Writing down only one experience that had an impact on me feels difficult! When I began planning this trip, the time felt like it would be long. I’d never been out of the country before and had never been away from my home for longer than a week or so. I trusted God would sustain me during that time and eagerly looked forward to the adventure I knew was to come. To skip ahead to the end of the story, when my three weeks had come to an end, I was so sad to leave; wishing I had planned for a longer trip. I had come to feel at home in Egbe; the fact that God not only sustained me but caused me to fall in love with the people of Egbe drew me even closer to Him as I was leaving.
Despite the joy I found there, I must admit that at various times throughout my stay I questioned why God had brought me to Egbe; what purpose I had, and how I could help — was I really making enough of an impact to make up for the 5,800-mile journey from my home? As I taught a handful of classes to both nursing staff and 3rd year nursing students, I continued to ask these questions, all while praying that God would use me even when I felt inadequate. As my trip continued, I began to see glimpses of how God was using me in the slightest ways; conversations with another volunteer, Kyra, also helped me see what God was doing in the smallest moments of this trip.
The third day of ICU classes was the smallest group to teach about ventilators; setting up the ventilator, managing a patient and dealing with emergencies. This was the day I was the most nervous about and worried I wouldn’t teach an effective class. I had asked my friend group from home to pray hard for this day! The class was full of excitement and curiosity over the vent: setting it up, feeling how the machine’s settings affected the airflow. We even hooked it to an endotracheal tube in its own package to simulate lungs. All of it was such fun to watch the new experience through their eyes. As we were cleaning up after the class, a nursing student who had joined said to me “Thank you for teaching us, I hope it will decrease our mortality rates here”. That shook me to my core. I’m confident I will never hear a nursing student in the United States saying those words to me. I hope and pray that anything they absorbed from my classes and work will be used for the betterment of their patients and to the glory of God alone.
Going on this trip I wasn’t sure who I would interact with or what my time would exactly look like. I didn’t anticipate the number of nurses and students I met who wanted to share their lives with me! Be it them telling me how they are doing in school, their nursing experience, their families, or their dreams–all while also teaching me Yoruba phrases and trying to fix my accent when I would attempt to say them! I feel like I left many friends when I returned to the States. The people of Egbe were kind and caring, so grateful for what God is doing in them and through them. I will patiently hope and pray for the day when I can return to again fellowship with the Christians of Egbe; and maybe, just maybe, see them successfully managing a patient on a ventilator!!!
E. Niswonger, RN-MSN, CCRN
