Here's to filling in the holes...

First off...I would love your prayers for a yucky sickness that is going around the Bercario and Baby House at the moment. We are fighting against high fevers and a terrible chest infection. I'd love your prayers that the antibiotics will start working and that no one else will come down with this. And tha

Second, December has been busy...think about those days in college when you never sat still, had 4 classes, 3 meetings, a project to finish, and you were an RA (resident assistant), vice president of a sorority, and trying to study for nursing tests as well...ok maybe you can't think of all those things because that was me in college but December has been busy we'll just stick with that. So here's some of the things that happened...
***Laura has returned from the States!!! She is back and I am thankful. I love getting to hang out with her, and her Portuguese skills far outweigh mine making afternoon program and keeping the boys in line much simpler! For now Rebecca and I are still helping her out with the boys!***Jose took a little spill. He was diving for a ball in the Baby House (not something little kids should do when the floor in concrete and their indoor playground in wood). Well that ended in a large gash on his head. All the tias said was there is lots and lots and lots of blood. Well one lesson we all need to learn is...heads bleed a lot! So after a trip to a nearby clinic with Erin...This is Jose...a 3 year old with the largest stitches I have ever seen in my entire life. Erin said the needle they used was HUMONGOUS! Anyway, all is well now!

***We have said goodbye to Solange, one of our Brazilian nurses. Solange is headed to Matola (a suburb of Maputo) to work with another ministry there. I'm very excited for her and this new work! But, I have to say I'm already missing her. She was always a smiling, pleasant face around here. And this means I have taken on the responsibility of on call medical for the entire base (minus the bercario, baby house, and visitors...what I was doing before) every other week. There have only been a couple days where I was VERY overwhelmed with this. It's just one more adventure I pray God continues to prepare me for! Also, when our main clinic nurse leaves for a break, at least for a bit I will be taking on her responsibilities as well...this makes me quite nervous...but God has a plan!

Here is Solange, Jannie, Erin, Jaqueline, me, and Celia at her farewell cook out!

***December 23rd the Bocaria kids came for Christmas lunch! 100 of the Bocaria (city garbage dump) kids that come to Children's Church each week (something I have been to on and off since I arrived here) came to celebrate Christmas here at the center. They were fed a chicken lunch and got sodas!!! Some people from the US embassy and marines were here to pass out their Christmas presents and celebrate with us as well!

These little ones were all on the floor because they were too short to see up over the table and be able to eat with everyone else.

This is Pai...super excited about his new toys!Here's all the kids as we said goodbye...

Those kids can always teach me about the joy of the Lord. With nothing they are filled with smiles and always ready to play!
***Christmas Eve candle light service. I'm not sure who decided giving candles on paper plates to tons of kids was a brilliant idea...but it was a pretty service. The Christmas tree was up...And, the baby house kids preformed the Christmas story...(so so cute!)Then the candles were given out...All was well minus one slight wax accident on a little boy's head. After a quick hug and kiss he decided he was ok!

***Christmas day I spent with Laura's boys! We had a special breakfast for them...Laura baked them an egg casserole!

Then we gave out their dorm presents (these were conveniently left by Pia Natal the week before). There was much much excitement over skateboards, new soccer balls, a teeter totter, and more!

Samo was very excited about the new motor

Even the tias played with the new toys!

Next came mini-olympics for all the kids on base! Many games were played from pushing a marshmellow with solely your nose, three legged race, and much more!Last, a great dinner for all the missionaries...where I got to make South Carolina sweet potatoes...mom sent me the stuff!!!!

***Chris left us. :( Well at least for a bit. She is back home with friends and family cooling off and resting up! I'm not so excited about it...but I guess it has to happen and she has been here for over a year. Wishing her the best!!!

This is Aleya, Chris, me, and Erin on Chris's last night with us.

Ok...I think that fills you in on major events. I'm wishing you each a Happy New Year as I head off for a night of movies, crafts, and cooking out with all the kids! And there will be fireworks as well!!!

Eye-Opening/Frustrating...

This morning after a day of being sick yesterday I took a trip to Hospital Central Maputo. This is the main teaching hospital for the country of Mozambique, a place with "state of the art medicine" being practiced. Don't you worry it was not a trip for my health...I just had a little food poisoning and am doing just fine now, instead it was to get a chest x-ray of one of our tots, Latifo (I introduced you to him in my November update). He has a chest infection, along with several others in the Baby House/Bercario at the moment.
Anyway, I have been warned by many that the care given at HCM is horrific at best...IV's are started in the neck often, gloves are washed between patients, wiped dry on dirty aprons and used again, chest x-rays of babies are taken by hanging them from their arms in front of the back board, and many other things. So I was prepared for that...well as much as you can be. But I walked in to see patients laying on beds up and down the hallways, people sitting waiting for x-rays with bloody gauze taped onto scalp and face wounds. One lady was laying there with no clothes too sick to cover herself up and no one was doing a thing about it. They wheeled a man through with a trach (for non-medical people that's a hole in your neck that you breath through)...covered in blood and who knows what else...I guess all that nursing education on proper trach care went out the window. The workers are wearing masks, aprons (dirty mind you), and acting like people are toxic...when in actuality much of this disease could be avoided with education.
It was frustrating because it's hard for me to think that is the best thing out there for most people in this entire country (I say that but most of them can't even get to this hospital without dying if they are really sick anyway). There are several westernized clinics but they cost too much for the ordinary Mozambican. It's unfair; it makes no sense to me. I know the western way is not always the best, but I also know this is unfair.
I will say, it makes me thankful to work where I do in this center where we provide care that is unheard of in this country. Where we see children like little Latifo go from severely malnourished to a walking, talking, happy 3 year old. I sit thankful for where God has put me to make a difference in this little corner of Mozambique, but have to ask WHY? Why do some places in the world try to keep people alive on life support way longer than God intended and other places in the world people die from diarrhea? Why are God's children in Mozambique not able to get the same care and love from nurses as His children in the US are? These are the questions I am struggling with today...

2 Humorous Events

#1- Today my fence fell down. Yep, that's right. I left my house for a total of 30 minutes and when I returned, this is what I saw...That's a large chunk of my fence laying on the ground! Apparently it just couldn't hold up today against the strong winds.

#2- This one occurred yesterday. And you just have to stick with me to enjoy the humor. Chris came into my room to switch out our mattresses because she is going home for 2 months and is letting me use her's until I am able to get one (thanks to the generosity of Aleya and her dad!). Anyway, she was going to make it up for me and I said no there was no need. She said but you're working and have tons of things to do and I said...nope no one is going to get sick today. (Nurse's last words...) So I headed up the Baby House...all was well. Went to check on the Bercario to find most of the little ones crying. I told the tias I would take Francisco back with me for a bit and give them a break. Headed back to my room to make up my bed. To make things easier, I tied Francisco up in a capalana...his favorite place anyway...looked much like this...(although this was actually taken Sunday)My house phone rang not 2 minutes later. It was Aurora (our Moz nurse in the Baby House)...all I could understand her saying was Vasco (one of our boys) and asthma. So with my good friend Francisco along for the ride I headed up to deal with whatever was going on. I walked in on Vasco in respiratory distress. He was severely retracting and breathing extremely quickly. After 2 nebulizers and starting him on antibiotics, I felt comfortable to leave him for an hour. Well just picture it...I was a real Mozambican with a baby strapped to me doing my work. By the time I was finished I was pouring sweat and little Francisco went right back to the Bercario because I was exhausted.

...so that's life here at the center for the moment...

It's so hot you could...

Have you ever heard someone say...it's so hot you could fry an egg on the pavement? I remember many people saying that to me in the heat of the summer in South Carolina. I do remember warm days. I do remember sweating just laying by the pool. I do remember as a kid mom sending me to take a shower after playing outside because I had that little kid stink. But, I never remember getting out of the shower and sweating before you can get your clothes on...

So the other day Chris, Erin, Aleya, and I tried out the egg theory. Here's what happened...

We cracked an egg and let it stay on the pavement outside my house. Pavement that was burning my legs through my skirt mind you. But even after several minutes...

Still nothing happened. So we have proven that even at 125 degrees you can still not fry an egg on pavement. Although we do still plan to try it on the basketball court...which is black top. So, stay tuned for that adventure!

And if you're not already entertained enough...before we got this experiment cleaned up Erin was walking and I said...Cuidado (be careful) the...and she had already stepped right in the egg. Pretty funny if you ask me!