How's the weather?

When we were home in Colorado I paid too much attention to the weather.  The weather forecasts actually, and the discussions about weather.  I also had the ‘news’ playing on the TV and radio enough to be reminded of how much of the broadcasts are dedicated to weather.  And I allowed myself to be influenced by them, making and changing plans based on the forecasts of cold and snow.  I was again frustrated by how much time and energy we spend on something we really have no control over, and why do we (I) allow it to be the topic of so much of our (my) conversation?  Well it’s not just in the US, it’s here as well.  When we returned it was the beginning of the ‘rainy season’.  But it wasn’t raining.  So many of the conversations were about, or included the need for rain. Even on the drive from the airport; our driver was very soft spoken and hard to understand so we didn’t talk much, but when we did it was about rain.  It also influences the behavior here; preparation for planting, what to plant, where to plant, when to plant, as well as how to navigate the roads.  Well I’m happy to report the rains have (mostly) come, planting is occurring, and navigating is interesting.

a rainy season garden

It’s been relatively quiet since we’ve been back.  There’s not a lot happening with Homes of Hope, the next building team isn’t scheduled to come until August.  Also, I’ve made it known I don’t want to be as heavily involved, so I think that will be respected, but for now I’ll be part of the planning and logistics until roles are more defined.  Which is the reason for weekly meetings which happen on Mondays: except when they don’t, because some or all of those scheduled to be there don’t show up; as was the case last week.  The next order of business is to get feedback at an all staff meeting (Wednesdays), and maybe get a clearer idea of the way forward for Homes of Hope at Hopeland.  We’ve also begun weekly meetings (Tuesdays) to work on establishing the Men’s Vocational School which is where my heart is.  It’s been said that YWAM may stand for youth with a meeting; which may be based in reality, but if it results in action that’s okay.

 

The last week Beth and I were pretty sick, and for Beth a trip to the hospital was in order as she became very dehydrated.  (First we had to navigate the road from the base which was ‘suffering’ from the first rains, and required maneuvering around a mired bus.) There are many ‘clinics’ and several ‘hospitals’ to choose from; we chose the brand new Nile International Hospital.  It is run by Turkish doctors, is very modern and boasts four floors with an elevator, and several departments including; L&D, radiology (with a CT scanner), emergency, a surgery theatre, pharmacy, and even a cafeteria.  We’re still in Africa, but it really was impressive.  I think most clinics use a dart board to diagnose (“You don’t need stitches, you have malaria.”), but I’m pretty sure this place uses a modern Wheel of Tropical Diseases which they spin to get their diagnoses.  Actually the consulting physician suspected Typhoid which was ‘confirmed’ by the blood and stool samples taken and analyzed in the lab.  Beth then spent several hours in an ER bed receiving IV fluids and medicine, after which we were sent home with a round of antibiotic and two additional meds.  The total cost for the doctor’s consultation, lab work, in patient care with IV fluids and meds, and prescriptions from the pharmacy was 75,000 Ugs, about $23.  (At that rate we can afford to drop our health insurance, right?) Though we’re pretty sure we didn’t have Typhoid, we do suspect a water or food borne illness, as several others here have had similar symptoms.  We hope we won’t be needing medical services again, but should the need arise we would return to that hospital to take another chance on the Wheel of Tropical Diseases.