Manic Monday

So today was just a manic Monday. It was busy from the time my feet hit the floor until about 10 minutes ago. It is now about 8:30. Breakfast went fairly well with the exception of two of the kids who seem to have some artistic style trapped in their little bodies. Every morning they pour their porridge out on the floor if they are not watched constantly. Then they proceed to smear it around with the hands and feet and make all kinds of crazy designs. They seem to think it is great fun.

After that it was a battle with Betty to get her to take her medicine. It is not bad tasting, other kids take it willingly, she is just stubborn and seems to choose this as something she can control. I may be able to pour it in her mouth, but she is in control on weather or not it gets swallowed. It is a challenge everyday! Right now due to her severe ear infection it is a challenge four times a day. So far I am winning but not without a good fight.

Robert has progressed to real baths now. So that came next. I fill a pink plastic baby bath with warm water and a soft flannel sheet. Then we remove all his bandages. Any that are stuck to his wounds just go in the bath with him to soak and then come off pretty easy. We have been doing it this way for four days now and it seems to be going well. Then it is time to reapply his bandages. All in all it takes about two hours. Fortunately I was able to do most of it while the other kids were napping. Can I just say PRAISE THE LORD for naps!

While I was doing all this Danielle was at the hospital on day 10 of what is supposed to be a 14 day vigil. She has been taking medication and food daily to a young patient with bacterial meningitis. She has been sick for months and nearly died. She is so thin it is frightening and will be coming to stay here soon. But she had to stay in the hospital until we were sure she was not contagious and that she got the treatment she needed. So Danielle has been on vigil. Every morning she gets up passes out breakfast, and then jumps on a boda and goes to children's hospital. She takes food for the Mom and the patient and also the medications that she will be given for that day. It has been a long ten days but the patient is beginning to show signs of improvement.

The rest of the day was filled with more medicine battles, ear washes, many poopy diapers, meals, a trip to town for market and pharmacy, two momma's that came for help, a visit to see the night guards new house that he is building, and making new bandages for Robert for tomorrow. It has been a full day.

Now I am laying in my bed ready to crash for the day. Although Danielle just said something about making popcorn so I might have to force myself to stay awake a bit longer. :)

That's all I have for now. I would love to hear from home. Know I am praying for many of you. Oh, and the picture is of the two ladies that live next door to us, just on the other side of our yard wall. Just a little glimpse of the village.

In His Service,
Jennifer

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!
I cant believe it is already Thanksgiving! Here is is feeling more like fourth of July. The sun is shining and there are afternoon thunderstorms almost everyday. I am writing this a day early because I don't know if I will be able to tomorrow. It has been a busy week. We received two new kids this week. One on Monday and one yesterday, and expecting another this afternoon. The first girl, Shakira, is 5 years old and was in the hospital for Malaria. She is very small and thin. She has already shown signs of improvement and this morning was smiling and playing with her sister. It is always a good sign when the kids begin to play. It is usually a sign that they have turned a corner. The second child, Isma is very ill and breaks your heart. He is very weak and sometimes has trouble standing on his own. He has to be encouraged to eat and is challenging me to come up with creative ways to get him to take his nasty tasting medicines. He is on several that have to be taking many times a day. Poor little guy. The one we are expecting today is the worst of the three. He is 7 months old and the brother of Isma. He is in need of much prayer. He is very thin and his immune system is in bad shape. He is very sick and dangerously thin. We have been trying to get him here for several days and hope that today is the day.

The rest of the children are improving day by day. Some of them are getting close to going home, but we are waiting for Renee to get home before we release anyone. The house is very full indeed and we are beginning to get creative on the sleeping arrangments. All nine cribs are full and some of them are doubling up. So far everyone is getting along and we are grateful for that. I have not posted any new pics because my camera battery died. I am hoping Renee will be able to bring me a few from the states as they are hard to fine. Cant believe I did not think of that before I left! Duh! Josephine has recovered well from here eye surgery and her eyes are just beautiful! Mazafalu has adjusted well to his glass eye but still hates having it taken out to clean it I really can not blame him for that. I don't particularly enjoy it either! :)

Thanksgiving for Danielle and I will be nice. We are invited to a fellow missionary's house along with many others. We are having a traditional Turkey dinner with most of the trimmings. We are looking forward to it very much. Katie went to kill the turkey this morning. ( A better woman than I!) If you want to know more about Katie and who this amazing women is you can check out her blog at www.kissesfromKatie.blogspot.com
The short version is she is a 21 year old American who came here and has taken in 13 children and is being just an amazing Mom to them while running a ministry in one of the slums here in Jinja. We are in a bible study together as well. The more I get to know this young women, the more I like her.

This afternoon I am off to a village called Kikira to try and obtain some food supplements for one of our kids. We have been able to get plumpy nut from them in the past. In case you don't know what plumpy nut is, it is a mixture of peanut butter, dry milk, fat, and vitamins that most kids love and helps them to recover from Malnutrition. It has made a real difference in many of the kids in our program.

Well, I will close for now. Know that I love and miss you all. I hope you have a wonderful thanksgiving where ever you are in the world. I pray that as you take time to remember what you are thankful for this year, that Jesus is at the top of your list. There really is nothing that is more valuable than the gift he offers us.

In His Service,
Jennifer

Renee in America

Well, both Renee and Selah have arrived here in America!  It was a long trip (48 hours!) for a little girl, but Selah did really well and we are all super excited to have her here with us!  I have attached Renee's speaking schedule and am hoping that we will see many of you at at least one of these events. Even if you attend another church in our area and will not be able to hear Renee speak at the Radford morning service, please plan to bring a dish and enjoy lunch with us after church - we would love to see you!! 

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support!

Lauri

Renee’s Fall 2010 Speaking Schedule

Nov. 14 – Moneta, VA – Radford Baptist Church, 10:30 Worship Service, potluck lunch to follow  www.radfordbaptist.com

Nov. 17 –  Roanoke, VA – Raleigh Court Presbyterian Church, Dinner at 6:00 (reservation required),     Program at 6:45 www.rcpres.org

Nov. 20 – Chattanooga, TN – Ethos Church, Fundraiser to include finger food, silent auction and program, $5 at the door www.ethoschattanooga.com

Nov. 21 – Ooltawah, TN, Crossroads Baptist Church, 10:30 Worship Service www.crossroadsconnection.org

Dec. 3 – Winnepeg, Manitoba, Canada – location and time TBA!

Dec. 5. – Muskogee, OK, Southeast Baptist Church, 10:45 Worship Service (918)913-2010

Dec. 5 – Muskogee, OK, Southeast Baptist Church, Meet & Greet with Renee, time TBA!

Dec. 8 – Moneta, VA, Eastlake Community Church, 6:00 evening program www.elcchurch.com

November 18th

Hello to all,
Sorry it has been so long since I have written. I am doing well. I just had some prolonged issues with the internet. I apparently also had some issues with my email list because some of you were not getting my updates. I hope that has been resolved as well. Time here is passing quickly. Renee has already been in the states for 3 weeks and Danielle and I have settled into a pretty good routine. We are so grateful for the local ladies that come to work everyday. Without them this would be so much more difficult if not impossible. We have much to be thankful this week as we think of all of you back home preparing for Thanksgiving. Just a few of them are:
1) So far everything has been peaceful as the country prepares for the upcoming election.
2) with the exception of a cold, I am healthy and the kids are all improving day by day.
3) We have amazing help in the local community that come and work with us everyday
4) we have had opportunities to share the gospel and plant many seeds
5)Internet is back up
6) a bible study has been formed by many of the missionaries working in the area. We are meeting every Tuesday.
7) Church has been AMAZING!
8) I have had tremendous support, encouragement and love from home.
9) Just in the short time we have been here, we have already sent 4 kids back to their homes in good health, and brought another 6 here with 3 more expected in the next few days.
10)Although we will not be eating Turkey with you all on Thursday, we will have plenty to eat, a very comfortable place to stay, and the chance to share God's love with 10 lovely kids and two Moms.
Oh yes, and one more thing I am really thankful for is WARM WEATHER!!! I am truly sorry for any of you who might be cold as you are reading this. But I must tell you I am warm and even on the days it rains it is still warm enough to run around in short sleeves!
I would love to hear from you and know how things are going back in the states. Many of you have big things happening in your lives and I am dying for some details! To everyone back at VBC know that I am missing worshiping with you.
If you did not get any of my previous updates let me know and I will try to resend them.
Love to all,
Jennifer

What a mighty God we serve!

Today has been a good day! My day started at 5:30 this morning. The sky was still dark and I was sleeping very well, when I awoke to a VERY LOUD speaker playing the Muslim call to worship, and then I think reading the Koran. For a moment I laid there in my warm bed and began to get angry and then a verse came to my head. Ephesians 6:12 For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Suddenly my anger melted and I began to pray. I began to pray for the speaker to quit working, I prayed for the darkness to be overcome by light, and for the word of God to be proclaimed in this village. I prayed for the lies to be stopped and for THE TRUTH to be known. What happened next could be explained away by many as coincidence or chance, but I BELIEVE it was a direct answer to my prayer. Within two minutes, the loud speaker began to cut in and out. In the same few moments a radio in the next house began to play praise and worship music very LOUD. Only a few moments later the outside speaker fell completely silent leaving only the sound of the Amazing Grace echoing in the sunrise. It was simply amazing to me and I was left on my bed for quite a while thanking God and praising him for his Faithfulness.

The next thing that happened is I took two of our children to see a visiting eye specialist. It was an adventure as all things in Africa seem to be. The three of us piled onto a boda behind the driver and the four of us were off to the clinic just a few miles away. I spent the first ninety minutes sitting in the wrong building,but eventually made it where I needed to be. Both kids were seen and the Dr was so nice. One of the children came home with a badly needed glass eye. It not only improves his appearance, but will save the integrity of the eye socket for the rest of his life. The second child a young girl of nearly 3, is scheduled for surgery tommorrow morning. She basically has two lazy eyes and has difficulty focusing on nearly anything. Tomorrow the world will look very different for this little girl. I am praising God for both of these children and the favor that they recieved today. The odds of them both getting seen and treatment in this village are pretty small. Please pray for the young girl as she goes to surgery in the morning.

It is nearly 6 weeks here now and life is getting a little easier. I am learning a routine, learning to tune out the screaming babies when nessasary, and making time to get filled back up. It is still hard to be away from those I love, but I know I am here serving where I am called and that makes the difficult times much easier to bare. I miss you all and will be thinking of you eating turkey and pumpkin pie,and watching it snow. I will be here thinking of you , thankful for your friendship and enjoying the African sun. Know that you are in my prayers.
Serving til he comes or takes me home,
Jennifer

Nov. 3

November 3
Well I have survived my first month in Africa and have not been hit by a car, washed away in a flood, mugged in a dark village or eaten by a crocodile, lion or bitten by a venomous snake. All in all I would have to say I am doing pretty well! Praise the Lord!!! Especially for the snake one eh?? It has been an interesting month. Babies have come and gone, Renee ventured to the North leaving Danielle and I to learn how to do this thing called Serving His Children, and now Renee is in the States and we are doing it for real! Life is pretty mind blowing and there are moments when I just have to stop and ask myself if this is all real or am I having some crazy dream. Then there are moments that are so beautiful and tender I think my heart my burst. And then there are moments, had one just today in fact, where I find myself saying "tell me again why I don't want to live in America and work in a hospital and make lots of money?" Fortunately those moments are usually very short lived. It is difficult to really convey what it is like here. I know that this blog just gives snippets of life and I am sorry for not doing a better job of sharing what is happening. It is just so hard and then time is hard to steal away to write well.

I ventured to town today. It was a nice day, not too hot, warm but there were big fluffy Grey clouds in the sky and I worried a little that I might get caught in the rain. I did not so once again time wasted worrying for nothing. Sorry God...When will I learn. Anyway back to my adventure. We need some things so I walked through the village down to the boda station. It is about a five minute walk. It is ALWAYS interesting.  As I walk between the homes made of various materials, some mud, some wood planks, some tin sheeting, some cardboard, many things occur at once. There is always a multitude of children running about and towards me yelling : Hey Muzungu, how are you" It is one of the only English phrases they know and they love it when I respond to them. There are many chickens, ducks, goats and cattle with huge and I mean huge horns just wandering about. Sometime they get out of your way and sometime you have to get out of theirs. You also have to watch closely where you are stepping or you will get a wet sloppy surprise. Down at the bottom of the hill you have a great view of lake Victoria directly across the road. Often you can see small boats out fishing and lots of birds flying about. There are usually a dozen or more boda's at the bottom waiting for a fare and most are eager to have you choose to ride with them.The ride to town take about 10 minutes and is very pleasant with the exception of about 40 seconds as you pass the fish market. All I can say about that is you should really hold your breath if you value your breakfast. The rest of the ride is nice. Gorgeous views of the lake, green tropical landscape, interesting people all on their way somewhere and cultures clashing in all directions. You can see kids in a variety of school uniforms, some yellow and blue, others in red gingham, still others in purple jumpsuits, all on their way to different schools. You see men in business suits riding on the back of bodas and ladies in long dresses riding side saddle on them as well. You see men in long white robes and little round hats usually on their way to work or a mosque and others in dirty rags wandering aimlessly. There are trucks and cars and bodas and bikes and all sharing the same road which is not marked with lines and everyone honks to let each other no they need to scoot over and make room. It is just wild!

So my first stop was at an gift shop. Renee had bought some beads to take to America but did not have enough cash with her, but here that is never a problem and they tell you to just bring it later. So I was bringing it now. Then it was off on foot about 3 blocks to the grocery store. I got some pineapple-passion fruit juice and something that says its cheese but the taste does not convince me. Then outside back on a boda. This time I got a guy who speaks English really well and turns out to know Renee and is very helpful. I decided to hold on to this guy. So he takes me to my next three stops and even waits outside for me while i do my shopping. First stop was the pharmacy where you can walk in and buy pretty much anything you want. No prescription needed. I got scalpel blades, malaria medication and anti-fungal cream. Then back to the Boda and on to central market. I will have to save the description of this place for another blog, but it is amazing. I picked up carrots, green beans, onions, and pineapple. Well actually Moses my Boda driver got the pineapple while i went and got the other items. I just handed this guy I met five minutes ago 3 thousand shillings (about 1.50) and asked him if he could get two pineapple for me while I got the other items. 10 minutes later I met up with him and two beautiful pineapples! The people here are really nice and most of them are very trust worthy. He could have just rode off with my money and I never could have done a thing, but there he sat waiting patiently for me. So then it was off to home. As I walked through the gate to our compound I hear" welcome back from shopping auntie" which is how you will usually be greeted when you return from nearly anything. So a successful trip to market and the veggies taste great! Cant wait to see what tomorrow holds. Missing you all and welcome your emails. Just know my internet is occasional so if it takes me a while to respond, just be patient...I hear it is a virtue!