Yates Family In Soddo

We woke up like any other day. We have traveled so much in Ethiopia, that road trips almost feel normal and typical. The 100's of donkeys, carts and people on the two lane highway from Soddo to Addis Ababa almost felt ordinary. But perhaps it is when we take down our guard, and forget to stay vigilant in prayer that the enemy attacks. We were taking our friends to the airport this quiet Thursday morning. We ate breakfast before we got on the road. We stopped to get a hand of those cute apple bananas for our friends in Addis from a young boy on the side of the road. We made it about 45 minutes out of town, when it happened. We were out of any official town between Shone and Halaba. We were headed downhill on a beautiful stretch of road with some small ravines on either side of the road. There was no person or animal on the road, except Watango. Watango is a 75 year old muslim man with significant vision impairment. He was walking along the side of the road for his 10 kilometer trek ...

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...

Oh the joys of living overseas and feeling neither like an American and neither like an Ethiopian. Sometimes it is difficult and other times it is just funny to see the culture clash.  A few weeks ago we had a team that came to visit us at the hospital and brought cloth diapers for the newborn babies and the pediatric department. One of their team members had come before and was moved in love and compassion that all the babies soiled rags with urine and stool, for the mother or helper to hand wash and change again. The beds get wet, the mothers get wet and the child is covered sometimes down to their cute little baby feet in poop. So this team decided it would be so much better, and more sanitary if we had reusable cloth diapers for the wards. They got everything all set up and gave their specific instructions to the cleaning staff. I happened to be their to watch their interaction... all translated by our local Ethiopian IT worker, who knows nothing about cloth diapers, but he spe...

Why is fear such a great weapon. It feels like it is everywhere, and so easy to get sucked in, especially with young children. Since our return to Ethiopia, as the mother of sweet 2 year old Cole and little 3 month old baby Leah I have had moments of overwhelming fear, crippling fear, and even I want to run as far away from here as I can fear. I was doing ok. I could handle the every changing expectations, the non-functional car, being left alone to care for the hospital compound and the hospital for a few weeks with the others traveling, but when it comes to my kids, it is so easy to get overwhelmed and spiral out of control. Just as I started working in the hospital more than I intended, and the majority of our western neighbors left, there was a new article about aflatoxin in all diary products in greater Ethiopia.  https://aghealth.wordpress. com/2015/07/20/new-ilri-study- finds-high-levels-of- aflatoxin -in-milk-and-dairy- feeds-in-greater-addis-ababa- milk-shed/ I felt like a...

One night Adam and I watched the beautiful Ventura sunset on a warm night from the top of Grant park overlooking the ocean. In one of those moments we thought to ourselves, "what were we thinking? Ventura is awesome! Why did we ever leave? It's beautiful. You can walk places without being followed or asked for money. The weather is amazing. The grocery stores and restaurants fast and delicious. There seems to be a sense of stability here. We could have a home and have stable friends and be near our family.  People can live out the american dream. It is so much easier to rest here. What were we thinking???" And then we are reminded that the Lord has called us to be obedient to his call. For this season we are called elsewhere. Although the view in front of us seems so much better, there is more. God has promised us that. Matthew 19:29  And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sister or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred...

"Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.” Zechariah 4:6. Years ago, I had prayed and prayed over the decision to apply to medical school. I either felt like the Lord was calling me to be a doctor or a teacher. At that time, the Lord asked me, “Michelle, why can’t you be both?” Since the beginning of my medical education, I knew that my heart and passion for medicine goes much deeper than just seeing patients and caring for them through their medical problems. I always knew that I would be a teacher in some context. As a family we prayed over the where the Lord would send us. In 2012, There were rumblings of a family medicine residency in Soddo, but those at Soddo Christian Hospital made it very clear that SCH was in no way ready or planning to start a family medicine residency any time in the near future. God confirmed that we were to serve at SCH and we moved to Ethiopia in 2014, still with no plans to be formally involved in a family medicine reside...

During the preparation for our trip back to the US we have had a lot of reflections and thoughts about how to spend our time in the states. One thing that we have found to be helpful is to pray over what God desires for us to accomplish or do this summer. In the "missionary community" there are a lot of words that float around. To be honest with you, it can be confusing at times. Some people will describe this season as furlough, others as home assignment, others may call it vacation and for us, maternity leave.  On our departure, we prayed over all the possibilities of things that we would "need" to accomplish while we are in the states this summer: Do we need rest and renewal? What about the delivery of baby #2 and bonding with our new baby? Do we need to learn new skills to take back with us? Do I have to do any medical licensing work requirements(CME)? How should we reconnect with friends and family? How do we need to report to our sending church and supporters?...