First off, I forgot to tell you all what we had for dinner last night. It was rice and beans; one of my favourite meals. And let me tell you, the bean song....it’s true....for people of all ages in all different countries. J
Secondly, Melissa had her eye surgery today. Finally. She’s in a bit of pain but is doing well. We hope that she’ll be home tomorrow. Thanks everyone for your continued prayers for Melissa; they are GREATLY appreciated.
Today was a busy day (then again, what day isn’t). Sean was in town, checking in on Melissa and buying bread and other supplies for the home, for the next few days.
I was here with the keys for all the storage rooms and cabinets so I was a busy lady in getting things that people needed. Plus we had a special friend come over today for the children.
A dear friend of mine (and Carla’s), Julie Tate, comes to In Step twice a month. The first Friday of every month (when she’s not away on furlough), she comes and has story time with the children. The first group is ages 5-9ish and the second group is 10 and up. On the third Saturday of the month, she comes and her children just play and hang out with the children here.
So today, Julie spent a few hours reading to the two age groups. The children love it. I was in the room as she read to the older children. She read Anne of Green Gables (a Canadian classic – and Julie’s American – how cool is that?) and the children LOVED it. Perhaps it was because Anne, in the story, was an orphan, just like many of the children listening to the story today. Or it could be Julie’s awesome, animated way of reading the story. J I’m glad that Julie does this; it’s great for the children.
This afternoon, I took two children to the clinic. The first one, Dorcas, was receiving her next injection for diaper rash. And oh my goodness, that little baby girl, did not even flinch as the doctor injected her with a needle. She’s one tough little thing. The second one, Joshua, well, he wasn’t so tough. His crying got harder and harder the closer and closer we got to the clinic. He knew where we were going and he was afraid of getting an injection.
I had Joshua buckled in the backseat; he’s three and half years old and he kept saying, “No Mama Mary. No daktari. No Mama Mary.” Then when we pulled into the clinic’s lot, he started to scream. I got him from the back seat and held him tight; he would NOT let go of me. He kept saying in Swahili, “Mama Mary. I want to go home. I don’t like the doctor. Please Mama Mary.” I’d look at his face with these big drops of tears coming down and his lip quivering and he’s holding on to me for dear life. I kept telling him it was okay; I was here and I wasn’t going to let him go.
When we get into the Dr. Shadrack’s room, Joshua is not happy. He’s begging me to take him back to the car. Dr. Shadrack reassures him that he will be okay and that I will be with him the whole time. And then....I have to take him to the lab room so that his finger can get pricked with a needle to get blood drawn.
Not fun.
Joshua begins screaming when he sees us going into the lab room. Clearly he’s been in there before and clearly he knows what is coming up. I carry him in there, kissing his forehead, saying it’s going to be okay and then the lab tech grabs his hand. He tries to pull his hand away, screaming in Swahili, “No Mama Mary. I want to go to the car. Please Mama Mary.” And before he knows it, his finger has been pricked and it’s over and done with.
But Joshua still cries.
So we go and sit down on the bench and wait for the test results. I have him cuddled on my knee, with my arms tightly around him, telling him that he did such a good job and I was so proud of him. He calmed down and did that little sound that children make when they’ve been screaming but they’re relaxing. I can’t describe it but it’s like a constant sigh/catching of breath.
We got the test results back; the poor guy had malaria. And the reason it was thought from one of the aunties that he had malaria was because he woke up in the middle of the night, screaming that he had snakes all over his body and in his bed. Apparently, hallucination is a sign of malaria.
So once we got Joshua all taken care of, I got him back into the car, as well as Dorcas and Bafo and Churchill who came for the ride to watch the two little ones. As we were driving home, Joshua’s mood changes; he’s a bit more talkative and no more tears. I tell him in Swahili that we are going home now.
And then I hear the sweetest thing:
“Mama Mary ni mzuri sana. Mama Mary ni mzuri sana.”
Joshua is saying, “Mama Mary is very good. Mama Mary is very good.” I asked Bafo to confirm what Joshua was saying because I didn’t want to make it up in my head and pretend that I heard that. Bafo looks at me and he says, “Joshua is saying: Mama Mary is very good. That means you, Mama Mary.”
Yes, my heart melted. Yes, I gave Joshua a great big hug and kiss when we got out of the car. Wouldn’t you?
We were without power for over 24 hours. Well, some places on the compound had power and other parts didn’t. There seemed to be a problem in the area with low voltage. It was getting a bit hectic as the kitchen staff and laundry staff had run out of water (yeah, those are two pretty important areas of work here). We were almost out of water in the building as we were unable to pump from the borehole into the tanks. After a few phone calls, including a higher up person, it was finally fixed.
So yes, I am in luxury right now. I have running water, flushable toilets, and electricity (unless this current rainfall is going to knock it out again). Pretty sweet, eh?
For dinner tonight, we had ugali and sukuma wiki. We have it for lunch a few times a week but don’t you worry, we didn’t have it for lunch and dinner today. That would just be silly.
Tonight we ended the evening with a movie for the older children. We watched Tron: Legacy; the new Disney one. Sean and I both really like it and since the children LOVED their glow sticks, we thought since the movie looks like a bunch of glow sticks, they would like it. And they did.
Well, we’re going to retire for the evening. I have to feed Miss Cindy-Lou and put her to bed and then catch a few zzz’s for myself.
Good night everyone. Until tomorrow.
Much Love,
Meredith
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