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Prayer
- Protection from the COVID virus
- Wisdom to make wise decisions with the large projects underway
Praises
- Safety during conflict
- Good health
- Beginning construction of the hydroelectric project
- Ordering the oxygen system for the hospital
Scripture
Blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ, the father of mercies and god of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by god. (2cor 1:3-4)
Dear Friends,
We are still here at Mbingo. With the lockdown from the COVID-19 virus, we canceled the visits to many of our supporting churches and the conferences that we were scheduled to attend this summer. We are mostly isolating ourselves in the house. I no longer go to the wards but attend a few meetings at the hospital.
The hospital has been preparing to receive COVID patients for the past month. We have an isolation ward ready. Everyone in the hospital wears a mask and we have hand washing stations installed in many places around the hospital. One of the major issues we have been facing is having an adequate oxygen
supply for our patients. Last week we were able to place the order for a central oxygen generating system that will supply oxygen to the ICU, surgical theaters and the main wards. We are expecting to receive more COVID patients in the coming weeks. After this system is in place, we will be able to provide much better care for these and other patients.
The other big project that we have started is the construction of the hydroelectric project! This has been a long time in progress, but we are optimistic that we can accomplish installing it. The building that will house the switching equipment and the back-up diesel generators was started last week. The turbine was built in Germany and will arrive in Douala this week. We are working on getting the other components together so that the work can seriously begin. We will build two dams up in the hills above the hospital and connect the lower dam to the penstock (pipe) that will carry the water down to the turbine below the hospital. The electricity generated will be brought back to the hospital using high tension lines then distributed to the hospital. We appreciate all of you that contributed to the project and for your patience.
One of our churches donated the Bobcat in the picture to assist us in the construction of the hydro project. It came with a full set of attachments, so we are now well prepared for the work on the project. We do not have anyone here at the hospital with experience in operating the machine, so it has fallen to me to train one of our drivers to use it safely. There are advantages to having grown up on a farm and used tractors long ago.
Over the past three years, we have become accustomed to the tension and conflict around the hospital. We have always felt safe and not threatened and have been able to continue our work here. With the arrival of the COVID-19 virus, we are experiencing what many of you also feel. Unlike the violence around, the threat of the virus cannot be seen or heard yet poses a potentially more serious threat to us personally. Although most who will get the infection will do well, even with minimal symptoms, those of us in the older age categories are more concerned about the consequences of getting it. We continue to trust that God has us here for His purposes and will protect us.
Dennis & Nancy Palmer
Mbingo Baptist Hospital, PMB 42, Bamenda, NW Region, Cameroon
palmerdd47@gmail.com; palmernancylea@gmail.com
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