Monday, May 5, 2008
Paul
Our sweet little Paul died last night at around 6 pm. I will give all the details later...just wanted everyone to know and to pray for Meagan. Her heart is just heavy...
Sunday, May 4, 2008
I’m a little behind on the blogs from the last couple of weeks so here they are out-of-order, but I dated them.
All the sponsorship info is on the blog that I posted just yesterday and please email me with any information or questions you may have. Sorry there are no pics this time. I just didn't have time to sit here and wait for them to load!
About the only thing that has annoyed the dickens out of me this past week was that the power was out Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, & Thursday. The power is usually only out for 3-4 hours a night, but if you think about it… that’s when you get home, you try to fix some dinner, and relax. Well…we did that with no power once again. It is frustrating because they have scheduled “power outages” every Tuesday. The government gets to decide when they will turn off the power.
Monday and Tuesday (April 28-29th) were spent going to the orphanages with Meagan and doing the routine there. I mainly got to play and just hold babies. It’s really just a fun day!
Wednesday April 30th- Meagan & I traveled with Kathy to Choma. We desperately needed some groceries and Choma is the closest place to get groceries at an actual “grocery store.” We can get fresh stuff in town, but we needed supplies badly. We took Lola and Trevor with us to town. It was a girls day out until we chose Trevor to escort us. We had a great time … we went to the market to get some gifts for a few hundred of my closest friends, then traveled to other shops to find necessities all the while having Trevor and Lola on our backs in the scorching heat. It was worth it. What I didn’t know was that Trevor had fallen asleep on my back and when we got to Savannah’s to eat, I totally whisked him off my back to standing position. I got a little moan and groan from him, but he was fine after he was sitting in my lap and eating. We were all tired and hungry. After a hearty cheeseburger, we traveled for curtains to match our newly painted Haven I rooms. I’m hoping to take pictures soon… Kathy had some boxes made with their names on them and they just look so cute! We tried to find some matching solid material or printed, but we just went with ….well…you’ll just have to wait to see. It will be cute! Trevor, Lola, and I fell asleep on the way home (momma…I know you are thinking big surprise huh?) and it was almost supper time by the time we got home. One big day of shopping!
Thursday May 1st- Again I chose to go to the orphanage again and just hang out with the babies. Meagan stayed home after lunch because she continues to not feel well. Neither of us can just shake whatever has attacked us. We had two kids over for dinner, who are our neighbors, but also Meagan just absolutely loves them. They are home until Monday because their new term starts next week. We had tacos, rotel, beans and rice right before the power went out and then made some brownies after the power came back on.
Friday May 2nd – Happy Birthday my best friend Beth! I was so glad I got to talk to you and glad you were at recess when I called! I love you and hope 26 doesn’t treat you too bad! This day was also another day of rest for me and Meagan. I’ll let you guess why I was in bed this day.
I’m getting excited because my dad, Gavin, and Meredith are all flying here together and it will be here before I know it! My time here has gone so fast, but has given me a glimpse into the mission work field and how my friends’ lives have been affected by this work. I’m not sure what the Lord has in store for me, but I know I can’t ignore what He has shown me.
Sunday April 20th-
Church on Sunday morning was pretty crazy. All the ladies were still at Namwianga for the conference. So, that means over 4,000 ladies + children + men and visitors. Wow! I’m just glad the microphone system didn’t have any glitches. I sat with Cathy on a blanket with 17 babies. You can just imagine that there wasn’t much listening to the sermon. As time went on, we would look at another baby and they were either fast asleep on the blanket or they were picking up speed and crawling away. That’s when people that are familiar with the babies would just pick up one and hold it the rest of the time. I think we ended up with 10 babies still on the blankets. One humorous thing was after church ended, it seemed as though Cathy and I were celebrities. I probably shook at least 50 people’s hands just thanking us. That happens over here. People are so grateful to macuas (white people) for what they do, for the power they have, and for the resources we provided. We are definitely out numbered and stick out like a sore thumb. I’m sure I was greeted also just because I was with Cathy. Her and Roy are pretty much celebrities here because of what they have done.
Monday April 21st- organizing in the morning again with the help our one of our neighbors named Chimuka. She is a cute 13 year old girl that helped me fold linens and move a few things. She was definitely some good company and it was just nice to talk to her while working. We went home at lunch and then I went with Meagan again to the orphanage in the afternoon. My usual routine lately.
Tuesday April 22nd- HIV outreach: We went for my second time to Njabalambe. Again, it was me, Louisa, Rogers, Ba Zimba, and Mary. Our usual routine, except that we left on time this morning, which was 8’ish. We drove to town to finish a few programs and to get our food for the day. My meal was a fried egg bun for breakfast with coke (their version of an egg mcmuffin, but not from a fast food restaurant. If you could only really see or imagine…), a boiled egg with 2 buns for lunch, and two bananas for a snack. This is the usual Tuesday meal for me. Anyways, we did the usual of stopping at Lepole on our way to Njabalambe to help around 8 families there and then to help around 10 more. The mobile outreach still helps them by testing them when needed (like keeping a current CD4 count or other blood labs), giving them medications they may need (like a regular 2 week check-up), and giving them food for each person that has tested positive, including formula for the babies. If you are interested in seeing a website set up to raise money for their food, please go to : www.ghshares.com since their maize crops were pretty much ruined this past year.
Wednesday April 23rd-Pretty sure I was at the orphanage all day. I vaguely remember taking some sick babies to the clinic with Meagan. It’s kind of sad that I can’t remember. I’m going to blame that on the heat.
Thursday April 24th- Clinic work in the am: organizing, counting pills for Northreach meds, and finding keys to open one of the containers to get hospital beds; My afternoon was much more adventurous…Meagan’s friend, Cecilia, lives in a village named Mutala. Meagan worked it out with her for us to stay with her overnight and her family. So…Meagan and I packed for an overnight experience. We looked like we were packing for a week’s stay, but we blame it on our pillow and jackets because otherwise, we only took our clothes for the next day and toiletries. (And those of you who know me well…I didn’t take the normal amount of toiletries and that was not nice to think that) We headed off to the orphanage with our packs (about a 2 mile walk) and stayed there for a bit until we were supposed to leave to meet Cecilia on the road to Mutala. The trek to Mutala is about a 10K walk. We kept walking thinking that we would meet her pretty soon, but never did. About ¾’s of the way, this boy stops us and tells us there is a lady chasing after us. We look back and Cecilia is running up this hill to catch up with us. She left a little late and instead of turning right (a shorter way to her house) we kept going straight towards Mutala. I’m pretty sure she ran a pretty good way. We cut through the bush to another trail to her house. On the way, we passed her one of her brother’s houses and his kids decided to follow us on the way. So, just imagine these seven little giggling voices following. It’s just funny because Cecilia said they just love to watch the macua’s. We get to her house and it is so nice and neat. I’m sure she spent most of the day just picking up and sweeping all around her yard. She immediately made us sit from the journey while she prepared for dinner. Of course, about 10 kids from around her place, all surrounded us just to look and be around us. We played some and sang a few songs with them in Tonga that we knew. Then they sang us a few songs that they knew after a little prodding from Cecilia. Meagan brought some nail polish to paint the girls nails. This definitely caused a frenzy and everyone wanted their nails painted…even the boys and their were no objections from the moms. While we were painting our nails, we received our first food of the night. Chips are fried potatoes. They were the best I think I’ve ever eaten. Perfectly crispy and salted. The next course came at sunset after the nshima and other potatoes were done. It was definitely yummy and Cecilia was the perfect host. I know we thanked her and just kept telling her how lovely her home was. After dark, we gathered around the fire and sang with the children. Usually, it was Meagan and I singing to them, but once Cecilia got there, she told them to sing one in Tonga and then we would sing one in English. We probably sang for about an hour and then headed off to bed at 2000. Yes…I did say at 8 o’clock at night. Definitely unusual for me and Meagan both. So…we go to bed and Meag and I try not to giggle, but we did a little bit b/c we thought of how unbelievable this is. Meag and I are laying so close to one another for two reasons. First, the bed is not very big and then Meag was such a dear and shared her ipod with me. The problem was that her head phones were so short when you shared them. So, we could barely move our bodies for a whole hour to not disturb the ipod sharing. At 9 0’clock we decide that we are tired and try to sleep. Well… when we woke up at 0545 we are still tired because…surprise…we didn’t sleep that well. Cecilia had gotten up at 0445 to start to begin making breakfast and to boil us water for our bath. She was an absolutely great host and was so gracious. Meagan and I next set out for our adventure to bath. It wasn’t quite light yet and Cecilia set our big pan of hot water outside of the back of her hut. Yes…in full view of anyone else that was willing to come out of their hut at the same time. Mind you that their huts aren’t close together, but both of us being pale white and a little mindful of bathing in front of her family, we both decide to stay close to the house. We are freezing because it is cool in the morning breeze and we decided it would be best to strip down to our underoos and take bird baths. If you knew Meagan, you would know that she is pretty much my twin and we had to laugh about how whole experience. We weren’t really prepared to take a bath (no towel, soap, etc…) so we splash water over ourselves and then take turns squatting over this large basin and getting each others hair wet. We think it is hilarious and love that we are getting to experience this together. More awkward moments together in one experience. We got dressed quickly and then went by the fire where she had prepared sweet rice and milk for us. It was so good, but hard to consume it all that early in the morning. We knew we had to shove a good amount of it down because our trek to the orphanage was going to be a 10K walk and no food for another 6 hours. So, we set off ( a little late-not our fault, for real) !! We start walking and that is the fastest 10K I will ever walk. Cecilia is a machine. We are really doing like a skip-hop-walk kind of walk. We skip to catch up with her, hop over little sandy traps in the trail and then walk very briskly to get to work on time. I got my exercise and boy was I awake after that walk. I wish you could really see the pictures that are floating in my head as I am writing this. I read this aloud to Meag and at points we burst out in laughter. The rest of the day was spent helping Kathy pack snacks for Northreach. We got to swipe a few after Kathy felt pity on us and our long walk. We also had girls night at Kathy’s house that night since all of the Eric’s House boys were camping with Roy. We had homemade pizzas and lemon bars that were so good. Little did I know that was the last time I would eat till Sunday.
My niece was born on this day and I can’t wait to see her! Everyone in the family should remind themselves that the “baby hog” is coming home soon and I get her whenever I want (excluding Emily b/c she’s the boss; that includes paw-paw, momma, and sherry). I was so happy to hear that she is healthy and enjoyed hearing the joy in all of my family’s voices as they got to hold her. I just don’t understand why my brother is the one with the beautiful babies. Sorry Jeremy…had to give you a hard time a little bit, but it’s true. Emily saved your kids looks.
Saturday April 26th- This morning was not a good morning for the digestive system. That’s all I’m saying.
All the sponsorship info is on the blog that I posted just yesterday and please email me with any information or questions you may have. Sorry there are no pics this time. I just didn't have time to sit here and wait for them to load!
About the only thing that has annoyed the dickens out of me this past week was that the power was out Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, & Thursday. The power is usually only out for 3-4 hours a night, but if you think about it… that’s when you get home, you try to fix some dinner, and relax. Well…we did that with no power once again. It is frustrating because they have scheduled “power outages” every Tuesday. The government gets to decide when they will turn off the power.
Monday and Tuesday (April 28-29th) were spent going to the orphanages with Meagan and doing the routine there. I mainly got to play and just hold babies. It’s really just a fun day!
Wednesday April 30th- Meagan & I traveled with Kathy to Choma. We desperately needed some groceries and Choma is the closest place to get groceries at an actual “grocery store.” We can get fresh stuff in town, but we needed supplies badly. We took Lola and Trevor with us to town. It was a girls day out until we chose Trevor to escort us. We had a great time … we went to the market to get some gifts for a few hundred of my closest friends, then traveled to other shops to find necessities all the while having Trevor and Lola on our backs in the scorching heat. It was worth it. What I didn’t know was that Trevor had fallen asleep on my back and when we got to Savannah’s to eat, I totally whisked him off my back to standing position. I got a little moan and groan from him, but he was fine after he was sitting in my lap and eating. We were all tired and hungry. After a hearty cheeseburger, we traveled for curtains to match our newly painted Haven I rooms. I’m hoping to take pictures soon… Kathy had some boxes made with their names on them and they just look so cute! We tried to find some matching solid material or printed, but we just went with ….well…you’ll just have to wait to see. It will be cute! Trevor, Lola, and I fell asleep on the way home (momma…I know you are thinking big surprise huh?) and it was almost supper time by the time we got home. One big day of shopping!
Thursday May 1st- Again I chose to go to the orphanage again and just hang out with the babies. Meagan stayed home after lunch because she continues to not feel well. Neither of us can just shake whatever has attacked us. We had two kids over for dinner, who are our neighbors, but also Meagan just absolutely loves them. They are home until Monday because their new term starts next week. We had tacos, rotel, beans and rice right before the power went out and then made some brownies after the power came back on.
Friday May 2nd – Happy Birthday my best friend Beth! I was so glad I got to talk to you and glad you were at recess when I called! I love you and hope 26 doesn’t treat you too bad! This day was also another day of rest for me and Meagan. I’ll let you guess why I was in bed this day.
I’m getting excited because my dad, Gavin, and Meredith are all flying here together and it will be here before I know it! My time here has gone so fast, but has given me a glimpse into the mission work field and how my friends’ lives have been affected by this work. I’m not sure what the Lord has in store for me, but I know I can’t ignore what He has shown me.
Sunday April 20th-
Church on Sunday morning was pretty crazy. All the ladies were still at Namwianga for the conference. So, that means over 4,000 ladies + children + men and visitors. Wow! I’m just glad the microphone system didn’t have any glitches. I sat with Cathy on a blanket with 17 babies. You can just imagine that there wasn’t much listening to the sermon. As time went on, we would look at another baby and they were either fast asleep on the blanket or they were picking up speed and crawling away. That’s when people that are familiar with the babies would just pick up one and hold it the rest of the time. I think we ended up with 10 babies still on the blankets. One humorous thing was after church ended, it seemed as though Cathy and I were celebrities. I probably shook at least 50 people’s hands just thanking us. That happens over here. People are so grateful to macuas (white people) for what they do, for the power they have, and for the resources we provided. We are definitely out numbered and stick out like a sore thumb. I’m sure I was greeted also just because I was with Cathy. Her and Roy are pretty much celebrities here because of what they have done.
Monday April 21st- organizing in the morning again with the help our one of our neighbors named Chimuka. She is a cute 13 year old girl that helped me fold linens and move a few things. She was definitely some good company and it was just nice to talk to her while working. We went home at lunch and then I went with Meagan again to the orphanage in the afternoon. My usual routine lately.
Tuesday April 22nd- HIV outreach: We went for my second time to Njabalambe. Again, it was me, Louisa, Rogers, Ba Zimba, and Mary. Our usual routine, except that we left on time this morning, which was 8’ish. We drove to town to finish a few programs and to get our food for the day. My meal was a fried egg bun for breakfast with coke (their version of an egg mcmuffin, but not from a fast food restaurant. If you could only really see or imagine…), a boiled egg with 2 buns for lunch, and two bananas for a snack. This is the usual Tuesday meal for me. Anyways, we did the usual of stopping at Lepole on our way to Njabalambe to help around 8 families there and then to help around 10 more. The mobile outreach still helps them by testing them when needed (like keeping a current CD4 count or other blood labs), giving them medications they may need (like a regular 2 week check-up), and giving them food for each person that has tested positive, including formula for the babies. If you are interested in seeing a website set up to raise money for their food, please go to : www.ghshares.com since their maize crops were pretty much ruined this past year.
Wednesday April 23rd-Pretty sure I was at the orphanage all day. I vaguely remember taking some sick babies to the clinic with Meagan. It’s kind of sad that I can’t remember. I’m going to blame that on the heat.
Thursday April 24th- Clinic work in the am: organizing, counting pills for Northreach meds, and finding keys to open one of the containers to get hospital beds; My afternoon was much more adventurous…Meagan’s friend, Cecilia, lives in a village named Mutala. Meagan worked it out with her for us to stay with her overnight and her family. So…Meagan and I packed for an overnight experience. We looked like we were packing for a week’s stay, but we blame it on our pillow and jackets because otherwise, we only took our clothes for the next day and toiletries. (And those of you who know me well…I didn’t take the normal amount of toiletries and that was not nice to think that) We headed off to the orphanage with our packs (about a 2 mile walk) and stayed there for a bit until we were supposed to leave to meet Cecilia on the road to Mutala. The trek to Mutala is about a 10K walk. We kept walking thinking that we would meet her pretty soon, but never did. About ¾’s of the way, this boy stops us and tells us there is a lady chasing after us. We look back and Cecilia is running up this hill to catch up with us. She left a little late and instead of turning right (a shorter way to her house) we kept going straight towards Mutala. I’m pretty sure she ran a pretty good way. We cut through the bush to another trail to her house. On the way, we passed her one of her brother’s houses and his kids decided to follow us on the way. So, just imagine these seven little giggling voices following. It’s just funny because Cecilia said they just love to watch the macua’s. We get to her house and it is so nice and neat. I’m sure she spent most of the day just picking up and sweeping all around her yard. She immediately made us sit from the journey while she prepared for dinner. Of course, about 10 kids from around her place, all surrounded us just to look and be around us. We played some and sang a few songs with them in Tonga that we knew. Then they sang us a few songs that they knew after a little prodding from Cecilia. Meagan brought some nail polish to paint the girls nails. This definitely caused a frenzy and everyone wanted their nails painted…even the boys and their were no objections from the moms. While we were painting our nails, we received our first food of the night. Chips are fried potatoes. They were the best I think I’ve ever eaten. Perfectly crispy and salted. The next course came at sunset after the nshima and other potatoes were done. It was definitely yummy and Cecilia was the perfect host. I know we thanked her and just kept telling her how lovely her home was. After dark, we gathered around the fire and sang with the children. Usually, it was Meagan and I singing to them, but once Cecilia got there, she told them to sing one in Tonga and then we would sing one in English. We probably sang for about an hour and then headed off to bed at 2000. Yes…I did say at 8 o’clock at night. Definitely unusual for me and Meagan both. So…we go to bed and Meag and I try not to giggle, but we did a little bit b/c we thought of how unbelievable this is. Meag and I are laying so close to one another for two reasons. First, the bed is not very big and then Meag was such a dear and shared her ipod with me. The problem was that her head phones were so short when you shared them. So, we could barely move our bodies for a whole hour to not disturb the ipod sharing. At 9 0’clock we decide that we are tired and try to sleep. Well… when we woke up at 0545 we are still tired because…surprise…we didn’t sleep that well. Cecilia had gotten up at 0445 to start to begin making breakfast and to boil us water for our bath. She was an absolutely great host and was so gracious. Meagan and I next set out for our adventure to bath. It wasn’t quite light yet and Cecilia set our big pan of hot water outside of the back of her hut. Yes…in full view of anyone else that was willing to come out of their hut at the same time. Mind you that their huts aren’t close together, but both of us being pale white and a little mindful of bathing in front of her family, we both decide to stay close to the house. We are freezing because it is cool in the morning breeze and we decided it would be best to strip down to our underoos and take bird baths. If you knew Meagan, you would know that she is pretty much my twin and we had to laugh about how whole experience. We weren’t really prepared to take a bath (no towel, soap, etc…) so we splash water over ourselves and then take turns squatting over this large basin and getting each others hair wet. We think it is hilarious and love that we are getting to experience this together. More awkward moments together in one experience. We got dressed quickly and then went by the fire where she had prepared sweet rice and milk for us. It was so good, but hard to consume it all that early in the morning. We knew we had to shove a good amount of it down because our trek to the orphanage was going to be a 10K walk and no food for another 6 hours. So, we set off ( a little late-not our fault, for real) !! We start walking and that is the fastest 10K I will ever walk. Cecilia is a machine. We are really doing like a skip-hop-walk kind of walk. We skip to catch up with her, hop over little sandy traps in the trail and then walk very briskly to get to work on time. I got my exercise and boy was I awake after that walk. I wish you could really see the pictures that are floating in my head as I am writing this. I read this aloud to Meag and at points we burst out in laughter. The rest of the day was spent helping Kathy pack snacks for Northreach. We got to swipe a few after Kathy felt pity on us and our long walk. We also had girls night at Kathy’s house that night since all of the Eric’s House boys were camping with Roy. We had homemade pizzas and lemon bars that were so good. Little did I know that was the last time I would eat till Sunday.
My niece was born on this day and I can’t wait to see her! Everyone in the family should remind themselves that the “baby hog” is coming home soon and I get her whenever I want (excluding Emily b/c she’s the boss; that includes paw-paw, momma, and sherry). I was so happy to hear that she is healthy and enjoyed hearing the joy in all of my family’s voices as they got to hold her. I just don’t understand why my brother is the one with the beautiful babies. Sorry Jeremy…had to give you a hard time a little bit, but it’s true. Emily saved your kids looks.
Saturday April 26th- This morning was not a good morning for the digestive system. That’s all I’m saying.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Here's what you have been waiting for...
Here's what you have been waiting for...
Sponsorship Information!
Sponsorship means covering the financial needs of an orphan. At Namwianga Mission, there are two orphanages/houses called Haven I and Haven II. Haven III will hopefully be done next year and preparations are already being made! Haven III will mainly house sick babies such as Failure to Thrive (FTT); some of the sicker preemies and HIV babies; and the babes that are just needing Haven III for a short time because they are contagious, they are needing a more watchful eye for feedings, or because they will need an IV. Their hope is to have a full-time nurse to watch over the Havens, especially putting their focus on the third Haven.
Sponsorship is a commitment of 2 years of $75/month. Some sponsors have gone in with another family or friends to be able to support a child together. The money that you commit every month provides for the needs of the child while also supporting for the needs of the orphanage also. Your money will support the baby’s supplies such as nappies (cloth diapers), plastic pants, extra medicines, cleaning supplies for the Havens, mealie meal and porridge (for the babies that are 6 months and older), butter and veggies for their meals, and salaries for the aunties taking care of the babies. To give you an idea of how much an auntie makes…they make only $50-60 US dollars a month and work 6 days a week with 10 hour shifts. They work very hard and love these babies so much!
The sponsorship money also covers part of the milk for the baby. There is a separate milk fund for the babies at the Haven because the sponsorship money doesn’t cover it all. The Havens also support what is called milk babies. These are babies who also have lost a parent, but the family is still willing to keep the baby. The milk fund helps them to get formula once a month.
The sweet babes that need sponsorship---
Gift: Yes, her name is Gift and she is a little doll. She has started smiling lately, but was a little camera shy for this picture.
Choolwe - (Chole-way) is a chunky little man who has big eyes and loves to smile, especially when he's getting a bottle.
Steven - he has gotten a haircut since this picture and has gotten chubby cheeks just in these past couple of weeks.
Hannah- Sweet Hannah is so beautiful! Ladies...just look at those perfect eyebrows! She loves to be sung to and has a little bitty cry when she's ready for a bottle.
Emmanuel - Manny is our newest little guy and he was abandoned in a nearby city. The hospital there called us and he's now apart of the Haven family. The house mother for Haven I actually kept him with her for his first week because she couldn't imagine him being left alone again.
Just a little history...To make a long story even longer-- Kathy Merritt started taking in orphans just because of a need over 13 years ago. She never intended to or saw this was in the Lord's plans for her life, but He definitely saw the need. After word was out that she took in orphans, people kept dropping orphans off at her doorway. So, now she currently has approximately 24 street kids/orphans in her own home plus is in charge of the Havens. Her ultimate goal is to set up the Havens to be strictly run by the House parents. I wish you just knew Roy and Kathy Merritt and the pure devotion that they have given their lives to.
Haven I (newborn-1 year) now houses 37 babies and Haven II (2-3 year olds) now houses 24 babies. Their main goal is to raise these children for the families to approximately the age of 2 or 3 until a suitable family member is ready to take them back into their family. Going back into the village with their own family is best for the child long-term.
I have personally witnessed the hands who take care of each of these babies and how they care for them. The money will directly be going to care for each of these babies. I have worked with the house parents directly and see how much of their own lives they have given to pursue to help this mission. They are God driven people who want to love and show Christ in what they are doing. I have hugged, cried with and also rejoiced with all of these workers when a baby has not made it or has done amazingly well. I know for sure one reason why I came to Africa, was to see first hand on how people are surviving here and how they are helping each other. The people here know truly the gift of community and how to reach out to their own. It took coming all the way here to realize how much I need to help and to not be skeptical of when I hear about these children that need help. They are human beings that will grow up, God willing, to be adults and serve Him. They will have a great start at the Haven’s because of the people taking care of them.
Pictures of the Haven buildings
Once you have decided to sponsor a child, you can email me with any questions @ deidre.k.hulvey@vanderbilt.edu and then I will email you the information that you will need to mail or transfer your donation.
Sponsorship Information!
Sponsorship means covering the financial needs of an orphan. At Namwianga Mission, there are two orphanages/houses called Haven I and Haven II. Haven III will hopefully be done next year and preparations are already being made! Haven III will mainly house sick babies such as Failure to Thrive (FTT); some of the sicker preemies and HIV babies; and the babes that are just needing Haven III for a short time because they are contagious, they are needing a more watchful eye for feedings, or because they will need an IV. Their hope is to have a full-time nurse to watch over the Havens, especially putting their focus on the third Haven.
Sponsorship is a commitment of 2 years of $75/month. Some sponsors have gone in with another family or friends to be able to support a child together. The money that you commit every month provides for the needs of the child while also supporting for the needs of the orphanage also. Your money will support the baby’s supplies such as nappies (cloth diapers), plastic pants, extra medicines, cleaning supplies for the Havens, mealie meal and porridge (for the babies that are 6 months and older), butter and veggies for their meals, and salaries for the aunties taking care of the babies. To give you an idea of how much an auntie makes…they make only $50-60 US dollars a month and work 6 days a week with 10 hour shifts. They work very hard and love these babies so much!
The sponsorship money also covers part of the milk for the baby. There is a separate milk fund for the babies at the Haven because the sponsorship money doesn’t cover it all. The Havens also support what is called milk babies. These are babies who also have lost a parent, but the family is still willing to keep the baby. The milk fund helps them to get formula once a month.
The sweet babes that need sponsorship---
Gift: Yes, her name is Gift and she is a little doll. She has started smiling lately, but was a little camera shy for this picture.
Tamara ½ (She needs just a one year commitment right now…) - Tamara loves to bat at a mobile that hangs over her bead and loves any kind of attention to smile. She is also starting to sit up some.
Choolwe - (Chole-way) is a chunky little man who has big eyes and loves to smile, especially when he's getting a bottle.
Steven - he has gotten a haircut since this picture and has gotten chubby cheeks just in these past couple of weeks.
Hannah- Sweet Hannah is so beautiful! Ladies...just look at those perfect eyebrows! She loves to be sung to and has a little bitty cry when she's ready for a bottle.
Emmanuel - Manny is our newest little guy and he was abandoned in a nearby city. The hospital there called us and he's now apart of the Haven family. The house mother for Haven I actually kept him with her for his first week because she couldn't imagine him being left alone again.
Just a little history...To make a long story even longer-- Kathy Merritt started taking in orphans just because of a need over 13 years ago. She never intended to or saw this was in the Lord's plans for her life, but He definitely saw the need. After word was out that she took in orphans, people kept dropping orphans off at her doorway. So, now she currently has approximately 24 street kids/orphans in her own home plus is in charge of the Havens. Her ultimate goal is to set up the Havens to be strictly run by the House parents. I wish you just knew Roy and Kathy Merritt and the pure devotion that they have given their lives to.
Haven I (newborn-1 year) now houses 37 babies and Haven II (2-3 year olds) now houses 24 babies. Their main goal is to raise these children for the families to approximately the age of 2 or 3 until a suitable family member is ready to take them back into their family. Going back into the village with their own family is best for the child long-term.
I have personally witnessed the hands who take care of each of these babies and how they care for them. The money will directly be going to care for each of these babies. I have worked with the house parents directly and see how much of their own lives they have given to pursue to help this mission. They are God driven people who want to love and show Christ in what they are doing. I have hugged, cried with and also rejoiced with all of these workers when a baby has not made it or has done amazingly well. I know for sure one reason why I came to Africa, was to see first hand on how people are surviving here and how they are helping each other. The people here know truly the gift of community and how to reach out to their own. It took coming all the way here to realize how much I need to help and to not be skeptical of when I hear about these children that need help. They are human beings that will grow up, God willing, to be adults and serve Him. They will have a great start at the Haven’s because of the people taking care of them.
Pictures of the Haven buildingsOnce you have decided to sponsor a child, you can email me with any questions @ deidre.k.hulvey@vanderbilt.edu and then I will email you the information that you will need to mail or transfer your donation.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Just some more updates...
Last Sunday (April 13th)– Well…we went to church here at the mission. Meagan had started to feel bad that morning, but trudged onward since we were having company that day. Sam and Nancy Shewmaker and Sam’s sister and husband were visiting the mission to see about possibilities of Sam’s sister and brother-in-law moving somewhere here in Zambia. From their conversations, it seems as though they are interested in moving to Lusaka so he could start teaching in the medical program. He is an ENT doctor that has worked in places such as Colorado and Missouri. It was really great to just get to know all of them a little better. I especially enjoyed talking to Sam and Nancy. I had Mr. Shewmaker in class at Harding and I don’t think I fully appreciated the work he and his wife have done in the world missions area while I had him in class. We chomped on red beans, rice, and sausage we had made while they had brought over some cabbage for us to enjoy. Louisa made a brownie mix from the states that someone had sent over…so yummy! That night at church was the first Sunday night church that the power wasn’t out or some kind of craziness came up that we didn’t miss.
Monday (14th)– I have become known to Louisa some days as “Little Laura”. I acquired that name from Louisa because Laura Oldenburg is a missionary, who with her husband were here at Namwianga until he had some health issues that have kept them in the states for a bit. She is a nurse from the states and was in the middle of organizing the clinic when they had to leave. Well, I’ve really picked up where she left off. On days that we don’t really have many programs, I’ll go to the clinic and for half of the day; I will go through lots of boxes, trunks, and supplies that people have sent over. They are trying to get one ward set up to house patients overnight. I’m organizing supplies so that they will be able to do that and also just know what is in all those boxes! I’m really surprised about how much they do have. It’s just a slow process going through all the stuff and having people organize it that actually know what the supplies are and where they should go. Sadly, I really enjoy organizing all the supplies. I have been scared by a few half dead lizards or fully alive lizards that like to jump out of boxes. I did scream pretty loud once and scared a bunch of men that were standing outside. I’m not scared of lizards, but I’m still a girl. That afternoon I went over to the orphanage to mainly hold babies, but got roped into taking a couple of sick babes to the clinic. One of them needed some injections and another needed a malaria slide done. That took most of the afternoon so then I mostly held a couple of babies and just fed them.
Tuesday (15th)– Another day of fun with Louisa and her crew on the mobile HIV outreach. I may not be spelling this village right, but we went to Nazabula (sounds exactly how I spelled it). This was the first time they have been to this village since December because the roads were too bad to travel during the rainy season. This means that they had to pay for themselves to travel to Kalomo to get their testing done, any other medical treatment, and to get their ARV’s. This just means more money (that they don’t have) to spend on their treatment that we could have helped them with if the roads were passable. Anyways, we get there and they are so happy to see Louisa… just clapping and all smiles. Louisa said it was just nice to see all their smiling faces and to know that most of them have been pretty healthy since seeing them last. We had to see a bunch of people and it took longer because we had to do a more thorough assessment and I had to draw most of the patients blood since we hadn’t been there in months.(Mom…I know you are wondering if I was careful. Yes, of course, I was. I double gloved, wore goggles for transferring the blood, etc… I know how you are. I love you.) The patients were easy to get blood on, but why is it that the boys/men are always the biggest babies. Just wondering. Probably because most of these women have had at least 4-5 kids and they walked to the hospital while they were in labor or rode in the back of a truck with 20 other people while in labor. Just a thought. Anyways, it took most of the day to get done with them and then quickly went to see some other patients in the program on the way back. On the way back, we had a hilarious time with our fellow team members. We laughed pretty much the whole way back because we made them say hard words for them and they made us do the same in Tonga. The hardest word for them was “parallel”. They really don’t even use the “Rrr” sound in their language and they usually switch “R” and “L” (for some reason) when translating to English. So, the word parallel came out as “Pau”. It may not seem funny, but we got a big kick out of Rogers trying to say it over and over….Anyways, we came home to find out that baby Meagan had died that day. It has been some hard luck at the orphanage lately. It’s just that the orphanage has just been given some very sick babies from the moment they arrive and we really don’t know what they could be already sick with when they arrive. Most of the time, we assume that the mothers have died of HIV, but really it could have been anything. The families never really have much information to give us when they drop the babies off.
Wednesday (16th)– I organized in the morning and then actually got to hold babies in the afternoon. Got peed on. That’s about it.
Thursday (17th) – The ladies conference started here at Namwianga. They were expecting around 3,000 ladies at the conference and the final count was 3, 991 women excluding children! Crazy! Anyways, it started Thursday morning and we went to the first speaker. It was great. We sat by one of the girls that could translate for us because they were already translating in Tonga and Bimba. After lunch, Meagan and I went to the orphanage and found that baby Jennifer was doing even worse. She honestly looked like she could go anytime. After a long discussion with some others, Meagan and I decided to go ahead and take here to see the clinical officer to see if there was anything else we could do. We took here and there was a few things we could try, but we all knew in our hearts that the inevitable was coming…we just weren’t sure when. It took most of the afternoon to get all the programs done, but we got back to the clinic around 1600 and I started an IV (because we didn’t want her to stay at Kalomo hospital-you would know why if you saw it) on Jennifer to give her bolus so hopefully she could make it through the night. After I started the IV, Meagan left to go get us some food at home while we waited for the bolus to finish. After she came back a lady in labor came by and needed a ride to the hospital. So, I called Louisa and she then headed our way to take her to the hospital. The problem was that I looked out the window and saw that this woman was walking away from us! Some how in the communication between me and the translator, he forgot to tell her to sit on the bench and wait for the truck. She was going to walk the whole way there…I’m sure it’s a good mile or two….in labor!
Friday – (18th) Us girls went to town in the morning to pick up some groceries and for Louisa and Meagan to meet up with one their Peace Corps friends. We took Kathi and Lola with us (their pictures were in the blog before this one) and they were treated to some ice cream. We then rushed home to hear Kathi Merritt speak at the ladies conference on disciplining children. She should know…She has had three of her own, adopted who knows how many, is in charge of the Havens, and keeps street orphans in her home.
We went back home for lunch and Kathi came by with the news that baby Jennifer had just died at the orphanage. The good thing was that her family was there to visit at that time because we had called them the day before to tell them how sick she was. I was glad they were there with her. So, we went to the orphanage to find that they were going to go ahead and have the funeral since her family was there. I had my first experience of a baby’s funeral earlier this year when I attended the funeral of a patient that had spent her whole life at Vanderbilt. I can’t even describe the feelings that come inside my heart when thinking about that time. It was a first for me and maybe the last of one of my patient’s I attend. It’s not supposed to go that way. Mothers really aren’t supposed to bury their babies. That’s one talk God and I will have to have when I talk to Him. Anyways, I now have attended my first funeral for a baby in Africa. A much different experience, but I’m not sure how I feel about it yet. Just as sad, but it was different. It was sad though that her mother wasn’t there. Her aunts were there who had lost their sister a month before and now their niece. Sometimes it’s just too heartbreaking to think too much about, but we have faith and know that there is an ultimate plan that I don’t have to always understand. I don’t.
Monday (14th)– I have become known to Louisa some days as “Little Laura”. I acquired that name from Louisa because Laura Oldenburg is a missionary, who with her husband were here at Namwianga until he had some health issues that have kept them in the states for a bit. She is a nurse from the states and was in the middle of organizing the clinic when they had to leave. Well, I’ve really picked up where she left off. On days that we don’t really have many programs, I’ll go to the clinic and for half of the day; I will go through lots of boxes, trunks, and supplies that people have sent over. They are trying to get one ward set up to house patients overnight. I’m organizing supplies so that they will be able to do that and also just know what is in all those boxes! I’m really surprised about how much they do have. It’s just a slow process going through all the stuff and having people organize it that actually know what the supplies are and where they should go. Sadly, I really enjoy organizing all the supplies. I have been scared by a few half dead lizards or fully alive lizards that like to jump out of boxes. I did scream pretty loud once and scared a bunch of men that were standing outside. I’m not scared of lizards, but I’m still a girl. That afternoon I went over to the orphanage to mainly hold babies, but got roped into taking a couple of sick babes to the clinic. One of them needed some injections and another needed a malaria slide done. That took most of the afternoon so then I mostly held a couple of babies and just fed them.
Tuesday (15th)– Another day of fun with Louisa and her crew on the mobile HIV outreach. I may not be spelling this village right, but we went to Nazabula (sounds exactly how I spelled it). This was the first time they have been to this village since December because the roads were too bad to travel during the rainy season. This means that they had to pay for themselves to travel to Kalomo to get their testing done, any other medical treatment, and to get their ARV’s. This just means more money (that they don’t have) to spend on their treatment that we could have helped them with if the roads were passable. Anyways, we get there and they are so happy to see Louisa… just clapping and all smiles. Louisa said it was just nice to see all their smiling faces and to know that most of them have been pretty healthy since seeing them last. We had to see a bunch of people and it took longer because we had to do a more thorough assessment and I had to draw most of the patients blood since we hadn’t been there in months.(Mom…I know you are wondering if I was careful. Yes, of course, I was. I double gloved, wore goggles for transferring the blood, etc… I know how you are. I love you.) The patients were easy to get blood on, but why is it that the boys/men are always the biggest babies. Just wondering. Probably because most of these women have had at least 4-5 kids and they walked to the hospital while they were in labor or rode in the back of a truck with 20 other people while in labor. Just a thought. Anyways, it took most of the day to get done with them and then quickly went to see some other patients in the program on the way back. On the way back, we had a hilarious time with our fellow team members. We laughed pretty much the whole way back because we made them say hard words for them and they made us do the same in Tonga. The hardest word for them was “parallel”. They really don’t even use the “Rrr” sound in their language and they usually switch “R” and “L” (for some reason) when translating to English. So, the word parallel came out as “Pau”. It may not seem funny, but we got a big kick out of Rogers trying to say it over and over….Anyways, we came home to find out that baby Meagan had died that day. It has been some hard luck at the orphanage lately. It’s just that the orphanage has just been given some very sick babies from the moment they arrive and we really don’t know what they could be already sick with when they arrive. Most of the time, we assume that the mothers have died of HIV, but really it could have been anything. The families never really have much information to give us when they drop the babies off.
Wednesday (16th)– I organized in the morning and then actually got to hold babies in the afternoon. Got peed on. That’s about it.
Thursday (17th) – The ladies conference started here at Namwianga. They were expecting around 3,000 ladies at the conference and the final count was 3, 991 women excluding children! Crazy! Anyways, it started Thursday morning and we went to the first speaker. It was great. We sat by one of the girls that could translate for us because they were already translating in Tonga and Bimba. After lunch, Meagan and I went to the orphanage and found that baby Jennifer was doing even worse. She honestly looked like she could go anytime. After a long discussion with some others, Meagan and I decided to go ahead and take here to see the clinical officer to see if there was anything else we could do. We took here and there was a few things we could try, but we all knew in our hearts that the inevitable was coming…we just weren’t sure when. It took most of the afternoon to get all the programs done, but we got back to the clinic around 1600 and I started an IV (because we didn’t want her to stay at Kalomo hospital-you would know why if you saw it) on Jennifer to give her bolus so hopefully she could make it through the night. After I started the IV, Meagan left to go get us some food at home while we waited for the bolus to finish. After she came back a lady in labor came by and needed a ride to the hospital. So, I called Louisa and she then headed our way to take her to the hospital. The problem was that I looked out the window and saw that this woman was walking away from us! Some how in the communication between me and the translator, he forgot to tell her to sit on the bench and wait for the truck. She was going to walk the whole way there…I’m sure it’s a good mile or two….in labor!
Friday – (18th) Us girls went to town in the morning to pick up some groceries and for Louisa and Meagan to meet up with one their Peace Corps friends. We took Kathi and Lola with us (their pictures were in the blog before this one) and they were treated to some ice cream. We then rushed home to hear Kathi Merritt speak at the ladies conference on disciplining children. She should know…She has had three of her own, adopted who knows how many, is in charge of the Havens, and keeps street orphans in her home.
We went back home for lunch and Kathi came by with the news that baby Jennifer had just died at the orphanage. The good thing was that her family was there to visit at that time because we had called them the day before to tell them how sick she was. I was glad they were there with her. So, we went to the orphanage to find that they were going to go ahead and have the funeral since her family was there. I had my first experience of a baby’s funeral earlier this year when I attended the funeral of a patient that had spent her whole life at Vanderbilt. I can’t even describe the feelings that come inside my heart when thinking about that time. It was a first for me and maybe the last of one of my patient’s I attend. It’s not supposed to go that way. Mothers really aren’t supposed to bury their babies. That’s one talk God and I will have to have when I talk to Him. Anyways, I now have attended my first funeral for a baby in Africa. A much different experience, but I’m not sure how I feel about it yet. Just as sad, but it was different. It was sad though that her mother wasn’t there. Her aunts were there who had lost their sister a month before and now their niece. Sometimes it’s just too heartbreaking to think too much about, but we have faith and know that there is an ultimate plan that I don’t have to always understand. I don’t.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
So...I've fallen for a dark-skinned man from Zambia whose name is Scott. He's my new sponsored baby from the Haven I and I love him too. He has laughed since the first day arriving at the Haven and is just a pure, bundle of joy. Like some of the other babies, Scott has tested so far as HIV positive. It is possible that he will test negative in the future because he could be testing positive from his mother's antibodies. We do have babies that are now testing negative that tested postive at first. He is a doll and just is as happy as could be though! He also calls me "momma" too (not really I can just tell he wants to...Excuse the nappy looking picture of me. Just a normal day though. I'm pretty sure that was day number four without a bath.)
I'm attaching pictures of the some of the orphans from Haven II. Many have aske
d me about sponsoring a baby and Iwill get you that information as soon as I can. I want to make sure I have all the info correct before posting it. Meagan has also been sick this week and she's the one in charge of the sponsorships and praying for babies.
d me about sponsoring a baby and Iwill get you that information as soon as I can. I want to make sure I have all the info correct before posting it. Meagan has also been sick this week and she's the one in charge of the sponsorships and praying for babies.The first picture is George . He is what they call a "shupa" boy. "Shupa" is a term that they use for trouble maker, little wise guy, etc... He is so cute and good though...just a tad mischievious. We (the girls) came over to Haven II after a long day (we had to drop a baby off at Haven I) and it was their bed time. So, of course, we get them all excited and 
not really ready for bed. George is wearing my beautiful, sun hat. I think it fits him just fine with that white gown. Next, is Moeshe. He is a cute, chubby little one that just loves to be held and picked up anytime. He always tries a little harder with his smile to get you to fall for him.
not really ready for bed. George is wearing my beautiful, sun hat. I think it fits him just fine with that white gown. Next, is Moeshe. He is a cute, chubby little one that just loves to be held and picked up anytime. He always tries a little harder with his smile to get you to fall for him.The next picture is all the older boys around Meagan. Meagan is definitely loved in a special way by all of these kids. She is just another mother to all of them. I can't wait to share with you all that she has done with these children also. (L to R: Bright, Moeshe, Joel, Jason, Meagan, George, Trevor, and Bernard)
Next, is Lola (far right). Some call her "Lola bug". She just is a china doll. She has a perfectly round face, the curliest eyelashes, perfect white teeth, and the sweetest laugh. Her voice is also hilarious because it is a little scratchy sounding so when she repeats words...it's just too adorable. Kathi is below her. She is the oldest of all the orphans and is queen of all of them too. She will tell them what to do and when to do it. She's really more in charge of them than anybody
else
. She is a smart 3 year old...
else
. She is a smart 3 year old... Sunday, April 13, 2008
This first picture is of Andrew. I am holding him as we are going on my first trip to Kalomo hospital to get
work 6 days a week with 10-hour shifts to take care of these little ones. They will be paid back fully one day (I know) for all their hard work. The next photo (upper right hand corner) is Ba Halale, one of the nurses that work at Namwianga. I put this picture is because she is trying to get away from the people that are shoving bananas in her face to buy them. On our way to Lusaka, to get my nursing license (the first time) we pull over on the side of the road to get a snack, and you can see what happens. You literally get malled. Just some more humor to appreciate. Only in Africa...
The next photo is sweet little Paul. In one of my first blogs, I told how we took him to Macha and then pretty much they told us there was nothing else to do for him. He tested negative for everything! Paul was eating well and sucking well and we just couldn't figure out why he was still wasting. We tried lots of different things and racked our brains. Finally, we tried soy milk and then increased the calories by adding more scoops to his bottles and it seems... that Paul is a little fighter. He is still teenie, but he now has fat little cheeks and is starting to gain. Who knows what is in his future, but I hope it is for him to grow big enough to go to Haven 2 or be adopted. God has it in His hands no matter what. (For you at work...thanks whoever donated the 24 guage IV and T-connector. Maybe this helped Paul get through, maybe not. But we tried everything we could.)
Next, is us girls (me, Louisa, and Meagan) having a bit of fun! My first week in Africa, I was able to travel with the Harding Academy group to Victoria Falls. The falls are amazing this time of year. You pretty much can't even see them because the mist is so powerful! Every once and a while, a gush of wind, would come through and you could see them, but other than that, you kept your eyes closed because you would
lose your contacts. Anyways, we do have fun here sometimes. Meagana and Louisa are pretty much the funniest gals and are always looking for a way to smile. They are hilarious actually! I ask you who are reading this to pray for them. They have an extremely heavy load of burdens to carry. Some days I know it feels heavy for them sometimes and other days it doesn't. But they do this with a smile knowing that there is a reason the Lord put the love for Africa in their hearts. I ask you pray for strength for them as they continue to work with the Havens and with the mobile HIV outreach. They carry more in their hearts, I feel, in one day than most have to most of their lives. This is an overwhelming task the Lord presented before them and there is a reason why He placed them here. It's amazing what the Lord can do in people and when the people listen to His call....
lose your contacts. Anyways, we do have fun here sometimes. Meagana and Louisa are pretty much the funniest gals and are always looking for a way to smile. They are hilarious actually! I ask you who are reading this to pray for them. They have an extremely heavy load of burdens to carry. Some days I know it feels heavy for them sometimes and other days it doesn't. But they do this with a smile knowing that there is a reason the Lord put the love for Africa in their hearts. I ask you pray for strength for them as they continue to work with the Havens and with the mobile HIV outreach. They carry more in their hearts, I feel, in one day than most have to most of their lives. This is an overwhelming task the Lord presented before them and there is a reason why He placed them here. It's amazing what the Lord can do in people and when the people listen to His call....All His blessings. I miss you and hope you enjoy the pictures!
Saturday, April 12, 2008
APRIL 12th
I was hit with something bad on Sunday night. I felt a little weird on Sunday afternoon after lunch, but just took a nap and pretty much life was good. We walked to church and I got to hold my favorite babe, Scott. Church didn’t happen because the power was out. As we were walking back, I felt a little light headed, but no big deal. I just thought maybe I needed to eat something. Boy, was I wrong! Now I regret what and that I ate at all! To make this short and painless for some of you…Think of Niagra Falls coming up and out for the whole night! Finally, after two phenergan shots, I passed out and woke up twelve hours later. Today, Thursday, I finally felt like doing something. Louisa did the right thing and tested me for malaria and it was negative. I knew I didn’t have it, but I felt like poo for 3 days. Oh well. It goes with the territory. All is well and getting back to the non-routine of Africa.
Another crazy week....
This past week I am going to write much less---
Monday: Spent the whole day at the clinic with Meagan with Agape and Steven who required IV fluids (a total of 6 ½ hours).
Tuesday: “Under 5 clinic” for the orphanage kids. We brought all babies out of their rooms, weighed them, gave immunizations and any orders that they may need. Next, we did the Haven 2 and that is just an experience within itself. Trying to weigh two year olds in this hanging basket contraption is sometimes tricky. It was definitely fun clinic though
Wednesday: Travel to Livingstone with Kathy to drop Sherry at the airport and to do programs. Meagan and I mainly made reservations for our family who are coming to visit. We did get some good food this day. We drove home to find Paul looking bad again and so we brought him home. It made for a tired Meagan because she worried about him all night.
Thursday: Another outreach to do “Under 5 clinic”. This was a pretty humorous day because we didn’t get an early start because we were all trying to get another IV on Paul. Anyways, we left around noon and on our way… we got stuck in the mud. Our 4-wheel drive truck got totally stuck in the mud when it hasn’t even rained in a week. We found the only mud puddle in Zambia and is was the size of the truck. So, immediately these two ladies come and try to start digging us out with their hands. We try to get it out ourselves, but soon realize this is not going to work. To make this short, we took forever to try to get a hold of someone to come get us out, but by that time, we had collected about 8 men and two women (me included) to push while Louisa drove the truck. I had a couple of firsts…the first time I had a to get myself out of the mud and the first time I was completely sprayed by mud. When got unstuck and then went on our way. The ladies had been waiting with their babies for many hours for us to show up, but were always so gracious to us. Never a complaint about us being late. They actually understand that things happen. Would that ever happen in America? Yeah right. People complain when they don’t get their Big Mac fast enough. How retarded. Anyways, the day ended well and we made it for supper time.
Friday: I was mainly at the orphanage all day helping Meag get a few things organized, but the highlight of the day was taking some of the 2 year old babies to get haircuts. Another great experience to take these babies to these market huts to become bald once again and then get a treat of cheese puffs. Most of them don’t mind because they get a treat. They are beautiful bald babies.
If anyone is interested in sponsoring a baby, please email me. I can give you further information. We probably have ten orphans that aren’t sponsored. They are the sweetest little babies in the world and I think I have picked out mine!
Love you all and thanks for reading. I know it was long, but I haven’t been able to email in a while. Can’t wait to see your faces again…
Monday: Spent the whole day at the clinic with Meagan with Agape and Steven who required IV fluids (a total of 6 ½ hours).
Tuesday: “Under 5 clinic” for the orphanage kids. We brought all babies out of their rooms, weighed them, gave immunizations and any orders that they may need. Next, we did the Haven 2 and that is just an experience within itself. Trying to weigh two year olds in this hanging basket contraption is sometimes tricky. It was definitely fun clinic though
Wednesday: Travel to Livingstone with Kathy to drop Sherry at the airport and to do programs. Meagan and I mainly made reservations for our family who are coming to visit. We did get some good food this day. We drove home to find Paul looking bad again and so we brought him home. It made for a tired Meagan because she worried about him all night.
Thursday: Another outreach to do “Under 5 clinic”. This was a pretty humorous day because we didn’t get an early start because we were all trying to get another IV on Paul. Anyways, we left around noon and on our way… we got stuck in the mud. Our 4-wheel drive truck got totally stuck in the mud when it hasn’t even rained in a week. We found the only mud puddle in Zambia and is was the size of the truck. So, immediately these two ladies come and try to start digging us out with their hands. We try to get it out ourselves, but soon realize this is not going to work. To make this short, we took forever to try to get a hold of someone to come get us out, but by that time, we had collected about 8 men and two women (me included) to push while Louisa drove the truck. I had a couple of firsts…the first time I had a to get myself out of the mud and the first time I was completely sprayed by mud. When got unstuck and then went on our way. The ladies had been waiting with their babies for many hours for us to show up, but were always so gracious to us. Never a complaint about us being late. They actually understand that things happen. Would that ever happen in America? Yeah right. People complain when they don’t get their Big Mac fast enough. How retarded. Anyways, the day ended well and we made it for supper time.
Friday: I was mainly at the orphanage all day helping Meag get a few things organized, but the highlight of the day was taking some of the 2 year old babies to get haircuts. Another great experience to take these babies to these market huts to become bald once again and then get a treat of cheese puffs. Most of them don’t mind because they get a treat. They are beautiful bald babies.
If anyone is interested in sponsoring a baby, please email me. I can give you further information. We probably have ten orphans that aren’t sponsored. They are the sweetest little babies in the world and I think I have picked out mine!
Love you all and thanks for reading. I know it was long, but I haven’t been able to email in a while. Can’t wait to see your faces again…
Easter Sunday: They definitely celebrate Easter weekend over here and celebrate it the right way. Pretty much the whole country shuts down on Good Friday and then everyone and everything is closed on the Monday after Easter. A four day holiday…everyone. So, Easter Sunday was fun because we went over to the Gregerson’s (another missionary couple) late afternoon and had an Easter party. Last year, they had an easter egg dying contest between the group and David G. stood out above the crowd. He stood above and beyond also this year, but I believe that everyone else did pretty well to compete with him. Ba Linda made an easter bunny cake and let Jason and Bernard decorate it with jelly beans and icing.(I think Louisa also had fun decorating with jelly bellys) Ja-Ja was actually up for some fun with decorating, but Bernard (of course) was moody and pretty much just held his jelly beans in his hand. He didn’t have a problem helping David finish off the extra chocolate icing. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to attach pictures of this fun day, but no promises. After decorating, we moved the party outdoors to dye the local chicken eggs. As mentioned earlier, David pretty much showed off his skills of dying eggs and put the rest of us to shame. We had a wonderful dinner made by Linda consisting of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, bread and salad. It was so good and I pretty much stuffed myself and felt miserable afterwards, but also satisfied.
Monday: “WORLD TB DAY” was today! You are wondering what in the world is this holiday….Well, all over the world it is World Tuberculosis Day and I will describe how we celebrated this wonderful holiday. I know that you are wondering also why we do not get to celebrate this momentous occasion over in America and get a holiday. The reason is that pretty much not everyone in America has TB like over here or has the great potential to get it. First, we went to the clinic where the clinic staff received green shirts with the slogan “I can stop TB. You can stop TB. Help us.” (A great slogan (chuckle)) and some ladies were green chitenges (cloths used for skirts here in Zambia). Here is how the day began….We walked up to the fork in the road and then with a great crowd, we marched back to the clinic while we sang the official TB Day song. Yes, there is an actual song and I have pictures and video to prove it. When it seems that we can walk and sing no more because of the blazing heat, we finally get to the clinic and see that there are lots of chairs set up with the “big dogs” of the clinic and Namwianga sitting underneath a white tent. As Meagan, Louisa, and I start for the chairs that have been set up, from out of nowhere, one hundred Zambians storm past us and we don’t get chairs! We all start immediately laughing because we can’t even believe what has just happened. It was unbelievable. We sit on the ground and by the first hour, Meagan and I have been surrounded by children wanting to hang all over us. The purpose of TB Day is to educate the public in mostly skits and songs. The greatest thing is that really this day is one of the funnest (I know that isn’t a word Mom) days for the people that come to Namwianga clinic. They get educated and have a great time! For approximately 3 hours, we listened to skits and people tell about how their lives are so much better after finding treatment for their TB. The best part was having music and boody shakin’. Over here, they will give any excuse to have some shakin’ of the tailbone in the name of fun. There was a group of people that would play the drums and at random times people would just pop out of the audience to dance along to the music. Of course, you didn’t have to coerce us much to get us white people up to dance. I will say that when we stood up at the beginning of the program to go have a good time, that we definitely got a roar from the crowd. The rest of the day was a holiday so I can’t even remember what we did…
Tuesday: Louisa’s HIV outreach…This was the first time I have been privileged to go with Louisa on her outreach. Last summer, with the ACU mission team, they tested people on the outskirts of Kalomo for HIV (I can’t remember all the villages that they tested people). A couple of doctors from that mission team, including Jeff Mckinzie (Vandy ER doctor), wanted to somehow get a mobile HIV team going. After many months of hard work and trying to get funding, Louisa and her team of people have been traveling to these villages to give them transport money to get ARV’s (b/c all the medicine in Zambia is free!), to do teaching about HIV, and to bring them food. The team: Louisa-the clinical officer that assesses the people and prescribes whatever they may need; Mary- her assistant and translator, she’s hilarious; Rogers- an elder and leader in the community that counsels the HIV patients after and before Louisa sees them, he’s needed just as much or more as the medicine; Ba Zimba- the trusty driver. Just to give you a glimpse of this day…It usually takes at least an hour to get to any of these destinations. Once we get there, there is usually a group people waiting to see the team. Louisa sets up her little area (also known as her black trunk with medical supplies and a log to sit on) to assess the patients while Mary translates. My participation was very little. I mainly observed and helped Louisa with whatever she needed. I tried to give an injection to this little baby and medicine was way too thick for the size needle I had. So, the baby got poked for no reason, but we tried to help. It was kind of humorous, but I also felt a little bad. After Louisa is done with them, Rogers talks with each of them if he hasn’t already done so, and then we give them food /formula to take with them. Louisa’s sister and brother-in-law have started a website to raise money to feed these people. All around Zambia the crops were ruined this year because this last dry season was literally a drought and then there was too much rain this past rainy season and ruined all the maize. It’s amazing to drive to these places and see how many acres and acres of planted maize and it is all dried up and ruined or it never grew in the first place. Louisa started taking food to these people a couple of months ago because the ARV’s (anti-retrovirals) are so tough on their digestive systems. So, later I will put a plug in for her website if you would like to donate some money. Every family gets a bag of milly meal, oil, kapenta (dried little fish-they look nasty, but they love them), and a bag of beans. If they have infants, they provide them with enough formula till the next time they come so the mothers will not breast feed. Louisa is very close to the one family we helped that day. The wife of this family was very sick and her husband came to see Louisa to get his assessment and then get us to take his wife to the hospital in Kalomo. It was sad to see in his face how worried he was about his wife. As we were driving to her hut, it seemed as though this should be on another episode of ER. We are driving over walking paths as though they were paved roads to get to this hut. When we arrived, it was just so pitiful. She had felt bad for many days with coughing, diarrhea, and vomiting. She was barely able to walk she was so weak. She looked so tired and would have gone anywhere to get help. We drove her with her family in the back of our truck to Kalomo hospital to get her admitted. I had no idea how needed this mobile HIV team was until I actually saw it with my own eyes. They are doing so much good for people who need it and don’t have the resources to get help.
We drove back to the Namwianga clinic after dropping this family at Kalomo hospital to find that the Haven truck was at the clinic. We go in to find two more babies, Clifton and Patricia, on IV fluids because of dehydration related to diarrhea. Diarrhea is dangerous in little babies because how fast they can become dehydrated. Both of the babies were advised to stay overnight and so we picked up Meagan and we all go home to fix and eat dinner around 2130. Not an unusual occurrence to eat that late on days like that. Meagan had been at the clinic most of the day with the babies and also had not eaten and was just purely exhausted
Wednesday: I honestly don’t remember how we got to the clinic or if we had been to the orphanage first or not, but we were at the clinic to see Patricia and Clifton. Patricia was doing much better, but as we thought before, this was Clifton’s time to go. Meagan and I were there by ourselves in the room for a little while and then Kathy and her son Sterling came to see how everyone was doing. As we were looking at the babies, Clifton took his last breath. I listened to him and couldn’t hear a thing. I knew he had passed, but I needed someone else to listen so I got Louisa to come pronounce him.
I’m pretty sure the next couple of paragraphs will relate to my co-workers in the PCCU at Vandy. Some of the stories I may tell maybe sad in the scheme of life, but humorous overall because they actually happened. After you read them, I know some of you will understand. Sometimes you have to look at them in a different light or you would just cry all the time…. Meagan, Kathy and I all had to go work out arrangements to get Clifton to the morgue. As I found out this day, any baby they comes up dead here in Zambia has to go to the police department before you can take them to get pronounced at the hospital to be placed in the morgue. As I’m telling you about the happenings of this day, just think how unbelievable this is…We drive to the police department and have this baby wrapped up in a blanket. There are approximately 10 people in this building also there for different reasons. No other dead babies around. We had a couple of people ask if the baby was sick and all we could tell them was no and he wasn’t going to get better. It was a little frustrating because no one really knew what form to fill out or how to help us at first. Then a man from out of nowhere starting bossing people around came to help us. He pulls out this form and no lie…it says at the top “Brought in Dead”. They literally have a BID form. Can you imagine if we had to take every dead child or person first to the police office first to fill out a form, then to the hospital for them to pronounce him in front of a bunch of people and then they could be placed in the morgue. Well we did. After leaving the police station, we go to Kalomo hospital. Meagan knows a bunch of the clinical officers there because she has to take the HIV babies for review, so we get to bypass a very long line.help. To get the clinical officer, we have walk at least 4-5 times with Clifton by all these people waiting to see the doctor. We can barely pass them it is so crowded. After we get to his office, he assess Clifton and then uses his cell phone light as his pen light. No lie. He then leads Meagan to an office where she has to fill out more paperwork while I am left with Clifton in his office while this other lady is seeing this lady and she is complaining about her bladder problem. Directly in front of me while I am holding this baby. There was no shame and no recognition that I was holding Clifton. I waited for about ten minutes when this man comes to me and just waves for me to follow him. Again, I get to shuffle by this massive crowd of people. This man is walking so fast that I almost can’t keep up with him because walking in my skirt will not allow it. Remember, I’m still holding Clifton while following him at a slow jog. We walked up this path to this building with a lock on it. Little do I know that he is leading me to the morgue! He unlocks the door, opens the double door and immediately I am hit with this stinch that is vaguely familiar. I see a cooler and before I can react, he apologizes for the smell. The cooler is opened and I just hope that I will not faint.(For all of you that know my Baja Burrito fainting story…I didn’t come close to fainting like that) There was a rotting corpse on one of the bottom shelves and the man just points to the shelf where I have to leave Clifton. I gently placed him on the shelf and then am startled because I just placed my hand in some unknown fluid. I really don’t know what it was and nor do I care to know, but I just got out of there as soon as possible. I walk away just dumbfounded at what I had to do. I still chuckle to myself because I can’t believe this day.
Thursday – Sunday: We traveled once again to Lusaka, but this time for a missionary retreat. Missionaries from Namwianga went to Mi Peppe bible school where the French family hosted multiple missionary couples and families from Zambia, Malawi, and Tanzania. It was an amazing experience to get to hear from missionaries such as the Alison’s that have worked in Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda for over 30 years; to hear from Sondra and Brian Davis who are working in northern Zambia; and from the French’s who have been helping the bible college get off the ground. Louisa and I traveled downtown on Friday to get approved by the nursing board of Zambia and to also order meds for Northreach. This pretty much took most of the day and also just took too much time as usual. I have more stories from all of this because I have too tired to write.
Monday: “WORLD TB DAY” was today! You are wondering what in the world is this holiday….Well, all over the world it is World Tuberculosis Day and I will describe how we celebrated this wonderful holiday. I know that you are wondering also why we do not get to celebrate this momentous occasion over in America and get a holiday. The reason is that pretty much not everyone in America has TB like over here or has the great potential to get it. First, we went to the clinic where the clinic staff received green shirts with the slogan “I can stop TB. You can stop TB. Help us.” (A great slogan (chuckle)) and some ladies were green chitenges (cloths used for skirts here in Zambia). Here is how the day began….We walked up to the fork in the road and then with a great crowd, we marched back to the clinic while we sang the official TB Day song. Yes, there is an actual song and I have pictures and video to prove it. When it seems that we can walk and sing no more because of the blazing heat, we finally get to the clinic and see that there are lots of chairs set up with the “big dogs” of the clinic and Namwianga sitting underneath a white tent. As Meagan, Louisa, and I start for the chairs that have been set up, from out of nowhere, one hundred Zambians storm past us and we don’t get chairs! We all start immediately laughing because we can’t even believe what has just happened. It was unbelievable. We sit on the ground and by the first hour, Meagan and I have been surrounded by children wanting to hang all over us. The purpose of TB Day is to educate the public in mostly skits and songs. The greatest thing is that really this day is one of the funnest (I know that isn’t a word Mom) days for the people that come to Namwianga clinic. They get educated and have a great time! For approximately 3 hours, we listened to skits and people tell about how their lives are so much better after finding treatment for their TB. The best part was having music and boody shakin’. Over here, they will give any excuse to have some shakin’ of the tailbone in the name of fun. There was a group of people that would play the drums and at random times people would just pop out of the audience to dance along to the music. Of course, you didn’t have to coerce us much to get us white people up to dance. I will say that when we stood up at the beginning of the program to go have a good time, that we definitely got a roar from the crowd. The rest of the day was a holiday so I can’t even remember what we did…
Tuesday: Louisa’s HIV outreach…This was the first time I have been privileged to go with Louisa on her outreach. Last summer, with the ACU mission team, they tested people on the outskirts of Kalomo for HIV (I can’t remember all the villages that they tested people). A couple of doctors from that mission team, including Jeff Mckinzie (Vandy ER doctor), wanted to somehow get a mobile HIV team going. After many months of hard work and trying to get funding, Louisa and her team of people have been traveling to these villages to give them transport money to get ARV’s (b/c all the medicine in Zambia is free!), to do teaching about HIV, and to bring them food. The team: Louisa-the clinical officer that assesses the people and prescribes whatever they may need; Mary- her assistant and translator, she’s hilarious; Rogers- an elder and leader in the community that counsels the HIV patients after and before Louisa sees them, he’s needed just as much or more as the medicine; Ba Zimba- the trusty driver. Just to give you a glimpse of this day…It usually takes at least an hour to get to any of these destinations. Once we get there, there is usually a group people waiting to see the team. Louisa sets up her little area (also known as her black trunk with medical supplies and a log to sit on) to assess the patients while Mary translates. My participation was very little. I mainly observed and helped Louisa with whatever she needed. I tried to give an injection to this little baby and medicine was way too thick for the size needle I had. So, the baby got poked for no reason, but we tried to help. It was kind of humorous, but I also felt a little bad. After Louisa is done with them, Rogers talks with each of them if he hasn’t already done so, and then we give them food /formula to take with them. Louisa’s sister and brother-in-law have started a website to raise money to feed these people. All around Zambia the crops were ruined this year because this last dry season was literally a drought and then there was too much rain this past rainy season and ruined all the maize. It’s amazing to drive to these places and see how many acres and acres of planted maize and it is all dried up and ruined or it never grew in the first place. Louisa started taking food to these people a couple of months ago because the ARV’s (anti-retrovirals) are so tough on their digestive systems. So, later I will put a plug in for her website if you would like to donate some money. Every family gets a bag of milly meal, oil, kapenta (dried little fish-they look nasty, but they love them), and a bag of beans. If they have infants, they provide them with enough formula till the next time they come so the mothers will not breast feed. Louisa is very close to the one family we helped that day. The wife of this family was very sick and her husband came to see Louisa to get his assessment and then get us to take his wife to the hospital in Kalomo. It was sad to see in his face how worried he was about his wife. As we were driving to her hut, it seemed as though this should be on another episode of ER. We are driving over walking paths as though they were paved roads to get to this hut. When we arrived, it was just so pitiful. She had felt bad for many days with coughing, diarrhea, and vomiting. She was barely able to walk she was so weak. She looked so tired and would have gone anywhere to get help. We drove her with her family in the back of our truck to Kalomo hospital to get her admitted. I had no idea how needed this mobile HIV team was until I actually saw it with my own eyes. They are doing so much good for people who need it and don’t have the resources to get help.
We drove back to the Namwianga clinic after dropping this family at Kalomo hospital to find that the Haven truck was at the clinic. We go in to find two more babies, Clifton and Patricia, on IV fluids because of dehydration related to diarrhea. Diarrhea is dangerous in little babies because how fast they can become dehydrated. Both of the babies were advised to stay overnight and so we picked up Meagan and we all go home to fix and eat dinner around 2130. Not an unusual occurrence to eat that late on days like that. Meagan had been at the clinic most of the day with the babies and also had not eaten and was just purely exhausted
Wednesday: I honestly don’t remember how we got to the clinic or if we had been to the orphanage first or not, but we were at the clinic to see Patricia and Clifton. Patricia was doing much better, but as we thought before, this was Clifton’s time to go. Meagan and I were there by ourselves in the room for a little while and then Kathy and her son Sterling came to see how everyone was doing. As we were looking at the babies, Clifton took his last breath. I listened to him and couldn’t hear a thing. I knew he had passed, but I needed someone else to listen so I got Louisa to come pronounce him.
I’m pretty sure the next couple of paragraphs will relate to my co-workers in the PCCU at Vandy. Some of the stories I may tell maybe sad in the scheme of life, but humorous overall because they actually happened. After you read them, I know some of you will understand. Sometimes you have to look at them in a different light or you would just cry all the time…. Meagan, Kathy and I all had to go work out arrangements to get Clifton to the morgue. As I found out this day, any baby they comes up dead here in Zambia has to go to the police department before you can take them to get pronounced at the hospital to be placed in the morgue. As I’m telling you about the happenings of this day, just think how unbelievable this is…We drive to the police department and have this baby wrapped up in a blanket. There are approximately 10 people in this building also there for different reasons. No other dead babies around. We had a couple of people ask if the baby was sick and all we could tell them was no and he wasn’t going to get better. It was a little frustrating because no one really knew what form to fill out or how to help us at first. Then a man from out of nowhere starting bossing people around came to help us. He pulls out this form and no lie…it says at the top “Brought in Dead”. They literally have a BID form. Can you imagine if we had to take every dead child or person first to the police office first to fill out a form, then to the hospital for them to pronounce him in front of a bunch of people and then they could be placed in the morgue. Well we did. After leaving the police station, we go to Kalomo hospital. Meagan knows a bunch of the clinical officers there because she has to take the HIV babies for review, so we get to bypass a very long line.help. To get the clinical officer, we have walk at least 4-5 times with Clifton by all these people waiting to see the doctor. We can barely pass them it is so crowded. After we get to his office, he assess Clifton and then uses his cell phone light as his pen light. No lie. He then leads Meagan to an office where she has to fill out more paperwork while I am left with Clifton in his office while this other lady is seeing this lady and she is complaining about her bladder problem. Directly in front of me while I am holding this baby. There was no shame and no recognition that I was holding Clifton. I waited for about ten minutes when this man comes to me and just waves for me to follow him. Again, I get to shuffle by this massive crowd of people. This man is walking so fast that I almost can’t keep up with him because walking in my skirt will not allow it. Remember, I’m still holding Clifton while following him at a slow jog. We walked up this path to this building with a lock on it. Little do I know that he is leading me to the morgue! He unlocks the door, opens the double door and immediately I am hit with this stinch that is vaguely familiar. I see a cooler and before I can react, he apologizes for the smell. The cooler is opened and I just hope that I will not faint.(For all of you that know my Baja Burrito fainting story…I didn’t come close to fainting like that) There was a rotting corpse on one of the bottom shelves and the man just points to the shelf where I have to leave Clifton. I gently placed him on the shelf and then am startled because I just placed my hand in some unknown fluid. I really don’t know what it was and nor do I care to know, but I just got out of there as soon as possible. I walk away just dumbfounded at what I had to do. I still chuckle to myself because I can’t believe this day.
Thursday – Sunday: We traveled once again to Lusaka, but this time for a missionary retreat. Missionaries from Namwianga went to Mi Peppe bible school where the French family hosted multiple missionary couples and families from Zambia, Malawi, and Tanzania. It was an amazing experience to get to hear from missionaries such as the Alison’s that have worked in Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda for over 30 years; to hear from Sondra and Brian Davis who are working in northern Zambia; and from the French’s who have been helping the bible college get off the ground. Louisa and I traveled downtown on Friday to get approved by the nursing board of Zambia and to also order meds for Northreach. This pretty much took most of the day and also just took too much time as usual. I have more stories from all of this because I have too tired to write.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
This is a long blog...
Well…it seems as though that the internet probably only works 70/30 of the time. 70% no. 30% yes. At least we get 30% right? Anyways, that is the frustrating part of my day so far. Boo hoo. It’s funny to think about that is my biggest worry today when I can look out my window and know that there are plenty of people struggling with their daily chores at their home, their health, their sick children, where is their next meal coming from and so many more things…. Shouldn’t I have this mindset when I am at home in the States too? There are plenty of people that have the same struggles here and at home.
Anyhoo…This week has consisted of madness as well. Normal African madness though. On Monday, we traveled to Lusaka and the main reason we were driving that far (5 hours) was to get my nursing license. Ba Halale was going with us to help because I have to do some kind of “interview”. Of course, we left late because there was some immigration issue and Ba Phiri had to help get things figured out . Well, we arrived at the Nursing Council around 1500 and the lady who does the interviews wasn’t there and wasn’t coming back till Thursday. They hadn’t even opened my file. Possibly typical, but mostly frustrating. Good Friday is a holiday and so is Monday b/c of Easter so I wouldn’t even be able to interview till Tuesday, but they wouldn’t set up an interview. So, maybe I will be traveling to Lusaka on Tuesday, but maybe not. Who knows? The rest of the trip was pretty fun, but also exhausting. Donald, our friendly Zambian driver, dropped us off at this shop center and we ate a really nice meal for around 10-15 US dollars and watched Step Up 2 for some entertainment. We pretty much wanted to dance the rest of the night after that movie. It wasn’t half bad, but kind of. The movie was only around $2.50 for a “new” movie. Crazy huh? Also, everyone looked pretty nice at the movies. We didn’t b/c we had been traveling all day, but pretty much everyone else had on their best. We spent the night at the Baptist Mission that night and left around 0830 in the morning. Tuesday morning: we spent our time at an internet café catching up on emails since the internet is faster there; went grocery shopping; made copies; Louisa order meds from CHAZ for Northreach; and so many other errands. I got to talk to Mom and Dad the night before b/c I couldn’t wait to use my phone. I felt as though I had been deprived and the minutes were burning a hole in my pocket. It was really great to talk to them and actually feel as though we had a decent conversation b/c half the time you either get cut off unexpectedly or you cut in and out. They called me the next day and I got to use up some of their minutes. Talking over here…if you call me it doesn’t cost me any minutes, but if I call you then it will cost me over $1 a minute. I thought that was expensive and is it?
My number over here is:
My address is:
I wanted to thank everyone who has sent messages over Facebook or on my email. It had been nice to hear from you!
The journey back home was uneventful except that you have to know that we stopped for schwarma on the way home. It is the this wrap with pickles, a chicken mixture, and a dressing. It is so good, but the next morning Louisa was sick all day! We like to say that she got schwarmaaad! We also had an interesting time in the market in Lusaka…it was dirty and nasty, but did get some pretty material. The next couple of days were a blur. I was soooooooo tired on Wednesday and went to bed around 2100. If you know me well, you know that I never do that and I either have to be almost dead or sick to do that. I slept well, but just have felt kind of tired all this week. I think just getting into the swing of things and traveling so much had caught up with me. Baby Paul came back to Haven 1 on Thursday after Meagan traveled to Macha half of the day to get him. He had been discharged that morning and we were all just confused on why they would just discharge him after saying that he would probably stay a couple of weeks and may not make it. Meagan called us and said that Dr. Mann verbalized that they couldn’t really find out why he was wasting. They thought he had congenital HIV even though he tested negative or he could have CMV or something else. All the tests they performed came back negative. They have a really great lab and hospital at Macha. I was told that Johns Hopkins gave them a lot of money to do malaria research. They have come a long way with just their research at that one hospital. So, Paul is back and we really don’t know what to do with him. We are changing his formula and hopefully it will help him gain weight. Keep Meagan in your prayers…she was stuck by Baby Paul’s needle a couple of weeks ago and was on ARV’s, but isn’t now since he tested negative…we are still a little worried.
Saturdays are usually typical lay around days and catching up on emails. I am typing on Meagan’s computer since the internet is not working again and will copy all of this over when it is working. That is typically why I can only write once a week!
I hope you all have a wonderful Easter! Us girls will be going over to the Gregerson’s, another missionary couple here at Namwianga, to dye eggs and such. I am very appreciative to them and it should be quite fun! Bernard and Jason (some of the cutest babies at Haven 2) will also be coming. I keep promising pictures and hopefully they will be coming soon! Hope all is well and kind of miss the madness at the hospital…kind of. I love you my family and friends and will be back before I am ready.
“Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
Anyhoo…This week has consisted of madness as well. Normal African madness though. On Monday, we traveled to Lusaka and the main reason we were driving that far (5 hours) was to get my nursing license. Ba Halale was going with us to help because I have to do some kind of “interview”. Of course, we left late because there was some immigration issue and Ba Phiri had to help get things figured out . Well, we arrived at the Nursing Council around 1500 and the lady who does the interviews wasn’t there and wasn’t coming back till Thursday. They hadn’t even opened my file. Possibly typical, but mostly frustrating. Good Friday is a holiday and so is Monday b/c of Easter so I wouldn’t even be able to interview till Tuesday, but they wouldn’t set up an interview. So, maybe I will be traveling to Lusaka on Tuesday, but maybe not. Who knows? The rest of the trip was pretty fun, but also exhausting. Donald, our friendly Zambian driver, dropped us off at this shop center and we ate a really nice meal for around 10-15 US dollars and watched Step Up 2 for some entertainment. We pretty much wanted to dance the rest of the night after that movie. It wasn’t half bad, but kind of. The movie was only around $2.50 for a “new” movie. Crazy huh? Also, everyone looked pretty nice at the movies. We didn’t b/c we had been traveling all day, but pretty much everyone else had on their best. We spent the night at the Baptist Mission that night and left around 0830 in the morning. Tuesday morning: we spent our time at an internet café catching up on emails since the internet is faster there; went grocery shopping; made copies; Louisa order meds from CHAZ for Northreach; and so many other errands. I got to talk to Mom and Dad the night before b/c I couldn’t wait to use my phone. I felt as though I had been deprived and the minutes were burning a hole in my pocket. It was really great to talk to them and actually feel as though we had a decent conversation b/c half the time you either get cut off unexpectedly or you cut in and out. They called me the next day and I got to use up some of their minutes. Talking over here…if you call me it doesn’t cost me any minutes, but if I call you then it will cost me over $1 a minute. I thought that was expensive and is it?
My number over here is:
My address is:
I wanted to thank everyone who has sent messages over Facebook or on my email. It had been nice to hear from you!
The journey back home was uneventful except that you have to know that we stopped for schwarma on the way home. It is the this wrap with pickles, a chicken mixture, and a dressing. It is so good, but the next morning Louisa was sick all day! We like to say that she got schwarmaaad! We also had an interesting time in the market in Lusaka…it was dirty and nasty, but did get some pretty material. The next couple of days were a blur. I was soooooooo tired on Wednesday and went to bed around 2100. If you know me well, you know that I never do that and I either have to be almost dead or sick to do that. I slept well, but just have felt kind of tired all this week. I think just getting into the swing of things and traveling so much had caught up with me. Baby Paul came back to Haven 1 on Thursday after Meagan traveled to Macha half of the day to get him. He had been discharged that morning and we were all just confused on why they would just discharge him after saying that he would probably stay a couple of weeks and may not make it. Meagan called us and said that Dr. Mann verbalized that they couldn’t really find out why he was wasting. They thought he had congenital HIV even though he tested negative or he could have CMV or something else. All the tests they performed came back negative. They have a really great lab and hospital at Macha. I was told that Johns Hopkins gave them a lot of money to do malaria research. They have come a long way with just their research at that one hospital. So, Paul is back and we really don’t know what to do with him. We are changing his formula and hopefully it will help him gain weight. Keep Meagan in your prayers…she was stuck by Baby Paul’s needle a couple of weeks ago and was on ARV’s, but isn’t now since he tested negative…we are still a little worried.
Saturdays are usually typical lay around days and catching up on emails. I am typing on Meagan’s computer since the internet is not working again and will copy all of this over when it is working. That is typically why I can only write once a week!
I hope you all have a wonderful Easter! Us girls will be going over to the Gregerson’s, another missionary couple here at Namwianga, to dye eggs and such. I am very appreciative to them and it should be quite fun! Bernard and Jason (some of the cutest babies at Haven 2) will also be coming. I keep promising pictures and hopefully they will be coming soon! Hope all is well and kind of miss the madness at the hospital…kind of. I love you my family and friends and will be back before I am ready.
“Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Hello my fellow americans!
Kamwaamba!
First, I would like to explain the naming of my blog site. As most of you know, I do lots of impersonations and one of them is a Mexican voice and it is called Juan Carlos. So, some girls from my bible study said that I had to name my blog site juancarlosgoestoafrica and I agreed. I am holding to my word even though most will not get it or think that is hokey. I’m sure my mom is thinking that I could have named it something a little easier even though I promised.
Secondly, this blog will be much longer than I am hoping the upcoming ones will be. It was a crazy week by getting acclimated here (getting thrown in) and the Harding Academy high school kids being here. We did some of their activities with them and I’m sure it made the day busier than usual. So, I wanted to give you a full update of my first week even though it is much a blur.
I am here in Zambia after too many flights and cat naps. I was welcomed in Lusaka, the capital city, by my friends Spencer & Louisa from school after they waited over an hour after my flight had landed. I had the luck of every time they started a new line, they would start with the person directly behind me…uggh! Kind of humorous, but not really. My first day was pretty low key in the sense of that I had a 5 hour truck ride back to Kalomo where the mission is located. I had my first road side bathroom experience on my first day. We pulled over to get some bananas and so we decided to use the bathroom in the 6 foot bush all around and then buy some baskets all in the same place. We also stopped on the side of the road at a “restaurant” named Tooters and got chicken and chips (fried chicken quarters and French fries) for about 15,000 kwacha which is about $3.75 in U.S. dollars. The exchange rate varies, but it is approximately K3700:US1. We arrived safely at Namwianga Mission about 2100 and sat down with the Academy group for them to reflect.
The next couple of days were spent in getting to meet different workers (such as aunties that are care takers for the orphanage, cooks, medical staff, and so on) and going to do different errands that needed to be done. You have to understand that errands are no small task and take much longer than expected. Haven 1 (the orphanage for the babies) and Haven 2 (orphanage for the toddlers-usually 1-2 years) were visited by the Harding students and I for the first couple of days. It was nice to see all the younger adults just jump in and take care of the babies like they were their own. On Tuesday night, the Harding girls took 5 babies home with them to spend the night. I’m sure it was an experience and they were definitely tired the next day.
The biggest event happened on Wednesday when Whitney, one of the smallest FTT babies, went to heaven. Her and Paul, which I will tell you about soon, have been losing weight and no one could figure out why since neither were HIV+ and were eating. She died as we were talking to Kathy Merritt, the overall caretaker and she started Haven, about taking Whitney and Paul to Macha, who has the capability to take care of these babes. Before Whitney passed, we had gone to town to get some medicine for one of the HIV babies and took two orphans with us. It is weird to think that we just decided we were going to take the babies, put their shoes on, and left with them. Their was no sign out process, no red tape. We just took them. I just thought while we were driving with the babies that it almost takes an act of Congress to get a toddler out of Sunday school if you do not have their tag that matches your tag and it is color coded just right and so on. The kids just go with anyone at the mission as they please. They belong to no one really and so they can get love from everyone. Side note: I’m already in love with one baby named Bernard. Later, I will explain more about the orphanage and how it is run. We took Paul home with us to start IV fluids after Louisa and I went over to “pronounce” Whitney. I started my first IV in Africa on my first try after many prayers going up to the Lord for help. Paul is so small (2 kg) and we had to do something. Thanks to whoever donated the 24g IV’s in the Kenya box. The two I have left, I hope will also be helpful. I also would have paid $100 for a 6Fr or 8Fr feeding tube the other day to also start on Paul.
This is a very long story…but short and sweet….Paul stayed with us overnight (long night), Kathy took care of him the next day while we went to Victoria Falls with the Harding group, woke up at 0530 to get back here to take him to Macha, got to Macha at 1500, Paul was admitted after I got to help with the spinal tap, drove back and got home at 2100. What a couple of days….
We have had a lazy day today…just reading, writing, sending emails and such. I hope this finds you all well! I am doing well and just a little tired, but nothing that a nap couldn’t fix! I love naps! Keep in touch even though I won’t always be able to write back….
All my love….
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Leaving.
So... it is crazy to think about getting on a plane in less than a week to go back to Zambia to do nursing. All I know about nursing is what I learned here in the PCCU...chest tubes, ventilators, mediastinal incisions, ECMO, etc... They don't have that there. I'm sure some of the things that I learned in nursing school will come back to me.
I'm looking forward to seeing the blessings that God has put in the Zambian's lives and also my own. Pray that I will be of help and if I am, the glory always be to Him.
I'm looking forward to seeing the blessings that God has put in the Zambian's lives and also my own. Pray that I will be of help and if I am, the glory always be to Him.
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