Post-Sandra clean-up

Watching the tail end of Sandra blow herself out.

Trying to get a few things dry. (This is inside our house, shooting from the door.)

Leanna. More explanation needed?

Rhoda cleaning our bathroom. We had so many worker biting at the bit to DO something it was hard to keep them all busy!

 

Jere, Julian, and Jaron getting the apartment roof cleaned off.

The boys doing what boys do best. Throwing rocks into water! This riverbed is normally dry.

Breanna and Janelle having a chat and a soak by the water's edge. In this channel it was almost knee deep with an obviously strong current. Clear and beautiful!!

The children all came down with diarrhea Saturday evening, so Sunday morning they got to enjoy "charcoal juice"!

Computers. . .

Just a note to let you know, if no one hears anything out of us till after we're home again, don't worry! Our computer is having a fit and doesn't let us use it sometimes anymore. . . We'll try to keep communicating, but no promises!

Sandy's something!

Tuesday evening we had Anita for supper as the storm was thinking of starting. The children sure enjoy their aunt!

Hurricane Sandy has been an experience for us all. Tuesday it blew off and on, and started raining some. Wednesday we were waiting for the team, and watching the increasing wind and rain with a concerned eye. Praise the Lord, the team arrived sooner than expected, with a good--if wet and muddy--trip behind them. The rain and wind increased as the day wore on, and pounded us pretty good through the night. My recollection of the this storm is likely to be most the sounds. Maybe in part due to my ears not still being recovered from their waxy ordeal, or maybe just because we can't see much from our front porch. The wind didn't howl or scream as I've heard many times in the north. It thundered. We could hear it roaring up the valley, and soon the sound was all around us, engulfing us in waves of tossing branches, flying leaves, and the steady sound of the wind pounding through the mountain passes. The rain, sounding against a thin metal roof, seemed more like a waterfall being poured around us than a rain storm. As the river rose, a faint roar could be heard through lulls in the storm. Sometime through the night there was a rattle and crash, as the porch roof on the girl's apartment flew up and over, landing upsidedown on their roof and sending a post through the shop roof:

Needless to say the radio quickly crackled on and Anita hollered requesting that Jere please come down. They'd been up all night still at that point (somewhere around 3 am I was told, as I'd been laying awake for who knows how long already) sopping up the water leaking through the concrete wall at a tremendous pace. Three girls could hardly keep ahead of it, sopping it up with towels and wringing it into buckets. Jere and his cousin Julian (came on the team, and will be replacing Jere as the mechanic) ran down through the storm and checked it out as well as they could, pushing one piece of tin back into place in an effort to stanch some of the water flow. At that point the girls decided it was hopeless to try to keep up anymore, and packed up anything that could get ruined by water into plastic totes, then found spots between their leaky roof enough to sleep for a few hours. Jere came back to find that water was now seeping into our house through the office wall, so he and Julian sopped water for awhile in there.

Thursday morning we rubbed the sleep out of still groggy eyes and surveyed the damages through still torrential rain and wind. Here's a shot of the riverbed from our porch--it had been dry only the night before, the large white rocks hiding any previous run-off underneath them:

Our house wall. Those are pieces of leaves, plastered tight to the wall from the wind. Usually the wall is white.

A tree went over the compound fence. They tell me there's another like situation down in the lower fence.

The incredible wind and rain continued more fitfully on Thursday. We provided breakfast for the team--thankfully several of them had slept through the night so there were a few people on the compound who weren't bushed! Unfortuneatley for the trees, we have a somewhat better view from our place now. It was kind of a lazy day. No clinic, hardly anyone at the gate, and we were unable to do much of anything outside. Jaron did school as usual, and many rested.

This morning we woke up to. . . more rain. The wind has pretty well died off, and the rain is, thankfully, coming straight down so we can at least stay dry on the porch, most of the time. Added to noises are the fussies of cranky children who are tired of the weather! We do let them go out and get good and wet when they want to, but still the continuing rain must work on their nerves. And the smells are starting to become more prominant. Added to the fresh, clean smell of the rain is the smell of wet. Old wet. Humid, moist, and mildewy. Wet towels used to dry people shivering from the cold shower. Wet towels used to sop up muddy water from the floors. No where to go to dry anything. Wet jackets that are getting rather fuzzy in places. Wet, dirty jeans that have been tramping through mud and water and laid on the edge of the laundry basket in vain hopes of drying, and are now stacking up. The rain is much more fitfull, but still coming down in buckets off and on. Still no signs of clearing off, or sunshine. But, one of these days I'm sure it will!!! It can't stay this way forever!

I hear a vehicle outside. Makes me wonder if the exploration team got back. They were out checking out damages. And, I assume, that means hopefully being able to tell how many days till we will be able to get out of this valley again! Not that we really need to get out for anything (except, yes, the team's luggage that didn't show up at the airport when they did. . .) but it's still kind of an isolating feeling. Makes me very glad for internet!

Hurricane Sandy

There's a hurricane named Sandy heading toward Jamaica today. Jamaica isn't that far from us, just a bit west. The eastern edge of the storm is producing more turbulance than the western, so we're in for tropical storm style weather for a day or two here. Which makes life rather interesting. Steve's are on their way home with a team they just picked up at the airport this morning--praise the Lord the team made it safely, and PRAY that they will be able to make it up the mountain trail safely now! We've been getting quite a bit of rain and wind already, and that trail at best is treacherous when muddy and downright deadly should the rivers be up too high or mudslides either cover the trail from above or take a good piece of it down to the next valley below. Clinic was closed today, so it's rather a quiet one here besides the rain beating on the tin roof. Most of us are glad for the break in routine and a chance to just relax a little. So, hurray for the rain! :-)

Storm!

Hear tell there's a tropical storm/hurricane passing nearby! Steve and Shana went out to Port this morning, planning on doing some shopping and picking up a team coming from the US. We hope they make it back tomorrow before the worst of the storm hits. But it's already really, really raining and blowing a little. With a glowing candle on the table and the rain pattering on the roof it feels cozy inside. However outside there are several getting drenched as they batten down for the storm. I guess it's supposed to hit Jamaica tomorrow night as a hurricane and eastern Cuba on Thursday as a tropical storm. But, storms can and do change direction and force! So it will be interesting to see what happens as we wait it out. Meanwhile things are relatively quiet as the Haitians stay indoors during the rain (I don't blame them!), the littlest are sleeping, and Jaron and Jere are out working at storm proofing things around here along with a couple of the girls. Jaron just finished his school work for the day, and I want to get a nice supper started. What a treat--we actually get chicken!

Days full to overflowing

Yes, we're staying busy! I'll try to catch you up on a few things that have been going on around here.




Saturday afternoon Anita and I went to the neighbors' to watch them cook. They're a little more well to do than many, and there were a handful of forlorn little urchins standing around when we got there. Surprise--it was candy making day!

Here is Madame Claudne's Coconut Candy in the process of being set into patties to harden, so she can sell it later.

 

Two of the little ones who came to see if they could get a few crumbs to put into their hungry tummies. Yes, they're as neglected and unkempt as they look. Both had some sort of scalp infection/disease/fungus, and obviously hadn't been cared about for far too long.

 

Anita, teaching the one little girl how to clean her fingernails.

 

We sat there and watched them making the candy, then making the food for supper. There was also an old lady who was doing the family washing. We had an enjoyable time!

 



Our supper being made. On the left is bean sauce, and on the right is the rice. Yummy!!!

 

The laundry hanging on the lines, accompanied by some citrus peels--possibly waiting to be made into jelly?

The washer woman.

 

Yesterday morning we went to church, and stayed the whole way through. It got a little long sitting on a hard, narrow, uncomfortable wooden bench, not understanding a single word, with three childen. Janelle went along with us, as an "emergency" of sorts had come into the clinic and so the others stayed behind to deal with it. I spent awhile standing outside with Leanna, and finally got her to sleep as well as giving my back a break from the bench, and my ears a break from the noise. Let's see, that calls for a rabbit trail. . . In order to sleep here with all the noises around (the Haitian roosters never learned their manners and crow at all hours of the day and night, dogs bark, cows bellow, people at the clinic talk/sing/shout/scream, depending on the occasion) I've spent a number of night with ear plugs in my ears. Which hasn't gone over too well with my ears. I wake up most mornings after being plugged with sore ears and a headache. And then on Saturday morning my right ear stayed plugged despite pulling the plastic plug out. It had gone a little farther in than normal, and there was more than the normal amount of wax since I've been wearing plugs, and together it made a blockage. So loud noises make my head ring, and the Sunday morning sermon was no exception! The trail home was a slippery, muddy mess, due to lots of rain recently, and it's a wonder none of us were set down on our rears. I was very glad I'd chosen to wear my hikers instead of sandals!

Sunday afternoons get rather interesting. Pastor Levy's room is in our house, and when he's around as he is most Sundays, our porch is FULL of people wanting to talk to him. Which means we have people popping in and out wanting to use the bathroom or needing a drink or borrowing a plate so they can eat--or washing their plate up again. Forget any privacy, or Sunday afternoon peace and quiet! As usual, we had lunch at Steve's, so that got us out of the middle of things for awhile.

About 6 o'clock we all got in the Land Cruiser and went up to Reinfords again as is usual for Sunday evening. Again, all the noise made my head ring pretty good! But oh, there sure was a feast! Hot dogs and real cheese, rolled together inside of soft pretzel dough, popcorn, and banana pie pudding. There were too many cooks and not enough to do, so I got out the camera and took pictures!

 

So, that was our weekend! Now I feel like I need to recover from it! :-)

 

Today I think Anita plans to come and flush out my plugged ear. I'm looking forward to having that over with! Jere took Jaron and went on some errands to Ti Guove, so I probably won't see them till later afternoon again. I need to head over and help Shana with lunch, since we'll be over there for it. Only, Leanna woke up too early from her nap and won't go back to sleep! Speaking of Leanna, she's starting to really try to talk, inspired I'm sure by Cherie, who already says qauite a bit for not even being a year! She's beens saying "Dada" for a few days in a deliberate fashion. Saturday she said "Hallelujah" (Cherie's favorite word!), Sunday she tried out "sandal", and this morning she was attempting "Teddy". And from the way she's acting, I'm guessing she's trying at words we aren't catching as well. So that's been a lot of fun!

Another little critter

My wish for less bugs wasn't answered. :-( The very next morning I peeked into the bathtub and saw this creature:

 In case anyone is wondering, after a little research I found it is called a Vinegaroon, or also Whip Scorpion. It is not poisonous, and one of the main items in its diet is cockroach! I toyed with the idea of removing the creature to the kitchen cupboard, but then decided it would be better off in the great out of doors. :-)

And I couldn't resist another shot of the little cutie who resides at our house! She can stand on her own now, and I'm still hoping she'll start walking some before we leave.

All the little critters!

Well, we've had our share of little critters running around the compound these days. Different ones have seen and/or heard rats in every house here. Steve and Shana's house seemed especially prone to the infestation. Finally, after finding a dead one down in their block wall when they came home from a weekend out on vacation last Sunday evening they declared war! Steve went after a rat he heard in their cupboard on Tuesday evening, and Shana joined him in the fight shortly. It finally ended up on the floor, and was decapitated by a machete blow. Yesterday then they cleaned out the cupboard, finding a rat's nest in it, which would explain all the noises they've been hearing as the young rats grew up. Ugh. I'm not the least bit envious!

Yesterday we had a lizard attempt to join us for lunch. Just as lunch was about over, we saw this little brown lizard perkily staring at us from the other side of our table. I got the dearest video of Jaron chasing it with a flyswatter handle, all around the table and over some chairs, Eliott and Leanna laughing hysterically over it. It finally got so tired out Jere caught it with his hands and brought it outside to the porch, where it was watched and examined for some time.

 

 

Last evening we had a "campfire" and brat roast. A pretty big treat for down here! Right in the middle of it Shana ran back to their house for something, and quickly returned saying there was another rat on top of their cupboard. Everyone else quickly scattered for shoes and rat fighting implements, and we heard some yelling from their house for a bit. They came back contented that the rat population was down one more, and finished their meal.

 

We were in the process of getting our children ready for bed last night when Anita was putting something away in the mission office which is in our house. She stopped short and said in a startled little voice that we had a visitor. I was sitting just outside the door, and I quickly tucked my feet up onto the chair! Others came running to look, and said it was an 8 legged visitor. I finally got brave enough to look, and here it was a big old tarantula sitting there on the floor! Shudder! Jere caught the thing and put it in an empty container. then into the freezer. He's hoping to preserve it somehow and bring it home. Any votes on whether that should be a go or not?! :-P I'm seriously hoping that the little critters are more on the ebb from now on. . . except I just saw a roach scuttling across the floor!

Day on the town

On Saturday we went out to Ti Guove, the closest "big" town. A two hour ride on rough trails in a Bobcat UTV holding a baby isn't exactly what you'd call a real comfortable ride! But as usual, it was pretty interesting. I'm always fascinated with all the ladies carrying big bundles on their heads, often balancing it there without the help of hands, gracefully walking along the incredibly rough trails without looking or stumbling. And then there's often groups of children hollering and waving at the "blahs" (whites), often yelling that they want us to give them a little blah! Of course there's always a large assortment of animals--donkeys, skinny mules, emaciated horses, chickens, goats, cattle, and an occasional sheep. And at times we're riding just above a dizzying drop-off, plunging down the mountain to meet the valley a great distance below, then up, up, up again to another mountain ridge. The trails varied from slippery, sloppy mud to loosely piled rock to cement tracks laid for the vehicle's wheels.

Once we arrived in town the amount of people became dizzying indeed. Motos raced this way and that, heedless of danger or pedestrians. Big vehicles came charging through, laying on the horn and expecting everyone else to move out of the way. We drove through the melee to the market, parked, and hopped out. Oh yeah, we needed to change some money. I volunteered to hop back in the Bobcat and watch the backpacks while Jere, Anita, and Jaron went off to get some Haitian money. Ah, then we were for sure ready to go shopping! Inside the clothing section it was actually pretty quiet. I thought the people were less pushy and quicker to wait for an opening in the crowd than in the Latino markets I've been to. Also very different were the huge baskets of girl's hair things set out. In the center was usually a stack of a beautiful assortment of ribbons--Anita said they were for the school girls. Around the edges were a colorful array of barrettes and hair bands and clips and headbands and other assorted bright, useful hair things. There was a utensil section, where they sold garlic masher things and banana smasher boards and graters made from tin cans. And there was the plastic section where they sold laundry hampers and trash cans and kivets (something like a large plastic basin--often what they use to carry things on their heads). And there was the food section where they sold all manner of fruits and veggies and bullion and rock salt and pasta, etc. We even walked by the outer edge of the meat market, with a stench enough to turn even my stomach.

But at last our shopping was done. Hungry, thirsty, and tired we headed out to find something to eat. We found a small roadside stand where they had food ready and had some lunch. Then we went off to the beach! As you can see from the pictures it wasn't the cleanest beach. I found it actually quite disgusting. But the boys enjoyed playing in the water a bit, and I enjoyed hearing the waves.

 

 

You can see all the trash on the beach in this picture.

 

A dugout that came floating by.

The Bobcat UTV that does most of the transporting around here.

 

A view from the trail's edge on the way home. Those gardens are at least as steep as they look!

 

We arrived home safely just before dark, tired and weary and glad to be back! It had been a very fun day, though. Sometime, then, in the middle of the night I woke up to a noise. I was wearing earplugs as I usually do here in order to cut the noise from the dogs, goats, cows, and roosters that are determined to stay up all night, and also the early morning noise from the clinic next door. But somehow the scratching cut right through the earplugs and I instantly knew what it was. A rat! Just above our bed, it was attempting to chew through the insulation in the ceiling. I woke Jere and he ran out to grab the broom. He said he saw it peeking through. From my vantage point all I could see was the insulation moving some. Before Jere could even get close with the broom we heard it scampering away across the roof. Shiver. I could hardly sleep the rest of the night!

 

Sunday we stayed home from church. We were all tired and the children needed some time to recover from the trip. We listened to an English message together. Or, at least we tried! Partway through the message we heard that the baby born on Thursday night had come to church this morning with a fever. Um, did I even mention about the baby? He was born Thursday evening, after a long and strenuous labor, to a first-time mom. I was privileged to be there for the birth, which quickly turned intense when the baby was born not breathing. We worked on him for quite some time, but he pulled through and seemed like he was going to be OK, despite being unusually sleepy. Anyway, yesterday morning they brought him back, feverish and breathing hard. Being we were right next to the clinic I worked alongside Michael, the clinic director, to give the baby a little eat so he could give it medication, bathe it, and then try to teach Mom how to nurse. Till that was done it was time to get lunch going for the crew, and I didn't get in on any more of the message! Later in the afternoon Anita and I went over to the clinic to work at helping Mom nurse some more--only to find she'd figured it out and was feeding the baby beautifully! Please keep praying for them. Baby's mom doesn't seem to care about the baby, except to resent it. Baby is still sick, which is quite touchy in a newborn, and we're not sure the mom or grandparents will follow the directions to feed and medicate once they get sent home this afternoon. However in our little clinic which will be majorly short staffed when both Michael and Virginia leave tomorrow for a visit home, we don't have the personnel or space to keep patients in the tiny little "hospital" room. We've done what we can.

 

Well, it's high time Jaron get going on his schoolwork, so I need to go. :-) It's a busy day here again, as Mondays usually are. And a bit rainy, unfortunately for we who need to get our laundry done! But we're glad for the rain, as it's been dry for rainy season and the cisterns are running low.

The kiddos

The little ones are adjusting very well to being here in Haiti. Jaron LOVES all the people interaction! School time is the hardest time of the day, as he has to be in the house, away from everybody else. He's thriving on being able to help his daddy so much, and having a friend his age to play with most of the time. The few times he's been out of the compound he's quickly made friends with some of the Haitian boys too. It's amazing at how well children can communicate when they can't speak each other's languages! He seems very intrigued with Creole, and has been asking me how to say this or that in Creole. I can't help him out, but I don't think it would take him long to learn the language if he had a chance to be out a bit more.

Eliott is doing fine. He doesn't care for having strangers constantly around, but has his own little ways of working around that and finding a corner where he can play by himself. Since he normally takes a long nap in the afternoon, a good chunk of the day is spent in hiding too! He's finally gotten brave enough to actually walk by a Haitian without Daddy or Mommy there holding his hand, but he still won't greet them. Or some of the other missionaries, either!

Little Leanna is the heart stealing charmer around here. She has some stiff "competition" with the Simmon's dark haired cutie, though! They actually get along pretty well, for both being 10 months old for a few more days. She's growing up so much it seems. Yesterday she was crawling around on hands and feet, even though she didn't have a dress on, and today she was walking along holding on with just one hand! I still have high hopes she'll be walking  before we leave. I have some pictures of her from the last couple of days. Her hair gets really curly in the humidity here, and it's SO pretty! Guess you really can't see that in the pictures, though. . .

 

 

 

 

Another day

Ok, folks. I'm just a wee bit bored! Not that there's not a lot to do, but that takes energy. Sleep has not been my strong point since our arrival and my body is feeling it. Today was a pretty productive one, despite that. I felt like I pretty well caught up to a neat house with the laundry done, school planned, and dessert even made for supper! Anybody have Banana Goodie/Crisp before? :-) I'd made some while in Nicaragua, and decided to do it for supper tonight. I'm looking forward to it, even if we don't have ice cream to go with it!

Jere's been spending a fair amount of time working on Grandpa Harold's Bobcat UTV. Grandpa Harold is an older man who lives up by the church, and he's been in Haiti for many years. His UTV has been causing problems ever since we got here, so he's glad Jere's here to keep it going! Also today Jere welded up something on someone's moto for them. He keeps plenty busy, believe me! I don't think he's even touched what I think was to be his main project, a 4-wheeler in pieces.

Sunday

Well, we survived our first Sunday! :-) We walked to church in the morning, a nice little hike we took rather quickly and it left me puffing! I was glad to sit down on the hard, narrow, wooden bench. The ankle I broke a year ago still bothers me, especially when hiking on the trails here with their abundance of loose rock. I wear a brace which helps some, but I definitely still feel it. Church was somewhat crowded. Where we sat the roof kind of came down into a V with a gutter in between to drain the water. It was low enough I kept hitting my head when I stood up! There must have been water pooled in the gutter a bit, as some of the others were getting dripped on though it wasn't raining. Occasionally a lovely cool breeze came wafting through the building, which otherwise was rather hot, stuffy, and a bit, um, rich with smells. Everyone was dressed in their best finery. For some it meant what looked like cast offs from a previous team--long jumpers or cape dresses. For others it meant a thin T-shirt with bold logos, and a lacy, ruffled skirt. Most of the women wore some sort of scarf, bandana, or hat. A few of the men wore long sleeved, button up shirts, but most wore T-shirts and jeans. Almost no one had socks. The smaller children were in and out frequently, visiting the vendors sitting in the back with their big baskets or basins full of candy, cookies, and crackers for sale. The little boy sitting next to me couldn't get enough of running his fingers through Leanna's hair while she slept! We left a bit early, as my back wasn't handling the bench too well. Sigh. Then came the walk home. To find a man waiting who had fallen and gotten a cut on the back of his head. I helped Anita clean it up, then she sent him out to find someone to shave his head while we had lunch. Well, lunch wasn't quite ready by the time he got back, so we headed back to the clinic. Anita bandaged him, while I cleaned and re-bandaged "Leg Man #1"'s leg. Then we worked together to clean and bandage "Leg Man #2"'s abcess. Then we could go have our lunch! Till then everyone else was pretty much done. :-) I enjoyed feeling useful for once, though.

The rest of our Sunday afternoon was relaxing. We spent time talking, and resting. In the evening the single girls and our little family went up to Reinford's orphanage as is the custom Sunday evenings. We had an enjoyable time playing with the 11 children there, laughing, reading, visiting, and relaxing some more. Our boys enjoyed playing with some other English speaking children, as the children up there speak English quite well.

Now, Monday morning, it's back to the grind. Leanna decided she didn't want to nap despite being tired, so it's been a struggle to get her down all morning. She's finally sleeping, though. Jere's down in the shop working at the little Bobcat ATV/Gator thing that has a few issues, fixing the little boys' ball that had a run-in with the thorn bush, and other little projects here and there. But I should be going and get a few things done while Leanna sleeps! More later. . .

Life stays interesting!

Well, things are going remarkably well here. Besides it looking like Leanna got a touch of ringworm, we're all staying healthy so far. Little Cherie Simmons is over her bout with Dengue, and is back to her normal happy self. Praise the Lord! Our children have settled into the new routine, the new place, and new friends. Eliott is still too shy to interact with the native Haitians. We've been encouraging him to say hi, shake hands, whatever, but not forcing it. But the boys are having a blast with Alex Simmons, who is the same age as Jaron.

Let me introduce you to those who share our compound. Here is a picture from our front porch, so you can get an idea of the setting we're in:

In the other main mission house lives the Simmons family: Steve, Shana, Alex (5), and Cherie (10 months--she was born just a couple of hours after Leanna was!). They've been here for 2 1/2 years, and are the hub of the compound. Also in their house are two single girls, Janelle Hege (Jere's cousin) and Virginia Rudolph. Janelle is Shana's household help, and Virginia is the "pharmacist" at the clinic.

The other living quarters is the "apartment" where the nurses live. Currently residing there are Anita (Jere's sister, if anyone hasn't figured that out!) and Rhoda Eshbach.

And there are a couple of absentees at the moment. Breanna is visiting her home in Iowa, and she lives in the apartment and works as a nurse. Michael Rudolph (Virginia's brother) is also Stateside. When he returns sometime next week he'll be living in our house.

Our weekly schedule can change at a moment's notice. Every week day is clinic, generally from 8:30 to whenever they get done. Usually, they tell us, around 1 pm, but seems like it's been closer to 3 since we've been here. Monday evening we all eat supper together at Steve and Shana's. Tuesday and Thursday mornings are milk program, which means the natives come to our porch throughout the morning to get milk powder for their babies. It's for those whose babies don't have a mother, or whose mother can't feed it, and who can't afford milk powder on their own. The babies are weighed periodically to make sure they're actually getting the milk, and they are for the most part happily thriving.  Tuesday night is family night, which means we all eat separately as families and singles. Wednesday and Thursday we all eat together again. Friday night the singles are on their own and the families eat together. Saturday we're supposed to all have brunch together, and it's supposed to be a more relaxing day since the clinic isn't open. Sunday we have yet to experience! Twill be interesting!

Yesterday morning I went with Shana to the local market. That was interesting. The smells and crowds reminded me strongly of the markets I've been to in Nicaragua and Mexico. But here there wasn't near the variety of things, and you had to keep your ears open for the sound of a moto (motorcycle) coming. Even though it was crowded, you'd  better get out of the way or the moto would run you over! Another difference was no one rigged up any shade over their stand--instead, they just laid something over their head for shade. One man was using some of the underwear he was selling as a hat to shade his head! Another was wearing a white baseball cap with "Bride" written conspicuously across the front. At one spot someone was dipping a liquid from a 5 gallon pail with a dirty little dipper and pouring it into a little jug for someone. By the smell I was guessing she was serving up some sort of alcoholic beverage. Needless to say, it was filthy everywhere, and I was glad I'd left my children in their daddy's care!

In the afternoon Anita had her girl's Bible study on our front porch. Here's a picture of that:

This is Jamison, the son of one of the girls. He turns a year old today! What a dear little cutie!

 

In the evening after supper the menfolk went down to the new clinic to take some measurements for some things. When they came home I got an earful! Jaron told me that he, Alex, and Eliott were playing on the front porch of the clinic, and someone snatched Jere's nice flashlight right out of his hands! Poor little man was a bit upset about that. Thankfully, though, there were no nightmares last night and he seems to not be too bothered about it today. Those things happen! We have no idea who took it, and we most likely will never see the flashlight again.

 

Jere and Steve left EARLY this morning for town, to pick up some visitors and buy a few things we needed. Hopefully they'll be back soon!

Our first excitements

We have been doing very well, settling into our temporary home and into more of a schedule than traveling allowed. The children have been adjusting quite well, and are sleeping/napping as normal. So that's nice for us! And there have been a few little excitements as well.

 

Wednesday the boys found a larger tarantula when their ball rolled down the hill into the garden area. Jere said it was the largest he'd ever seen, and I didn't bother to take time to go down and see it. But I did send the camera!

 

Yesterday we had a teenage boy come in for stitches. He's been hit by a flying rock on his head. It wasn't too bad a wound, and took about 4 stitches to close up. I got to watch and be the photographer. I won't post any pictures of that for those of you who don't like blood and guts. :-)

 

About the time Anita was finishing up the stitch job, a young lady (17 years old) came to the clinic, in labor. By bedtime she was progressing steadily, and we anticipated the baby coming through the night sometime. I put ear plugs in and went to sleep, telling Jere to let me know when they banged on the gate. Since we live the closest to clinic we would hear any disruptions first. About 2:30 am I woke suddenly and just lay there for a moment

Prayer request quickie

Just a note to ask you to pray for us here. Dengue fever had been making its rounds here before we came, but they thought they had it about eradicated. However it looks like Cherie, Steve and Shana's little girl who is actually a "twin" to Leanna now has it. They're not totally sure, but it's a bit concerning. Pray that she would be feeling better soon and that no one else would get it. Thanks!