The current of life in Ethiopia

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This was the perfect scene from the hospital last week. We all attended "chapel" this morning, which was really the graduation ceremony of our general surgery residents and one of our well loved general practitioners. We had two graduating residents, speeches and lots of tears of joy as these two young surgeons get ready to leave the hospital to serve the people of Ethiopia well. It was so sweet and a sweet reminder of why we do what we do.

The chapel is right next to the morge. There was an adult patient that died at the hospital last night, and his coffin was being carried to the morgue until the family could take the patient's body home. For 45 minutes of the 60 minute ceremony there was deafening, loud wailing as the family mourned over this man's body.

This is life here. It is sad and strange that there is so much joy and so much sorrow that can almost seem to happen at the exact same time. It is a weird emotion. The most interesting thing about it all is that it seems like life here is like that a lot. In the midst of joy, there is always an existing current of sorrow. Life here is hard. And Ok, really the most interesting part about the morning was that no one else really seemed to notice the wailing.  Perhaps I'm just one of the newest to life in Ethiopia, and for everyone else it is just normal.


Comments

  1. Suellen HolmMarch 8, 2016 at 5:48 PM

    What a moving picture of life. It seems we try to cover up the sounds of wailing here in our 'busy" American culture. How good that you are involved so deeply in creating more voices of joy and gladness!

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