No Pics, but this is Probably a Thousand Words

I'm trying to figure out a way to upload pictures. So far, in 20 minutes, not one picture has uploaded :( and I was only trying to upload one at a time. Welcome to dial up in Africa.

We've been adjusting to the time change. The kids slept in most mornings thru Friday (as in, the girls did not wake up before 10:30). Friday night, I told the kids if they wanted to get donuts up at RVA (Rift Valley Academy) Saturday morning, they had to be ready by 8am. Miraculously, they were all awake by 7:00. I didn't realize the power of a donut was so strong!

The kids and I did get in a little "official" school Thurs and Fri. I'm adapting some of our subjects to our life and surroundings here. For example, I used Abby's emails she wanted to type for our grammar and spelling lesson. We had an additional unit to their standard math lessons: Converting Shillings to USD. We've been using this lesson a lot as the kids have taken it upon themselves to stimulate the local economy. There are far more opportunities to do this than I would have imagined. Apparently the locals know exactly where to find the visiting docs. Just outside our door, vendors have offered food stuffs such as tortillas and pizza crusts and set up collections of wood carvings, paintings, scarves, and much more.

I can handle the vendors okay; it is the visit from the woman with the baby on her back begging for help that was difficult. I have a hard enough time saying no to people who come to my door at home. We've been told to be very careful about giving handouts to those who come asking at the door b/c there are specific routes that they want people in need to go through. The thing that tipped us off to the fact that this lady was familiar with where to find the ignorant, new people was that when David walked into the room while I was standing at the door with her she said, "Hello, Daktari." I asked him later if she was someone he had met at the hospital; of course he had not. Pray for us to have wisdom and discernment as we interact with people here.

Thank you for your prayers for David. Though he would still say there is much for which he doesn't feel prepared, he seems to be more at peace with it. When he came home at lunch on Thursday, I was afraid he might start packing his bags. The staff was fantastic, but he definitely felt overwhelmed by the circumstances. In just 3 days at the hospital, he's already seen Malaria, Meningitis, Ricketts, TB, CHF, Hypoxia, Severe Malnutrition, Dehydration, Lymphoma, and many other diseases/diagnoses I can't decipher from his notes! He had his 1st night of call Friday; the intern who was on call with him is apparently one of the best and made David's part fairly smooth. He is working with a team of mostly Kenyan medical students and residents and has interactions with other experienced physicians as well.

I'm getting to experience what is must have been like to run a home in the 1950s-60s except that there is a microwave (which we've used very little). There is a washing machine about 10 steps down just outside the front door, but all laundry is hung on clotheslines to dry (in the front yard). It is a bit odd getting used to the fact that ALL our stuff is blowing in the wind as everyone goes by. Everything gets ironed b/c the clothes are too scratchy otherwise. I've already ironed more in the past 3 days than I have in a LONG time. David comes home for lunch so we try to make sure there is something set out for him to eat besides PBJ. Dishes are handwashed, water is filtered, and most fruits and vegetables need a water/bleach soak before eating. Everyday life definitely takes a lot longer. There is a house worker, Helen, who helps short-termers at the sitaplex apartments. She'll probably help us out for some hours about 2 days a week. She came Thursday and I was very thankful b/c I've still had much housework to do and I'd like to have some time to do some local type of service work with the kids. Hopefully we can get something set up this week.

The kids have enjoyed playing on the basketball court out front. A local Kenyan boy named John joined them for a game of dodgeball the other evening. They were quite impressed with his skills.

We attended church up at RVA today. There are people from all over there. The man sitting next to us was born in Germany, grew up as a missionary kid in Kenya and now works as a missionary himself in Kenya, Uganda, and Sudan. We hope to visit a local Kenyan church next time.

The five of us took a walk this afternoon - searching for monkeys. We're told they can be spotted around here, but we had no such luck this time. We did catch a glimpse of a baboon on our way home from RVA earlier.

Well, I'm going to end here with the promise to check on the picture issue. We are enjoying our time here and know it will go very quickly. I can't believe one week is already marked off the calendar.