. We had been able to stow most of the luggage at the office of Aero, the local airline we fly from Lagos to Enugu. Ogechi, the marketing manager had made the arrangement for us. That evening we shared a wonderful meal of chicken and spicy rice together with Emeka (our Lagos Attorney) and his family. They are such kind people.

The next morning we rose early and headed out to the airport. The airport is divided into two sides. The international side is where we had stored the luggage, but now we had to transport all of it over to the national airport (MM2) which is on the other extreme side of the runways. So we unloaded everyone at MM2 first and then took the mini-van and car Emeka had provided over to the International side to load. Amazingly it all fit (African packing is amazing!) and we carted it all to the national side to begin checking it all in! Ogechi also arranged for the over-weight to be waived of fees! Praise the Lord!!!

After a little trouble from one of the flight attendants about Chase’s carry on, (Aero has always been awesome to travel with) we were on the final “air” leg of our journey to ENUGU! were met by Pastor Williams and two mini-buses he had secured to carry us the 1.5 hours to our home in OPI.

We made it with several hours of daylight to spare and were greeted by smiling, dancing children, neighbors and friends! It was a very inspirational reunion. Ebuka our care-taker and the girls were all smiles and hugs… but where was little David? He was napping. They went to wake him with the news that we were home but when he awoke he was in a daze. I really think he thought he was in a dream! Within the hour he was quite the David we left behind, dancing and singing as well.

Electric current to the village where we currently live had been back on, but the current was extremely low. Daily it comes on at about 2 p.m. and is on for about 12 hours. We still use the generator as the light bulbs are very dim by nightfall and though it is sufficient to charge up our cell phones and laptops it is not very comfortable on the eyes. We were able to hook up to the other power line coming to village and found the voltage to be much higher! No generator needed now when the power is on! This is a new life for us here! From no power without our generator to having full city power half the day! A Place of Hope still does not have power, as it is a couple of miles from where we currently rent the “flats” we live in.

It is very dry here…. The rainy season ended in November and will resume in April or May. We are on conservation mode with regard to water. This means we take extra care to use water very carefully and sparingly. We have to buy a “tanker” (2000 gallons) of water for about $55 dollars. If used sparingly, it should last 2 weeks or more, as there are now 11 of us living on the property. We have a few more months of “dry” season and then the rain will begin to fall and the dusty roads will turn to muddy ones…yee haa!

The internet service at the University of Nigeria’s First Campus and soon to be the “Premier Campus” is down for an upgrade! So I am back to using the internet “café.” I have found one that is a bit more comfortable and a little faster, most days, than the one I previously used.

I have inspected the block and the clearing and we hope to resume construction next week. Today, visited with our young architect to mull over some changes I have made to the plans and finalize the details so we can dig footers.

Our bodies are adjusting to days being nights and nights being days (jetlag is unmerciful) and our way of life here! Beverly & Kyrsten have gone to both the local market (some vegetables & fruits) and the Nsukka market to stock up on the necessary items.

When calling Pastor Williams from the airport in Texas, he told me of an abandoned newborn that had been found Sunday by his cousin beside the highway in our town of Opi. The child was taken to the hospital and reported to the local authorities. Upon arrival we visited the family who had found the child. They told us that they had decided to care for the child themselves. I was happy to hear of their compassion and hoping that the reason for keeping her was not just the fact that since she is a girl, she will bring a dowry someday! We let them know that we are here for such cases and to let us know if they change their minds (this may happen if the child is sickly!)

The state of ENUGU is in the process of dividing to form a new state. If this transpires, we will be located in a new state which will be known as ADADA state. The city of Nsukka, which is where the University of Nigeria is located, will become the capital of the newly formed state. We have been advised to register our plans with the current area development planning office in order to avoid any hassles in the future. As soon as we have the plans registered, which might take a few weeks to do, we can begin construction! We will continue the block-making and the digging of the footers and the “well” or water holding tank. The wooden storage area will hold the cement and other supplies we will be collecting.

We were very happy to see all the folks at the church we attend and help. There were many new faces… it looks like the congregation is growing! This week, I will be meeting with the Chairman (Mayor) of Nsukka Local Government and the Vice Chancellor (President) of the University of Nigeria – Nsukka. I look forward to seeing them again.

Our address & phones in Nigeria:

Joey Starling
A Place of Hope
P.O. Box 242
Nsukka, Enugu State
Nigeria, West Africa

From USA dial: 011-234-803-678-3696 (Joey)
011-234-803-482-1762 (Beverly)

Sometimes you have to dial several times to get through and remember we are 7 hours later in the day from Central Standard Time; if it is noon in Dallas it is 7 p.m. here and if it is 7 p.m. in Atlanta it is 1 a.m. here! Text messaging works here too… so you can always just send a text!

Please let us know via email, if you are sending a “care” package as we will know when to look for it.

Again thank you all for your prayers and donations! We so love the people we serve here in Nigeria and to be able to offer hope to them on your behalf and because of your contributions is an enormous blessing! Thank you!

For the children,

Joey & Beverly Starling

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