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.
October 31, 2008
October 28, 2008
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
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
October 19, 2008
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:).
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:).
October 15, 2008
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
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
October 12, 2008
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.
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.
October 6, 2008
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.
October 5, 2008
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."
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."
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