Archives: Global Health Engagement

Ni-Hao from Lauren and Paulina!

Since our last update, it seems we haven’t stopped but it has been a blessed busyness! We had the opportunity last week to observe several departments in the hospital. It was very exciting to watch a REAL live orthopedic surgery of the elbow and the shoulder! We all agreed that it was an incredible learning experience. Later in the week, our team observed a patient have a heart angioplasty procedure. The purpose of this procedure was to look for narrowing and blockage of the coronary arteries. Our team also toured the E.N.T department of the hospital and met the wonderful staff. We even got to look inside one of Dr. Boyer’s ears!
Our weekend was filled with plenty of fun activities. Despite the rain, we made our way to the Jilin Meteorite Museum and learned about the 1976 event that occurred where a meteorite crashed on a cornfield in Jilin City. The museum also provided the history of Jilin, and it was neat to see pictures of places we have visited since we have been here! On Sunday afternoon, we went back to the church where we were last weekend, but attended a service in English. It was an emotional experience for many of us, especially during our time in worship through music. Surprisingly, there were people there from other cultures, including Africa, India, and the Philippines. It was amazing to be united as a body in Christ with so many other ethnicities. We were reminded of Revelation 7:9-10 – After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothes in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb!”
Monday was spent at Bo Hua Hospital again to attend Dr. Boyer’s lecture on diabetes. The audience included patients and hospital staff who were eager to learn more about the vital role exercise plays in preventing and treating diabetes. For diabetic individuals, Dr. Boyer explained how quality of life is improved through various exercise practices. He also informed the audience on the risk factors and the prevalence of diabetes in China. Like the United States, diabetes is also increasing in China.

Zai-Jian!

Lauren and Paulina

The week in Changchun has flown by. We were able to connect with some friends from last year’s GHE trip and make many new friends. It was such a joy to see the Josh family again and to catch up on what God has been doing in China. I was also able to see 2 of the children with autism from last year. Both have made huge progress in social communication and are connecting with their families and the world around them. The hope I see in their parent’s eyes and the joy on the faces of the children continue to remind me how good God really is.

During our time in Changchun, we met with families of special needs children, were able to minister to a family with a child with high functioning Autism and did several developmental screenings on infants and toddlers.

The visit to the underground market and Corner-stone Christian cafe/bookstore resulted in a surprising meeting of another CBU team, of all places in China!  The GHE China Team was a big hit in the apartment complex we were holding the trainings in.  All of the children wanted to by soccer with them and have Nathan and Sarah on their team.  Teams of 20 children and students play soccer every evening after the training was over.  It was a time the community came together to either play or watch.   Lots of laughing and fun were had by everyone.  It was so wonderful to see how a ball and two sticks can bring people together even if they don’t speak the same language.

The board director of at CedarNest took the Josh family, GHE China Team out to dinner at a place called “The Cultural Revolution.” It was like being in China during the Cultural Revolution with the way the staff was dressed like the People’s Liberation Army.

More Fun Little Tidbits:

• You haven’t been to Walmart until you’ve been to Walmart in China.
• At the Underground market you can bargain with the venders.
• Chinese elevators don’t always work, especially when your bed is on the 18th floor…..
• McDonald’s and Starbucks are ALMOST like home.
• Rice noodles are the best!
• Some ceilings here aren’t built tall enough for Nathan.
• Josh family had us all over for a taco night… still missing Taco Bell

Blessings from Professor Appenzeller and the GHE China Team, 2017……

Hello everyone, the China Team hopes everyone is having a wonderful day! We are thankful for everyone’s gift of prayers and support that has brought us to this wonderful world of teachers, parents, and children.  The sharing of information and evidence-based practice techniques also brings health care professionals together in China.  California Baptist University and the government of China has enabled us to all work together to improve the communication skills of children with special needs.  Parents of children with autism now feel hopeful more often than despair.  The shift in thinking about the potential of all children is a blessing for everyone.

Our last day in Qinhuangdao ended with a once in a lifetime walk on the Great Wall. We visited “Dragon’s Head”, the start of the wall at the seashore and further along where it went through a village founded during ancient times.  The Chinese government generously arranged the tour because of the clinical work we performed all week at the Redwood Kindergarten in the Rehabilitation Department and at the city’s hospital for women and children.

The China Team from CBU has learned to be flexible and adapt to changes in schedule, venue, and comfort level. When a rehabilitative site became unavailable at the last minute, the team moved their presentation to a kind family’s home.  The Chinese educators were also very understanding and met us at the new site to continue attending the learning sessions.  As for comfort level, the China Team learned that 4 bunks in a sleeping compartment the size of a queen sized bed and without windows is a bit claustrophobic but survivable. The train was equipped with only brakes located in the front of the locomotives.  At various stops throughout the night, we learned to lull ourselves back to sleep after the resulting abrupt, jolt.  We all agreed that sleeping can be an exciting adventure.

While at the Great Wall, we learned about the history of ancient China. The tour guide leading our tour spoke perfect English despite the fact that she has never visited America.  She explained to us that although the wall was originally a barrier against outsiders, it is now a landmark that promotes togetherness.  People from all over the world visit China to see it.  Like the Great Wall, research and clinical evidence is much too precious not to share.

Signing off for now,

Blessings from Gen and the rest of the China Team.

Since we arrived in China the trip has been flying by. We’ve had such a productive time and we have been able to connect with so many caring individuals. We have been in Qinhuangdao for four days already and we have had many opportunities to learn and share our knowledge with others.

We had dinner with the mayor of Qinhuangdao on our first night here. We were able to share what we are doing in China. Paul and Vicky were also able to talk to him about the work that they do here. That way, the government is more aware and can possibly help support future projects that help disabled children and adults. It was our first meal here in this city, so we tried to copy everything the mayor did so that we didn’t mess up. We tried our best to not look ridiculous using chopsticks.  We ended up dropping our food anyway. It was an interesting experience and it went pretty well.

Each day we start with lectures. We’ve all presented in our area of study to a large group of teachers. These teachers work at a local rehab school that serves special needs children. The lectures last about 3 hours, then after lunch we go to the school and do various activities with some of the kids with autism. The teachers watched us for the first few days and now we are watching them take over. We got to watch the teachers interact with their students and make suggestions on how to improve.

Some activities that we would do involved testing the kid’s sensory, motor and lanuage development as well as problem solving skills. We used toys, clay, beads and made obstacle courses to make the activities fun. We have already learned souch about autism and we are grateful to have the chance to help.

We have also been invited to visit the Qinhuangdao Women and Children Healthcare Center, which is the best in the city. We all got to tour the hospital and the NICU. Here in China, as soon as the babies are born they put them in tiny pools to swim with a floaty around their neck. We got to play with the little ones in the water, so cute! We are headed back to the hospital on Friday to play with the children with autism that are there. They mentioned that they have 70 kids with autism there and they are at maximum capacity. They are hoping to get more funding by the government to be able to open new facilities to help these children and their families.

Fun little tidbits:

-The duck tacos are making us miss Taco Bell.

-When it’s hot out, the men here create crop tops out of their shirts and embrace the dad bod.

-“Toilets” are basically a hole in the ground that flush, and toilet paper is a rare commodity.

-Pizza hut is a 5 star dining experience.

-Chopsticks are hard, but we’re killing it.

-The lines on the road don’t mean anything to the Chinese people. They make their own lanes and have little regard for motor cycle riders and pedestrians. We haven’t seen any accidents yet! *Knock on wood*

We finished up our work in the clinic with great success. We had patients where we were able to completely resolve their issue in just one visit and we have had patients where we realized the enormity of the pain and suffering that is in the world. Many patients returned to thank us for help, say goodbye, and ask us to return. We have bonded as a team both in and out of the clinic. We have had a lot of fun, some serious conversations, and been able to help each other grow and process some of the harder things that we have seen.

We came expecting to give to the people of Tanzania and were pleasantly surprised to find out that we received just as much back in return. It was really nice to see that our limited skills could do so much to help people. We were surprised at the impact of human touch and prayer as we were able to overcome the language barrier to show people that we cared. Not only were we able to help decrease their pain, but we were able to connect with many of them on a more personal level and gain their friendship.

We will miss our time at chapel, church services, and Bible study in the village. We loved experiencing the simplicity and joy of our fellow believers in the presence of God. Even though we did not understand the words to all of the songs, the joy that exuded from the faces and souls of those worshipping with us was contagious. It was so neat to see that the Bible study and church services were based in Acts and God’s growing of the early church. It seemed so appropriate and we really feel that God was with us during this trip. From promises we received before the trip through our final day in the clinic, it has been evident that God has gone before us and has been present with us.

We have learned two new phrases: “This is Africa” and “Africa Wins Again.” Below are some examples:

–We had a coconut tree in our back yard fall over unexpectedly and for no apparent reason. (We later learned that it had been eaten by ants from the inside.)

–Our water was off for several days (to the plumbing incident mentioned in the previous post) and we washed dishes “camping-style” as a team.

–We left our house for two hours and came back to an ant infestation.

–We terrified multiple little children who had never seen white people before.

–Our ladies received multiple offers of marriage. Don’t worry parents, the would-be-husbands are happy to move to America.

We are leaving tomorrow morning to begin our long journey home. Please pray for safe travels and time for us to fully process all that we have experienced. Also, snacks and fast food would be welcomed upon our return. =)

The Blog Update of Team Kigoma through the Eyes of Jenna:

Our days are mainly filled with treating patients at the hospital. We have gotten to help, treat, and pray for patients with a wide range of diversity. We have treated several stroke patients, a cerebral malaria patient with brain stem dysfunction, a two year-old with severe developmental delays, a 95-year old with complications from a UTI and dehydration, and many more vertebral derangements and dysfunctions. The number of patients we are treating daily is steadily increasing; on Friday alone we saw 20+ patients.

Several of our patients were successfully discharged with all symptoms resolved and many others are steadily making progress. A nine-year old girl came in complaining of back pain, but after just two treatments she was completely pain-free. Several of the hospital workers were unable to do their jobs because of severe pain, but have come back to thank us and report complete healing.

We have also been asked to lead the chapel devotionals for the hospital staff and the services at the church in the village of Nyantole. Erik, Jenna, and Tayler had the opportunities to share at chapel this week while Garrett and Jana led the Bible study and church services. Josh and Garrett have been providing special music during church. The church we have been visiting even wrote us a special “thank you and goodbye” song.

Sorry for the late blog post, we may have used up all the Wi-Fi data, but we have successfully finished our second week of the trip. Other non-work related highlights include:

–plugging up the plumbing so badly a new trench needed to be dug;

–running around Kigoma and competing in exercise challenges;

–kayaking, flipping each other out of the kayak, swimming, and making up lake games;

–napping, souvenir shopping, and eating pizza with the Peppers;

–cooking and eating breakfast and dinner together as a team. (Note: we may not be eating PB&J for quite some time after this trip.)

Please pray for us to finish strong this week and for safe travels as we leave on Friday.

Few things have been going according to plan, but everything has been a blast so far! We left LAX at 2am on Wednesday the 18th and it was about a 13 hour flight. We landed in Beijing at around 6am on the 19th. It took us like 28 hours to get here thanks to the time change.  Our first flight was late, so we missed our second flight to Changchun! We were stuck in Beijing for the day so we got to see a lot of the city and go to the Forbidden City. We had a taxi driver, and she had no regard for the rules of the road so that was quite the experience. We checked into a hotel and got up at 4am the next day to catch another flight to Changchun. Then our luggage got left in Beijing, so I didn’t change my clothes or put on deodorant for 3 days, so that was pretty fun. Putting on fresh socks was the best.

That day we had our first seminar at Cedar Nest and Maggie got to speak about Autism. While she was speaking we got to play with a couple kids and entertain them while their parents listened to the lecture. We already got to assess some kids and check out their behaviors and motor skills. One of the kid’s mom pretty much asked me, “Can you figure out what problem he has?” We met up with Maggie to talk about this kid and we are going to meet up with him and his parents again later.

At the end of the seminar, there was a mother who wanted Maggie to evaluate her daughter DoDo. We got to meet the girl and her mother, who were both so precious and sweet. We got to see what kinds of questions Maggie asked to get to the root of the problem and figure out what needed to be done about it, and we even got to give a couple of our own suggestions. At the end, DoDo handed us all a gift — bananas! She was delighted to give them to us, and her smile was the cutest thing.

We have all had such a fun time with each other and the people we have met. I have been learning so much about the culture and the history of China, which has been a blast. Some of the facts are shocking: like the fact that there are 64 million vacant apartments because they have to keep building in order to maintain the economy. I am also learning helpful information about Occupational Therapy, sensory integration, autism, etc. We love being here, and the Chinese people love having us — they are constantly looking at us and taking pictures and videos (with flash).

Nathan stayed with the Joshua family last night, and all the girls stayed with Paul and Vicky. Joshua and his wife Christie have 7 kids and they live on the 6th floor of a building. Paul and Vicky live nearby in another building on the 18th floor, so hopefully the elevator keeps on truckin’ while the girls are there. They live in the same community as Cedar Nest which is where we’re working with the kids. Right now we’re on a 4 hour train ride to Qinhuangdao with Paul and Vicky and we’re staying there for five days, then heading back to Changchun.

We are at the end of our first full week in Tanzania. The first half of the week was spent traveling to get here, but once here we have had full days. On Thursday we began treating patients in the clinic and traveled to a small village to attend Bible study. Friday we treated more patients and did a diabetes seminar at the hospital. Saturday, we returned to the village to do a health seminar and do home visits to check on water filter usage. During the seminar we talked about what it means to be physically and spiritually healthy. After the seminar we divided into groups and visited individual homes where we had the opportunity to read Scripture, pray for people, share pieces of our testimony, and share the Gospel. While this was an exciting opportunity, each group felt the spiritual darkness that was present; today we are much more aware of the spiritual battle that is being fought all around us.

In just three, short days, we feel like we have done so much, had important spiritual conversations internally and externally, and seen God work in mighty ways. Tomorrow we will return to the village for church and begin preparing for next week. We ask that you would pray for favor in the village, wisdom in the clinic, and peace in our hearts and minds.

Sunday was a marvelous experience that included worshipping in song, dance and Scripture with fellow Tanzanian believers at Nyantole Baptist Church.  Lina brought a message of faith, health, hope and perseverance in Christ.  All were encouraged and challenged to continue sharing the truth and hope of Jesus.  We spent the afternoon enjoying a lovely meal prepared by our hosts followed by swimming, kayaking and games in lake Tanganyika.  It was truly refreshing.

Hello from GHE team Kigoma!

It has been an absolutely incredible experience thus far, and we are joyful to share a brief summary of our time here over the last couple of days. To start, the flights were long, but seeing Kigoma as the end result was entirely rewarding. Our first flight was from LAX to Istanbul (Turkey), and that took roughly 14 hours. The next flight was from Istanbul to Dar Es Salaam, which is a city on the east coast of Tanzania. From the airport in Dar Es Salaam, we were flying to Kigoma airport when the pilot announced that there was a minor technical issue with the plane, which resulted in the team landing back in Dar Es Salaam. Although this gave us a bit of a scare, we found confidence in the fact that God has brought us here for the purpose of spreading His name, and that He was going to get us there to do just that.

Today was our first day at Kigoma Baptist Hospital. We had the opportunity to see, treat, and pray with various patients. We got the opportunity to talk about nutrition, culture, and health concerns with some of the ladies waiting outside. We also had the opportunity to visit a village and participate in a small Bible study. We have been enjoying learning about the culture, meeting the people, and practicing our Swahili.

We have included a picture of Lake Tanganyika (which is the view from where we are staying) Please pray for us this week as we have the opportunity to return the hospital, treat more patients, and give health seminars. We are healthy and just a little tired. We will post again in a few days. Asante sana! Amani iwe nanyi. (Thank you very much! Peace be with you.)

It’s been a busy week in Jilin, China as we have spent our time rotating through the hospital and exploring more of the city. We started the week by helping institute a cardiac rehab program at the hospital. The GHE team taught various exercises to the doctors who will be leading the program. It was fun to demonstrate how to preform squats, bicep curls, and balance exercises. That night we had one of our favorite meals in Jilin. We were treated to Mongolian BBQ where they cooked meat right in front of us. Monday and Tuesday we participated in morning rounds with the doctors. The doctors are very attentive and spent a vast majority of their morning explaining the history of the patients and the medications they are currently on. Later on in the week we had the opportunity to watch several ultrasounds on the heart, liver, and thyroid. Afterwards we made our way to the lab where we were introduced to the various tests that are run on patients’ urine and blood. We had the opportunity to look at urine samples under the microscope and were taught how to differentiate between a normal and infected sample. One of the lab technicians allowed us to run tests on the blood to determine the pH and electrolyte composition. One of our favorite activities is working with the cardiac rehab patients who are so willing to learn and improve their quality of life.

This week we were also introduced to the business side of the hospital. We spent time in HR where Mr. Gao explained the hiring process, the role of the staff, and performance salary. In the IT department they showed us how to use the hospital information system and explained the basics of insurance. On Sunday we made our way to a countryside church about an hour outside of the city where the doctors conducted a clinic for the rural residents. They preformed EKGs, blood pressure screenings, and prescribed medication. It was nice to get out of the city and see a small glimpse of how the majority of China lives. Another excursion that we went on was to Bei Hua University, which is the city’s largest university. The campus was huge compared to CBU and the library was five stories. We also had the chance to see Jilin Medical University where they grow herbs for traditional Chinese medicine. This week for fun we took two of our Chinese friends to karaoke, more commonly known as KTV in China. We sang the night away in our own private room and woke up the next day with raspy voices. During our free time we are spending time in deep discussions about God and China. We can’t believe we only have five days left and we plan on making the best of the remainder of our time here in Jilin.

Ashlee, Dana, Juan, and Stephanie
GHE Bo Hua Team