It's Just Monday??????!!!
It's Just Monday???!
Friday I was so excited to see Jacob choose to go with his Dad to build 2 jungle chapel churches at 2 drive in locations. As the other boys geared up for finals week. Surely building chapels out of aluminum would be more educational than sitting at home with Mom and doing Math?!? As they pulled out of the driveway I felt a bit giddy.......a full week of kids in school all day and other than language school and a big presentation due about HIV and AIDS in Indonesian...... My slate was clear.
The morning dissolved into language learning. The afternoon disappeared into providing support to missionaries interior who were messaging me, needing medical help. At 5 my neighbor showed with stomach ulcer like symptoms, that has already been treated with medicine but had returned. After working with the Roberts to help her the evening had arrived. As I fell into bed by 8:00/p.m. Darron had texted me to say that the car had gotten stuck in mud that took 2 hours to get free from. At least I knew that they were having much adventure.
Saturday I spent most of the day reading, quiet, needed reading. Wisdom. Gorgeous. We worshipped. We talked. We ate. And I read some more. For hours. Andrew wanted to ride the motor bike. I agreed. He took off to explore around the harbor. Around 5 I receive a call from Darron to say that they are coming home!!!?! He wanted to make sure that the trucks the following day were loaded with everything needed and the guys from the seminary were all on board too. Andrew arrived home at 6, to say Adventure had followed him. He got to the farthest point out on his journey and the chain fell off the motorbike. It kept falling off. He realized that the wheel needed to be moved back farther. His only tools were a wrench and a nail. After praying and waiting, some guys came along on their bike and tried to help him. Even after much effort and more tools they still couldn't move the tire. Andrew said he prayed AGAIN and yet another guy came along and helped. Darron arrived home at 7:30. Jacob ate, bathed and went straight to bed. No questions asked. Darron and I enjoyed an unexpected evening together.
Sunday the trucks soon rolled in and within an hour Darron returned to the house to grab last minute supplies. His clothes completely wet with sweat, he didn't bother changing because he said they would just get wet again. Jacob was given the choice to stay home, but he determined to go with Darron. Off they set off again! Aubrey on his way home from the service honoring the Seniors was the first car upon a motorbike accident scene. He calls me from the ER, "Mom, I'm at the hospital dropping off two girls who were in a wreck. They are confused and not wanting to get out of the car. Their blood is all over. I'll be home shortly.". Aubrey then spent several hours getting the motorbike back up to speed, turns out it needed a new chain. I cleaned the blood out of the van/ambulance....... It had been needing a good clean. At the clinic Sunday night I let the almost graduated senior try put an IV in me. This is what I call, fun!
Monday, here we go! I drove to language school on the motorbike (this alone takes much courage from me). The boys took the car to school. Upon arriving to language school they inform me that today we would go to the HIV/AIDs clinic in Abe. So after studying together for one hour, I go and get the car. Then Selly and I go to this facility (about 45 minutes from our home). I was so impressed! The facility was clean, well organized, orderly, the patients well cared for. To see a high standard of care was refreshing in a land where the care is often very lacking.
While we were in Abe I grabbed the opportunity to go to one of the better grocery stores in the area. Also we went to visit Pak J who I've been helping with his wound care (another blog to come). Pak J was on his 3rd day of bed rest in the hospital after having a skin graft. It was fun to spend the whole day with my language teacher and friend. We ate out together. Then I was able to introduce her to a man from India, for soon she will be going there to volunteer.
After picking up Nathaniel and allowing Aubrey to ride home on the motorbike, I crashed on the couch. Not for long, Wendy runs over for milk. A 14 month old baby is being medivaced out of the mountains to us. Malnutrition. Wendy ran a malnutrition clinic in Chad. I was eager to learn from her.
The plane arrived at 5. The poor baby was severely malnourished. The size of many newborns but with a larger head. No fat. Kathleen, an Indonesian nurse who felt called to come and volunteer here, cuddled the baby trying to keep it warm. Off we wisked the baby and another man who could not walk due to an issue in his back to the hospital.
Kathleen persisted in getting care for this baby. Meanwhile the hours tick by as there were no beds free in the ER to take the man laying in the back of the pickup. The scenes of suffering on most beds in that ER press on my mind. There is one stretcher free but it has blood all over it. After looking at it for over an hour I finally get up the courage to put on some plastic gloves and squirt some normal saline on it and try to clean with this little tiny piece of gauze. A nurse comes by and tells me to stop. The patient I am wanting to put on that needs to go onto a bigger bed, she insists.
Finally Gary comes. He asks me to bring the stretcher out to the truck. I slip gloves back on and determine to remove the worst of the blood before putting our patient on this bed. This time we succeeded in getting the man into the ER room!!!! There is so much more I could say about what is going on inside the ER....... The place is so filthy. The staff were sincerely busy and working hard.
I run around and grab supplies for the malnourished baby and family. Fortunately my boys are home and content. I walk in the door at 7:30. It's just Monday.
Friday I was so excited to see Jacob choose to go with his Dad to build 2 jungle chapel churches at 2 drive in locations. As the other boys geared up for finals week. Surely building chapels out of aluminum would be more educational than sitting at home with Mom and doing Math?!? As they pulled out of the driveway I felt a bit giddy.......a full week of kids in school all day and other than language school and a big presentation due about HIV and AIDS in Indonesian...... My slate was clear.
The morning dissolved into language learning. The afternoon disappeared into providing support to missionaries interior who were messaging me, needing medical help. At 5 my neighbor showed with stomach ulcer like symptoms, that has already been treated with medicine but had returned. After working with the Roberts to help her the evening had arrived. As I fell into bed by 8:00/p.m. Darron had texted me to say that the car had gotten stuck in mud that took 2 hours to get free from. At least I knew that they were having much adventure.
Saturday I spent most of the day reading, quiet, needed reading. Wisdom. Gorgeous. We worshipped. We talked. We ate. And I read some more. For hours. Andrew wanted to ride the motor bike. I agreed. He took off to explore around the harbor. Around 5 I receive a call from Darron to say that they are coming home!!!?! He wanted to make sure that the trucks the following day were loaded with everything needed and the guys from the seminary were all on board too. Andrew arrived home at 6, to say Adventure had followed him. He got to the farthest point out on his journey and the chain fell off the motorbike. It kept falling off. He realized that the wheel needed to be moved back farther. His only tools were a wrench and a nail. After praying and waiting, some guys came along on their bike and tried to help him. Even after much effort and more tools they still couldn't move the tire. Andrew said he prayed AGAIN and yet another guy came along and helped. Darron arrived home at 7:30. Jacob ate, bathed and went straight to bed. No questions asked. Darron and I enjoyed an unexpected evening together.
Sunday the trucks soon rolled in and within an hour Darron returned to the house to grab last minute supplies. His clothes completely wet with sweat, he didn't bother changing because he said they would just get wet again. Jacob was given the choice to stay home, but he determined to go with Darron. Off they set off again! Aubrey on his way home from the service honoring the Seniors was the first car upon a motorbike accident scene. He calls me from the ER, "Mom, I'm at the hospital dropping off two girls who were in a wreck. They are confused and not wanting to get out of the car. Their blood is all over. I'll be home shortly.". Aubrey then spent several hours getting the motorbike back up to speed, turns out it needed a new chain. I cleaned the blood out of the van/ambulance....... It had been needing a good clean. At the clinic Sunday night I let the almost graduated senior try put an IV in me. This is what I call, fun!
Monday, here we go! I drove to language school on the motorbike (this alone takes much courage from me). The boys took the car to school. Upon arriving to language school they inform me that today we would go to the HIV/AIDs clinic in Abe. So after studying together for one hour, I go and get the car. Then Selly and I go to this facility (about 45 minutes from our home). I was so impressed! The facility was clean, well organized, orderly, the patients well cared for. To see a high standard of care was refreshing in a land where the care is often very lacking.
While we were in Abe I grabbed the opportunity to go to one of the better grocery stores in the area. Also we went to visit Pak J who I've been helping with his wound care (another blog to come). Pak J was on his 3rd day of bed rest in the hospital after having a skin graft. It was fun to spend the whole day with my language teacher and friend. We ate out together. Then I was able to introduce her to a man from India, for soon she will be going there to volunteer.
After picking up Nathaniel and allowing Aubrey to ride home on the motorbike, I crashed on the couch. Not for long, Wendy runs over for milk. A 14 month old baby is being medivaced out of the mountains to us. Malnutrition. Wendy ran a malnutrition clinic in Chad. I was eager to learn from her.
The plane arrived at 5. The poor baby was severely malnourished. The size of many newborns but with a larger head. No fat. Kathleen, an Indonesian nurse who felt called to come and volunteer here, cuddled the baby trying to keep it warm. Off we wisked the baby and another man who could not walk due to an issue in his back to the hospital.
Kathleen persisted in getting care for this baby. Meanwhile the hours tick by as there were no beds free in the ER to take the man laying in the back of the pickup. The scenes of suffering on most beds in that ER press on my mind. There is one stretcher free but it has blood all over it. After looking at it for over an hour I finally get up the courage to put on some plastic gloves and squirt some normal saline on it and try to clean with this little tiny piece of gauze. A nurse comes by and tells me to stop. The patient I am wanting to put on that needs to go onto a bigger bed, she insists.
Finally Gary comes. He asks me to bring the stretcher out to the truck. I slip gloves back on and determine to remove the worst of the blood before putting our patient on this bed. This time we succeeded in getting the man into the ER room!!!! There is so much more I could say about what is going on inside the ER....... The place is so filthy. The staff were sincerely busy and working hard.
I run around and grab supplies for the malnourished baby and family. Fortunately my boys are home and content. I walk in the door at 7:30. It's just Monday.
Yikes... what did Tuesday hold? ;-)
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