Nov. 18, 2013

Well I just got another year younger or older.  Anyway Dolores had the expats over for cake and home made ice cream Wed evening for my birthday.  Thank you to each one of you that sent birthday greetings via email.   I am not that old although next year will be my 50 year college class reunion at Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska.  We are planning to be there for that.

The birthday was just another day at the hospital.  We did a bilateral orchiectomy and amputation of scrotum for necrosis and necrotizing fasciitis of the perineum.  Hopefully he will live but it is looking doubtful as his necrotizing fasciitis or whatever has extended up through his cord and now today appears to be into his abdomen in spite of every antibiotic we could give him.  The relatives are wanting to take him home to die there as I think he is dying anyway.  Also did a partial amputation of clavicle for severe osteomylelitis from a previous fracture.  He  also had an old healed fracture of his femur that was shorter.  Another little boy has osteo of his clavicle and osteo of his femur and of one metatarsal and they claim there was no trauma.  Tues I had to redo the girl with the fistula but appears to be holding this time.  We also did another skin graft on a leg.  Sun we had a strangulated hernia and another one today.  We had another lady with kerototic 1 or 2 mm nodules only in the folds of her palmar skin.  I am told that these are benign and there is nothing to do for them.  

We have Hector, Kathy, and Michelle Figoroa from Florida here for two weeks.  Michelle was a student missionary here a few years ago.  Hector is an anesthetist.  

I don’t know what you hear in the media but BBC reported about a priest that was abducted in Koza, Cameroon and has not been heard from since.  The following is an email from Bekki and Scott Gardner (Olen’s uncle) who had been planning to go to Koza as a surgeon there.  They are presently in France studying French for another month then??    

“I don’t know what all you hear in the media but  I guess the first requirement to be a missionary is 'flexibility.' It is still very disappointing. We don't know what the GC will tell us or what will happen with the governments and the Boko Haram. The priest definitely needs our prayers. I read on the BBC website that he had emailed or texted the french embassy 4 hrs before he was kidnapped and must have been in the process of evacuating when they came. His empty suitcase was found on the side of the road the next day. The BH has been pretty active the last 6 mos. They went into a mosque and killed a bunch of people, pulled kids out of a school and set them on fire, attacked and massacred students in their dormitory at a government agriculture school and then set the buildings on fire, they dressed up in Nigerian military uniforms and set up a checkpoint (from the description in the news I think it was on the road between Koza and Ndjemena) anyway they stopped cars, pulled the people out and started shooting and hatcheting the people until they got a call on their cell phones that the real military was on the way, then they took off on their motos. It doesn't appear that they stole anything or that they even wanted the cars. They are a very strange group. They don't seem to have much of an agenda except to kill, destroy, control and terrorize. They do want money for weapons but they don't really seem to be stealing much. I suppose they don't bother with petty theft when all they have to do is kidnap a few westerners a year to collect millions so they can go back to terrorizing and killing.

The couple from Jengre had to leave early this yr. They actually didn't tell anyone they were leaving. They had a moving truck show up. Literally threw their things in and left with out saying good bye or anything. They had spent the better part of the last 20 yrs there and felt that was a horrible ending but felt for their own safety that was the way it had to be.

Thank you for keeping us in your prayers.

Bekki "

The Boko Haram has been officially declared a terrorist organization similar to Al Queda by the US state department.  They are the ones that were making trouble in Mali and Niger and northeast Nigeria and now Cameroon.  There was a French couple abducted a few months ago in Cameroon also.  They have especially been active in northeast Nigeria and in Mali.  Jengre, Nigeria is where we were 40+ years ago and we had once thought of visiting there but that looks unlikely now.  

So far here in Chad it is quiet and no evidence of their activity here that we know about.   I have not heard of any problems here other than frequent military check points when traveling on a main road and if one travels anymore it is helpful to have a letter of explanation from your organization such as hospital of why you are going to wherever so that they let you through faster.    We are way out in the bush and in no danger.  

Continue to pray for all missionaries of all kinds.    The devil is active trying to keep people from learning about the Saviour.

Our emails are dfbland01@gmail.com and  drbland@sbcglobal.net  

Love,   Rollin and Dolores