Pictures of the Holiday

Pasta making is the newest trend in the Fisher home- Mmm...

Anna and Madalyn posing with their prized Christmas cookies. The older sisters are probably exhaustedly draped across the couch... Just kidding:)

After a night of caroling in a wagon pulled by draft horses, we had a fun Christmas party. Here a few of the teens playing Dutch Blitz. I had more fun catching up with old friends.

A few of the Fisher Family Farm Cousins

Adam, Anna, Sophie, Madayln, Elisa

Emily, Allyson, Andrew, Lexy, Macy

These three youngsters keep me on my toes:) Here they are holding part of the wooden crouquet set that Andrew made in woodworking class at SAU.

QT QT (Cutie Cutie)

Cutie Cutie on an adventure with Madalyn

Cutie Cutie at the church school Christmas program

Living with two five year olds makes life very interesting, to say the least. Thanksgiving was the first time that I was introduced to the world of Cutie Cutie: a pink and purple hairy stuffed animal. When bargain shopping at Goodwill with Mom, the twins rescued Cutie Cutie from living frightenly boring and lonely life. "Why not?" my mom asked? the ugly creature was only a few cents.

Anna and Madalyn see Cutie Cutie as anything but ugly and worthless. Cutie Cutie has brought more giggles and life to this house than the stuffed animals and dolls that are piled in their room and that line their shelves.

"Do you know how to spell Cutie Cutie's name, Emily?" Without waiting for my response, Anna slowly and meticulously annunciated each syllable of her beloved's name: "Q-T-Q-T!", followed by giggles and a stream of the almost unrecognizable, high pitched baby talk in the language of QT QT. Yes, Anna and Madalyn have a distinct dialect for their little animal.

Cutie Cutie goes everywhere, does everything. Her most keen sense is smell, which gets her pink nose into more trouble than any other part of her body. She likes to smell each food eaten, cookie dough and icing, sometimes even soup. Cutie Cutie also likes other people to smell her nose. I hold my breath and try to get away. I sometimes even offer to take Cutie Cutie to get a bath... in the washing machine. At first it was met with objections (moments-cutie cutie=sadness. moments with cutie cutie=happiness). Cutie Cutie would say in her high and whiny voice: "but I dont want a baaaath..." Later I heard shrieks of laughter from the laundry room: I see Cutie Cutie!!!! and a when Cutie Cutie came flying by again a few seconds later, and could be seen through the clear window of the front loading washing machine, the girls would shout with glee... oh to be a child!

Cutie Cutie got a brother under the Christmas tree yesterday. "Do you know what his name is?" Anna asked me. Without waiting for my reply she responded imphatically as if I should know, "Cutie!". Of course.

Luke on CNN

It makes my day every time I see my brother in this video from CNN. He is just a passerby outside of the cholera tents set up in Zimbabwe. Take a look at this clip, and watch for my older brother wandering around in Africa:)

http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=37878954845&h=09ymK

LRC

LRC

These three letters bring a flood of emotions for nursing majors at SAU (and a few reported rumors of the Theo majors as well). This is where big realizations are made, such as: "I passed!" or "I have to take this semester again..." This is where you sit in front of a computer screen for hours, taking tests, practicing "ProCalc" and watching highly entertaining videos on how to communicate effectively, along with other various an serious topics. Sounds fun, huh?

Today I felt very accomplished coming out of the LRC. I had my first exposure to NCLEX review questions this week. I have been trying to pass the questions, again. and again. Let me just say that it has left me at a loss of words... But praise God, I finally passed! Well, at least the NCLEX review. Tomorrow I have a whoppin' exam (well, two actually), and then another nursing exam on Tuesday. Some might say that I am Living Ridiculously Crazy (LRC), but the flood of emotions that comes over me when people mention the LRC will one day become more meaningful when I have really truly passed the NCLEX.

gross!

I have one statement on this matter:

"Couples excessively sharing saliva on this campus really disturbs and disgusts me"- Emily F.

the OCD in me...

Generally speaking, I am not the one in the family that has tendencies to have obsessive compusions. That would be Elisa or Andrew, maybe even my mom. But not me. I'm not crazy like that. I used to make fun of my mom for getting kurfluffled when I flopped onto her beautiful and perpetually made bed, ruining the beauty (I know... perfectly fluffed pillows are not what most would call beautiful...) Anways... I used to make fun of her. That is, until I went away to Academy. Immature, unthoughtful, imperfectionist, high schoolers would barge into my room, flop themselves on my bed, as if there was nothing wrong with messing up my bed that I had meticulously tweaked and tugged at that morning until it was a purdy as the ones in the magazines.

O.k. So maybe I am a little um... shall I say, different? All well.

I noticed it the first time of walking to the dorm, the night I got back from Thanksgiving break: the crooked Christmas tree. It is on the third floor. The first and second floor's Christmas trees are aligned. you can see through the windows on each floor. It really is a (potentially) beautiful sight: Three floors of Christmas trees, all aligned, almost like one BIG tree. But the third tree? I am certain that it is inches off center. Oh, how I hoped that my poor eye sight was decieving me... But no! I side stepped on that side walk in front of Thatcher several times before I came to this conclusion: When nobody is around, I am going to the 3F and fixing this disgraceful situation. A crooked Christmas tree! That is one thing that this obsessive and compulsive girl can't handle.

Cholera

Well, I am adding to my job description "cholera nurse." I am not sure if you have heard about our epidemic over here, but it is starting to hit a bit close to home...

Yesterday afternoon, our two of our twin boys came to me and told me that their older brother (who is about 21 and lives on his own in town) had bad diarhea and was kind of sick. They didn't know if it was cholera or not, but they were concerned. Early this morning, one of their cousins came to the orphonage to tell them that he was in bad shape. Apparently he does have cholera. The boys went to check on him and found out that he was at a cholera clinic that UNICEF and Doctors without borders have set up down the road. They waited an hour or so to see him and saw 4 dead people carried off, so they promptly road their bicycles back to get me. I drove our van over and got in to see the brother. Had to drive through a river of raw sewage that his been running down the road in that place for a month (wonder why we have a cholera problem??)

Driving into the gate of that clinic was like driving into a nurse's worst nightmare. People were being wheeled in in wheelbarrows. There were crowds outside of the building waiting to be registered and seen. Actually entering the building was like entering a vomiting and diarhea hell on earth. There were long rows of IV bags hanging from bailing twine streched down the halls and in lines across the rooms. Underneath the bags were rows of people collapsed onto benches, draped across chairs, slumped directly on the concrete. Eyes sucken in, half open, but not seeing. Each person had a 20 liter bucket. Most were half full with watery brown liquid. The floor was wet in puddles. There was a full time mopping crew, but it didn't keep the floor dry. and that was the "observation area." Patients that were actually "admitted" got a cot with diarhea hole cut in it with a bucket underneath. That is where I found him.

He was doing better than I exptected after seeing all of the critical people in the observation room. Apparently, he had come in very weak, unable to walk, getting cramps from electrolyte imbalance, etc They gave him 6 liters of lactated ringers and he had felt much better. The clinic staff and then sent the family home and told them to come back in the morning. No one gave him a drink all night or changed his IV bags, so this morning they found him so weak he couldn't sit and could hardly talk. By the time I got their today, they had given him another 3 liters of fluid and he was looking a bit better. but still had only urinated one time in 48 hours.

The big problem was that there were no doctors and no nurses. They are all on strike. Well, I should say, almost no nurses. There were two nurse managers doing triage and two volunteer nurse techs starting IVs/changing bags. (Yesterday they ran out of IV needles and were sending families to buy there own at the closest pharmacy. They also ran out of IV fluids, but seem to be re-stocked now.)

There were a few red cross people maintaing crowd control/helping with registration. Doctors Without borders was maintaining the sanitation with chlorox in backpack sprayers, mopping crews, hand washing stations, wet bleach towels you had to walk across to enter/exit the building, etc. They were also mixing up and passing out O.R.S. (oral rehydration salts) as well as setting up tents for holding additonal patients. They were not doing any direct patient medical care, pretty much no one was. The nurse tech, just went down the row and started an IV on everyone and everyone one got lactated ringers as fast and she could change the bags. There were about 30 to 50 patients per "IV nurse" and that was pretty much the only nurse you saw. Needless to say, the nurse managers were not very happy people. But, how can you blame a public health nurse for not showing up to work when one month's salary won't pay for one day's bus commute and will only buy 1/2 of a loaf of bread...

To make a long story short, I am got the boy out of there after some red tape hassles and have him in the sick room of our clinic. I started him on PO cipro. After a few more liters of IV fluid, we have him urinating again. His viatals are stable . He Is now able to keep PO fluids down (still coming straight out the other end though...). I started him on cipro, am pushing O.R.S. fluids and have him on a maintence drip of ringers solution. He has family continously at the bedside, so I downgraded him to vital checks by me every 4 hours. I need to head back down there in an hour or so. Anyway. Praise God that I am still able to start an IV Keep us in your prayers. Foreign media and NGOs are tightly controlled in this country. I would be sceptical of the stats that they give on the severity of the outbreak. It is most likely much worse.

Luke

Room Pictures

According to Emily & Olivia, the Christmas season has begun. Rather than getting into debates of whether Christmas trees and Christmas lights are an abomination, we have decided to adorn our room with many fanciful wonders. If you want to see the glorious sight that we behold every day, then feel free to visit Olivia's blog: http://www.olivialeighphotography.com/blog/. They are inspiring!

Rocky Vs. Sandy

"All love that has not friendship for it's base is like a mansion built upon sand." 

- Ella Wheeler Wilcox

This is a quote that I came across this morning. The more I thought about it, the more I liked it, so I wrote it up on mine and Olivia's little whiteboard, the frequently used message-board to share bits of encouragement and wisdom. 

I was prompted to open up my Bible and read what Jesus had to say about foundations and houses built on the beach... 

"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 'and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these saying of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 'and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall" (Matthew 7:24-27). 

I encourage you to have the Rock as the foundation of each part of your life. Be a "wise man" by obeying God's commandments, following His principles, and doing His will. The rains will come whether you build your house on the sandy land or on the rock, so it just makes sense to have a well built house by the best Carpenter around. 

Logic

I am a girl, therefore I am a multitasker.
right?

I am a (almost) a nurse, therefore I am efficient.
or not.

I am a Christian, therefore I am nice.
or just pretending.

I am a phlegmatic, therefore I am flexible.
only when it doesn't hurt.

I am a human, therefore I am a sinner.
but... I have a Savior.

church hopping

I haven't been to the same church twice since mid-October. Each church I have visited has been friendly and welcoming. I feel a little bad I haven't been faithfully attending my TN "home church", North River. This past week I visited the Battlefield SDA Church, and I loved it. Nevermind the fact there was a small crowd, of which most had snowy hair. I promised them I would return. The elderly couple sitting in front of my brother and I turned around after the first hymn and invited us to come back and sing special music for them sometime. He was serious, becuase afterwards he took my name and number. It was thrilling to be invited back, included, and given a job. But I do have a question: Is church hopping o.k.? Personally, I don't think it is the most healthy habit to get into, mainly because no one will miss a vistitor if they are just passing through. There is no accountability, no stability. On the other hand, I think it is important to know what churches are in the area. Let me know what you think. Is church hopping a postitive or negative, and should it be encouraged to college students?

Rest

It is the official "stress-out week" at SAU. No joke.

They have graciously provided bubble blowing sessions, back rubs, and humor videos to watch during lunch. It was fun blowing bubbles for thirty minutes with Olivia, Sam, & Andrew, but sometimes it takes more than blowing bubbles to cure the "pre-break crunch"...

I think we all have been feeling it, maybe some more than others. Sometimes we forget what it is like to rest. I know I have. Last night Olivia and I went to sleep at 8:00 p.m. Some think that we are a little um.. shall I say... strange? but we really don't care. Our bodies need the sleep. This morning in nursing class we learned about sleep, and it was nearly one of the first times that I wasn't fighting sleep in class (at one point I started yawning, but I think it was because we were discussing sleep so much!). Getting adequate sleep affects so much of our lives, more than we realize. I actually remember what I read in my devotions, I made it to prayer group, had a relaxing breakfast- life is so much happier when I sleep!

For all of you who are experiencing the heavy load of life; take time to rest. Not just getting 8 hrs of sleep tonight, but to really take a big breath of fresh air, stretch your arms out, and to surrender everything to God. Trust me, I don't think you will regret it.

fall pictures

Andrew called me up and invited me to come take fall pictures with him. I in turn invited Olivia to take fall pictures too. If you are interested in seeing the amazing results of Andrew's brilliant idea, then go to Olivia's blog: www.olivialeighphotography.com/blog. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I have!

cleanliness is next to what?

Emily: "Olivia, I am soooo sorry about my side of the room being so messy!"
Olivia: "Emily, don't even mention it... look at my side of the room!!!"

Olivia: "It looks like a tornado just went through here!"
Emily:"Well... at least on your side of the room..." lol

Emily: "Honestly, I will clean up my mess today."

Olivia: "Emily, stop making your bed. I feel guilty when yours is made and mine isn't."

Refocused

People around me are hurting. They try to wear masks to cover up the tears, the guilt, the worry, and the pain. Without realizing it, I get enraptured with myself and forget other people. Today was a refocusing day for me. My eyes were adjusted in the way I view people. This morning at clinicals I had an unexpected patient that needed extra tenderness and an extra listening ear. Not to mention my oblivion to friends with wounded hearts. Walking down the promenade will have new meaning for me as I try to meet the eyes of my fearful classmates. At worship this morning our instructor read to us about the influence we can have on our patients:the way we can transform them just by our presence. Then at Christian Beliefs class, we watched a video that I have seen at least two times, it still provoked a tear or two from my eyes. Although I am a sucker for heart touching things, maybe this will adjust the glasses that you wear. I challenge you to look through the eyes of Jesus and see who you can touch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfeXxkbgCVE

Hiding

I have been accused of hiding this week.
Comments keep flowing in, like: "Emily!!! Where have you been all week? I haven't seen you at all!" or random text messages from friends: "Haven't seen you around this week, how are you doing?" My brother Andrew insists that I have been trying to avoid him all week long. Honestly, I am still alive and here at SAU. There were times when I felt like hiding this week: Instead of going to clinicals at 5:45 in the morning or instead of giving a debate, or instead of taking a test... I am here; I have been all week long. After a not-so-friendly conversation with my brother, I decided that I should start being a little more intentional about going to meals or walks or Wal-Mart trips with him. So for the second time this week, Andrew and I were in the library at the same time. I asked him what he was doing at 12:00, and with twinkle in my eye and a smile on my face, I told him to meet me in front of Wright hall at 12:00, "Because we are going on a date!". He said, "Emily, you are too cool! Too bad that you're my sister (wink*)!"
Do you ever wonder how often God is accused of hiding? Or how often we miss our dates and appointments and little moments with Him every day? Tomorrow is Sabbath. I propose that you have a date with God. Just you and Him. Do something special for Him, set out extra time just to get to know Him better and catch up on life.

My Debating Debute

My hands are still cold and trembling, and my cheeks are still flushed and warm from the Sabbath Vs. Sunday debate. We gave it our all. It definitly was not a perfect presentation, but we made sure that each person in our Christian Belief's class had the opportunity to see for themselves that the Sabbath is the Biblical day of rest and worship and that the Ten Commandments were not nailed to the cross. Reese and Olivia were amazing! They pounded the points and uncovered many dusty and hidden aspects about Sabbath and Sunday. It was an exciting class for me (I don't know if it was for the people listening...). I was only slightly nervous and unprepared to meet the foes. I did study however, and boy did I pray! The pro-Sunday keepers were impressive. They were last time too, when they won the evolution debate. A 2% grade increase is always nice, but so is the satisfaction to know that the Ten Commandments and the Lord's day prevailed.

$80,000.00 for a loaf of bread? An Update from Zimbabwe

Dear friends and family,

We are finally getting email again :) I think that it has been two weeks since I have written a general letter. Let me think of what is new around here...

Well, I lost the nail off of my left big toe due to dropping a welder on it. I had been taping it down with medical tape for protection during work and bare-foot soccer with the kids, but I finally cut it off yesterday. Also, I got a hair cut. It was getting a bit long. I had one of the guys buzz it with a #4 guard. It feels much better, and since I have been going for the no maintainance method of hair styling, it probably looks better, as well.

I have been staying busy. The guys and I scrubbed out our cement water reservoir this last week. It had been out of commission for 6 months. The pump on the well that fills it had been down, but we got it fixed this last week. The reservoir is a cement tank that is about 3 meters deep with about a 5 meter diameter, so it can hold quite a bit of water. We isolated most of our campus from the city water two weeks ago due to everyone getting diarrhea. We were then filling our water tower straight from one of our bore holes, but it wasn't keeping up. Since we were out of water all of the time, we decided that we better get our big well and reservoir back online. The reservoir roof, up until last week, was made of warped poles and broken asbestos sheets and so it had been collecting alot of dust, leaves, and most notably, dead lizards. It is now properly covered with 2x6s and corrugated iron with all of the cracks sealed with plaster. I bleached the system, and now trust it enough that I am drinking water straight from the tap.

Other things. we are digging soak-aways for our various dorm shower/sink drains and septic tank over-flows. We dig a rectangular pit and put a wall of stones down the middle of it and then plant banana trees on the sides. The idea is that the water will run down the row of stones and be soaked away by the bananas. Soap scum and toilet water bananas! Yum :) Oh, on the plant topic, our lemon root-stock seeds for orange tree grafting are finally sprouting! We planted them back in September, so I think it has been long enough.

We built two outdoor kitchens recently. One last week, and one today. Basically, 4 upright poles set in the ground and a corrugated iron roof. When the power is out, our kids cook over a fire outside. And when it is raining, it is nice to do your outdoor cooking under shelter. We have only had two small rains so far, but we are preparing for more, in good faith.

I am bonding alot more with the guys I work with now. I am going to move into the dorm shortly and will be acting as somewhat of a dean. My room new room needs some finishing still. We will be working on it the rest of this week. Tiling shower, Plastering walls, painting, installing toilet/sink, etc. Also, I am going to be taking over the teaching of the highschool students, as of tomorrow. The Zimbabwe's school teachers are still on strike and the young man that had been tutoring them has moved on abruptly to other calls of service. He may return, but we don't know when. In the mean time, I will add to my list of duties, geometry/algebra/chemistry/biology/geography teacher. If you know anyone who wants to come out and help with construction/maintenance/landscaping/teaching/farming, I could use some help (hint, hint, Steven :). Also, there is opportunity for clinic and laboratory work, but so far, I have had no time for it. In short, we could use several more staff.

I am hesitant to include the next few lines because they could be easily misinterpreted :-) Included in our list of needs is a staff member of the fairer gender. I have been pleased with our young men, but I am starting to worry about a few of our girls. I think that they need a bit more guidance than have been getting. The only female supervision they have is on the weekends plus Wednesday afternoons, and they are developing some negative behavior patterns behind the back of our director. I think someone a little more involved with their lives/in touch with their problems would do them some good. I can only dean one of these dorms.

Ok, this is long enough. Helton and I are doing well. I am fully recovered from my GI ailments (lasted about 4 days longer than I had planned on...) Helton had a bout as well, and has been tired all week, but I think he is starting to pick back up again. Economic news: I hear that the price of bread is up to 80,000.00 dollars. Was about 1000.00 when I first arrived here. As best I can tell, the currency loses its value by 1/2 every 7 days, which I think calculates out to an annual inflation rate of about 54,500,000,000,000,000,000 % (54.5 million trillion percent) I hope I am miscalculating somewhere. That seems too astronomical. Anyway, I am off to bed. Keep in touch, and keep us in your prayers.

Luke

breaking the break

My break from school is officially broken.
I have my notebook and Pharmacology book ready for class tomorrow morning.

Sometime I will fill you in on my adventures from fall break... but meanwhile I am going to get my beauty sleep (My only daily beauty routine:).

Letter From Luke

Well, I feel like I am in Africa again. I had my first bout with diarrhea today. Started about midnight last night. We have been using city water instead of bore hole water due to power outages and because the pavers have been needing a lot of water to pack the road with. I think I accidentally drank a liter that had not been Steri-Penned yet… Fortunately, I have a good supply of charcoal, and 19hrs later, I think things are coming together again :) I have been having to treat the kids for various GI ailments as well, but fortunately no cholera like they have reported in other parts of town.

We were visited by thieves on Friday night. Two storage containers were broken into. We lost a little bit of food, a few bicycles, and several suitcases full of new dresses for the girls that had been brought over from the states. Could have been worse. The alarm on our building went off around midnight, and I got up and walked around with a flashlight for a bit. One of the other guys got up and walked around as well. We didn't see anything, but we possibly encouraged the thieves to end their business sooner than planned. I think I mentioned a “secret locking mechanism” in my last general email. Anyway, the third container that the thieves attempted to enter had the proto-type installed. Due to that success, I spent all day Sunday and all day Monday securing the rest of the containers. Spending your days with an angle grinder and drill and putting 5/8th inch holes in thick plate steel is not near as fun as gardening. I am finished with all but the last container, and power was out again today anyway, so I resumed farming.

About 10 more kids have joined our pre-rains gardening project, and we got the beds made for 7 of them today. Peanuts and carrots seem to be the favorite things to plant. I am now making better friends with many of the kids besides the few that I have been working with every day, so I am a happy camper.


Mbeki (recently deposed south african president) was in Harare today trying to work out the differences between Mugabe and Tschangari (sp?). Despite the power sharing deal that they signed a few weeks ago, the power is yet to be shared. The government ministry posts have not been finalized and their is no budget yet. Don't know what they would do with a budget with 60,000,000% inflation anyway... Heard an interview on BBC this morning with zim director for a coalition of NGOs that was calling for national emergency status for our food crisis. There are fears that if the situation is not resolved soon, that we could descend into "civil strife." We are a peace loving people and have been coping peaceably with a financial crisis for many years, so hopefully that will not happen.

Luke

Patten Towers Zoo Trip

We had fun at the zoo...
We made new friends.
And enjoyed old friends (like Mildred:)

We relaxed in the shade,
and had lovely conversations with the camel.

We had fun talking and laughing with each other.

Kayla and Britanny especially loved the petting zoo.

Here is the Patten crew! It was definitly a great day at the zoo.

appendectomy

Yes, that's right. I have been spending some quality time at the hospital. Fortunately, I am not the patient. Unfortunately, my sister Elisa is.

It all started yesterday evening. She just didn't feel good. And then she started to feel worse, and then down right miserable. She began to get worried ("Emily, I think I have an appendicitis"), so I went to her house and did what all good nursing students do: ask a million questions, check for rebound pain, auscultate the abdomen, palpate some more, etc. Her pain was in the left upper quadrant (exactly where the appendix is NOT) and she felt nauseated. Great. I stayed with her until curfew and then our dear friend Andrea came to the rescue to camp out the rest of the night with Elisa, just in case it got worse. It did.

I got a phone call around 2:00 in the morning:" Emily, I am going to the emergency room- we are pretty sure it is an appendicitis". I felt badly for my sister. In pain, no sleep, emergency room, tests, surgery... Not my idea of a good nights rest.

After hours and hours of waiting, she finally had her surgery. About two hours later, and many prayers later, my dear sister came back to the room. She is alive! With 3 band-aids to prove it, her appendix is officially gone.

Triatholon

I actually did it! I participated in my first triathlon, but definitely not my last. It was one of the most fulfilling things I have completed.

Our team: Jonathon, Andrew, and I. Andrew also competed (and completed the race) by himself.

Letter from Zimbabwe

Hello friends and family,

This is the second general news letter that I have written, but I think I only had 4 or so people on my address list the first time. In any case, I think all of you know where I am at and what I have been up to, in general.

So, whats new around here?

I have been spending most of my time gardening with the kids (we have seeds planted in the field now, with 15 of the kids having their own plot that they have planted and keep watered, etc.). I also spend alot of time manufacturing/fixing things such as burglar bars and trailer hitches, hanging gutters, moving stones with tractor, etc.

I calculated soymilk powder and raisin rations for helton and I, to distrubute our wealth equally over our stay here this year. soymilk powder per person per day: 1.5 tablespoons. Raisins per person per week 1/2 cup. Fortunately, we bought a 20 liter pail of peanut butter and have a reliable source of bananas, so not all of our treats are rationed :)

other news: we recieved 70,000.00 dollars worth of laboratory equipment last week courtesy of the dutch embassy, along with a complimentary dutch technician flown in from holland to install/test/train us on all the equipment. So for all of you nurses/doctors/lab techs out there, I think that I now know how to (and have the equipment to) run CBCs and all of the chemistry (glucose, creatine, cholestrols, all of the liver function tests, etc). We also have AIDS testing capability (CD4 counter and ELIZA) but I do not know how to run those yet. Also of great interest to me are our new microscope, temp control incubators, auto-clave, and laminar flow cabinet. I think we could teach some fun genetics and microbiology classes around here if we had the time.

Don't get me wrong, I think all of the equipment is pretty cool, but I find it all a bit amusing. Our main problems on campus are power outages, coordenating a clean water supply, getting enough water to irrigate the garden with, limited funds for scarce fuel, searching for food, not enough staff, etc. and now we have one of the better laboratories in the country (except no staff yet...). I think that we are planning on providing laboratory services for a variety of medical establishments and organizations when we get up and running.

I hear that bread is now up to at least 1500.00 zim dollars/loaf (last week it was 1000.00). Also, the grocery store shelves in our part of town are bare. (note to Cora: Helton and I are very apprecitive of your mother finding us some groceries last week! thanks again :)

We have found the manure piles of the local layer hatchery and have started hauling loads back to our gardens/fields. day before yesterday we were hauling a load and noticed that our trailer had a low tire as we were loading, so we only put in a partial load, plus filled the truck. tire was suffering on the way home but we came across a man with a bike pump. We borrowed it and got enough air in the tire to be maneagable. Dr. Farag (director) then got the bright idea to go back and load more manure "since we were so close and now that our tire had air in it" So, against my advice, we went back proceeded to not only load the trailer, but to way overload it (more efficent use of fuel) To make a long story short, we blew out a tire on the way home and had to leave the trailer and a few boys there and then come back and get them and trailer on a seperate trip. We should have been done by 4:30pm but didn't get to the house until 2 hours after dark.

Interesting manure tidbit: I cooked several potatoes in a compost pile the other day. I have been teaching the kids rapid composting techniques with the layering of manures and waste garden materials with grasses and leaves. Anyway. Within 24 hours, the piles heat up enough to burn you, if you stick your hand down in them. I thought that I would do a little experiment, so I bagged a potatoe in several ziplocks and buried it down about a foot into one of the piles. I took it out in the evening and at it for supper. It was soft all the way through and quite tasty, so I had several more the next day. A bit too firm for mashing, but impressive for the manner in which they was cooked.

Ok, this is getting a bit too long, so I will wrap it up. I hope all you americans are doing okay over there with your bad economy. We are keeping you in our prayers ;)


Luke

PS I am adding to my proffesional skills list: farmer, nurse, and now barber, specializing in 0, 3, and 6mm male and female youth haircuts that meet or exceed zim primary school regulations. I also do "shaping."

First Clinicals

I am beginning a new adventure: nursing clinicals. I was thrilled to pull out the uniform that has been waiting to worn all summer. I will treasure this day first day, and all that I learned from it.

Bright and early in the morning, in a bright white uniform. I was so excited!

Here is the Thursday crew, looking like nurses already...

Here is our really cool group. From left: Sarah, Lucas, Melia, Debbie, Me, Alanna, and Ting. Jaron escaped before we could get him into the picture. We were happy to have a successful, interesting, and unforgettable first day at clinicals.

Battle of Chickamauga

On Sunday afternoon, Elisa, Andrea, and I went on an adventure: Battle of Chickamauga Reenactment. Since Monday was Elisa's birthday, I agreed to join in on the fun...
After listening to an illustration in Jay Rosario's sermon at SEYC, about a man who lived on the Mason Dixon line, I decided to see what all the rage was about for myself.

I felt a bit out of place. A little awkward. With little observation needed, one could realize that there was little racial diversity in the crowd.
I had never seen a battle before- but I imagine that there are usually no hard-core, southern Confederates that cheer so proudly... I didn't cheer, neither did Elisa or Andrea. I couldn't bring myself to applause, even if it was just a reenactment.

One thing that was quite nifty: the canons. Yes, I know. I am a girly girl, but I had never seen the spiral of smoke spin before, it was actually fascinating!

This poor soldier collapsed as two men were trying to help him walk back... I wanted to go out and be a Molly Pitcher. Unfortunately he died. But fortunately, the battle was soon over and he hopped right up, and looked fine. Talk about being raised from the dead! Right in front of my eyes!

So yes, it was quite the educational experience, but the real fun began when we went back to happy valley and had a "surprise" birthday party for Elisa. Sorry that I don't have any photos, but just to give you an idea of what we did...

• Sang "happy birthday" the Norwegian way
• Had a "splendid table" and made our own parfaits
• Shared our favorite NPR program and why
• Shared why we appreciate Elisa

It was a grand time.

Thoughts on Nursing

...I am learning to be

A critical thinker
but not a critical person

A caretaker
and a caring person

Someone who listens to the heartbeat
and also listens to the heart

Someone who understands those who have difficulty speaking
and someone who understands

The one who gives attention
not the one who draws attention

A nurse that does not say, "I can't heal you"
but who says, "I know Someone that can heal you".

Birthday Pictures

After Elisa and Andrew took me on a surprise morning walk, I was welcomed to the dorm by my roomate, and suitmates, and by more sweet surprises.

It was a fire hazard to light a candle, so I just pretended to blow out my candle.

Compliments to the chefs! Temple, Shama, and Olivia (taking pictures) were amazing!


View of the delicious handiwork and flowers. ahh..


Enjoying the meal- Once again, Olivia taking the pictures...

Phoebe called from Thailand while we were eating breakfast. It made my day so much brighter!

A big thank you to those who went out of their way to make my day extra special. I love you!

Taking a Sabbath stroll on the green way.

A self-action shot of Andrea and I on a walk.

Some of my girl friends after the Bible Workers Club Rally. Sarah made an apple cake and everyone sang to a very embarrased girl..

another year older...another year wiser?

I certainly hope so! People have asked me, aren't you so sad that you aren't a teenager anymore? I just chuckle and say, "whew! I am so glad to be out of the teenage years! I remember when I was twelve years old.... People would ask me 'So, aren't you excited that you are about to be a teenager?' Uh... nope. 'I think that teenagers are utterly stupid and miserable. Why would I want to be a teenager. I just want to skip being a teenager and become twenty." Yep... That would have been nice, but fortuantly a lot of maturation (should) take place during the teen years. They really weren't as painful as I thought they would be. As painful as all my classmates seemed to be. The worst was year thirteen. A very hard year, everyone is just so... annoying! Then every year after that has become better and better! I wonder... Will eternity be more fun with each passing year? I certainly hope so!

photo shoot at sau

After class yesterday, I pulled off my nice school clothes and excitedly pulled on some more comfortable clothes. Clothes that I'm truly used to. It so happens that my roomate has some cropped overalls. We found matching shirts, grabbed the cameras, called up Andrew, and headed out to play. Andrew had fun experimenting with Olivia's camera, and besides Olivia getting a bee sting, we had a bit of fun.


Having a brother at school can be fun....

And make you go a little crazy:)

Having fun wearing overalls!
Olivia trying to not look in pain, a bee just stung her!!!!!!

Better be careful what you tell your roomate:)

Making memories.

a few photos

The four siblings with cousin Edwin and friend Amanda at the Chattanooga Market.

Preparing for another cardboard box race down the hill and trying to not get grass stains.

Andrew shows us how its done!

On the leadership retreat with Shama and Shannon.

My purdy room- you are welcome any time!