First Aid Training

This past weekend was Easter.  A time to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus.  It is usually a time spent around church activities and family.  We missed that this year.....no English speaking service nearby and since the internet is so slow, we couldn't stream our service from Cornerstone Fellowship in California.  Instead we had one of the men over for dinner since his wife is out of town and then Bryan and I listened to last years Easter message from our home church.  It was wonderful....the message is timeless.....we are loved with an everlasting love and it was proven by the gift God gave us of making us right with Him through the sacrifice of His son, Jesus......and the victory over death on Easter morning!!!  I must say that even though we weren't with our children and other family members, we still had a wonderful and encouraging day.

This past Thursday and now through this week is the First Aid and CPR classes for the 86 trainees.  I was working with Jeff Madson, a trainer and former EMT.  We meet with 22 trainees for half a day and go over the basics of first aid with the primary emphasis placed on CPR with time to practice. It is an intense time of learning for these students and you must remember they are learning these concepts and skills in a second language.









I am very impressed at how seriously they are taking the training and how well they did on the practical portion of the class.
There are still two more classes to go and I believe
that there will need to be more practice in the future to really cement the skills they have gained over these past days.






We also learned about and practiced the Heimlich maneuver.  The interactions in the room were quite amusing since most of the students are real actors at heart and had great enjoyment - especially being able to choke and then be rescued.  There was much laughter but also a great deal of learning practical skills.




Tomorrow we will be back at the schools to help with crafts.  It will be good to see the kids again.

Laundry Soap Bars

The olive oil - one deep on shelves

I have been wanting to share with you the appearance of one of the local grocery stores here in Soyo.   This one is near our home but is almost bare of goods.  It is so difficult to get things here to Soyo during the rainy season since the road is impassable.  They do the best they can with what they have.

It is hard to imagine how the managers of this store must feel when they have no goods to sell.  Now these photos were taken about 2 weeks ago and since then the freezers have some chicken and pork and there is plastic containers available too.  So things are definitely looking up.




So what have I been learning over these past few days?   We are going through different stages in our lives with the attending losses and changes that are not always easy but are what they are.  The celebration of Easter brings such joy and a reminder that we are where we are by the leading of our Lord.  Even though I had the plan for hospice here and this has not become a reality.......yet......there are still things to do to make a difference in peoples lives and to use the education and life experience that I have had to assist them in their growth.  I am so thankful to be here.....I repeat this many times because even though it is a strange and unusual place for us to live.....it is still a great place to be at this time.