It is raining! The temperature dropped from 102 degrees to 72 degrees in a matter of minutes. It feels lovely! We are probably the only ones in Yendi that think the change in temperature is lovely! Before it started raining we got a lot of high winds; there will be roof damage and tree branches down after that wind. It has been raining for over an hour and the electricity is out; we would expect no less! Ha!
The rain let up a bit so Steve made a trip to Kulkpeni to take the communion juice and a metal door. He wanted to take those things out today instead of waiting for tomorrow because he needed to haul the door in the truck. It had rained at Timothy’s house but they did not get the high winds. He said that Sister Rita, Timothy’s wife, was cooking the unleavened bread that she will sell to the church leaders when they come for the monthly class. Steve said the smell of the bread flung a craving on him so he is in the kitchen making bread for our supper.
Today was the last day for us to give away baby clothes. We will have to go over the records to figure out how many children received a set of clothes and a hat.
The hospital called to let us know that Adamu, the severely malnourished child, had Malaria again and that they wanted to give her another round of IV antibiotics. This time they changed one of the antibiotics to Flagyl. They are trying to get rid of her infection. Day before yesterday when we went to visit we asked if she had Malaria again and the nurse assured us that she did not. Really! How can she not have it when almost all of the other children on the ward have been admitted because of Malaria. Mosquitoes don’t care who you are or that you have recently been treated for Malaria; they will bite you anyway! We could tell that Adamu was having a difficult time breathing which means she might have to have another blood transfusion. The Malaria parasites hatch out in the red blood cells which destroys them; when the red blood cells are destroyed there is not enough blood to carry oxygen hence the reason children with Malaria have a difficult time breathing. Small children have such a small blood volume that it is easy for them to die from the Malaria. At least they started the anti-malarial drugs this morning.
Zorash called to check on the small child that has a cancerous tumor on his face. The last report we had the child was not doing well and they needed money to try yet another chemo drug. We helped with the money but we did not figure the child would survive. Zorash found out that the child passed away last week. The mother could not call Zorash to let her know because she does not have a cell phone. Zorash called the mother’s sister to get the information. Those poor people have suffered so much with the child. They have spent months in the hospital. The child should have been put on palliative care a long time ago but there are no hospice facilities here. Even if there were, the people would not be receptive to taking advantage of the service.
Please keep us and the work in your prayers.
In HIS Service,
Steve and Kandie
The Monkey Shines
I am so lucky! It is raining and I am inside the mission house all snug and warm and as a bonus I am in the company of my favorite people! Life is good! I can still hear the rain hitting the roof but it is of no consequence to me!
I was off my feed today! I don’t know why but I did not take a bottle from Mr. Iddrisu until 12:00 today. I ate a few bits of fruit while we were working at the Child Center but I just was not very hungry. When I decided to eat I drank almost an entire bottle. My tummy was poking out when I got finished! When my tummy is full like that I love to take a nap!
Did I tell you that I have another reason besides his silly hat not to enjoy Mr. Iddrisu’s company? He wears sunglasses! How can I tell what he is thinking if I cannot see his eyes? They are very dark glasses! The eye doctor gave them to him when they did the surgery on his eye. He even wears them when he is working inside the Child Center. Now I ask you who wears sunglasses inside a building. This morning when I saw him with that hat and those sunglasses I started screaming and tried to hide under Mom’s dress! Mr. Iddrisu took off the hat but I was still distraught; Mom told him to take off the glasses. Once the glasses were off I was able to settle down and calm my nerves and get a grip on my fear! I am telling you that if I live with these people very long I am going to need serious psychiatric help!
Call me a SHRINK!
Love Skeeter
