Nurse... Plumber... yep benna la!

Now, I know you all know of me as a nurse. But did you think of me as a plumber? Yup, my toilet broke this week. I had to turn the water off to the house. (our toilets don't have a shut off valve in the line leading to the tank.) After two days of bucket showers and bucket flushes, I think you get the picture... it was getting old. SO, I went on a scavenger hunt to find toilet parts. Of course we didn't have what I needed and there is NO near by Wal-Mart or Tru Value. I did have some Duck tape and PVC cement. So I tried a repair on the broken piece. I am sorry Mac Gyver, Duck tape doesn't work on everything. Joanne was present when I gave the test trial. Praise God or the flood in the bathroom could have been really bad. I was out of luck and the problem was getting worse. I then looked at every toilet on our compound (we have a lot of empty houses right now). I found only one that had the water intake on the bottom of the tank like mine. SO, I capped the water line and took out the pieces I would need. However, yes there is ALWAYS a however in Africa, the tanks were two different sizes and my tank was a mini tank. The borrowed part wouldn't fit in. I then returned the part and capped my water line. I at least have running water in the house again.

I called our teammates in Banjul and told them what I needed. There is no Wal-Mart or Service Center there either, which means.... it is very hard, almost impossible to find replacement parts. So, a new toilet was ordered. Now I am back to bucket flushing and Barney is coming out on Tuesday to put in the new toilet. I don't really want to attempt it as there is a willing some one to do it. Praise God. A true blessing if I have ever seen one!

Have a great week and face each new challenge as a gift from God to become more like him.

Howdy!

It is another beautiful day. I called my niece on Sunday, she turned 19. The good news was it was 48 degrees in Ohio. I told her it was a whopping 86 and 68 percent humidity. She wanted some of my warmth, I want some of her chills.

The spider bites have not changed. I took a picture and decided it was too ugly to post. Then today as I was doing some of my odd jobs, vehicle and generator maintenance, I drove out to the literacy center. I was just in time to see them fill the 5th plate (I am talking big plate) with termite dirt frin the battery cabinet. It was rather gross. I was glad I wasn't a Literacy employee. Any way, one of Joanne's employees thinks that it wasn't a spider that bit me but a WONKA that urinated on me. Don't freak. There is a long black bug that it is said, when they excrete on your skin it blisters and burns. So, we are back to not knowing what I have on my legs. I think they are starting to feel better. Until my malaan (skirt) hits the spots.

Have a great day and thanks for praying.

I know what is next.

Have you ever been so honest with your self that you ask, "Okay, What is next?" Let me tell you that after two months of one illness following or at times on top of another, that I have found my self saying, "I wonder what the next thing will be." I thought I had conquered that. I am no longer curious as to what the next illness will be. I take 'em as they come.

I was feeling great this week. My blood sugars seem to be stable, my bronchitis has cleared, the ear infection has resolved. I have energy and am planning on starting the kids club in a few weeks. I was back in the clinic this week and doing work at home in the evenings. I praise God for bringing me through the last few months.

But I know, by now you have figured out there is something new. After all TIA, (this is Africa) and I have a way of writing about my trials. Well, some of you, who have been out here in the rains, know that this is the time of bugs. All kinds of bugs. Those of you who have been out here with me, know that the bugs LOVE my blood. Sunday morning I awoke to find this huge red, raised, very sore, very itchy area on my left shin with a matching spot on the right one. It only feels good if I have cool water on it. The Gambians told me it is a spider bite. Now you all know why I don't like spiders. I just knew they would be a pain. The bites look so nasty. If I walk it gets redder. They are low on my legs, right where the malaan (long skirt) rubs when you walk. It has now been two days. There doesn't seem to be any improvement. I will get relief tonight when I sleep with a cool cloth on them.

So that is what is new here. Oh, and the screw for the face plate on my front door broke leaving half of it in the door jam. I can't lock my door. This gives me something fun to do tomorrow. I will have to work on our truck and start the generators too. It promises to be a fun day. Any one want to come help? : )

Have a good one.

I AM HERE!

Okay, you haven’t heard from me in a while. There is a good reason. I went to the capitol, Banjul, for the weekend and got sick. I was so sick with Bronchitis and the low blood sugars, that my fellow missionaries decided I needed to stay there. I spent two weeks at the guest house. I am really praising God for providing that facility. It was so nice to have a place to stay that didn’t cost an arm and a leg. My medicine and medical exams over the past month have exceeded the price of my arms and legs. God has provided for all my needs and I praise him for taking such good care of me.

My friends in Ndungu Kebbeh were getting very worried that I would run off to America. I am very thankful that I was able to get the tests I needed done here. I am feeling better than I have in weeks. I am planning on getting back to work but taking things slowly with good periods of rest as it continues to be hot and humid. This is the time of the greatest illness in our area. Several of the clinic employees have been out sick the last few weeks. The month of the Fast is coming to an end. This will help improve the health of our neighbors.

Friday was a tough day for our staff as two children succumbed to cerebral Malaria. One child was the two year old daughter of one of our watchman and my house worker’s niece. Please pray fro the family as they mourn the loss of their young girl.

Thank you for your prayers. God is definitely at work here in The Gambia.

Taking Advantage of a Working Phone Line

I returned from Banjul on Monday of this week. My phone hasn't been working since Tuesday. So, since it is a bright sunny day (praise the Lord- our solar needed it), I am making use of a working phone line and solar!

This is Kumba, one of the gals I took shopping last Saturday. She is wearing her new uniform and shoes and is carrying her new book bag. Kumba was named after our dear friend Ruth Wood, whose Gambian name is Kumba.

The Islamic Month of Ramadan started. This is the month of fasting from sun up until sun down. It is a long month. Please pray for the believers as this is a time of much trial for them. I will be swamped with requests for cold and hot water, chocolate and juice. It is an interesting month.

Interesting Days

The last few days have been very interesting. I will share with you some of the highlights.

I went into Banjul to see a doctor. Dr Jagne is from Nigeria and has been in The Gambia about a year. He is working at a private clinic not too far from our guesthouse. I had an appointment early Wednesday morning. They have a lot of nice equipment there. I had my pulse oximetry checked. He also ran some blood work at the lab there. Then came the big news, he wanted me to have a CT scan of the abdomen. I didn’t even know there was a a CT machine in the country. I learned a lot this week. He also wanted some other blood work. So, he gave me names and phone numbers of people at the city hospital. That afternoon I called about scheduling the CT scan. They told me to come down so they could read my paper. I wasn’t too happy about it, but decided I should walk out to the road and catch a taxi. (Now that is a story in and of its self. Ask if you want to know.) After I arrived at the hospital, I found the Radiology Department and they were waiting for me. I had the CT done that day. Thirty minutes later and I was finding a taxi to head back to the guesthouse. Praise God!
The next morning I was up early to catch a ride to the Lab at the same hospital I was at the day before. I went in to have the blood drawn. Four pokes later, (I tried to tell her to relax that I understood the difficulties of drawing blood), I was out the door until the afternoon. When I returned to pick up the results I found the cashier had left for the day. I asked when I could pay and was told “you can pay any morning Monday through Friday or you could just go. It doesn’t matter to us.” I returned Monday morning to pay the lab. The woman sitting near me was stunned when she heard how much I had to pay. She asked me in Wolof (she knew me by word of mouth and knew I spoke Wolof) why was my test SO expensive. I told her the truth, because I am a white person from another country. I was a bit shocked. I told her I didn’t expect it to be five bags of rice. She looked at me and said, it was five bags of rice plus the money needed to buy the ingredients for the sauces to go with the rice. That lovely lady was a blessing to my soul.
All though the tests were a bit expensive, I praise the Lord I was able to have the testing done.
Friday I had a return trip to Dr. Jagne to review all the results and obtain one more blood test. There was nothing scary wrong with me. I would have to eat small frequent meals to deal with the hypoglycemia.
Monday I headed home via the ferry once again. I had a new experience on the ferry. If you ever have the opportunity to visit The Gambia, you have to try the ferry. I didn’t take a car, so I was one of many of the walk on passengers herded onto the ferry just before it leaves the dock. I ended up standing with my suitcase, just behind a small black car with Gambian Government plates. I pulled out my umbrella to provide shade from the sun. The ferry turned around to travel in what we would think of as reverse (it has to do with what engines are working best on the ferry). It meant that I was now in the front as we crossed the river; we would turn around again for docking and unloading. But I had a nice view of the ocean and river as we traveled. There were a few fishing boats out in the river. One boat didn’t move and the ferry got too close. I could see the guys eyes as we passed. He was trying to get the anchor up and move. Apparently when we passed him, our wake caused the boat to tip and he went into the water. The ferry engines were cut. I couldn’t figure out why they were stopping in the middle of the river. The man next to me went to the side of the ferry to see what was up. The fisherman was okay, he was picked up by another boat and his boat didn’t sink. The ferry driver waited to make sure the man was okay before continuing on. Never a dull moment!

Back to School Shopping

Do you enjoy Back to School Shopping? I went for two hours on Saturday and had a blast. I went to pick up the neighbors two little girls (grade one and two) and a neighbor girl tagged along. We walked to the open market in the center of town. There I purchased uniform material for the two girls. The Third asked me about hers, and I was able to tell her my coworker Teresa was sewing her pants. Yassin, the oldest, then told me what was next on the list: shoes, books pencils, colors, eraser, a book bag and body lotion. They each grabbed a hand or two fingers and off we went. Those little faces were eyeing the tables of goodies for the perfect shoes. Yassin discovered her pair (bright purple) and pulled the rest of us over. Not to be out done, her younger half sister, Kumba, found a matching pair in orange. Ami shyly asked if she could have a pair. I agreed and she happily tried on her favorite, red pair. We tucked the shoes in the growing tote bag and were off. The list was yet to be finished. We hunted for book bags. The variety would NOT put Wal-Mart to shame. The only ones I found were at the grab pile. (I think these items came from a Salvation Army type clothing drop. All the bags were used.) Picture my three adorable little girls; they jumped up and down like we had hit a jackpot. They rummaged through the pile until each was beaming. Yassin’s choice was shades of purple, Kumba’s was red, and Ami picked out a teal colored bag.

Yassin consulted her checklist in her head. We were off yet again. Now the real fun part about making these purchases is that each time you buy… you barter the cost. I felt I made good deals on the shoes and sacks, but the owner of the body lotion wanted more than I was willing to part with. So, we walked away. Sometimes that works and other times like today, it doesn’t. (Okay it did for the shoes!)

Our next big stop was a snack, bean sandwiches. They were just what I needed. Fortified we were off to the tailor. That was a fun experience as the girls stood to be measured. The uniforms were delivered today. It was a great trip. I was a little sunburned, managed to pick up potatoes and onions and some apples. Now you ready (this would put Wal-Mart to shame), my grand total for two complete uniforms and material for 3 more pants, three pair of shoes, 3 book bags, 4 1/2pounds of potatoes and 2 pounds of onions, plus sandwiches for four… $26.

Am I a good shopper or what!