I have no idea why I'm writing a boring blog about food... but since so many lately have asked what foods or what things we miss... I'll write a blog for the world to know! lol... At lunch we asked each of the kids to think of the 3 foods that they would eat again and again... At the top of several lists was Lasagna... sadly a very expensive and non practical meal here (cheese and meat topping the reasons why it's not practical!)... Spaghetti and pizza were also on a couple lists... Tonia of course had groundnut stew on her list (a Sierra Leone food that we all love to eat)... Oddly enough pancakes came up a few times as well (they don't miss pancakes... we eat them a few times a week). Joe was pretty sure some moose sausage and steak would be on his list... So... these are the food items that 'we' miss.... I think I just miss variety! But in reality... it is so much easier to not have to think much about what you are eating... the choices are just a topping for rice... sardines, flavored tuna, beans, kamote tops, etc... so not so difficult to think about every meal!
Well... I've been informed my 'free time' is over... time to see a patient!

Sick of being sick!

My good friend who is Nurse Practitioner told me that the first year of practice you get every bug that walks through your door... multiply that times 9 and it feels as if someone is always sick! It's usually mild and only passes through a couple of us... but seems like there is always one child sniffling, coughing, puking, fever, etc... So my New Years resolution... no more sickness!!! Lately we've had a round of the flu bug passing through the clinic and I sure DON'T want that one! We've seen a lot of intestinal bugs as well... though I believe that has to do with the water source being so low... we still bring our drinking water in from Alabel as there has only been water for an hour or two every day. But it FINALLY rained last night and we have water today!! So loads of laundry are being sent through the washer as I type... and if it stays strong... maybe we'll get in a 'real' shower!! It's the simple things in life that give us pleasure! :P
Christmas was interesting to say the least... we woke up and got to skype video chat with my sister while the kids opened their stockings... then they took a break to do chores and eat before we connected again and opened presents from Aunt Christine while she watched. What a blessing the internet was this year! Joe had strep on Christmas morning... but there was a plug needed for the kids to be able to play the new Wii Aunt Christine got them... so we drugged him up and sent him to GenSan on the motorcycle while I took the kids to the Thanksgiving celebration at church... (can you say H-O-T!!!)... but it was all good and the kids got to enjoy their new game that evening.
Presents and such are a weird thing for me... I look around at our surroundings and the lack of just basic needs... and feel strange for receiving presents when we already have so much... yet I know that God takes pleasure in giving good gifts to his children... Anyways... it's a weird struggle... one not easily solved.

For REAL!

So I haven't been blogging lately.. not that lots hasn't been going on.. but mostly because I'm afraid I would be a little too 'real' with people... I have started many a blog to try to express some of these 'real' issues here... but then I am always afraid it will come across the wrong way and I end up resorting to just deleting the post and keeping inside for yet another day. So.... sorry for the absence of 'fun' blogging... it's been difficult to have the 'Christmas' spirit here... so far away from people who share the same love of Christ, the same language, family, etc... some days if it were up to me I would just hide under my blanket until this season has passed... but of course having children forces one to not do that, (and the fact that's it's 100 degrees out!)... so we plod on through... learning how to celebrate with no close friends of family close by, with just the ants as our constant companions... :) We are thankful that we have each other (and there's a LOT of us!)
We are finally on 'break' from the kid's school... so now it's just the 'normal' duties of animals, garden and of course patients... We see anywhere from 10-25 patients in a day... ranging in problems from halfway cutting their wrist off... to infected wounds, to trying to figure out some medical dilemna that's plagued someone for years... (those are the hardest!)
We are trying to at least get some holiday baking in... but it means that we splurge for 'nice' flour (that you can only buy in the city)... the 3rd class flour just doesn't cut it for delicate baking items! It's difficult to find baking products and goodies... But we managed to find marshmallows in the city last time we were in... and a box of rice crispies... The box sizes here makes it perfect for rice crispy treats... one box per 1 bag of marshmallows! I think we might even have some food coloring that we could add in to make them look 'Christmasy'!
Currently we are in the middle of re arranging and organizing the house... BLAH... but oh well, it must be done.. and I'll feel great when it's finished!

bugs!

It's amazing what one can get used to when you have to... Joe and I both grew up in COLD climate... aka.. Alaska! No ants invading your coffee 30 seconds after putting it down, no strange and weird bugs falling on you at night, no crawly guys in the bathroom, and NO snakes eating your chickens (although we did once have wild dogs eat our chickens...) Anyway... you either get used to it... or learn to deal with it! Just this week we decided that the bugs falling on us in the middle of the night was robbing us of precious sleep and needed to be solved... so up went the mosquito net.... now of course all the kids want one! lol... ants really do love anything and everything... I was at the desk earlier typing and kept feeling something crawling on me... sure enough... ants had invaded where the water/ rubbing alcohol mix bottle had just been sitting... who knew ants liked alcohol!? But for the most part we are 'used' to our little house critters... generally they are harmless... although the big ol wolf spiders don't appear so and when I see them I don't mind letting 1/4 of the can of bug killer out on them (even though it doesn't kill them!) Joe mostly just enjoys getting pictures of bugs... and trust me... there are LOTS of interesting new bugs here!

Enjoy a few of his shots!

Gardening!

Well.. it's official... we are full fledged into gardening! We FINALLY had a nice rain and were able to transplant our lettuce today... thankfully they had JUST finished plowing the rest of the garden this morning! Sweet timing!

So anyone who knows me... knows I certainly DO NOT have a green thumb! So far I had only been able to grow a few bean plants and squash... lots and LOTS of squash plants! I'm not THAT fond of squash to be honest... I've even considered giving one squash to each household here in the village and organizing a squash bake off! Anyway... all my starter plants weren't doing so well... but finally I was able to get a few cucumber and tomato plants in the ground... the tomato plants ended up being transplanted a second time as where we originally put them happened to be a wee bit too close to where our patients SPIT! lol...

Anyway... I've been doing a ton of reading on gardening... trying to figure out what grows well where... and finally was able to get some lettuce started and some more bean plants. And the funny thing was... when I dumped our old 'starter' to mix in with the dirt I was putting around our bean plants... the tomatoes that hadn't grown... grew! So... I currently have 19 tomato plants all shooting up! I guess I better be looking up some good jarring recipes! :) Good thing we like spaghetti sauce!

Some of the kids really enjoy gardening... others just enjoy the 'clearing' (the burn pile to be exact).... but we've been busy, busy clearing and planting! We've so far gotten squash, beans, papaya trees, tomatoes, cucumber, and lettuce planted! Phew!

I actually have really enjoyed gardening (shocker I know!)... I admit to being slightly impatient and wanting it to all grow faster... but I'm sure that a few months will pass before we know it!

Internet Part 2

Miracle of ALL miracles... we have internet once again!!! And SUPER fast at that!!! We are so excited to be able to use our internet phone to be able to connect with family and call out in emergencies! Yeah!
On a funny side note... the company's satellite is based in Korea... so all my little side bars, etc... are all in KOREAN... hmm... maybe I should start studying so I can understand... either that or figure out how to change my settings to ENGLISH! lol... :)
It's been pretty busy at the clinic... seeing about 10-20 patients a day... as our current REACH nurse stated today... you sure do get a LOT of strange cases! Trust me... strange is putting it lightly! I would expand... but I understand that some of you readers don't care for the medical side of things... so let's just say... we get some WEIRD cases! :P
Glad to be up and running again... and feel free to call us (that would be if you have my number... which you would have to email me to get!) God bless!

Internet

Well.. we are temporarily w/o internet... it's a very long, frustrating story... but we were unhappy with the provider we had... so since we were still w/in our time frame to cancel... we did... of course getting a refund out of a company is like pulling the teeth of a horse! But... we are fairly confident the new company will allow us to actually use our internet phone and video call... and not blank out whenever there is rain! So... we are hoping to set that all up here within the next week or so... pray it happens fast... would love to be able to talk to my family on Christmas!!!

Life flow..

Life flows on... yesterday morning I know God was watching my back... I set the alarm and got up early so that I could breed a couple rabbits... so I was able to get chores done early. God knew they would need to be done since we had our first patient there around 6:30am... she had severe pain in her R side... we decided she really needed to be seen at the hospital in GenSan. Thankfully we had already planned a trip in for that day! So we put the plans on fast track and away we went (we saw another two patients in the meantime!)... I had a horrible pinched nerve in my back... but it was nothing compared to this poor lady's pain... every bump on the road was pure agony (all 2 hours of it!)

We came home to a brownout... a nice fire had been built under a power line down by the river... very smart! So... we unloaded the boxes from my sister and friend in the dark... along with our family Christmas gift. Phew! Right before bedtime the power came back on; just in time for our patient who arrived in a LOT of pain... apparently while plowing the field his Carabow decided he'd had enough and took off at a dead run... dragging the poor guy behind. A piece of wood had narrowly missed gouging out this guys eye... and he had a nice cut on his nose... upon further investigation it was found that he not only had a gash on his nose... he had a stick UP his nose! It wasn't a little stick either... Ouch!!! We were afraid it had gone through to his palate or a sinus cavity... but apparently he missed both (a miracle). It was quite a good lesson for our kiddos on "Don't drink and plow... or better yet... don't drink at all!" (he'd had a couple shots before heading out to plow)...

Today was another busy day, seeing over 20 patients and trying to get all our normal chores done with such a little amount of water (it hasn't rained enough!) Then tonight just before starting this blog... we had a nice sized earthquake! Oi! Life in the bukid! I'll be happy when we eventually get the earthquake straps to attach the top floor of our house (the part we live in) to the downstairs clinic! Until then... these big earthquakes make my belly a little jelly! ;P

What do you smell?

I currently smell the remnents of horse on my shirt, sweat from the sun, the neighbors trash burning (with a nice bit of mountain fresh air mixed in), a bit of goat/horse/chicken/rabbit poo drifting up, and I swear that I can still smell a bit of the two dressing changes I did today... you know.. that rotting flesh smell.... yum!

Consequently I am also laughing at hearing Christmas music while sweating in this 100 plus heat!

Gotta love village life! ;)

It's a love/hate thing

You know how the things that you love about someone are the same things you hate?... Take for example your spouse... you love how giving and caring he is... only it's also because he's so giving and caring that he's helping with everyone else's projects... thus your own at home are left undone... (I'm not saying that's my spouse... just giving an example!)... Well our life here in Kihan is like that... it's a love/hate thing with life in general. See some days I'm overwhelmed at the enormity of the 'job' at hand... yet it's that enormity that makes me want to be here (are you still following or am I confusing you?) Take today for example...
Joe got up at 5 am to take the motorcycle across the river to meet up with a couple of REACH team members to get back the BP cuff's they accidentally packed when they left the other day... while he was gone I was summoned by our neighbor who has one of the guys who had the testes surgery staying with them... Apparently while out back at the loo yesterday... he fell down the hill! This is no small hill... it's quite steep... thus injuring his barely healing 'ahem' and breaking apart ALL the stitches leaving a gap about 2 in wide and 7 inches long! NICE... oh.. and it's swollen to the size of a pomello (cantelope for those in the US)... By then Joe was back, kids were being fed and animal chores almost completed... Joe and I headed off on a hike to try to get cell service to call Dr Sam who was in a neighboring area (about an hour and a half away)... we weren't able to get cell on the mountain beside our house, so we took off in the motor and headed across the river and up the mountain... About 45 min later we finally reached cell service and tried texting. Sadly by then we weren't able to get ahold of him, but was able to reach my friend who is a NP in the states. We got some advice and headed back in... only to arrive home to patients galore! Seriously... we spent the next 4 hours seeing patients, finally returning to our injured man next door and then eating lunch around 2... We saw more patients later on in the evening and again went to give more pain meds and change the dressing on the guy next door.
So.. the love/hate thing is... It's CRAZY!... I seriously had no idea what to do for this guy... I would love to have handed him off to some 'higher' doctor... but that just wasn't an option... so we tend to him the best way we can... So I hate feeling/being inadequate... but... I love the fact that because I am so inadequate in every way, every day... it keeps me on my knees... seeking guidance from the ultimate physician. I could tell story after story of times when I've just been stumped by a patients symptoms and then I've just listened to that still small voice telling me to 'ask this'... and sure enough... it will often reveal the cause/problem....
The love/hate thing is true for our health here... it's hard not to fall into worry about things that I just wouldn't worry about in the states. (ok, so these problems generally wouldn't happen there)... anyway... Meggie for example... she started getting little sores... then she had this huge knot develop under her chin (like the size of a walnut)... final diagnosis... empitigo... with her body just reacting strongly to it (knot is a hugely swollen lymph node)... so antibiotics for her. I hate worry, especially when it comes to our health... but I love that it makes me trust in my heavenly Father for peace.
I love being able to pass out knowledge to patients about their bodies and their health... but I hate what the lack of knowledge does to people's health...
Anyway... you get the picture right?
Right now you're probably loving that you can read about our daily adventures... but hating that it's such a long post! lol...

A 'fun' fact...

K... those who know me know that I won't tell anyone where or how to give birth... but I did run across this statistic and thought I'd share... :)
"Compared to home-born babies, hospital-born babies are six times more likely to suffer distress during labor, eight times more likely to need resuscitation, four times more likely to become infected, 30 times more likely to suffer permanent injury, and their mothers are three times more likely to hemorrhage. The hig...h risk is in the hospital." - Balizet (thanks Christy Fiscer Midwife)

This little cutie pie has Kwashiorkor... it's a form of malnutrition... and... unless some serious diet changes take place, she will die from it. Hard to believe when you see those puffy cheeks right? But this form of malnutrition (sometimes called wet malnutrition) is from lack of protein. Basically her body has so little protein intake that eventually her kidneys are compromised... she leaks fluid into her tissues and eventually will go into a coma and die.
When her swelling started her parents took her to the area health center and they gave them a weeks supply of vitamins and dewormed her... um, yeah... so that didn't help! (ok.. the deworming was good). There was no instructions given to the parents on diet changes or even what the problem was... until today, the parents had no idea that all their daughters problems (tiredness, hair falling out, swelling, etc) was all related... and that yes... she will die unless they do something!
So we went over some SERIOUS diet changes for this little girl (who only eats rice and sometimes kamote tops)... we gave some of our supply of peanut butter and mongo beans to get them started... she will return weekly for progress reports until she is hopefully a healthy happy 2 year old that she should be! I don't care if I have to use up all my supply of peanut butter (which is a pain to find down here)... but this little girl WILL live (if I have ANYTHING to say about it)! I think God was just reminding us why he had us here...
The last picture is of her bloated belly... the muscles eventually become lax and the belly will basically 'fall out'... or look very bloated like... not shown is her super skinny back and shoulders (where she isn't swollen).
Please do pray for her and the others like her around here... it's such a preventable disease, but education is a key in bringing about change. Thank you for those that support what we do... as you can see... it does make a difference!

Sometimes I think God's sense of humor is a little skewered... All you have to do is look at certain animals in creation to realize that... but I'm talking about in our own personal lives... for example, Joe and I... I think it's interesting that we went from being a seriously independent American family... then on this crazy journey with another family to get our children out of Africa (which resulted in living together for almost 2 years... 13 kids, 4 adults)... then to going to a school on the other side of the world with a bunch of single girls just entering 'life' (they were great by the way... it was just different!).... then to moving to a village out in the mountains of the Philippines with no other Americans within normal reachable limits.... seriously... weird sense of humor!
I have to say that at times I really miss that deep connection... that relating to someone who is going through something similar, the same interests, etc... When we lived with the other family in Alaska we had both just brought older adopted children into our home, we were living together, etc... so there was usually someone who could 'relate' to what you might be feeling... but here, every day it's a struggle to just have basic conversation with your neighbor....
But today I was blessed as the neighborhood got together to play games for Tylers birthday... we had 3 legged races, leap frog, wheelbarrow races and a water balloon toss! I think the adults had as much fun watching as the kids did playing. And I realized that once again... God has met me where I am, in this place... to help ease the lonliness that comes upon us once in awhile. We have a great and amazing God don't ya think!?

Yesterday Joe was sick with a nasty bug and so I had his chores on top of my own... plus Dr Sam and a couple team members were headed back to Davao so we needed to get them across the river... so I drove... and since I was driving that far we figured I may as well get a few supplies up in Alabel. The river 'road' had a brand new route and it wasn't packed down yet... and it was difficult to follow... but we made it across... Then came the mountain road... I was unable to get the jeep out of 4 low, so it was slow going... but I made it... I got the things I needed at the market, refilled the 4 water jugs and headed back in. This time I was able to get the jeep into 4 high at least which made it go a bit faster... About 3/4 the way over the mountain in a village where we sometimes have done outreaches and often get patients from... I was flagged down by a woman I had seen the day before at the clinic while her husband had surgery on his testes... She explained that he wasn't able to sleep because he was in so much pain. I went and checked on him and he was definitely in some major pain. I told them I could give them different pain relievers at the clinic, but they would have to pick someone to ride along and then they could borrow our horse to return home in. (It's about a 4 hour hike, but an hour or so on horse... oh yeah, and the rain was starting). A couple boys were picked and they excitedly took their places in the back of the jeep. It was definitely God's providence for them to be there... since I was alone I wouldn't have been able to keep my water bottles upright on the way through the rivers... but they made sure they kept them all standing for me! They quickly got the meds and then we got the horse ready and out they went.... and we haven't seen the horse since! lol. I'm not worried though... I know that returning borrowed items isn't a super high priority here... if they don't come back by tomorrow we'll probably drive up that way and bring it home. Today was my turn to be sicker than a dog... Tonia and I both had some sort of flu bug, just manifesting in different ways... I couldn't sit up or stand without walking like a drunk person from the spinning world... thus causing the stomach to revolt! Tonia had a huge headache and felt sick as well... thankfully it seems to be a 24 hr thing and we are both feeling better this evening. Again it was God's hand at work that there was no horse chores last night or all of today! Such a huge blessing on a tired, sick, family! I love it when God works these things out!

You know what 'got' me today? I tended to a little boy who was not quite 2; who had the cutest little 'please don't hurt me' smile... I used ointment on his many infected bites all along his feet and legs... then I turned to cleaning up his multiple boils on his head... Now anyone who has had a boil knows they hurt like the dickens... but this little guy was so patient... and so undisturbed by the whole process... what made me so sad was that he was just used to being in pain.... His mom said he'd had those infected legs/feet and head for more than 9 months... basically half his life... he didn't really even know what it felt like to NOT live in pain. This just stinks... and I was happy to give her medicine and instructions that hopefully he will start enjoying pain free days.
Another patient is a mom who has brought her little girl to us maybe 4 or 5 times...I wrote about her before... The little girl is 7 (although she looks about 4) and has a very high possibility of having TB of the skin. If you look back to how long ago we started working on getting this little girl her test... you can see how long and frustrating it is to get things done here! We were able to find out that to read the test would be between about $5 to about $11 US,it seems like nothing to us right? But the mom is struggling hard core to come up with that money in just a couple days... we told her that we would front the payment on what she couldnt' and then she could just keep a balance.. she was so thankful that hopefully soon she will have answers for her daughter. So if you think of her.. the little girl is call Pamela... and tomorrow we will scrape her owies and insert a needle into her back... no fun for any kiddo! Pray for wisdom and pray for answers soon!
And now... after seeing my 19 patients before lunch time (to only see 2 after the doctor actually arrived)... I am heading to BED!

Randomness

This is what happens to those who wish to NOT get wet after the water babtism... sorry folks... if some of us have to get wet... we ALL get wet (well except us mom's who were holding the cameras!)... :)

Tyler and his new found buddy

THe guys worshiping and jamming... it was a blast!

TWINS!

First off... I should put in this disclaimer that no... I am NOT pregnant with twins... didn't just give birth to twins and didn't even deliver twins! That being said... it was still an exciting day!
Since we bought our goat a month ago... people have been telling us.. "hapitna manganak"... meaning it's just about time for her to give birth... so we've been waiting.... then they started telling us it was probably twins... and the wait continued... Then today... my neighbor tells me that the goat won't give birth that day since her 'ahem' wasn't swollen up yet... okay... and another friend in the village says "maybe in December"... so I take the goat for a little walk to eat the weeds in the garden... we will be working out there so I can watch her.
While in the garden... covered in mud and dirt (me from weeding and Joe from hauling fence posts)... we hear the cry of a child... Brian is holding his leg where blood is oozing from between his fingers... a quick looksy and we haul him up and head for home... Since our hands were so muddy we applied pressure above the wound to get it to stop bleeding while we trekked through the mud towards home. Of course by the time we got home we had a following of 20 or more kids and even a curious adult or 5... plus patients waiting at the clinic... While Joe washed up the wound I washed my hands and tried to get the ants out of my shirt... then held pressure while Joe did the same... (I should just mention that ant bites are VERY distracting... even when suturing your own child). We set up and injected the anesthesia... which feels about like 50 red ants biting you... once applied though... Brian's response was "wish I could see better"...
After suturing and seeing the rest of the patients Joe headed down to get the horse from where she was tied out (and the other goat) while Tonia headed to get the goat from the garden... She comes running back saying "It's TWINS"... and we all ran to go see.... sure enough she had JUST given birth and we carried the wet little guys back home (again with a following).... we had lots of advice from... "don't let the kids touch the goats tail or the mom won't nurse it"... to "put oil on their butts to make the poo come out easier"... It's hard here to decipher what is 'old wives tales' and what's good advice... but it made the neighbor feel better to do the oil thing... and as with any young... best to keep kids away for awhile.
So... that was just a couple hours of another day in the life of our family here in Kihan... at the end of every day I ask myself... "was that really just ONE day!"... seriously.. I do! lol...
We are blessed!

Today was a good day... we are recovering from nasty head colds... our good friend from Davao was here visiting and brought CHOCOLATE (ssshh)... I was able to walk down this morning to assist the municipality midwife with her prenatals. The midwives hired by the government are basically like traveling nurses... they come, they see, they immunize... they leave. This gal is here for only 2 days a month.... and boy is she kept busy with all the TB meds to hand out and all the areas immunizations, plus prenatal appointments... plus a malnourished kids program. No wonder she can hardly spend more than 2-4 minutes per patient. So we agreed that starting next month I would basically take over the prenatals while she did the immunizations... Sweet! She is a big advocate for the women delivering at the clinic and tells each one to make sure she comes to the clinic... everyone is scared... this is their first time exposed to white people... besides modern meds... but 2 lovely ladies are brave enough to start coming to the clinic for prenatal check ups and have now seen the birth room... so they were telling all how nice it was... "even an electric fan!"... :) Also since the death of the lady giving birth to her first just a couple weeks ago... I think the women are more apt to start paying attention more and maybe one will eventually "break in" the clinic. Most likely I figure I'll get called out on some emergency first... but we'll see....
Anyway.. like I said... a good day... Joe took our friend and the Reach nurse up to Buena Vista (the next 'village' over) to take out the last of the 'itlog' guy's stitches... all 3 guys are doing well and now we have a better idea of the recovery time for these guys.... good to know since there are 3 more guys we know of with the same problem.
We've had lots of rain... which means lots of mud... and clothes not drying... but we did get the sun peaking through long enough today to dry a bit of clothes... enough to get us through. We got a horse bit and bridle made for our new horse... weirdest thing... the bit is made of rope! But hey... it's better than the bent piece of rebar that it had previously... Now to make a saddle... this includes stuffing a rice sack full of palm leaves... sewing lines down it... and nailing some wood together... seriously! (I'll take a picture of the finished product!) Besides an unexpected quick trip to the city (the rain was coming down to hard to send the visitors home on motorcycles)... and Levi n Tyler being mischevious and purposefully 'losing' the hamster... and our goat having a couple 'fainting' spells... it was just another ordinary day in the Germain household! Come visit! :P

Ponder with me if you will...

-Being 19 yrs old... and NEVER having celebrated your birthday... not in any way, shape or form...
-Bringing a baby into your home whose mother (your relative) died of childbirth... no father of baby known... Baby full of all sorts of sores...
-Beginning a walk at 7 am in hopes of getting medical help for your baby who is struggling to breathe (and has been struggling all night)... and 5 hours later finally reaching medical help...

These are made up stories... this is real life here. The 19 yr old is one of the boys from the guys home that our friends run and just came to help us build and do other chores around here... One of the health care workers here really did just bring in a baby into her home whose mother died in childbirth within an hour after giving birth... And a mom/dad and grandma all showed up around noon at the clinic after walking with their baby who breathed like it was drowning (pulling himself up to suck air)... after a neb treatment, antibiotics and instructions on feeding the baby breast milk only (NO Coffee Mate!!)... they began their 5 hour journey home...
I live here and there are many days I can't comprehend it... Simple things we take for granted each day... medical help, available meds... and just simple LOVE... who of us can even fathom the emotion felt when you get your first birthday cake at 19 and a whole party of people singing Happy Birthday to you!!! (Thank you to our friends who sent the 'instant' birthday cakes and icing from the US!)
This morning we topped off the visit from our friends from Davao with an awesome baptism of one of the guys and then a full round of everyone (except for us moms who were holding cameras) being ran down and thrown in the river!
God is SO good... with a refreshing visit JUST when we needed it! :) Thank you for all who pray for us... knowing others are lifting us up before the throne is a huge encouragement! And thanks to all who support us financially... Without you... this would not be possible!!
God bless

Just one of those days... or ?

I can't decide if my impatience today is because it's just Monday... or if I'm just too demanding... The morning started normal enough... we were thankful the power came back on so we didn't have to start up the generator... Then it was almost time for breakfast and I saw the kids sitting playing with toys/reading books... I asked them if their morning chores were done (the ones supposed to be completed BEFORE breakfast)... oh... um... we forgot (AGAIN)... It's not like this is anything new... they've had these chores for months now. Sigh... then our helper (who is the wife of the man who donated the land for the clinic).. didn't show up AGAIN for work... again she didn't inform us that she wasn't coming today... this after we just had a chat with her two weeks ago that if it happened again she wouldn't be working for us anymore! GRRR... Then came time to start school and my little student decided that he was going to throw a tantrum about school today... off to his room... then another child (Joe's student)... decided that it wasn't fair that he was ALWAYS the last one done... never mind the fact that he dilly dally's around and finds every excuse in the book NOT to work on his schoolwork... it's just NOT FAIR (according to him).... then I sat down to get a couple records offline and it takes more than 5 minutes to load any page that has content on it... and I'm irritated all over again at our promise of FAST, RELIABLE internet! Sigh... I think I need a time out in my room for an attitude adjustment... if only I had a room! (our bed is in the living room)... but things will hopefully be improving as we are headed to town for the first time in a couple weeks to get groceries and pick up the next REACH nurse assigned for this week... oh yeah... and he's bringing us a box from the US!! YEAH!!
Sometimes I love being a mother of many... but other days... I'm thinking that Bermuda sounds like a nice place to run away to!
Forgive my venting.... but those that are moms will understand these days! Guess I better go... Meggie just informed me that Levi spit in her face! OI!!!

Life in this crazy household

I'll try to update... but kids are now bugging me to have their internet time! Yeesh.. when did they get so big!? Course it doesn't help that currently our internet is slower than dial up! Joe has been testing it... wow... slow as in!! But... we are thankful for the connection at least... and are working with the company to resolve the issue of slow speeds (as it is advertised as HIGH speed internet!) *Joe tested it several times throughout the day... currently we are getting 15.9 KB/second download and 2 KB/sec upload.... hmmm...
Anyway...
Here are a few pictures to share with you of the past little while...
Watch out for our masked man Zorro! (The kids love the 50's hit of Zorro and always love to dress up... Meggie calls herself 'The Senorita'... OI!!!)

YEAH!!!

Guess who has internet!!! Guess we won't be 'real' missionaries anymore... considering we have water at least 50% of the time... electricitity 80% and now internet! Oh well, when I took my bucket shower in the pitch black last night I felt like a 'real' missionary! :) Glad to be back online!!!

PHEW!

I will try to quickly update as we've been away from blogging for two weeks now... This past week the REACH team was in Kihan and then we did another outreach across the river a bit... We saw over 200 patients and did maybe 20 or more surgeries... We did 3 major surgeries on guys that had lived with enlarged testes for over 5 years (the longest one having had the problem for 9 years!) One 'itlog' was over 5 kilos of fluid... it was over the size of a soccer ball! We actually have several more like surgeries scheduled for November... I'm pretty sure all the guys on the team were having nihtmares after those surgeries.... but the guys were so relieved and one guy kept remarking that his wife was going to be SO excited! lol...
Anyway... it's never dull around our house... we've had little children with Hepatitis... older men with chicken pox... lots of TB cases... babies with severe pnemonia... It's all catching up to me and I am wiped... all this and we're constantly in a race with the river on whether we'll make it in/out before it rises from storms moving in/out.
Anyway... we are alive and well... and we're supposed to get internet within the next couple weeks! Supposed to....
Please excuse the lack of blogging.... just can't blog when we don't have internet!
Kids are doing good... Brian loves watching surgeries and was so bummed he wasn't allowed in on the 3 major surgeries... maybe next time... :)

Note of the day

This is a very very important thing to remember.... ALWAYS shake out your towel/bag/box BEFORE reaching your hand into it or wrapping it around your body! Ewww... cockroaches!! blah!

Yikes

2 weeks is just way to long without internet! How can i update 2 weeks worth of life! We've had some crazy strong winds as of late... courtesy of all those lovely hurricanes up north... or whatever they call those crazy weather systems... anyway... rain is actually welcome to the farmers, the wind they could do without. We have been busy patching up people, getting the clinic up and running while patching up ourselves in the process... Both Brian and I took tumbles down the concrete stairs... ow is all I can say... I still am walking with a limp, although feeling tons better than a few days ago!
We have also been working on getting a garden plot ready, have planted a few starter thingies... as you can tell... gardening is NOT our specialty... but we're trying to make do... the chicken house is finally finished and our chickens and turkeys are finally contained to do what they do best... but like projects go... you finish one and another takes it's place... just as the chicken house was finished, the strong winds took down the rabbit cage roof... so that's the next 'project' on the list...
As you can imagine... life is never dull... we've had several cases of the mumps, severe scabies infestation, lice, impaled objects in feet (that the guy left there for a week before coming to us), huge blood blisters that need drained, and a baby with severe pnemonia that I'm sure wouldn't have lived another couple days if left untreated. God has been so good in providing the knowledge and the help when needed... Dr Sam's nurses are now rotating a stint out in Kihan... so they come in on Mondays and leave on Thursdays... :) Works out nicely!
Well I had over 200 emails to catch up on so I better get back to it... Thanks so much for the inquiries as to our well being..... doing pretty good... some days the schooling and list of projects seems overwhelming... but we are trying to take it one moment at a time. Keep praying for us... :)

Picture update...

Frustrations...

Today we are back in GenSan... looking for someone who can help us figure out what to do for a patient... we suspect this little girl has skin TB... she is only 7 and her mom is pregnant with number 6... In this country where TB is so prevelant... one would think it isn't that hard... but TB of the skin takes a different test... a biopsy to be exact. After half a dozen stops at different places, we finally found a place that said they could do it... for 2500 pesos... over $50 US! That is a stinkin expensive test. Probably about a months wage for her family. We are working on an alternative. It's just hard here because you have to visit the places in person.. no just looking in a phone book and calling places... Anyway... it's been tough having patients that you can't help for one reason or another. I had another little guy with scabies so bad that he was covered from head to toe... and no meds yet for that. He's been scratching so much that he's got secondary infections that we are working on... but oi...
The patients have been increasing as the word is spreading that we speak a bit of Visaya and we have others who can help interpret... so we will have to set a schedule soon as most patients seem to show up right as we are sitting down to meals... or I guess we could adjust our meal times! ;)

The tropics!

It’s definitely true that everything seems to grow faster in a tropical climate… infections being at the top of the list. This past week we had a boy who had gotten a cut in his foot and it had sealed back up, but the infection couldn’t escape…. Dr Sam reopened the wound and drained it, and the boy was supposed to get antibiotics… somehow though he managed to get out the door without his instructions on when to come back, signs of danger and most importantly his meds…. He came back to the clinic after the team was gone and his foot was now hot and tender up to his ankle… We recleaned his wound and started him on antibiotics… with strict instructions on coming back if it got worse. His companions brought him by the next day and his infection was now up to his knee! We discussed going to the hospital but decided to try a stronger med first and since Dr Sam was returning the next day for a few hours we could reevaluate then…. Dr Sam came by… but no sign of the boy. We decided to go find him and if he wasn’t improving then we would take him to the hospital… in the meantime we fixed up a guy who had been chopping a tree when the tree fell on his shin… ow… then the boy with the foot hobbled up all out of breath (someone had sent for him)… His infection was definitely improving so we gave him the rest of the meds and told him to REST (not an easy task here).
That afternoon I noticed that I had the beginning symptoms of a UTI… so I started chugging water and garlic… but like I said, things grow super fast here! By that evening I was doubled over unable to hardly move from the pain… I seriously wanted to just rip my insides out… Joe got up and found me meds and some pain reliever… he set me up with old TV series (Hogan’s Heroes) to distract me from the pain. Finally I was able to return to bed around 5 am. It’s the next day and although there is still pain, it’s improving… but yikes… I have never had a UTI come on so fast and strong. Makes me wonder what the heck people do w/o medical care… and a great reminder of why we are here!
This morning when I finished fixing up a boy who had cut his leg with his machete, his mother complimented me on my Visaya and repeated what many have started to tell me… That once people know they can communicate with us, they will come… but I’m glad for the few patients we see a day currently as it gives us a chance to work into our roles more slowly.
P.S. For those wondering how we are faring with the recent typhoon weather... although the typhoons are north of us... we have definitely seen the effects of it all down here! Last night our roof of our outside kitchen just up and ripped right off and blew over to the neighbors!

Life...

Life continues on and on here in Kihan… School is in full swing, the clinic has a steady trickle of patients and we are adjusting to the brownouts and water outages. Actually there is nothing quite like having a brown out or water outage to make you appreciate both power and water! (Especially when you get both together!)

The REACH team was here on Wednesday through Friday of last week, seeing many patients with a range of problems… I got to assist at several surgeries, including suturing up a neck and a toe… The neck was a closure after Dr Sam removed a golfball size growth the guy had had for several years… the toe was a guy who was riding along on the motorcycle and a piece of wood sliced his little toe pretty much in half under the toenail… OW!

When we went out on Friday to take the team back to their vehicle… we also had a meeting with the mayor and governor… both of whom are very supportive of what we do here in Kihan. Kihan is the poorest barangay on this side of the bay in Sarangani Province. The mayor agreed to propose a government funded permanent midwife position to assist here at Grace Clinic… the governor even agreed to pay her out of his salary until the new year budget could be approved! We left the meeting feeling blessed that we have such a good governor/mayor in place here in our area…

On Sunday we ventured down to the other citio to a church where several health workers that Dr Sam trained go… we were told the news that the mayor had just died that morning.... she was relatively young… only in her upper 40’s maybe…. We were saddened and are praying that the vice mayor will continue to serve the people here with the same integrity that she did.

We are working on the contact situation… mainly internet… like anything… it’s a slow process… but we are hoping within a month to have internet up and running… It was decided this just wasn’t something that was optional as we needed to be able to have contact with Dr Sam and REACH for questions and updates of what’s going on out here! Plus we figure it will save on gas not having to go to Alabel for our email checking!

We are busy busy getting not only the house more comfortable, but also getting the clinic up and running for its ‘official’ opening in Januaryish… I already have a couple pregnant ladies coming for prenatals… one is due here this month, so no chance the birth room will be done in time for her, but she knows if she needs assistance I’ll come to her… Thanks to a few birth clinics in Florida I am stocked with some meds that I need and a few birth basics. Hopefully we’ll get more things as we get up and running.

Well that’s all for now… I’ll post pictures when I get a chance…

Date night catastrophies

On Sunday it was Joe n I's 12 year anniversary! :) We tried to get a date in... but by the time we got out the door, dropped by to do an errand... then got to the mall... it was already time to get the pizza's for the kids. So we ordered the pizza's, grabbed coffee to go and then brought the food back for the hungry hippos... By this time it was already 7 and jet lag was catching up with me, so we took the sitters home and put the kiddos to bed. We already knew we were heading out the next night for a double date with our friends we were staying with.
On Monday Joe n I ran around trying to get all the information gathered for a meeting we had with Sam n Sherri later that afternoon... lots of info to try to get through before we head back to no contact... the meeting lasted till about 5:30... then we ran to pick up Tonia from her friends, then grab quick showers before heading out the door.... As I was just finishing up and Joe had just got in the shower we heard a crash/bang, then a hurt cry... then pounding at the door.... apparently Levi had been running and slipped on the tile and skidded into the corner wall, successfully splitting open his head... It was determined he needed stitches... so back to Dr Sam's we went... bringing along Bri who had an earache... Finally around 7:45 we took the kids back home and headed out for our date! lol... we dropped the bowling off the list and just headed to dinner... lots of laughter in that dinner... (I think you had to be there)... as we laughed off the stress of the day... When we got home one of the gals from church had come... I had forgot she was due to come over to plan the mission trip out to Kihan... so finally just before midnight I climbed my tired tush into bed and didn't wake till morning!

The injury... not the greatest shot... but you get the idea

The super brave boy...

5 Stitches later

The finished product...
He was a super brave boy!

made it!!

Ways to know you've arrived in the Philippines...
95% humidity - check
smiles and lifting of eyebrows for 'yes' - check
security guards with machine guns in front of every store/bank - check
sweating by 8 am - check
sun rises at 6 and sets at 6... year round - check
crazy fun driving - check
honks to tell other drivers/people you are there - check
showers twice a day from the sweat - check
rice, rice and more rice - check!!!
:) Love it! - check!

The kids were of course super excited to see mom and Joziah/Tonia again... and of course Joe was pretty thrilled too! We left San Francisco in the coldest weather we'd experienced yet... and came home to nice sunny and hot weather! No more need for those sweaters and coats... but we were sure thankful for them on the freezing cold airplanes!
Jet lag has hit... big time... blah...
Tomorrow we have meetings all day... then on Sunday it's Joe n I's 12th anniversary... crazy! I think we'll have to shoot for an early dinner out.. cause I'm wiped around 7pm... although it's 9pm and I'm still awake... barely... course maybe none of this post is making any sense and I should go to bed! lol....
Thanks to everyone who made our trip home special!

horse crazy

Like many 12 yr olds... Tonia is in love with horses... her one desire here on our trip was to ride... unfortunately we didn't get the chance... but... we did call a horse center near my sisters and she got to assist with a therapy session today for a couple hours. She was just as excited to brush and walk along with the horse as she would be if she'd ridden.
Yesterday we headed out early and went to the Science museum... it was featuring space and the kids had a blast in the mercury module ride and all the cool space gear to check out... whoever thought up the idea of a science museum gets 2 thumbs up! The kids came home with so much information! Gotta love those sponge brains!
Sadly today was our last day with Christine (my sister), as we head to Texas tomorrow to be with my friend from days gone by... :) Then on Monday we make our way to Dallas to be near the airport for our early morning flight out on Tuesday... We don't actually leave the US until Wednesday because of all the layovers... but we'll be on our way! Hard to believe 5 weeks will have gone by by the time we return home!
I feel much more 'ready' to return... plus Joe said he installed the shower heater... so praise God for a HOT shower!!!! He also has been busy building shutters so that when it's rainy and stormy... we don't get all wet! Phew! Now closing in the bathroom to help decrease the critter visitors at night... and then maybe walls for a temp bedroom for us!
Thank you so much for all who prayed for us during this crazy transition... we love you!

LaVerne

When we first arrived here at my sisters house in Oklahoma, her husband took Joziah to a Model T group get together (Joziah just LOveS old things)... anyway, when Hap (my brother in law) introduced Joziah to the group he intro'd him as LaVerne... the name has stuck and now spread... Joziah even introduced himself as LaVerne to some people... he's decided to change his name to LaVerne Cave...lol... Today we are headed to the science museum with a gal from the model T group... when I called her to set the time I introduced myself, then said I was Joziah's mom... neither of which struck a remembrance... then I said... "LaVerne's mom"... OH!! She got it then! Ah yes.. my children are goofy!

a few shots from Joe

The three amigas...

Well I finally got to talk to Joe again... just barely caught him online last night... was SO nice to get to IM w/ him, even if it was just for 10 minutes or so. He had to come all the way to GenSan for molasses... (we use it to feed the bunnies)... lame! (that's almost a 2 hr drive)... anyway.. I''m sure he got other supplies too while we was there. He took these pictures during the barangay celebration last week...

just not missionary material

I have made the comment many times that our family just doesn't fit the mold for 'typical' missionary family... while that may be true (cause we're far from normal!)... but I have realized that there are more and more people that are coming to the mission field not out of sense of duty to convert as many people as they can... but they are coming out of an overwhelming desire to show people all over the world of Jesus LOVE for us... HE doesn't desire religious acts... HE desires a RELATIONSHIP... We don't do things for him out of trying to work desperately to be redeemed... that's already been taken care of! We live the life we live because we were once in that place of confusion, of chaos inside... and now we have PEACE... and the difference is enough that we are willing to give up the comforts of our life, of our physical needs... to let others know that that peace is free... a gift... no strings attached... you don't have to make sure you go to church 3 times a weeks to please this God.. no need for prayer memorization or any other religious act... he simply wants you... just where you are... to give you a freedom from the voices inside of you... the war, the struggle, the emptiness... and he simply asks for a relationship with Him in return.
So I apologize to the many missionaries out there that are giving of their lives to show the love of our Father to people all around the world... they/we are making a 'new mold', a better one! These 'missionaries' are all over... on the home front and abroad... they make up all colors, nations, tongues and tribes... and soon... the world will see... that the creator of the universe... the Alpha/Omega... LOveS them!!
SWEET!!!

Oh... and one more 'little' thing...

I pASseD!!! YEAH!!! Got my letter yesterday... officially a CPM!... :)
I can go home now!!!

FINALLY!

After more than a week with no word from Joe... he finally 'emerged' from the village to check email and get supplies from the city. I happen to be up late that night and so I got to chat with him for awhile on IM... what a nice treat!
He caught me up on the happenings of the village... mostly it was good to hear about how even those that are non Christians have been saying how it's nothing short of a gift from God that we are there... They just can't comprehend how we would give up our comfortable lives to live there... for them... It's so neat the way that God uses the fact that missionaries often do give up there comfort for the sake of others as a representation of how He gave his only son... to leave the awesomeness and comfort of heaven to come down here to this evil and yucky world... just so that we might have a restored relationship with Him!!!
After talking with Joe I am more than ready to go back... sigh... but I still have a couple weeks here in the states and know that I need to get a few more things in order before I leave... our house in Wasilla has kept us on our knees trying to hear what God wants for us in that regard... to sell, not to sell... all I can say is we are praying for His way to be known!
Also if anyone is interested in donating used baby clothes for me to take back... please let me know asap and I will get you the address of where to send them... Even if they don't come before I go I will be having a box shipped after I leave I think...
Well here is a few drawings that Joe sent and a picture of Tyler dancing in the Barangay festival... Meghan apparently chickened out! lol...