Tuesday 11/1/2011

Good afternoon everyone.
I didn't realize that it has been an entire week since I lasted posted to our blog.  So----- I will try to bring you up to date.

Daughter Christiana is still in the hospital in Ghana.  They had wanted to move her yesterday to a different hospital and begin radiation today, however she began bleeding heavily again and they have put her on oxygen.  Surgery will not be done because she would begin swelling.  We truly do not understand what is going on at this point.  Everyone is very upset and concerned.

Yesterday, as you know, was Halloween.   I had told the children about it last week because it is not celebrated here in Liberia.  They thought it was very interesting and reminded me that it was October 31st.  I had already remembered while I was at the market and bought enough biscuit cookies to share with all in he immediate neighborhood.  They like the tradition but thought it was very silly to dress up in funny clothes in order to get a sweet treat.

Timothy has been working at the church the past few days helping to get all the finishing touches on the church and new addition before the dedication on Sunday.  Last Sunday the pastor was lamenting on how everyone that she invited to preach the dedication service was not able to do so.  Then, unbeknownst to her, she was told that I was an Elder in the United Methodist Church.  She asled me from the pulpit if I would be willing to preach the dedication sermon this coming Sunday.  When you are asked from the pulpit, there is only one answer - "Yes, I would be delighted."  The wonderful thing is that I really like her and she is a woman after my heart.  She admits to "making lots of noise" to ge a job done, but will appologize afterwards.  She says it like it is and doesn't beat around the bush.  Very refreshing indeed!

The boys have been very busy on the house.  Jonathan was working on the other bathroom and realized that the plumbing was not correct for the drains.  As he began digging up the floor to find the problem, he ran into even more.  By the time we were done, he had to run an entire new drain line for the tub, stool and lavatory for the old one was not sealed and drained into the foundation under the house.  It is now all connected to the septic system now.  When they uncovered the mess, the cockroaches were everywhere.  Ugly, ugly two inch long creatures running all over the place,  We had bug spray and slippers in hand as we launched an attack on them.  There must have been 4 of us going in every direction as we chased them down.  Even Grandson Luther was pointing them out to us in his 2 year old babble.  Joathan has proven himself not only to be an excellent mason, but a plumber as well.  He is such a hard worker and takes pride in a job well done.

Son Jackie has had a bit more success.  He has the ceiling done in the storeroom and the shelves up.  The only problem he ran into was that the door that he ordered was about 5 inches too short.  He is getting that replaced today.  He also hung the wires for my curtains in the bedroom.  When I get my camera back from Son Adolphus, I will post some pictures.

Granddaughter Candy Girl (7) has been ill with malaria and worms.  She is having quite the time getting everyone to bend to her every desire.  However, she doesn't like to take her medicine and will vomit everytime.  So - Grandma to the rescue, went to the supermarket and paid plenty for the individual cups of applesauce.  I mashed up her meds and mixed them in;  down the hatch they went with no problem.  She was still home from school today, I don't know if she has taken her meds today or not.  We shall see.

Life is falling in to a sense of routine.  It seems strange that we are not returning home after a short stay.  Rolf  loves lying on the porch and soaking  up the sun.  The heat doesn't seem to affect him at all.  Jonathan took him to his house on Sunday for the day and was quite the neighborhood attraction.  The children here love to take him for walks and play with him.  The other dog, Survivor, likes to bite his neck and ears, so we have to be very careful to keep them apart.

It has been fun opening the boxes and starting to sort through things that we shipped.  When the pantry is finished, there is a lot to store for the kitchen.  It will be wonderful to have everything for the kitchen in one place and not scattered all over the house in different rooms.  We will get organized sometime, I just don't know when, but it really doesn't matter as long as we do a little something each day

I visited the Methodist Compound where I lived as a misionary.  Two of my favorite staff people were working outside the walls and didn't see me come in.  When security called Mr Brown on the phone for me, I asked him where he was.  That I was there to see him and he wasn't around so I was with security until he would come.  He said that he would be back very soon.  When he arrived at the Compound  and saw me he said,"ah ha, I knew it must be you.  I didn't make you out on the phone, but soon figured out there was only one person who gave me a hard time and it had to be you."  We had a nice visit.

I also was able to located my mechanic, Thompson, and am thrilled that he is still around working hard.  He remembered me and will be happy to take care of my vehicle for me.  He was the only one I would trust to work on my cars.  He would travel to where I was if we had a breakdown to repair my car. 

Enough for today, it is time to go and take down the laundry for it will be getting dark soon.

Love to all,
Timothy and Anne