I've been really paranoid about snakes lately because the boys saw two black mambas on the same day, and I've been hearing noises in the bushes like snakes, as I ride my bike to Bornface's everyday.
Today, as always, I said a little prayer before I left- out of sheer terror! (I can really get myself worked up when I'm thinking about snakes.) I prayed that my angel would go ahead of me and either scare all the snakes away, or hold onto them so they wouldn't attack me.
I was on my way back, and I saw a boy on the trail, and I was just going to wave and say "malibiha buti "("how's the afternoon") and go along my merry way, but he goes, "there's a snake there", so I stopped and sure enough, there was a fat snake on the trail. He was still alive, but he was kind of sluggish and out of it since the boy had been beating him in the head with a stick. It was either a boa or a puff adder. I'm more inclined to think it was a puff adder because it was SO FAT, but only about as long as my arm. (thats a characteristic of puff adders, short, but fat) Anyways, I waited while he beat it some more and then threw it into the bushes. I thanked him for killing it and left.
After I was almost home, I remembered that I had prayed before I saw the snake. I think that's cool that God arranged for that boy to arrive where the snake was before I did, so he could kill it. I would have swooned if i had been the one to come across it!
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
April 17, 2008
I have four guinea fowl eggs which I am trying to hatch! I put one in the oven and the oven got too hot, so I may have fried its brains, but there are the three others which have some great potential of surviving (except that I am keeping them warm with Pauline's heating pad, and the power went out last night while I was sleeping!)
Other than that, the only other excitment lately was a birth last night. From 9:30 to like, 12:00. It wasn't long at all. It was exciting! The baby was HUGE and HAIRY! like, hair everywhere, back of the shoulders, legs, even the knuckles. It was hard to get to come out of the mother because it was so HUMUNGOUS. The nicest part was that we didn't have to be up all night!
That's all I can think of for now except that it's getting really scary how soon it is that I leave. I hope I get everything I need before I leave and don't get on the plane and wish I had gotten or done something that I didn't.
Other than that, the only other excitment lately was a birth last night. From 9:30 to like, 12:00. It wasn't long at all. It was exciting! The baby was HUGE and HAIRY! like, hair everywhere, back of the shoulders, legs, even the knuckles. It was hard to get to come out of the mother because it was so HUMUNGOUS. The nicest part was that we didn't have to be up all night!
That's all I can think of for now except that it's getting really scary how soon it is that I leave. I hope I get everything I need before I leave and don't get on the plane and wish I had gotten or done something that I didn't.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
March 26, 2008
I'm glad to be back at Riverside! After living the life of a nomad or whatever you call those wandering people with no homes, it feels really good to sleep on a mattress, drink Riverside's metallic (it tastes like copper!) water, and be at risk for malaria again!
We were gone over a month this time. Our destination was the Masai Mara in Kenya with stops along the way there in Tanzania, and on the way back in Zanzibar.
We did a lot of stuff, but I'll just tell you the cool parts. The first memorable thing was in Tanzania. Sorry, I forget the name of the town, but we were staying at ADRA Tanzania. The place we had planned on staying was all full, so we ended up crashing at the director's house. His wife runs a baby orphanage on the compound called Cradle of Love, so in the morning before we left, we went over to visit the babies. The minute we stepped in the door, we were surrounded by kids. Crawling, walking, falling, drooling, crying. They stuck to us like magnets. They swarmed like mosquitoes. Some of them were very quiet. Others instantly began trying to have a conversation. It was as if they needed to talk; to be listened to. I sat down on the floor just inside the door because that is as far as I could make it with children filling my arms. When I sat, three sat in my lap, one stood next to me, clinging to my shoulder, another one stood directly in front of my face and asked me earnestly where Mama was. Another called me Mama.
After a while, I got up and went to another room to see what else there was. I had to step over a baby laying on his back on the floor, and navigate between two little ones in walkers. In the room, there was a entire wall full of baby chairs. Another wall had a big cushion on the floor in front of it, and along the other 2 walls, were cribs. In the middle of the floor, there were more babies laying around. In every crib, there were two babies. Every single one of them was crying. I started with the one who looked the most needy and picked him up. The minute I touched him, he stopped crying. I did that with each one. Their little eyes would open wide as if they couldn't believe someone was actually responding to their crying.
There were two babies in particular that I held the most. One couldn't have been more than a week old. The other was either just as young, or else severely malnourished. They were SO little. Their hands and arms were cold. When it was feeding time, I got to feed them. It was a nice feeling to watch them go to sleep with full bellies and heavy eyes. They reminded me more of normal, loved children then.
We made it to Kibidula farm Institute in Tanzania that night. Our first destination. We stayed there for about five days I think. It's the neatest place. Feels like little house on the prairie. Because of the elevation, there are pine trees and it's cold. It didn't feel like Africa at all! The people there live in old farm houses with wood stoves for cooking and heating with. I helped them in their Primary school. I taught a couple classes for one of the teachers who was away. I love how everywhere I go in Africa, I have to teach. Back home, before I left, it was the number one thing that I loudly proclaimed I would never do and had no desire to do. I can't say I love it now, but it isn't as bad as I thought. I also helped paint one of their new dormitories and with putting up some roofs.
When our time there was over, our next destination was Mara West Camp in the Masai Mara. We stopped at Maxwell Academy in Nairobi for the night on the way. Stayed with my Aunt and Uncle there. (My Uncle is the principal) The next day we drove all day. It was one of the most tiring trips of my life! The roads in Nairobi are SO bad! Once we got out of town, we drove through the most beautiful country though. The Masai people have it good! We drove on one of the dustiest roads I have ever seen. It was so dusty that we were having trouble breathing inside the vehicle, and visibility was so bad sometimes that we just had to stop and wait for the dust to settle. We almost had a head-on collision with a huge truck once.
After the dusty road, we turned off onto a road that wasn't even a road. You couldn't even see it. I don't even know how Uncle Alan knew where he was going. It was like those typical pictures of the plains of Africa. There were Zebras, Elan, Giraffes, Topi, and all sorts of other animals everywhere! We drove for SO LONG. Then we drove up the side of this mountain and it was even bumpier. Finally we arrived at Mara West. It's beautiful there. Located on the top of a ridge overlooking the Masai Mara. It's a place where mission groups come, and when there aren't groups there, they have guests coming for safaris and birding. It's one of the nicest Safari Lodges in the Mara. We helped them fix a water pump and pour a concrete slab for standing on when the people pump water. We went on safari one day and saw a cheetah eating a warthog. Saw lions, cape buffalo.... lots of other things that I can't remember! We visited a boma (fence) where the Masai live. It is just a fence made out of branches inside of which they have all their huts. Inside the very center is a corral where they put their cows at night. The little calves sleep inside the houses with the people to keep warm. Their houses are made out of cow dung. They are pretty good houses, but they attract a lot of flies.
After Mara West, we went back to spend a few more days at Maxwell. Then we went to Zanzibar, a small island off of Tanzania. They call it the spice island, and it also was the main port for the slave trade back in the day. They have the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen, and some of the best snorkeling too. We spent two days on the beach, then we went back to Stone Town to see the city. We went on a spice tour where they showed us all the cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, lavender, starfruit, ginger, etc growing. they also showed us a cave where they used to hide slaves after slavery was abolished.
We came home after Zanzibar. It was really nice to get back. we were only home for a day though, because my cousin Caleb is here. We all went camping for Easter weekend at a waterfall. Now that I'm back to Riverside for real, I'm teaching again. School ends next week already. I only have a month more to go here. It is really hard to believe.
We were gone over a month this time. Our destination was the Masai Mara in Kenya with stops along the way there in Tanzania, and on the way back in Zanzibar.
We did a lot of stuff, but I'll just tell you the cool parts. The first memorable thing was in Tanzania. Sorry, I forget the name of the town, but we were staying at ADRA Tanzania. The place we had planned on staying was all full, so we ended up crashing at the director's house. His wife runs a baby orphanage on the compound called Cradle of Love, so in the morning before we left, we went over to visit the babies. The minute we stepped in the door, we were surrounded by kids. Crawling, walking, falling, drooling, crying. They stuck to us like magnets. They swarmed like mosquitoes. Some of them were very quiet. Others instantly began trying to have a conversation. It was as if they needed to talk; to be listened to. I sat down on the floor just inside the door because that is as far as I could make it with children filling my arms. When I sat, three sat in my lap, one stood next to me, clinging to my shoulder, another one stood directly in front of my face and asked me earnestly where Mama was. Another called me Mama.
After a while, I got up and went to another room to see what else there was. I had to step over a baby laying on his back on the floor, and navigate between two little ones in walkers. In the room, there was a entire wall full of baby chairs. Another wall had a big cushion on the floor in front of it, and along the other 2 walls, were cribs. In the middle of the floor, there were more babies laying around. In every crib, there were two babies. Every single one of them was crying. I started with the one who looked the most needy and picked him up. The minute I touched him, he stopped crying. I did that with each one. Their little eyes would open wide as if they couldn't believe someone was actually responding to their crying.
There were two babies in particular that I held the most. One couldn't have been more than a week old. The other was either just as young, or else severely malnourished. They were SO little. Their hands and arms were cold. When it was feeding time, I got to feed them. It was a nice feeling to watch them go to sleep with full bellies and heavy eyes. They reminded me more of normal, loved children then.
We made it to Kibidula farm Institute in Tanzania that night. Our first destination. We stayed there for about five days I think. It's the neatest place. Feels like little house on the prairie. Because of the elevation, there are pine trees and it's cold. It didn't feel like Africa at all! The people there live in old farm houses with wood stoves for cooking and heating with. I helped them in their Primary school. I taught a couple classes for one of the teachers who was away. I love how everywhere I go in Africa, I have to teach. Back home, before I left, it was the number one thing that I loudly proclaimed I would never do and had no desire to do. I can't say I love it now, but it isn't as bad as I thought. I also helped paint one of their new dormitories and with putting up some roofs.
When our time there was over, our next destination was Mara West Camp in the Masai Mara. We stopped at Maxwell Academy in Nairobi for the night on the way. Stayed with my Aunt and Uncle there. (My Uncle is the principal) The next day we drove all day. It was one of the most tiring trips of my life! The roads in Nairobi are SO bad! Once we got out of town, we drove through the most beautiful country though. The Masai people have it good! We drove on one of the dustiest roads I have ever seen. It was so dusty that we were having trouble breathing inside the vehicle, and visibility was so bad sometimes that we just had to stop and wait for the dust to settle. We almost had a head-on collision with a huge truck once.
After the dusty road, we turned off onto a road that wasn't even a road. You couldn't even see it. I don't even know how Uncle Alan knew where he was going. It was like those typical pictures of the plains of Africa. There were Zebras, Elan, Giraffes, Topi, and all sorts of other animals everywhere! We drove for SO LONG. Then we drove up the side of this mountain and it was even bumpier. Finally we arrived at Mara West. It's beautiful there. Located on the top of a ridge overlooking the Masai Mara. It's a place where mission groups come, and when there aren't groups there, they have guests coming for safaris and birding. It's one of the nicest Safari Lodges in the Mara. We helped them fix a water pump and pour a concrete slab for standing on when the people pump water. We went on safari one day and saw a cheetah eating a warthog. Saw lions, cape buffalo.... lots of other things that I can't remember! We visited a boma (fence) where the Masai live. It is just a fence made out of branches inside of which they have all their huts. Inside the very center is a corral where they put their cows at night. The little calves sleep inside the houses with the people to keep warm. Their houses are made out of cow dung. They are pretty good houses, but they attract a lot of flies.
After Mara West, we went back to spend a few more days at Maxwell. Then we went to Zanzibar, a small island off of Tanzania. They call it the spice island, and it also was the main port for the slave trade back in the day. They have the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen, and some of the best snorkeling too. We spent two days on the beach, then we went back to Stone Town to see the city. We went on a spice tour where they showed us all the cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, lavender, starfruit, ginger, etc growing. they also showed us a cave where they used to hide slaves after slavery was abolished.
We came home after Zanzibar. It was really nice to get back. we were only home for a day though, because my cousin Caleb is here. We all went camping for Easter weekend at a waterfall. Now that I'm back to Riverside for real, I'm teaching again. School ends next week already. I only have a month more to go here. It is really hard to believe.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
March 4, 2008
I'm in Kenya now.
We arrived yesterday afternoon (February 29) at Maxwell Adventist Academy. We are leaving in about an hour to drive to the Masai Mara . It is very safe here, don't worry. They signed some sort of peace treaty the day before yesterday and apparently everyone is very relaxed now.-Jodi
We arrived yesterday afternoon (February 29) at Maxwell Adventist Academy. We are leaving in about an hour to drive to the Masai Mara . It is very safe here, don't worry. They signed some sort of peace treaty the day before yesterday and apparently everyone is very relaxed now.-Jodi
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Check This Out!
The student missionaries at Riverside have created a new blog site where you can find out more about what we have been doing.
Check it out at: www.riversidesm.org
Check it out at: www.riversidesm.org
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
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Christmas 2007
Well, my Christmas didn’t feel like Christmas either, so I guess we're all matching! I brushed my hair since it was Christmas... then the four of us girls (John and Nancy brought 2 girl sm's with them) made a fruit salad with fresh mangos and bananas and went up to Alan and Pauline’s for breakfast. We ate and then we opened gifts. It wasn’t really a big deal.
Then the boys went back to bed and uncle Alan challenged the rest of us to make six- sided snowflakes out of paper, which apparently is really hard, opposed to 4 or 8-sided ones. We did it though, and Pauline got really excited about the pretty ones. She squealed and put them on her scrawny Christmas tree.
Then they all went for a hike and me and Heidi, one of the visiting girls, peeled potatoes for mashed potatoes. We spent the rest of the time getting dinner ready. We didn’t want to waste the potatoes peels, so we deep fried them with oil, salt, and a little Cajun seasoning and they were quite the highlight of dinner if I do say so myself!
We were too full for dessert, so after we ate, we all loaded up in the cruiser and the dirt bike, taking candy and soap and Lil' Bruce the python, and went out to see Ellen (the lady who does our laundry.) on the way we handed out soap and candy to everyone we saw. At Ellen’s, all the guys put a tarp over her roof which leaks really badly. Then on the way home we stopped to see a family that I visit sometimes (the ones with 10 children) and I gave them some clothes and money to buy shoes with. Then we stopped at Bornface’s house and I gave him Christmas cookies Elena and I had made on Christmas Eve and a bag of mangoes. We found him sitting on his floor, sick with malaria, so we gave him some malaria medicine too. On the way home, I rode on the dirt bike with uncle john and he went so fast!! I screamed a lot. The road was sooo bumpy and muddy!!! Then we had dessert for supper. After that, it was pretty late, so we went to bed.
That was my Christmas. It didn’t feel like Christmas, but it was a good day, and I think it was the most productive Christmas I have ever had since we actually did things for others instead of just gorging ourselves
We washed clothes on Christmas Eve and they’re still dripping wet hanging on the line because it’s been raining every day since then.
Then the boys went back to bed and uncle Alan challenged the rest of us to make six- sided snowflakes out of paper, which apparently is really hard, opposed to 4 or 8-sided ones. We did it though, and Pauline got really excited about the pretty ones. She squealed and put them on her scrawny Christmas tree.
Then they all went for a hike and me and Heidi, one of the visiting girls, peeled potatoes for mashed potatoes. We spent the rest of the time getting dinner ready. We didn’t want to waste the potatoes peels, so we deep fried them with oil, salt, and a little Cajun seasoning and they were quite the highlight of dinner if I do say so myself!
We were too full for dessert, so after we ate, we all loaded up in the cruiser and the dirt bike, taking candy and soap and Lil' Bruce the python, and went out to see Ellen (the lady who does our laundry.) on the way we handed out soap and candy to everyone we saw. At Ellen’s, all the guys put a tarp over her roof which leaks really badly. Then on the way home we stopped to see a family that I visit sometimes (the ones with 10 children) and I gave them some clothes and money to buy shoes with. Then we stopped at Bornface’s house and I gave him Christmas cookies Elena and I had made on Christmas Eve and a bag of mangoes. We found him sitting on his floor, sick with malaria, so we gave him some malaria medicine too. On the way home, I rode on the dirt bike with uncle john and he went so fast!! I screamed a lot. The road was sooo bumpy and muddy!!! Then we had dessert for supper. After that, it was pretty late, so we went to bed.
That was my Christmas. It didn’t feel like Christmas, but it was a good day, and I think it was the most productive Christmas I have ever had since we actually did things for others instead of just gorging ourselves
We washed clothes on Christmas Eve and they’re still dripping wet hanging on the line because it’s been raining every day since then.
December 20, 2007
We were on bush clinic Tuesday and Wednesday. It rained the whole time. We took care of 256 children under five. I think that's our all time record. There is a little girl named Dorothy at this clinic who May told me about before I came. May sends money and I buy food to take to her each month. I see her every time and play with her a little bit. This time, she learned to give kisses! She is the sweetest little girl ever. There’s a picture of her on my blog . This time we took her and her aunt (both her parents are dead) with us and dropped them off at the nearest health center on our way home so that Dorothy could get an HIV test. They don’t know why her parents died, so it probably was AIDS. I hope Dorothy doesn’t have it. We will find out the results next month when we go back there. Usually the guys come over to eat when we get back from this particular bush clinic because we get back so late that we miss supper. Last night we made macaroni and cheese and mango/banana smoothies. We had Christmas music playing while we ate! It was so festive. The song that was playing was, "I’ll be home for Christmas" ahhhhhhhhhhh. That’s one of the few times I’ve missed Christmas. Normally, its not that hard because it doesn’t feel like Christmas at all here. Nobody celebrates it really, and all we get is Christmas day off. Anyways, I’m missing home right now. I took a video and we all told about one of our favorite Christmases. It’s actually kind of a funny video, and it really shows the dynamics of our group and how we all fit together.
Tomorrow is Friday and I’m really glad. Elena and I are probably going to help Pauline get ready for next week. John and Nancy are bringing 6 other people with them. Then I also might teach Chaluba (My friend, and the receptionist at the clinic) how to ride a bike.
Tomorrow is Friday and I’m really glad. Elena and I are probably going to help Pauline get ready for next week. John and Nancy are bringing 6 other people with them. Then I also might teach Chaluba (My friend, and the receptionist at the clinic) how to ride a bike.
December 20, 2007
I forgot to tell you that I helped deliver another baby on Sabbath! The girl was Angela, the daughter of Ellen, the lady who does our laundry, so it was really exciting since I knew her. Elena wasn’t here because she went to some place to help with some orphanage. Amy Armstrong was here though. She and her brother came to Vic falls with us and then stayed here with us until this morning when they left to go back to Kibidula in Tanzania. (Amy and her brother, Chris, were the people Bjorn and I originally thought we were going to be at Riverside with, but Alan decided to send them to Kibidula because they were more suited for that place.) Anyways, so it was me and Amy helping out. This delivery was different from the others because it was in the middle of the day instead of the night. And it was nice and short! She had started going into labor the night before, so by the time she came to the clinic at 2:00 Sabbath afternoon, it was almost time already!
Amy and I got busy cleaning all the dust off of the things in the birthing room and then Angela came in. Joyce, the nurse, wasn’t around much. She was there, but she kept disappearing. I wasn’t worried because she always does that, but she always seems to come back just at the right time.
I started to doubt this though, when Angela's water broke while she was pacing back and forth. Immediately, Amy and I were next to her and we lifted her onto the bed and took off her slip and panties. I was so scared!!!!! Amy and I were both giving each other looks of disbelief and panic. Where did Joyce go??!??!?!! So then the contractions were almost constant, and I was so scared the baby was going to come before Joyce did. Amy and I kept busy telling Angela not to push yet and telling her to keep breathing. Ellen, Angela's mother, went looking for the nurse but came back alone. We sent her out looking again and when she came back alone again, I told her to stay while I went to look, but she wouldn’t stay!!!!!! She was like, "no, YOU STAY” and in my mind, I was thinking, "Ellen, if you only knew how much I DONT know what I’m doing! At least you have given birth to 8 children!” She disappeared again and Amy and I kept trying to sound like we knew what we were doing. Angela wanted us to hold her arms up in the air. Then she was saying she was paralyzed and that she couldn’t feel her hands. Sure enough, her fingers were really cold and they were curling up in weird positions. I was so freaked out. Then she started telling us she was dying, which to me, seemed like a good idea. No, seriously, I wasn’t too worried because I’m sure lots of women say that when they’re in labor, but I actually started to believe her when she seemed to stop breathing and her head fell to the side and her eyes kept rolling back in her head. The trickle of blood coming out of her also worried me. It was really intense. I feel really stupid now thinking about it because nothing was wrong with her, but I was just so panicked without the nurse there.
Finally Ellen came back with Joyce and things started to calm down. Angela stopped dying and Joyce massaged her hands to bring the feeling back. I found out I actually did something right by telling her not to push yet. I was proud that I had actually learned something from my other experiences. The baby didn’t come long after Joyce arrived. The head popped out and then it couldn’t come any further until Joyce cut the cord and unwrapped it from around the baby's neck. Both Angela and Ellen were really disappointed that the baby was a boy. It was awful! Angela already has a little boy named Progress.
Anyways, so that was what I did on Sabbath afternoon!
Amy and I got busy cleaning all the dust off of the things in the birthing room and then Angela came in. Joyce, the nurse, wasn’t around much. She was there, but she kept disappearing. I wasn’t worried because she always does that, but she always seems to come back just at the right time.
I started to doubt this though, when Angela's water broke while she was pacing back and forth. Immediately, Amy and I were next to her and we lifted her onto the bed and took off her slip and panties. I was so scared!!!!! Amy and I were both giving each other looks of disbelief and panic. Where did Joyce go??!??!?!! So then the contractions were almost constant, and I was so scared the baby was going to come before Joyce did. Amy and I kept busy telling Angela not to push yet and telling her to keep breathing. Ellen, Angela's mother, went looking for the nurse but came back alone. We sent her out looking again and when she came back alone again, I told her to stay while I went to look, but she wouldn’t stay!!!!!! She was like, "no, YOU STAY” and in my mind, I was thinking, "Ellen, if you only knew how much I DONT know what I’m doing! At least you have given birth to 8 children!” She disappeared again and Amy and I kept trying to sound like we knew what we were doing. Angela wanted us to hold her arms up in the air. Then she was saying she was paralyzed and that she couldn’t feel her hands. Sure enough, her fingers were really cold and they were curling up in weird positions. I was so freaked out. Then she started telling us she was dying, which to me, seemed like a good idea. No, seriously, I wasn’t too worried because I’m sure lots of women say that when they’re in labor, but I actually started to believe her when she seemed to stop breathing and her head fell to the side and her eyes kept rolling back in her head. The trickle of blood coming out of her also worried me. It was really intense. I feel really stupid now thinking about it because nothing was wrong with her, but I was just so panicked without the nurse there.
Finally Ellen came back with Joyce and things started to calm down. Angela stopped dying and Joyce massaged her hands to bring the feeling back. I found out I actually did something right by telling her not to push yet. I was proud that I had actually learned something from my other experiences. The baby didn’t come long after Joyce arrived. The head popped out and then it couldn’t come any further until Joyce cut the cord and unwrapped it from around the baby's neck. Both Angela and Ellen were really disappointed that the baby was a boy. It was awful! Angela already has a little boy named Progress.
Anyways, so that was what I did on Sabbath afternoon!
December 15, 2007
I went bungee jumping and rafting.
The rafting was really fun. There was one scary part though when the raft tipped over and I got stuck under the water for a long time. I really thought I was going to die. I was thinking, "so this is what its like to drown" when I finally came up, I was gasping for air and I couldn’t stop gasping. I guess you call it hyperventilating. One of the safety kayakers was there and he told me to hold onto his kayak and that’s how I went through the next rapids. Finally I got back to my raft just as they were flipping it back right side up. As they did this, one of the oars came and whacked me in the face. After that I was in some sort of shock I guess, cause Bjorn hauled me onto the boat and then we both spent the next set of thrashing rapids being slammed around the bottom of the boat, trying to untangle ourselves. When we finally got to calm water and I was able to start breathing normally again, I realized my braces were stuck inside my lip. (From when the oar hit me in the face) they went almost all the way through my lip, just a little puncture was showing on the outside, but the metal wasn’t poking through. Anyways, that was by far the scariest time of my life!
The scariest part of bungee jumping was the anticipation. I couldn’t sleep for the two nights before I went! Then when I finally got onto the platform on the bridge with my toes hanging over the edge, in a panic, decided I didn’t want to go anymore!! But by then it was way too late to change my mind! Once I dove off the edge, it was instant relief. It was amazing and wonderful! It wasn’t scary at all anymore once I was falling. Sometimes when you’re doing something fast like that, you aren’t aware of anything around you and afterwards, you can’t remember what anything looked like. At least that’s how it always has been for me jumping off high places into water and stuff, but this time was different. I was aware of everything! I could see the water below rushing towards me and I could see the rocks of the canyon passing by and I was just enjoying it, there wasn’t an ounce of fear or any feeling of going fast... it was very surreal. Im SO glad I did it. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone! Bjorn and Josh also went. SO MUCH FUN!!!
The rafting was really fun. There was one scary part though when the raft tipped over and I got stuck under the water for a long time. I really thought I was going to die. I was thinking, "so this is what its like to drown" when I finally came up, I was gasping for air and I couldn’t stop gasping. I guess you call it hyperventilating. One of the safety kayakers was there and he told me to hold onto his kayak and that’s how I went through the next rapids. Finally I got back to my raft just as they were flipping it back right side up. As they did this, one of the oars came and whacked me in the face. After that I was in some sort of shock I guess, cause Bjorn hauled me onto the boat and then we both spent the next set of thrashing rapids being slammed around the bottom of the boat, trying to untangle ourselves. When we finally got to calm water and I was able to start breathing normally again, I realized my braces were stuck inside my lip. (From when the oar hit me in the face) they went almost all the way through my lip, just a little puncture was showing on the outside, but the metal wasn’t poking through. Anyways, that was by far the scariest time of my life!
The scariest part of bungee jumping was the anticipation. I couldn’t sleep for the two nights before I went! Then when I finally got onto the platform on the bridge with my toes hanging over the edge, in a panic, decided I didn’t want to go anymore!! But by then it was way too late to change my mind! Once I dove off the edge, it was instant relief. It was amazing and wonderful! It wasn’t scary at all anymore once I was falling. Sometimes when you’re doing something fast like that, you aren’t aware of anything around you and afterwards, you can’t remember what anything looked like. At least that’s how it always has been for me jumping off high places into water and stuff, but this time was different. I was aware of everything! I could see the water below rushing towards me and I could see the rocks of the canyon passing by and I was just enjoying it, there wasn’t an ounce of fear or any feeling of going fast... it was very surreal. Im SO glad I did it. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone! Bjorn and Josh also went. SO MUCH FUN!!!
December 12, 2007
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Guess what I did today! I jumped and did a 300-foot free fall off of a bridge! The second highest bungee jump in the world!!!! I can’t believe I did it! It was one of the most fulfilling things I have ever done! seriously!! so much fun!!!
We also went rafting all day on the Zambezi for one day. Victoria Falls is SUCH a nice place!!!
November 25, 2007
Last night we had another delivery. Kind of. The girl came in around 9:00 p.m. to the clinic (it seems like all the babies like to start being born around that time of night around here... and its always on the weekends...) We were up until 4:30 this morning with her, then we finally sent her to the hospital because the placenta was down, covering the cervix, preventing the baby from coming out.
This girl had been in labor though, since 12:00 noon, so she was exhausted. We put her on an IV before we took her to the hospital.
Man, I just can’t get over the conditions here though. The bed she was lying on has a plastic covered foam mattress on it, but it has a few tears in the plastic. So we patched them with tape so nothing could soak into the mattress. She just lay there naked, with a fan pointed at her, with last year's poster for child health week under her to catch the blood that was leaking out of her. When she had to urinate, we held a container under her. When she had to throw up, we held the same container up to her mouth, When she needed to have a bowel movement she had to climb out of the bed and squat on the floor and poop onto a piece of paper. Some blood and fluid spilled off the edge of the mattress and dripped into a puddle on the floor next to the bed. Now and then a lizard or a big black beetle would skitter across the wall. From a hole up in the ceiling, a huge black cockroach watched the scene. A thick black centipede made the bad choice of being outside the door of the room when somebody walked out, and its dead body lay in the doorway, split open on one side with some guts hanging out. A few mosquitoes filled in the empty spots in the room.
I hope that kind of gives you a picture of what it was like. And she had no painkillers either. Anyways, I heard this morning that she had a C-section and they spent quite awhile resuscitating the baby, which by the way came a month early. Evelyn doesn’t expect the baby to live. I am exhausted to say the least.
This girl had been in labor though, since 12:00 noon, so she was exhausted. We put her on an IV before we took her to the hospital.
Man, I just can’t get over the conditions here though. The bed she was lying on has a plastic covered foam mattress on it, but it has a few tears in the plastic. So we patched them with tape so nothing could soak into the mattress. She just lay there naked, with a fan pointed at her, with last year's poster for child health week under her to catch the blood that was leaking out of her. When she had to urinate, we held a container under her. When she had to throw up, we held the same container up to her mouth, When she needed to have a bowel movement she had to climb out of the bed and squat on the floor and poop onto a piece of paper. Some blood and fluid spilled off the edge of the mattress and dripped into a puddle on the floor next to the bed. Now and then a lizard or a big black beetle would skitter across the wall. From a hole up in the ceiling, a huge black cockroach watched the scene. A thick black centipede made the bad choice of being outside the door of the room when somebody walked out, and its dead body lay in the doorway, split open on one side with some guts hanging out. A few mosquitoes filled in the empty spots in the room.
I hope that kind of gives you a picture of what it was like. And she had no painkillers either. Anyways, I heard this morning that she had a C-section and they spent quite awhile resuscitating the baby, which by the way came a month early. Evelyn doesn’t expect the baby to live. I am exhausted to say the least.
November 23, 2007
We had a good Thanksgiving yesterday. We spent it with the Stafford family. He is a dentist who is working as a missionary. We went to their very nice house in Lusaka and had CRANBERRY SAUCE!!! Along with mashed potatoes and all the fixing’s. It was awfully good! I made apple crisp for the occasion. I doubled the apples and tripled the crumbly topping because I always wish there was more. It turned out really good and everyone loved it, but I wished that I hadn’t tripled the topping because it was just a bit much after awhile! They have a nice pool in the community they live in, so we went swimming on Thanksgiving Day! It was a nice change to working all afternoon!
It doesn’t really feel like a Friday. I feel like I’m supposed to go to work tomorrow. I’m glad I don’t though!
It doesn’t really feel like a Friday. I feel like I’m supposed to go to work tomorrow. I’m glad I don’t though!
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