Watching where to walk

Had a busy day today.   In the late morning we went to the school at Kakudu where we assist the children with crafts.  We worked with the children making tambourines.

 This was very enjoyable for these kids and they used them at the end as fans while making music.

As I have said before, these schools do not have electricity and so become very hot because the air doesn't move much.  So as I was helping one of the children a drop of perspiration fell from my face onto his hand.  He looked at it with absolute disgust, looked at me with that same expression on his face and wiped it off.  I had to laugh....it would have been exactly my response had he dropped sweat on me..... Then had to go to the corner to wipe my face off with my shirt.  I felt like I was 12 again....wiping things on my shirt.  It truly is like a sauna.








At the end of the class one of the volunteer women started to sing and beat the tambourine and immediately the children joined in with her.

In the early afternoon I went to the base to meet with James the medic.  He was to give me a copy of the curriculum to teach first aid to the  86 trainees that have just returned from Canada and will be going to Indonesia in 4 more weeks.  When I arrived he had an emergency as they were preparing to medivac a person to South Africa who has seriously lung issues.  So, I will have to try to meet with him again to get the materials.  They want CPR training and general first aid.  It should be enjoyable and my friend Jan will help.

Since we couldn't meet with him, we went to the wildlife area to see if they had any new creatures that will be released in the wild.  Now you remember I mentioned the little hotel that has cottages and a resaturant, Kinwicka.  Well, this past week they caught a baby spitting cobra.....and I'm correct, it is a spitting cobra.... and a Puff Adder.......and both on the restaurant grounds.  Now the baby spitting cobra was in a plastic box.  It was very attentive and we could not look on a level gaze with the snake because there are small air holes in the side of the box and the snake will spit through the small holes onto us....and they go for the eyes.  So we could see it from an angle and the head was only about the size of the tip of my index finger....so small but vicious.

The Puff Adder was in an enclosure and we were able to get quite close.  This one measured 92 cm (about 3 feet long) and was quite fat.  The wildlife man, Tim, says that he thinks this snake might be pregnant.  Now Puff Adders deliver live young and the record is 156 babies....but the normal is 16-40.  This snake is very dangerous due to the toxicity of the venom.  And Tim said that if you are within the striking distance of the snake, you will be bitten and this snake strikes and returns to the coil position in 0.24 seconds.  It can strike it's full length so 3 feet.  I am including two pictures below.  Note in the first one, if the dry grass is over any part of the snake, you just won't see it.  And the second is the snake itself when not covered.

During the late afternoon we had the heaviest rain since we have been here.  It was so strong that it came through our roof and flooded one the bedrooms.  I was surprised at how much rain came down in an hour.  Cooled things off though.

So what is my life learning for today?  There always are learnings.  It is just that many times we don't ask ourselves the question.  I believe today for me it is to be careful where I walk......not just because I might not see a snake near the path and be seriously injured but to pay attention to where I allow my mind, attitudes, and activities to lead me.  It is so easy to be unintentionally negligent and not mindful there are dangers all around us......I'm more careful  here....but the dangers that change who we are and what we believe are many times hidden from us and we need a close walk with Jesus to keep aware of these and walk carefully.

Learning about the Congo River and so much more

I received an email from my twin sister, Mary, today expressing surprise about the view from Bryan's office window.....the river was her interest and so I looked up on line and found information about the Congo River.....that it is the 5th longest in the world and the 2nd longest in Africa.....only the Nile River is longer.  It is also the deepest river in the world and is nearly a mile deep. It is anywhere from 1/2 mile to 10 miles wide depending on site and time of year.  I think there have been recent expeditions to learn about the fish and other information that has been made into documentaries.  This river has a falls named after Stanley and another after Dr. Livingstone.  There is so much information about it on the internet and so interesting.  Someday we hope to be able to fish in the river......catch and release or giving it to the local people.....

Whenever we go to town we see two interesting sites along the river....one is a sunken ship that is from the war, I believe.....the other is an industry that has grown up where the people gather the bamboo and logs that float down the river and then use them here in the area.  There is a place that has stacks of this wood at the side of the road.  This is recycling at its best.

We went to the school in Mphinda (pronounced Pinda) and helped with the children's crafts yesterday.  it was very hot and the schools do not have electricity so do not have fans.  It is amazing that these children can wear their school uniform.....street clothes covered with a white lab coat.....This school is very poor and so there isn't a full uniform like the other school we go to.  We made lanterns from paper so the children needed to cut along the lines, glue on "gemstones' and then it was stapled together.  They also colored flowers that had the petals with numbers one to five....and the petals that were colored and cut out had dots like dominoes to five and they were to match these.  Some of the children were immediately able to do this but others could not seem to understand the concept or perhaps didn't yet know their numbers.  The age difference in these classes are quite wide.  The teacher is really amazing to keep all these kids focused and learning.  By the end of the time there, it is like we have been to a sauna.....but enjoyable and I believe worthwhile for the kids and encouraging for the teachers as this portion of Angola is so poor and lacking in natural resources.

I spent the remainder of the day working on the English language teaching materials for Wednesday.  I am working on pronouns.....and in the class with the drivers we have students that speak some English and several that seem to be lost......I remember when my kids went to the International School of Bangkok and there was an immersion program for non English speaking students into the classrooms...I was so concerned that my children would have a more difficult time in the long run because they would not learn all they needed to know due to this immersion program.....well....here I am and I believe everyone is benefiting from the slower pace and the need to go over and over what we have learned before.  Interesting how our perspective changes.

I tried sweet potato fries last night.....the sweet potatoes are white and they begin to darken before I can finish peeling them. They also made my hands very sticky....I wonder why....Anyway, I guess I had too many because they didn't get crisp and I must admit, this is the first meal I have cooked that Bryan said, "Maybe we don't need to repeat this recipe".  We had hamburgers with the soft fries and they were good.  No hamburger buns but I had stopped at the local bakery and bought bread that can double as buns.  I still need to get eggplant to try the recipes that were sent to me......It is always an adventure......and encourages creativity to make the meals different.....and palatable.....

The weekend in Soyo

Yesterday was a quiet day at home.  I am still trying to process all that I saw and experienced at the hospital.  My mind is reeling at the problems and the possibilities if the opportunity is given to help.

One of the drivers sister who is 16 had a baby this past week.  She was very ill with malaria and I don't know if the baby was premature due to the mother's illness or what but the little girl only lived for 24 hours.  This is the way of life here.....most everyone I have met has one to three children but those are only the ones still living.  Life is so difficult for the people here.

Last evening several of us met at one of the three restaurants  here.  One resaturant is in the hotel and really quite good.  One is at a place called Kinwicka and it is also a bungalow type hotel.  The last is the one that we went to and it is fondly called, "the pizza place".  I don't know what the Portuguese name is.  Anyway, several of us met from the community and we had Mexican pizza.  This is a pizza with onion, ground beef, chili peppers of some sort, and a scant amount of cheese.  There are several green olives that decorate the pizza and actually the person who had spaghetti had a green olive in the center of his pasta.  Just a special taste of this place.

Today we went and met one of the workers here who came in from the USA and brought us several things that we had forgotten to bring.  It was like Christmas.....spices, a camera, coffeemate, baking pans and other special things.  So nice.  Now I'll make cupcakes for this gentleman and send them to the office for a treat.

Then we went to the office and copied the materials for the English classes.  One of the ladies here shared some materials with me to make this class easier to prepare for and better for the students.  While I was waiting for the photocopying to finish I just enjoyed looking out the window to the Congo River and the little part of town I could see.  This is a pretty place.

Finally, this evening we will meet with our neighbor for church worship.  She is a delightful Angolan woman named, Isabel.  Knowing that she wants to come and have time together for worship and prayer is so encouraging.  We so miss our church and small group in the USA.  

Opening my eyes and heart

Yesterday we had our second ESL class and 12 people came to the new place.  We had it outside in the back of one of the ladies homes and it was raining but there is an open air area with a cover and that is where we met.  It worked really well.  We talked about numbers and our families and I believe we all had a good time learning. Thankfully there is one gentleman that speaks fairly good English already and he translates for the harder concepts or questions.  Now to just learn everyones names.  Two women, Jan and Cindy, came to help with the group.

Immediately after the class I was taken to the Bechtel camp to get a security pass.  Bechtel is a company that is building the gas plant here.  Their security is very strict and you must have a pass to go on their base.  On this base there is a small food store and this is also where they release the baby turtles when they hatch.  So now I can go there and see that event when it occurs next month.....and, of course, another option for finding food is always a plus......

Just before 5pm I met the community outreach woman at the Municipal hospital.  It is difficult to describe the place but let me try.  The building was built in the 1960s and has not been renovated since then.  Remember, Angola was at war until 2002....the longest war in Africa's history.  The hospital is very small, I believe they said 76 beds, but then Soyo is a small city.  Many electrical wires are bare, the water is unreliable, I didn't see public restrooms so saw people just using the grounds around the building as their toilet, goats were wandering the hospital grounds.  Family members were coming and going bringing food to the patients.  I believe that is the family responsibility when someone is a patient in the hospital.

I met with the doctor with hopes of being able to promote a hospice program.  This hospital is currently getting an influx of money to upgrade with public toilets, redoing the electricity, providing a generator to have constant electrification since the city power is so unreliable, building new buildings for clinics, larger gynecological area, and many other areas of expansion.  The reason I am explaining this is because I didn't realize how desperate the situation is here for the local people and the idea of someone coming in with a new program.....one that there isn't even a word for.....hospice here means mental health issues.....when there is so much other need....I was really not in touch.  Anyway, we talked about what my medical work history was, how I could volunteer here and the recommendation was to take a look at the labor and delivery and newborn baby area to see if that would be a place to assist.

When we went into the 4 rooms that house that department here is what I saw......4 beds with ladies recovering from their deliveries and the new babies with them on the bed.  They will go home within 2 hours to make room for others.  One of the ladies had a Cesarean Section and delivered premature twins.  These too were on the bed and I couldn't find out how long she gets to stay after surgery.  In the next room was a bench with a woman waiting.  This woman had an infection and would be being treated for this.  This was also the area where the desks were.  The next room had 4 delivery tables.  On two were women with IVs in their arms and on the floor was another woman covered only with a piece of cloth.....she also had an IV that was tacked up on the wall.  This woman said, "bye" when I left......and the final room had at least 4 beds in it and I could hear two voices of women going through labor.....but couldn't go into that room because the doorway was blocked by the woman on the floor and her IV blocking the doorway.

The doctor was embarrassed at the conditions and told me the newly renovated hospital would have 39 maternity beds and be much better.  I must say that I was very saddened by the conditions here and realized again that the idea of hospice is something for later here.  The doctor also said that people go home to die and do not come to the hospital for that time of life.  I believe there isn't room there anyway and with family visiting hours limited, it would be very difficult.

I met two nurses working in the obstetric area.  I don't know if there are more.  They had their hands full taking care of the ladies and overseeing the babies.  I am told there are 11 births daily.  These are primarily attended by a midwife although I was told a doctor is available if needed.


 On the way out, the doctor said that maybe I could come and teach the nurses about newborn care.  I told him I could commit to come for 4 hours a day so that I could continue in language study.  He seemed surprised at this.  Also, I learned that I must be given legal permission to work in the community......so it is still wait and see.....

I kept wondering where I had seen such conditions and finally remembered, in the highlands of Viet Nam in the early 1970s.  This place is quite remarkable and I'm thankful someone is trying to help with upgrading and making things better for the people.

So what have I learned from all that occurred yesterday?  First, that although I came with an agenda, to start a hospice, perhaps the basic needs of the people are so great and those need to be addressed initially.  Then perhaps the hospice can come at a later date.  The entire situation at the hospital was so shocking and so desperate that it must be addressed.   I think of the premature twins laying on the bed and the mother still under sedation and I can't help but reflect on the incredibly high infant mortality rate here and begin to catch a glimpse of why.  So I realize I must not be so caught up on what I think my role is to be here that I miss what God has put right in front of me.....

Papa's healthy hotcakes

Yesterday was  a day of marketing.  This is always a time of enjoyment for me because I like to see what is there, what looks somewhat fresh, how can I cook this? and then bringing the purchases home to start the process of cleaning to prevent illness.  Yesterday I got cabbage and it is sometimes difficult to find one that is not terribly mildewed so that the removal of several of the outside leaves will bring me to good and eatable leaves below.....then I soak it in vinegar water for 30 min and rinse it and we are ready to go.  We also found apples, canned tomatoes and on the non edible side, q tips, a colander,  and notebooks for the English language students.  Some of the ladies bought onions, eggplant and custard apple fruit.  I didn't because I have onions and custard apple at home.  I don't know how to cook eggplant so there isn't reason to buy it.  Perhaps someone has a good recipe for it.

The time at the market was about 2 hours and in the very hot sun.  This is the hot season here so you can easily become dehydrated and exhausted.  My friend Jan and I met our husbands at a hotel near the office and had lunch.  Hamburgers.....with a fried egg on it and mystery greens for lettuce.  Pretty tasty.

In the afternoon I met with Mary Ann, another wife here, who is teaching English to high school students and we went over some of the ways she has found effective to teach English here.  Since today is class two at the new location outside, it is helpful to see what others have done to make this as beneficial as possible to the attendees.

When Bryan came home and since we had a large lunch, we just had "Papa's hotcakes" for dinner.  These are pancakes my dad made that are healthy.  Here is the recipe:
1cup oatmeal
1cup cornmeal
1tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups buttermilk or yogart
1 egg
3 tbs oil
honey (optional)
These are best when made, as he did, as small pancakes.  I also added Flax seed since I have it and it makes things even more healthy.  It is funny.....when we make these....we remember fondly when my Mom and Dad came to visit us in Indonesia so many years ago.  What a wonderful memory. They came when our eldest son, Jeremy, was born.

Well, it is time to tiptoe through the raindrops to Jan's house for the English class.  I wonder how many will come today at the new place and in the rain.

Lessons from a non potty trained cat

Over the weekend I finally was able to speak with the community outreach woman.  I'm so glad that we could finally speak but the end result was very disappointing to say the least.  Seems that the expectation that I had was misplaced and the interest in hospice and palliative care is not here and the focus is generally in building buildings, and other infrastructure for the local hospital.  There is some being done in community health but there isn't a place for another nurse at this time.  I must say that I was very saddened with this realization and it took me several days to resolve my disappointment.

I have now put my plans away and will wait for some other time when the possibilities for health work come available.  This does not mean that I don't wish for it and will not be available if it comes to be but it does mean that I cannot spend my time here pushing and prodding for a service that isn't, at this time, viewed as necessary or important.  Life is too short to spend kicking against a closed door.....and frankly, it is too painful and rather dumb to persist.....takes me longer than most to come to these type of realizations but that's ok.....We all get to the "ah ha" moments in our lives at different times.

So I spoke with my daughter in law, Sophie, and she gave me good advice.  She said, don't obsess on this, and instead see where else you can serve the people here.  Great advice.....gently given and gladly received.......so.....today was the first day of a new focus.....

Since arriving here the drivers have been asking for English lessons.  It is true that it takes time to learn Portuguese and so it is difficult to get around without a dictionary...and I'm sure very frustrating for the drivers.  So I again got help from Sophie and found sites on the internet for teaching English to foreign learners.  Now when I was living in Thailand, after the children had all graduated high school, I took a class and became certified in teaching English.  I then taught Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Thai women students and thoroughly enjoyed it.  In fact I have all my materials coming in the shipment that will get here sometime this year....but the drivers asked for lessons starting now...... So I went to the office building to start the classes.  Now things here generally have a glitch or two to stretch your resolve and this was no different.  I arrived and waited for 30 min while the drivers got permission to come into the building for the class.  I realize that this conference room isn't available all the time but thought that since the drivers need to wait at the office, where would it be more convenient that to be at that location.....we don't all think the same......anyway, first there were 6 students that arrived and by the end of the hour, there were a total of 15......so clearly an interest.....we did introductions and it was fun, I think......and well received enough that when I told the lead driver that we couldn't use that room any longer and he would have to come up with an alternative location, he did!!!!!  Immediately!!!  There is an annex in the back of one of the houses and Jan, who is helping me teach, agreed to have the classes there.  There will be plenty of room and a fan will keep the air moving......it is definitely workable. 

It is great to have a project again....something to work toward to make a difference.

Oh, one last thing.....the toilet training of Ms Kitty.....we had a major setback......I thought since she has been using the toilet with the kitty litter under the seat in a bucket then it wouldn't be a problem to remove the litter and she would go over the water......well, again she held things for 24 hours and then I found the bathroom rug all wadded up in a corner.....you guessed it.....she used the rug well actually, Bryan thinks she used the floor and tried to hide it under the rug.....so the litter is back and I guess I need to keep an eye out to reward her when she uses the toilet so she will want to continue to go there for a treat......who knew that potty training a cat would be this difficult.  Our other little kitty in Thailand taught herself......and maybe that is the point.....her choice, not mine......and cats aren't known for their teach-ability........Hmmmmm  so am I like this cat?......Seems it takes me a really long time to be willing to change my focus and to learn from my teacher, God, who is placing me in situations that are not easy and against the grain for me......so that I can be a better servant.....and it seems to be as hard as Ms Kitty learning to give up the kitty litter........

Farewells

An interesting thing happened......after I wrote that last posting, that afternoon I received an email from the community outreach woman and she offered to meet over the weekend.....she is so busy during the week.  So what does this mean?  Who knows?  I do know that I'm feeling anticipation that perhaps there will be work for me to be involved in here....to use my skills.....and make a difference with the national population.  I continue to pray for this meeting and the opportunities....to be willing to fit into where God is working.....and not be pushy about my agenda....

I don't know what will come of the meeting but I'm thankful the contact has been made.

Yesterday we had the first of many farewells.  My dear neighbor from Trinidad, Lori, is leaving.  She is the youngest expatriate here.....and her husband is moving to a new position in Houston.  Her visa runs out before his and so she is going home to wait with her family until he leaves.  She will be sorely missed.  She is such a bright, shining, loving and warm person and has added so much to the community and to my life too.....I will miss her terribly!!!!

When we lived for years in Thailand we became some of the longest temporarily residing expatriates there.  We had so many friends come and then go while we remained.  It is wonderful to have the opportunity to meet so many new friends.....but quite painful to say good-by to them and probably never see most of them again......I'm thankful for social networking sites.....

I have had requests for an update on Ms Kitty.  She is a bright spot here in our home.  She is so amusing.....anyway, today was her first wildlife moment.  A small black bug......not a cockroach.....came into the house and it was so funny to watch her stalk it......very slowly and carefully.....and then hit it several times and quite hard until it was not moving as quickly.....and I intervened to prevent suffering.....and removed it.   Ms Kitty is still not potty trained......I know some think I'm nuts.....but we continue to work on that......she has no problem being up on the potty.....but has a real issue if there is no kitty litter beneath her......she held it for over 24 hours when I removed the litter......I'm thankful she is so well trained to the litter, but want to have her transfer from that to over water.....

Today is my last day with this language teacher.  She is returning to France next week.  I will miss her so much.  She is so helpful and encouraging to learn language.  I need to get to my review to keep up the allusion that I'm a quick study.

I wonder

It is very interesting how I had such a dream.....one that started in 2008 when I came to Angola with my friend, Faye, and we investigated the possibility of starting a hospice in Cabinda.  We met with church officials, held informational meetings with the community, visited local medical clinics and the provincial hospital and met with the ministry of health.  The need was/is so obvious, the desire by the local church and medical people was evident and even the ministry of health was open with an invitation to come and start this work with people at end of life.....to bring comfort and care to them..... and to teach local medical workers this specialtiy.  It took 26 months to finally get back to Angola and it wasn't Cabinda but rather Soyo as a resident.  This was fine....adjustments would need to be made but the work with those at end of life, the training of local nurses in this area of medicine....it could all be done here......and so the dream continued......but now.....I have been here for 5 1/2 weeks and been unable to meet with the people for community outreach.  I don't believe there is no interest......I think they are very busy and this is just one more thing on their full plates......but what do you do with the dream?  What do you do about the call to this work?  I am really not sure how to address these feelings of confusion.....

I am in language study and learning as fast as my brain will accept the new language.  Thankfully a history in Spanish in high school helps with some of the words although the pronunciation  is vastly different......and I continue to wait and pray for God's leading in this.

Our shipment will come......some day....and it is full of durable medical supplies for the hospice......that is the majority of the contents.

So I wonder.....am I just losing hope???.....is it because the antimalarial medication is causing me to feel yucky off and on?????  I know that this isn't "my work".......this is a desire to bring God glory through my life......and, of course, I want to "do" something but I wonder if it is just that I am to be still....do the things in front of me......like language study......and visiting the schools to help with kids crafts......and develop relationships with the wives here.....and bring glory to God in my attitude while waiting.  I know that it distresses Bryan when I am at home.....and he, bless his heart, wants to fix it......but he can't do anything to move things along either.....and as I write this I begin to feel the need to pray for peace within me, joy even in the waiting....that is evident to Bryan and others......and anticipation in the study of language.....that in His time, God will have His way.....and I don't want to be so busy trying to "do" that I am not at the place I need to be to fit into His plan....

Changing attitudes.......

Yesterday was a busy day here....and the hottest day since we arrived.  Remember we are in the southern hemisphere and so it is summer.....and hot!!!!!

Several of us went to the open market for food.  It was a good time to get avocado again.....still trying to grow a tree from the seed.....not working in water or soil so I keep trying.....don't expect there will be fruit while we live here but hopefully shade.....Also found peanuts in the shell.....so brought them home and washed them.....after they are dried we can cook them in a fry pan and enjoy.....It was a good find....Saw meat but without refrigeration at the open market, I'm afraid to try any of it.....Anyway, at the little grocery store I found several things we have been looking for since we arrived here......butter......wow......$5.00/ 1/2 lb but worth it.....first we have had since we arrived here 32 days ago.....and they had some spices too....now several I'm not sure what they are but I think one might be Paprika so I took a chance.....and finally saran type wrap.....That is great!!!  I have been washing and reusing what others have given when they share something they have cooked.....That has worked fine but now I will have new too..................

When we came here we were told that all the US dollars we brought must be in the large denominations and in the best possible condition.....no writing or marks on them at all, not wrinkled and so on......well, when I went to change money yesterday.....my dollars were rejected because they were printed prior to 2006.....Now I understand the large denominations.....and everything is so expensive, it would not make sense to bring small bills.....but the date of printing?  So we checked our stash and found that 1/2 of the cash we have here is not able to be changed......there is a belief apparently that the dollars printed prior to 2006 are of less value......wow......always learning something new......thankfully one of the ladies was at the shop and could change one of my 2002 bills for a 2006 so I could use it......

Met my language teacher and she is changing our tutoring time to Friday this week.  Whew!!!  Gives me another day to cram more Portuguese into my brain before we meet.  I really hate looking dumb and when you learn a new language you become like a child and make so many mistakes......it is humbling...but the we must be "like a child"........

The drivers are asking for English language classes......all my materials are in the shipment so I am looking on line for downloadable materials to use......I guess we will meet on Sunday morning when most are available......I am going to enjoy the teaching....and it doesn't matter that I can't speak Portuguese since it is an English class.

Yesterday I started reading a Lent series in the Bible.  I found that reviewing Jesus' life and ministry up to Good Friday and Easter Sunday is helpful.......I have always focused on the wonder and joy of Easter and pretty much left the life and situations that led to His death.....out of my thinking..... Dennis Bratcher wrote the following on his internet page:  " I have heard the passage in 2 Chronicles 7:14 quoted a lot: ". . .if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." This usually is quoted in the context of wanting revival or renewal in the church, and the prayer is interpreted as intercessory prayer for others. But a careful reading of the passage will reveal that the prayer that is called for here is not intercessory prayer for others; it is penitential prayer for the faith community, for us. It is not to call for others to repent; it is a call for us, God’s people, to repent. It is our land that needs healed, it is our wicked ways from which we need to turn, we are the ones who need to seek God’s face.

Perhaps during the Lenten season we should stop praying for others as if we were virtuous enough to do so. Perhaps we should take off our righteous robes just long enough during these 40 days to put ashes on our own heads, to come before God with a new humility that is willing to confess, "Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner." Maybe we should be willing to prostrate ourselves before God and plead, "Lord, in my hand no price I bring; simply to the cross I cling." That might put us in a position to hear God in ways that we have not heard Him in a long time. And it may be the beginning of a healing for which we have so longed.

O Lord, begin with me. Here. Now."

That is my prayer......

correction needed

Yesterday I met with the family where the cobra was photographed in their front yard and they clarified that it wasn't a spitting cobra at all.....just the "common black forest" cobra.  I feel so much better!!

Studying language is actually enjoyable at this time in my life.  I think that while I'm awaiting the possibilities of medical work in the community and knowing how important the language ability will be there, I am more motivated than I was while still in the USA.  I am busy making flash cards and memorizing.  The other part that is helpful is that I learned Spanish in high school and there are some similarities to Portuguese.   And finally, having the language teaching on Thursdays and not wanting to look totally lazy and unintelligent, I am finding this is a big motivation also....

Carnival went off without any problems that I have heard of.  Today is back to work as usual for everyone....that has a job that is.......

Today is also the beginning of Lent and although I'm not Catholic, our church in Livermore, CA, always made this day special as a reminder of what Jesus chose to put Himself through to bring salvation to the world.  I am going to take the time today to look up Bible readings for each day until Easter Sunday.  If anyone has anything special that they do during Lent, I'd love to hear about that to.

much ado about nothing

This is the first time today I've been able to get in to write.  The internet and phones have been down.  That is a real frustration about living here but something I cannot change so must tolerate.

There were security concerns for the past 3 days.  A concern about demonstrations.  Thankfully there were none!!!   This is great but we were unable to go to the schools to help because of the concern.

Tomorrow is Carnival which is a holiday and again we cannot go out....this is mostly concerns about drunk drivers and frankly, I'd rather stay home and not get into an accident.....

We had an interesting wildlife episode.  In front of one of the homes they caught ad 2 1/2 meter (8 ft) spitting cobra.  I'm going to try to attach the photo to this blog.  I don't know if I can.  Actually it is a beautiful snake but I'm so thankful that it wasn't on my street....just one street away...

So the past few days have been quiet and I find this leaves me time to study language and read my Bible.  I do miss being very busy but believe that the time will come when I am again.

Catching up

It has been several days since I wrote last....nearly a week.  That can either mean that I've been too busy or that there isn't much to write about.....hmmm....

First I want to thank you who sent me ideas on how to use stale bread.  I was so glad to know that someone is reading this besides my kids....

It rains nearly every day here and yesterday the thunder and lightening was incredible.  Even had Ms Kitty staying close to me during those times.  The streets flood, the new garden that is being put in at our home was washing all the top soil into the street until a small brick wall was added by the gardener to prevent the erosion.

Speaking about the garden, I am so excited!!!  We now have a very small papaya seedling planted in the back yard.  The gardener has also brought clippings from around and we have several new plants lining the front area where he is going to put grass in.  One is impatiens just like the ones we had in the USA.  It is interesting how comforting that little plant is....  I think one is a banana tree too.  It is great to get this going and he is going to put in local vegetables at the right season.  I'm not sure what they will be but I'll let you know when they come up.  I started some herbs in the kitchen and they are already coming up.  Nice to see green shoots in the pot.

Wednesday we went to the second school we volunteer at.  The kids made a memory game and they quickly caught on to it.  It was so fun to work with them and watch them enjoy the game.  The teacher also.  At the end they waved good by and I threw a kiss to them...They all began to throw kisses back to me....   Although the place is incredibly hot each week, it is such a joy to get to go and participate.

An interesting thing happened yesterday.  My husband is the head of training here and his most recent group of trainees had completed phase one of their training.  They had a party.  I was invited to come at the end and just say hello to them.  One of the trainees had his new baby with him.  She is 6 months old.  I asked if I could hold her and once I did, I found myself almost overwhelmed with emotion.  I was shocked.  I immediately thought of our granddaughter in the USA and how I miss holding her and found such a peace in getting to hold this little one even for a moment.  I told the gentleman that I was missing my granddaughter and he smiled.  He let me hold her for quite some time.

I find that I'm quite emotional today as I write this.  I don't know why. Maybe just missing my kids and grand baby.....

Ms. kitty is almost ready to go without the kitty litter in her potty training.  I think she will be stressed but how great it will be when we don't need to do anything but flush.

Finally, the waiting continues to see what the possibilities are for working in the medical area here.  It is difficult to know why it takes so long but I do believe I have come here to use my medical skills in the community.  I will continue to wait and pray.