Wednesday, May 11, 2011
I am officially 40 years old. Doesn’t feel much different from 39 to tell the truth. I don’t think I am one of those people who dread getting older so there wasn’t a lot of angst with reaching this milestone. Before breakfast, I received a text message from Peter saying where he had hidden my birthday card. He had written a lovely letter listing the 40 things he loves about me. It was beautiful and I was able to wipe away the tears before the boys got up to have breakfast.
Throughout the day, I was blessed with many birthday greetings through text messages, emails, Facebook messages and calls. (Sorry that I haven’t responded to Facebook greetings to those of you who wrote – Facebook is blocked on MEF’s internet because all the Facebook traffic makes it even slower than it already is.) I picked up pizza for dinner so that I wouldn’t have to cook or clean for that meal. Ann made me a birthday cake, which has become tradition for us ex-pats here on the MEF campus.
After dinner, Jenny came over to ask for a bucket of water. The MEF water has been off for two days now and Jenny heard that it would be off for a fortnight (I had to ask if that meant two weeks – it did). How on earth are people supposed to manage for two weeks without water? We are fortunate that we have a tank that will last us a few days but there’s no way it will supply us for two weeks. At least there is one less person to shower with Peter gone. That is the only good thing I can think of with him being away and this water situation.
Friday, May 13, 2011
We have water back! Apparently, the MEF interim director said that no water for the campus was unacceptable and made the workers keep at it until it was fixed. Word has it they worked into the wee hours of the morning and it was finally functioning again at 03:00hrs. MEF might actually turn itself around under his leadership.
Brendan came home from school with the diagnosis from the school nurse that he has ringworm. Apparently three kids in his class have it right now. Jason has had it before and I know it is a fungus instead of an actual worm so I’m not freaked out. I just need to get the cream to make it go away.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Katelejn, my Dutch friend and tennis partner, invited the boys and I out to her farm on the Kafue River for the day. While the boys played with her son, Julian, we sat on her patio overlooking the river. I don’t sit on my verandah at home because there are so many kids around all the time. Plus we don’t have patio furniture because it would get stolen and I am too lazy to move something in and out all the time. There have been more thefts recently on the MEF campus. Our neighbors had someone break in at 5 p.m. when they were all home and steal the DVD player, Play station, and TV out of the kids bedroom! But at Katelejn’s home, there weren’t even burglar bars on the windows. It is a lovely home but not ostentatious. She and her husband run a dairy and chicken farm. We went over to see the chickens and the boys collected a few eggs. We also saw the cows and watched them being milked by hand. We had to jump over a river of army ants to get to the calves but it was worth it. They were adorable. One calf sucked on Brendan’s finger which cracked him up. It was a lovely day out and was a pleasant way to spend the day, instead of sitting at home and wishing Peter was back.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
I woke up at 5:30 to take Brendan to catch the school bus. His class was going to Ndubaluba Leadership Camp, located about four hours away. He was very excited to be gone from us for four days and for all the adventures in store for them.
I returned home to find rat poo and pee on my kitchen floor. Perfect.
The power was out for seven hours.
Peter and I celebrate 18 years of marriage today. Happy Anniversary to us! Too bad he is eight hours away. At least we were able to talk on the phone for a bit.
It was an apt day to pick up my new Weavings. I’m telling you, this spiritual magazine has been a lifeline for me more times than I can count. The theme for this issue is “The Price of Wisdom.” In it, the authors explore the connection between suffering and wisdom, something I have been pondering as of late. Not just for me but for others that I know who are going through a hard time. One author stated that we need the humble recognition that we are not singled out for suffering, rather it is just our turn. Suffering doesn’t make us heroic or virtuous. But we can be receptive to the hard lessons that suffering brings through the hard work of reflection. The lessons may not be immediate but may only come to light years later. I am trying to do the reflection bit, reading through my blog from beginning to end, looking for themes and patterns, joy and light, instead of focusing on only the challenges and difficulties this assignment has brought us.
In an article entitled, “What You Get for the Price,” Marilyn Chandler McEntyre encourages us to engage in practices that aid our reflection. She writes:
One practice is to dwell in, and on, the paradox represented by the tale of a rabbi who, when a member of his congregation came to him rejoicing, would say, rather darkly, “How do you know it’s not a disaster?” On the other hand, when one came lamenting, he would ask, “How do you know it is not a blessing?” Always he called his pupils to look again, without judgment, but with what I would call “holy curiosity.” We don’t know what we are being prepared for. We don’t know how things may work together for good. Believing that they can and do does not, in any case, mean that faith must make us cheerily optimistic, but rather that it may make us willing to live in the mystery of an unfolding story.
Food for thought.
Monday, May 16, 2011
I spent an hour at DAPP, the local thrift store that receives clothes from Europe, Australia, and North America. I must have tried on at least 40 trousers but it was worth it when I walked out with three pair for less than $10!
Once again, there was no power from 9:00 to 7:30. I’ll admit I was feeling irritated. No power makes it difficult to do laundry, make dinner, have hot water for bathing, working on the internet, or sending email. I was reading to Jason the kids version of Oliver Twist by candlelight after dinner. At a chapter break, he looks up at me and says, “I love you, Mom. I like it just you and me reading.” Maybe this was one of those times that it was a blessing instead of a disaster as I had previously thought. Jason helped me see that. We still rejoiced when the power came back on and scurried around doing all the things we had put off during the day. But Jason and I had that moment of connection that we might have missed otherwise.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
In the Rob Bell sermon podcast I listened to this morning, he was speaking to all those who are weary, cynical, bitter and worn out. That’s me, I thought. It’s been hard living here and we haven’t always been sure of the contribution we have made. Though I feel depleted and empty, I don’t want to become brittle. Rob Bell was saying that God’s promise of renewal is for people like me. Instead of becoming hard and cracking during suffering, God can make us bendy, flexible, strong. You’ve heard it often enough, but that is the message that keeps coming through, and it remains my prayer as we transition to the next chapter of our lives.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Brendan arrived home after four incredible days at his leadership camp. He was elected by his classmates as leader of one of the two teams. They had to work together to accomplish several tasks and complete different challenges. His team ran an obstacle course the first day and completed it in four minutes. When they did the same obstacle course the last day, they cut their time in half due to teamwork and good communication. They had to spend two hours in solitude one evening which freaked some of the campers out. Brendan had a leg full of leeches during one water challenge. They did a night hike that led them through a sea of army ants that were crawling up their legs and biting them. And it was great! Brendan came back sounding very mature and confident, something that we have seen growing in him more and more. But then I discovered that he wore the same underwear all four days and only brushed his teeth once. So maybe the maturity thing is still a work in progress . . .
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Here is a new riddle that Peter devised after I sent him an SMS with my morning’s experience: How do you know it is time to leave Africa? When a frog pees in your face.
I got up early to exercise and found a frog occupying the space in the dining room where I usually put my exercise mat. I attempted a rescue and release and the thanks I got was that it peed in my hand. This I expected, having experience this before when handling a frog. What I didn’t expect was for him to pee again, this time so forcefully that it bounced off my hand and splattered my face. It wasn’t even 6 a.m. and I had frog pee in my face. The boys had a good laugh when I told them about it later. But I think Peter is right. It must be a sign that it is time to leave.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Here is another sign that it is time to leave: Jason has malaria again. Yesterday afternoon he had no energy. The neighborhood boys asked him to play cricket with them, but something made Jason mad and he ended up throwing rocks at Gideon. That was just his temper and not the malaria, I believe. He had a huge meltdown and ranted about how much he wanted to leave this place. He had no appetite at dinner but I made him eat a little bit, not realizing yet that he was ill. Dinner came back up a little later, thankfully he made it to the toilet in time. He was exhibiting his classic malaria symptoms so I got him to take the malaria medication that we always keep on hand. Well, that came up with the rest of dinner, this time all over his bed. The fever came next but he couldn’t keep down the Motrin.
Thankfully, he was able to sleep, even with his high fever and we went to the clinic in the morning. We had a follow up appointment with the doctor to check on his foot which had become infected earlier in the week and he had been on antibiotics for that. He also had a blockage in his ear and so that was flushed out. We threw in a malaria test for good measure but it came back negative. After talking to the doctor, we decided to ignore the test results, as it was probably too early to detect the malaria in his blood yet. I battled with him for an hour to get the meds down him, which ended up in another rant about how he hated Africa. He eventually threw up the syrup to keep him from throwing up along with the malaria medication. I was getting a bit frightened because he seemed unable to keep down the meds he needed to fight the malaria. But finally, in the evening, he kept the meds down and now I think he is on the road to recovery.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
I don’t usually wear black so it was a surprise for Brendan to see me wearing my new black trousers that I got at the thrift store. He said that I was becoming “Goth.” I argued that many people wear black trousers and are not considered “Goth.” But he wouldn’t let go of that idea. When he came out of the dentist’s office, I asked him how he was doing. His reply: “With a Goth-mama and Jesus by my side, I can get through anything.”
Peter arrived home just before lunch and there was much rejoicing!
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Georgi invited us out to her place to have lunch and a relaxing afternoon together. The boys enjoyed their time with Patric and Jemma as usual. Georgi had picked up Chinese food for lunch which was a treat for us. We’ve only had Chinese food once in four years as it was very expensive and not very tasty. But this time it was really delicious and we chowed down. We heard hippos chortling in the Kafue River nearby so we took a walk to see if we could spot them. We couldn’t but the stroll was pleasant, especially with tummies full of lunch.
We talked about Jason’s bout with malaria and how we will all need to take Coartem before we go home, in case we have it but don’t have symptoms. I told her that all week I have had a headache and feel tired and she guessed that I probably have malaria but am fighting it off. My weekly prophylactic must work better for me than the boys because I don’t get the full on malaria that they get. But now I can think back to many times that I have had these same symptoms that eventually go away. Georgi guessed that those times were probably malaria as well but because it wasn’t full-blown it wouldn’t have been detected by a blood slide. So maybe I have gotten it just as much as the boys but didn’t know!
This was our last time with Georgi, Patric, and Jemma, enjoying their company and their spacious yard. They have been good friends to us, so generous with their time, possessions, medical advice, and wisdom. We will miss them greatly!
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