More Than We Could Ask Or Think

By Sharon Rahilly

Dr. Irene Alyn, Chair of the Nursing Department at Cedarville College received an urgent fax from the nursing staff at H™pital Baptiste Biblique in Togo, West Africa, asking if anyone might be available to spend the month of July 1995 in Togo. Changes in nursing personnel, furlough schedules, and a chronic shortage of nurses meant the hospital would have to close or curtail services if short-term help was not available. Unfortunately, such stop-gap measures had become the norm because career missionary nurses are not in abundance, nor are trained Togolese nurses with a testimony for Christ and a heart for evangelism.

This critical situation gave birth to the idea of training selected Togolese Christians as capable, skilled, professional nurses who could think critically, and provide compassionate care for patients' physical needs while sharing the gospel and meeting spiritual needs. An impossible goal? Without a doubt, more than anyone could ask or think!

ABWE nurses Annette Williams and Ann Den Uyl spearheaded the program's development, writing a vision statement, formulating objectives, and deciding on the student selection process. Cedarville College nursing faculty served as mentors, and missionary nurses Marjorie Lund and Brenda Mastin increased their workloads to enable Annette and Ann to spend full-time in nursing education.

The program started on March 24, 1997. Annette Williams was chosen as Director of the program; Ann Den Uyl and Sharon Rahilly, a short-term missionary nurse from Cedarville College, were the other full-time faculty members. Additional individuals taught nursing courses, worked as clinical instructors, and taught Bible classes each trimester.

Courses covered basic anatomy and physiology, patient assessment, nursing skills, nutrition, and pharmacology. Two days each week were devoted to supervising students as they cared for patients. Advanced level courses included leadership and management, trauma nursing, ethical concerns, and community health. The final three months of the 2-1/2 year program consisted of an internship when students worked full-time in the hospital.

July 10, 1999, marked the graduation celebration of the Institut de Formation D'Infirmiers. Of the five graduates, none had more than the equivalent of a 10th grade education. One had been an operating room technician, two had worked as nurses aides, one worked in the warehouse, the other was a gardener. What a milestone this graduation was in their lives!

Since the outcome was more than we could ask or think, does that imply the process was easy? Not at all! There were times of discouragement and frustration for teachers and students alike. Times of heavy workloads with students studying late at night while planting and harvesting their fields on weekends and after classes. Faculty dealt with computer crashes and prayed for wisdom in presenting information. Teachers and students had to overcome language and cultural differences.

If you walked into Hôpital Baptiste Biblique today, you would find graduates working as full-time nurses and contributing toward winning people to Christ. Much time, money, and effort have been poured into the lives of these graduates. Pray that they will remain teachable and demonstrate attitudes of humility and servanthood and that they will continually give glory to the One Who does more than any of us could ask or think (Ephesians 3:20, 21).