Las Vegas Hot!

Have you ever gone to Las Vegas in the summer? Well that is what it was like in the cities of Actau and Atyrau by the Caspian Sea. We spent the week in those two cities helping with NRT sessions. We first flew into Actau and it was a dust bowl getting from the airport to the city. I don't know why they build their airports so far from the city (30-50 miles) but it can't be because the cost of land is high! We had a nice hotel right on the Caspian Sea.

The hospital facilities where we did the training did not have air conditioning so we really felt bad for those trying to learn. It was very uncomfortable. I can't imagine being a patient in these hospitals or even being a doctor/nurse and working in those conditions during the summer months.

This is the statue in from of the Children's hospital in Actau.















This picture shows Dr. Underwood, who teaches at U.C. Davis medical school, helping with the hands-on practice. The most important part of the training is the hands-on practice that the doctors, nurses, and midwives get using the manikins that the Church provides. Each facility in the region that the training is held in gets a manikin and a full set of equipment so that they can go back to their facility and teach the rest of the staff. They are required to report how many others they have taught over the next 6 months. The TV station came on the last day and interviewed Dr. Bennett and the Director of the hospital (picture is of the director).












The training in Actau was on Monday and Tues. On Wed we all flew to Atyrau for another 2 days of training. Along with the Bennetts and Dr. Underwood we also had 2 Kazakh doctors from Almaty, that had been previously trained, helping with the training. The Bennetts and Dr. Underwood have been coming to Kazakhstan for 5 years and doing a few days training in a region of the country each year.

Group picture is of those trained in Actau.



The facilities were a lot worse and it was a lot hotter in Atyrau .... but the people are the same. They are loving, kind, dedicated professionals that love to learn and love to save children.

When we first arrive at the facility we set up the training tables and I set up the projector and computers used for the lectures. After each lecture they take a test. We do a pre-test and a post-test to gauge how much they have learned over the 2 days. If they have attended both days and completed all the tests, then they get a certificate at the closing ceremony.

We feed them at 2 breaks each day and sometimes we wonder if we are doing them a favor by feeding them since there is no refrigeration and we have no idea how long the food has been stored somewhere in a bag. In Atyrau the rooms were a consistent mid-90s degrees.

This is a picture of Dr. George Bennett presenting a certificate at the end of the training. He, and his wife Marcia have been doing NRT training around the world for 7 years. We had a great time being with them and the rest of the team of translators and local Kyrgyz and Kazakh doctors. In the morning we would all get together for a short spiritual thought and prayer and in the evenings we all met for dinner. Below are some pictures from our dinners and the decorations in hotels and restaurants.










































I could not resist taking this little girl's picture!!!

We are very blessed to be able to be here and participate in His work. This story is told by Dieter F. Uchtdorf:
"A story is told that during the bombing of a city in World War II, a large statue of Jesus Christ was severely damaged. When the townspeople found the statue among the rubble, they mourned because it had been a beloved symbol of their faith and of God’s presence in their lives.

Experts were able to repair most of the statue, but its hands had been damaged so severely that they could not be restored. Some suggested that they hire a sculptor to make new hands, but others wanted to leave it as it was—a permanent reminder of the tragedy of war. Ultimately, the statue remained without hands. However, the people of the city added on the base of the statue of Jesus Christ a sign with these words: “You are my hands.”"

Each of us are His hands here among His children. May we all reflect His love to those we meet.