Oghene, Wo ruru ma mo – HALLELUJAH, – A DOCTOR HAS COME & EKU IS REJOICING !!! (Will explain the picture later) – In 1948, Doctor Harold B. Canning arrived, But NONE of his surgical instruments or medical supplies arrived with him !! We also discovered that he was a Very New Christian & also use to be a Prize Fighter, so there were Many Unusual stories about him, in his short stay in Eku !! He came as a single man, so many in Eku would bring prospective brides for him to chose from – Ooh Mercy !! He then called for one of the Nurses in America to come and marry him & she was thrilled to do so. The Mission Board wanted them to meet in Sapele & be Married Before going back into Eku, so this is their Wedding Picture here! We were sent with Beautiful clothing for the wedding & all the men also received the Chief’s attire! ( In the picture, on the Left are my parents, Rev. Dr. E. Milford Howell – Eleanor Howell, RN, & me (na me ooo, na small pikin ooo) , & Dr. Harold Canning and his New Bride are on the far-Right). He was quite a comic and the Eku people really grew to love him ! One day a man came to him asking what to do because the local juju priest had put a spell on him & said that he would die the next day at 2 pm ( this happened a lot & they really would die) But Dr. Canning said that his God’s power was stronger & told him to come back in the morning. The next morning the man came & my Mother put him to sleep with chloroform, & did not wake him up until After 2 pm, to prove the juju priest’s spell wrong !! Another man from Ugbimidaka, had not spoken for several weeks, from a spell put on him, Dr. Canning said that he would put him to sleep & when he would wake, he would be able to speak, because God’s Power was Greater – Mother administered the chloroform & when the man woke up, he could talk !! There were many other crazy stories, BUT, one of the warm stories was that a woman in hard labor, arrived late at night, so he jumped out of bed to help her, with only his night pants on. They said that he wept when the lives of the mother and baby were lost !! There were many stories & will tell them in the Book later. Mother continues to work in the 2nd Clinic, by the First Baptist Church, until my Dad could get some buildings completed. My Dad had made several fervent pleas for more money for building the Hospital to meet the critical needs of the precious people in Eku, But the answer was always “No” !! So, my Dad went to Lagos and called the Hospital & Nursing School, that my Mother had gotten her Medical Degrees from, in New Orleans, La. and they were delighted to help with finances to finish the building the Hospital in Eku – Hallelujah !!! —- Dr. Harold Canning had some conditions in America that required him to leave early, in December of 1949, after only being in Eku for about 2 years. The “Send Off” Ceremony for him, was a great occasion that witnessed much sorrow and grief! —- Next week, a lot of you will remember the next Doctor & family coming – Oh JOY- JOY !!! — Eku wadooo na Chief Omoteko
