Happy 2011!

My family and I are up in the Outer Banks of North Carolina for New Years this year.  We are enjoying the company of old family friends (a few members of the Clemson Crew, as I refer to them).  It is great to be surrounded by family and friends!

Today we all put on our orange and cheered on the Clemson Tigers in their bowl game.  Too bad we couldn't pull out a victory, but all of us will still loyally cheer for the Tigers again next season!  That's what happens when you understand..."There's something in these hills..." through experience!

 

We also worked hard on this puzzle...seriously, 8,000,000 brightly colored fish!  Yes...we did put every last piece together including the blue ocean that proved more difficult than it looks!

We also as a group enjoyed the last sunset of 2010!  What a picture perfect representation of the artisanship of our Lord!  It was an amazing orange sky and slowly but without fail the sun faded below the water line.  Absolutely gorgeous!

So today I'm thankful for 2010!  I'm thankful I spent most days of it serving a population that needs the love of the Lord I know and experience daily.  I'm thankful that my nursing education was used exactly as it was meant for this year.  I mourn the loss of lives that I had to experience but rejoice in the lives saved through love, medical care, and miracles!  I'm thankful for my family, who even through misunderstandings and missing me are able to say they are proud of the work I'm doing.  I'm thankful for all the supporters, friends, and readers who's prayers have encouraged me through the hard days and rejoiced in the good ones.  I'm very thankful I've gotten the past 6 weeks to spend being overly blessed by those I love here in the US (I will miss you all once again!).  I also am thankful that in just 3 days I'll be headed back to Mozambique...a place that is full of chaos, hardships, love, laughter, cultural differences, friends, babies, joy, strength...a place that for at least the next 6 months will be my life.

So as I celebrate in 2011, I'm looking forward to what the Lord has for me on the other side of the world.  I know it won't be easy...most days there are filled with challenges.  But I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am meant to be there through June 2011.  Then funny enough I'll be headed back to this same beach house to spend 2 weeks here in July...after that only the Lord knows!

SNOW!

That's right!  We are having a white December 26th here in South Carolina ...it's not enough to play in or go sledding, but it's snow and I'm LOVING it!

And for your viewing pleasure...

#1~ Here are all the presents under the tree...we are SO blessed!  (Check out the bows...it's a Glenn tradition to decorate ALL presents with a gorgeous matching bow!)

#2~ Here is my friend Justin in his tacky Christmas sweater...we made it on our own!  Hilarious...it kind of looks like everything Christmas vomited on him!  Love it!

#3~ And here is the gorgeous sunset that blessed us on Christmas Eve over Lake Murray!  Happy Birthday Jesus!

Joy to the World!

This year I have realized that the sight of everyone's Christmas trees through their windows makes me smile.  It is gorgeous and peaceful.  Something about knowing that the people in each house worked hard to hang all their memories on a tree after cursing the lights as they unwound the knots that appear EVERY year makes me smile!  I know they have their own Christmas traditions as well as issues that I know all so well are a part of every family (especially at the holidays)...but the imagine of that lit tree just brings me joy!

But, in the last few days I have been loudly and blatantly reminded of the reason for this joyous season...and as much as America might protest it is not for the trees, ornaments, lights, decorations, and gifts.  We celebrate every year because our Lord and Savior came down to this earth...He split time in half.  He came as an innocent child to later restore our relationship with our heavenly Father!  And for me that is a good enough reason to celebrate and sing...

Joy to the world! the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
and heaven and nature sing,
and heaven and nature sing,
and heaven, and heaven and nature sing.

 Merry Christmas to All!

The Rest of Christmas...

The rest of the Christmas decor that is...
Here is our real Christmas tree in all it's glory!  I told you the stocking are hung with care!

And here is one of the scenes in our kitchen...festive as always!

This is our dining room with reindeer and sleigh!

And now welcome to my bedroom...

 With nativity...He is the reason for the season!

 And here is my Christmas tree...yes it's covered in orange!!!

As I continue to say...I will always be a tiger!  I think my family owns every ornament with a tiger that was ever made!

All for YOU!

So when you live on the other side of the world, far away from what you have grown up with you start to miss certain things.  For the record other than people it is usually food products.  Most other things we can get our hands on, but brand named foods are not there for the most part.  So I was sent on 2 missions by a good friend at the center (ok, actually I was sent on 3 missions but I didn't take photos of the first one I completed).
#1- She misses Chick-fil-A...ok, I REALLY miss it too.  Quite often when we go to KFC I accidentally say Chick-fil-A instead because I want it so badly!  I LOVE Chick-fil-A!  So, this is the first mission I completed (no picture...sorry)!
 #2- STARBUCKS...that's right!  I never liked coffee...didn't even like the smell of it.  I would rather be cold then sip on a warm cup of coffee.  Now I'm addicted!  I LOVE it.  So for my first several days here my amazing father went every morning and picked up Starbucks for me...pumpkin latte...it was Thanksgiving week!  Now I usually order the gingerbread latte and am currently making french vanilla in my coffee pot at home!  So fun!

#3- Panera Bread...yep, you want it now.  Just me saying it means you want it!  Well this amazing friend of mine used to work there and therefore really misses the paninis, soup, and just plane amazingness that is Panera!  So, while I was in Charleston with one of my favorite married couples of all times we had Panera for lunch!  So good!

It has been a fun vacation time.  I have seen amazing friends, gotten to experience all the things I miss, hung out with my family, and just gotten to spend days in my jamies on the couch watching Christmas movies enjoying our fantastic Christmas tree.  Altogether wonderful!
...but I will admit I miss my adorable babies, all their tias, and the missionaries and Mozambicans I share life with in Moz.

Cookies...cookies...and more cookies!

Yesterday I went to see some of my favorite people in the world.  I ended up helping as they baked Christmas cookies.  One of them owns a catering business (that is amazing!) and therefore needed enough cookies for all of their many parties during the season.  So we rolled, cut, baked, and decorated sugar cookies...  This entire container was full of paper thin cookies...so fun!

 We also made 2 other types of cookies.  One was a chocolate cheery powered sugar covered amazingness.  The other was their famous craisin oatmeal brown sugar cookies...no I didn't make the dough because there is a secret ingredient but I did scoop out and bake ALL of the cookies in the pic below!

Christmas Time!

It's Christmas time!  At my house we have decorated 4 trees and the rest of the house.  It is quite fun to be home and get to experience my usual Christmas traditions.  And it is FREEZING...just like Happy Feet...I'm telling you...it's COLD!
Here's a glimpse into the holiday cheer at my house...

This is our smallest tree.  It is in the hallway and has mainly homemade or sewing ornaments on it.  This one started when we decided all those kid-made ornaments are really not so cute, so we put them all on their own tree one year!

 This tree is our pastel tree (all pinks, peaches, and light blue).  It's in the living room and picture perfect with an angel on top!

 This is Mom's nativity scene.  I have the same one but not nearly as many characters.  In the next holiday post I'll show you my room decorated with nativity and tree!

I'm still missing pictures of our real tree...smelling amazing!  And I'll show you some more of the amazing Glenn decor (including my room) some time soon.  For now, the trees are up, the stockings are hung, my Christmas cards are sent (still have to address Mom's), and I'm LOVING the cold weather, family time, and blessing of good friends!  And here is my family ready for the holidays...

SLIDE SHOW!

I have added my new slide show on the right of this page!  It is 13 minutes of photos from Mozambique.  I will be sharing it several times while I'm home, so if you're coming to see me hold off watching it and we'll watch it together.  All others enjoy!  It has certainly been a roller coaster ride these last 9 months, and I think this portrays it accurately!  Many thanks for all those who make this ministry possible...and for those who will help me reach the goal of $5,500 to return in January!

I'll Always be a Tiger!

From Sullivan's and our Thanksgiving vacation my parents and I headed off to Clemson...the best place in the world!  Clemson is a place I love.  It's where I spent 4 years of my life, growing up, studying to be a nurse, making my best friends, and turning into who I am today!  Seriously, it is the best place in the world!
And if there is one part I love most about Clemson its football season!  I love tailgating, getting to see everyone in their gorgeous orange, spending the day outside under a tent celebrating Clemson, and ending the day with an amazing game in Death Valley.  I have to say these were some of my favorite days of college!
This was my first football game since I graduated (I missed an entire football season last year and all but the last game this year).  Last year was the first year of my life I can remember without Clemson football...seriously, that is not an exaggeration in the slightest.  Year one I might not have been there, but I can't remember that.  Missing football, holidays, weddings, and our annual beach trip were the hardest parts of being away from home.  So I made sure to make it home this year at least for our biggest rival game of the season!
Too much fun was had by all.  I got to see old friends, eat amazing southern food, and in the end the day in Death Valley cheering for my Tigers.  Too bad they couldn't pull out a win for me, but just being there was good enough for me.  I made it through the whole game, through the cold, and stayed to sing our alma mater at the end.  Just to be there was worth the travel and the loss!

I spent the next few days getting to see friends from school and visiting my church family again.  So far it has been strange and amazing all in one to be home.  It is wonderful to see my family and friends and get to spend time catching up and hearing about their lives, but still I have a life on the other side of the globe that continues without me.

Sullivan's Island!

I surprised my parents 24 hours before they thought I was going to get home.  It was quite fun to see their reactions as they walked into the house one at a time and I was here!  There were questions, hugs, tears...quite fun!
The next day we headed off to Sullivan's Island, a gorgeous place outside of Charleston where my grandmother grew up and I LOVE!  We spent a few days walking on the beach and watching my cousins from Chicago go swimming (I thought it was FREEZING...but they were all for it).  We went around on a golf cart, played cards, went crabbing...turned out we only found hermit crabs but it was great fun...a fantastic way to spend Thanksgiving!

Meet Valter!

Meet Valter!  He's the newest addition to our crew.  He is living in Tracey's dorm, a transition house for the Baby House kids.  They live with Tracey for a year before moving into the older, bigger dorms.  Valter is living with Tracey because of his medical issues.  We had stabilized him before I left, but he certainly needs your prayers.  He is a sick little boy but through it all he remains curious and happy.
He LOVES to ask questions and is VERY sure of himself.  Day one he looked at me and said, "Who are you, and why are we going back to the clinic?"  Most kids are quiet and scared day one...not Valter.  Day two his first questions was, "Where do you live?"  Then he went on to tell me how he had gone with Tracey to buy bread that morning and once again, "Why are we going back to the clinic?"  He is certainly a funny one, and taming him is going to be quite the job.  But my prayer is by experiencing God's love while he's with us his behavior issues will be no longer.  And, I pray with a little health care and healing he'll be back with his family soon!  Please join me in prayer!

Crisis Averted...

This is one of my little friends from the Baby House.  She caused us a bit of a scare one of the last weekends I was on call before I left.  Tracey (one of the missionaries that works in the Baby House) called me out of our clinic room saying...one of the babies just vomited.  I whisked her up just in time to have her vomit a few more times.  Then all the sudden I looked down to see that her lips were swollen about 3x their normal size, obviously she was highly allergic to the candy she had just eaten.  Her lungs were still clear so I immediately gave her an oral dose of Benedryl.
In the midst of this I was also trying to give another little boy a nebulizer treatment for his asthma exacerbation.  Well after about 15 minutes our little friend had started wheezing and around her eyes were swelling as well.  Praise God for the adrenalin we had in the fridge and Dr. Mary (another missionary's mom) who was on base with us at the time.  I called her in and we gave our friend an IM injection.
She then got to spend the next 4 hours strapped to me as I took her vitals every 20 minutes or so.  It just so happened we had a missionary dinner that night...so I spent the dinner with a scared 2 year old strapped to me.  But this was another time I knew exactly why I do what I do.  I love to get to spend time with the children as if they are my own and when this time meshes with medical treatment I never walk away questioning what I do...I walk away thanking God for where He has placed me!

Play Time to Remember!

In my last two weeks at the center I found some time in the midst of a chicken pox epidemic to steal some play time with my favorite children and people!  We brought a few babies at the time down to the soccer field and let them run around and play.  They look even smaller when you let them out where the big kids play, but they absolutely LOVE it!  The tias with us organized races and I even raced across the field against 2 of our tias...maybe one of my favorite memories so far...can you imagine...me and 2 Mozambican women running as fast as we could with small kids cheering for us the whole way.  So funny and so fun!

 My last day at the center was a Sunday morning.  I went into the Baby House to give them all hugs and let the tias know I wouldn't be around for the next 6 weeks.  They all looked devastated until I made it very clear I'd be back in January.  Well I told the babies I was leaving on a plane but I would be back after Christmas...they are all under 5 years old remember.  Apparently they all stood outside that afternoon and every plane that flew over the center they all looked up and waved yelling..."avion de Mana Meghann" or "Miss Meghann's airplane".  So stinkin' cute!  I already miss them and love them dearly!

Adorable Siblings!

I introduced you to Ozias, who's brothers call him Zito, not too long ago.  Well his brothers have spent their entire time at the center trying to find time to play with Zito.  Since most of the Baby House (23 at once to be exact) have had chicken pox none of the babies have been allowed to leave.  And, when they have played outside no one has been allowed to play with them.  But a few times the brothers have snuck across the front line...just look at how much they love Zito!

An Inspiration!

You have all heard me talk about Mana Aurora, the Mozambican nurse who works with us in the Baby House.  I believe the last time I mentioned her she had come back from her month long vacation time, and I was THRILLED!  Well in one of my last days at the center working with her she sat me down to have a chat.
SIDE NOTE- I was SO excited that I could have a real talk with her in Portuguese, understand everything she was saying, and get my ideas across without any translation help!  We have certainly laughed together and thought about my first months when all I did was smile and nod if she spoke and pray she wasn't telling me something very important about a sick child.
So she was asking me for a notebook that she could call her own.  She wants to use it to learn!  She wants to write down illnesses we see, how we decide to treat, and then how well it works (follow up...we've been trying to teach her follow up since she came to work with us!!!!!).  I was absolutely blown away.  She even gave me examples.
She said...like if I call you because someone has a bad cough, you say he or she has crackles in their lungs and start them on amoxicilin.  Then in 7 days when their course is complete I'll write whether they are better or not...then I can learn how to treat things and won't have to call you for everything!
I know her being able to treat the children on her own is a long way away, but the fact that she would initiate this learning on her own is UNHEARD of among most of the Mozambican staff.  I was very blessed and excited to think that my job is to pour into someone who really wants to learn and has grabbed hold of the vision that one day we won't be there and she'll be taking care of the babies on her own!!!
Please be praying for Aurora who has gone through much loss in the last few months and has many stresses in her life we can't even begin to understand.  She supports her family, her children's families, and her sisters, not to mention a few other community members.  She is an amazing Christian woman who I respect and am certainly blessed to be working with.  I pray God continues to give her wisdom in treating the kids and directs our relationships and how we work alongside and teach her!

Monetary Support!

Hello All...I promise to fill you in on all the adventures I've had since I last wrote, but today I'm working on support raising.  I have updated support information on the right-hand side of this page.  Now you can easily clinic the DONATE button and support me through PayPal.  Praise God for technology!  Or feel free to e-mail me (meghann.s.glenn@gmail.com) about sending a check.
My goal is to raise $5,500 before I head back in January through donations or pledges.  Some of you may be thinking...it's holiday time where does she think that money is going to come from.  But, I know without a doubt I'm called to return to Mozambique through the end of June 2011...now I am just trusting God for His provision.  My plane ticket was bought on faith, and now I'm just waiting for His kingdom to move.  If you don't believe it can happen check out the bottom of this page...in about 3 months over $12000 were collected before I left originally!!!

Moments Like These...

Many times in a day I wonder...why am I here again?  I always come back to one answer...because I sent you.  Right, but at some moments that doesn't make anything better.  When I'm tired, HOT, annoyed, frustrated, unable to get my point across in my second language, struggling to understand this foreign country I live in...basically when I'm acting like a child who is throwing a fit, toys flying at a hundred miles an hour out of my crib...those are the moments, "I sent you," doesn't help a thing.  But, there are other moments.  And those are the ones when I might have trouble comprehending but I know that I know I'm where I'm suppose to be.  In the last 2 days this has happened twice....
#1- There is a little boy in the Baby House named Wesley.  You may remember he was the first kid I ever carried around on my back in a capalana (like a Mozambican mama) because he cried his first 48 hours here at the center.  So we have a special bond.  I don't get to play with him that often, but still his gentleness and ability to go with the flow is adorable.  Anyway, Monday night I went up to check temperatures and give out meds in the Baby House at midnight.  I found Wesley with a VERY high temperature and had to give him a cool bath to bring it down.  Everyone else was sleeping, tias included.  So I snuck him into the bathroom, got the water ready, and him undressed.  Then it hit me...someone told me he cried through his entire cool bath earlier in the day.  And if he cried when he was wide awake and it was hot outside, he is certainly going to cry now when I yanked him from a sound sleep and the air is cool.  So I slowly eased him in and ended up basically with the top half of my body in the bath with him.  He clung to me whimpering, but I kept the crying under control.  Then I started to sing...Sancturary if you know that song.  And he calmed down and eventually gave in to sitting in cool water at 12:45 in the morning...poor little boy.  But right then, I knew that I knew...this is where I'm meant to be...for moments just like this...to love and care for a sick baby.
#2- Yesterday I was on in the Baby House with Aurora (our Mozambican nurse).  When I came in she looked a little sad but I didn't get a chance to ask her what was up.  There were too many kids to check on and fevers to control.  Eventually we got to talk.  She told me that her nephew (40 years old) had died in the night.  He was HIV+ and had been battling sickness for the last month or so.  She had spent most of her holiday time caring for him.  From what I gathered he did go to a clinic this past weekend and they did a lumbar puncture.  They determined he had a cerebral infection but sent him home.  At this point I was livid.  No oral medications were going to help him...he needed to be admitted to the hospital and given IV antibiotics...but this didn't happen.  Aurora had been with him all of Monday evening but left to go home about 10pm (because she had to be in to work at 7am).  He passed away around midnight.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he would have for sure made it in the hospital but he certainly would have had a chance...and just maybe he would still be alive to care for his 14 year old daughter and his aging mother (Aurora's sister...who has already lost 3 sons, this is the 4th).  But, what can you do when you're faced with a story like this.  We held Aurora, and we prayed.  I struggled to pray in Portuguese so she could understand me...but even struggling and being so frustrated with his medical care...I knew that I knew I was meant to be there...for moments just like this...to support and comfort a woman I love and respect.
So there are though times when fits are being thrown, toys flying...but there as also times where I clean up the toys and put my big girl pants on because I for a moment realize..."I sent you"...is the perfect reason to be here.

Visualize this...with picture evidence!

Do you remember having chicken pox?  Of if you're a parent, do you remember your kids having chicken pox?  It's terrible.  You're itchy, grizzly, with high fevers, and just all out miserable.  Oatmeal bathes help in the moment.  Calamine lotion is more of a patch, not a fix.  And there are never enough cuddles to go around.  Well...as of today we have 23 kids in the Baby House with chicken pox currently (several already went through it in the weeks past)...that leaves us with 14 who are running circles around the itchy ones.  There are no couches for them to lay their heads on and watch movies all day.  They don't have a mom each to cuddle them and tell them it will pass.
Instead we have a Baby House...37 1-5 year old living together in one house.  5 tias (or aunts) who look after them.  3 missionaries who are working double time to give enough tlc to just get them by.  And some very tired nurses who are spending their days taking temperatures, drawing up medication, and making sure the sickest are on the mend.  All 37 critters who want attention all the time.  Those who aren't sick are bouncing off the walls because they aren't allowed to leave the Baby House...as not to contaminate the rest of the center.  Those who are sick are laying in cribs and on mats on the floor, wide-eyed and whimpering, looking for compassion.  And on top of all that, until today it has been about 110 degrees out and their fevers have been on average 103.5 (some much higher).  I'm not even sure you can visualize it...just imagine if your 2 children had chicken pox at once and multiply that by 12!  Here's picture evidence (can't even start to do it justice).

We are preparing and giving out this many medications every 4-6 hours...out of control!

 

But I'm surviving!  Keep praying!