Asha!!!

Sorry to leave you all hanging with the blog.  My internet was down again.  I am thinking when I get back to the states I need to look into computer classes.  I hate being at the mercy of this machine that I cannot navigate.

I'm gonna jump right in again with the "crazy things you see in Africa" list...
This is sooo for real, you can't make this stuff up!
--A moto on a moto!
I do think I might have topped this one today though, but didn't have my camera to snap it...
--A coffin strapped into the trunk of a taxi.  Yes, you read me correct.  It was adult size, ratchet strapped into the open trunk.  I did not have the nerve (or desire) to ask if it was empty or not.  I didn't want to think about it, but your guess is as good as mine since it was at the hospital and all, parked outside the cantina.  :)




MOTO ON MOTO!

The kids have still been busy, driving me nuts.  I admit that I did have a moment the other day when I thought about putting all of them on a bus headed to Douala and fly them home.  Then I woke up!  And  told myself that it was only the mefloquine controlling my mind.  (But if any of you get a phone call from Northwest Arkansas Airport...)  It is getting a little harder to entertain them, but we are doing the best we can.  We had movie night with some of the PT students and watched "Prince Caspian".  Susan really liked it and so we hunted down "Narnia" and the girls watched it while it down poured the next afternoon.  The best I could do was my laptop on a table for a tv.  It kept them quiet for a few hours.  Then the boys watched it later, after dinner.  I was really frustrated today when I found out I can only Netflix in the US,  I'll have to track down some other videos for the upcoming 13 days (I'm not counting...really.  That is for all you all who are anxiously awaiting our return!)

Volleyball has become the sport of choice in the most recent days.  The little kids play during the day and after dinner, when the big kids are home, they take over the court.  Nari fashioned a new net together now that they play every day all day. They even dug holes and set "post".  Angela, I was thinking of you when I was watching the big kids play last night.  You would so love to be a part of this game.  It's volleyball Africa style!  Bump, set, spike, arms, head, foot.  They are very serious and very competitive. It is fun to watch.  For me, I think I'll just keep playing with the little kids!

Friday it was very windy.  Much windier than I've seen it here.  So, out came the kites.  It was a hoot watching the kids try to use, control, play, run, detangle, and what not with them.  There was lots of laughing and everyone wanted a turn.  Some of the kids got the hang of it really quick and then there where the others.  Brian and I spent most of our time helping the "others" unwind, untangle, and remove the kites from each other and power lines.  It was all good, and a beautiful windy day.



Grace and I have started making our regular rounds to the children's ward to share the love.  It is so awesome to see these kids (and families too) smile when they feel so crappy!  We've taken bracelets with Bible messages on them, color books with markers, bubbles, and drawing sheets.  Today the kids and I all went and we took Susan with us too.  I think Susan really had a good time handing things out to the kids.  She was smiling a lot too!  My goal when we walk into that ward is to hug or at least squeeze every person in there and let them know that I am praying for them.  My hope is that through this simple goal, they will feel God's presence and love if only for a moment.

Gracie braceleted up!



This little girl is in the Burkitt's room.  For the most part they are very sick and I can hardly ever get them to smile.  She was watching Tom and Jerry when we got there, a kindred spirit to my Joe.

We even share the love with the nurses.  We send our goodies home with them for their kids.  Nurses are special people here in the Ped's Ward.

 
Sunday it was foggier than I've ever seen it.  We literally were living in the clouds.  They were so heavy and lasted most of the day making it kinda dreary.  Church in the clouds.  Yes, here is a picture of the outside of church.  The top third of the walls in the church are open to the outside so to let air circulate.  As we sat in church on Sunday, I first thought that someone was burning something outside and smoke was coming in the open part of the walls.  As it got thicker and heavier I realized that it was the fog.  It was strange in a neat sorta way.

Sunday late afternoon, Brian took the boys on a hike.  It started out simple and, word on the street was, turned into a hike I would not have approved of.  Supposedly Brian made Joey use his Africa tree limb swinging/climbing skills to shimmy across a 10ft deep gorge with river.  Brian then sent Toby over for Joe to catch on the other side.  Followed up by himself monkeying over.  It will be amazing if we make it home without any injuries.  I guess from now on I will not be able to let them go alone, for sure they need supervision.  Though I'm also sure B has a different take on it!

Saturday we decided to get out of dodge.  We needed a change of scenery.  We got one of the hospital drivers to take us out on an adventure for the day.  We headed towards one of Cameroons biggest tea plantations.  It was an hour and half drive, crap roads, Grace got sick, but we made it.  We headed into the tea plant and was given a guide to show us around.  It was crazy to just walk around the plant.  No restrictions, no guidelines or rules, just walk, touch, look at whatever you wanted to.  We learnt about how the tea is grown, harvested, processed, and packaged.  After the tour, we headed a little farther onto the property to see some animals.  The very wealthy man who owns this and other tea plantations, lots of cattle, and lots of property lives close to the processing plant.  He enjoys exotic animals and has some for viewing by his home.  There were monkeys, chimpanzees (which until last week you could play with but one bit a tourist and now they where confined to a pin), pythons (locally captured form the forest of Cameroon), a cobra (in a wood box with a piece of tin and an rock on top!), different kinds of ostriches, and peacocks.  I enjoyed it all except the snakes, much anxiety there.  I will probably need a zanax before our next hike knowing what I know now about their whereabouts. 

After the tea plantation we headed back towards Mbingo.  I wanted to make a quick stop by this pottery place that I had heard about.  We got sidetracked when we stopped for gas and found out that the truck we were in was leaking oil.  An hour later, new filter, oil, and gas we started off again.  We managed to make it to Pres Pot.  This pottery shop was started in the mid '80s and makes all it's pottery out of the clay harvested from riverbank below the property.  We again got a guided tour of the facilities and learnt the process of producing the clay.  Our guide then showed us how they made, fired, and crafted the pots and figurines.  I am such a sucker for quality art that is made by hand from local resources.  We pulled back into the hospital compound just in time for dinner. 

Ok, it's getting late and my words are feeling jumbled so I am going to stop there.  I think that gets us pretty much caught up on what we have been up to since last Thursday.  Brian will have to fill you in on his patients and the African medicine he has seen lately.  Hope all is well back home. We miss you all.

amy lea