Hard to believe that there is a holiday called Thanksgiving back in America.  We will celebrate by eating, I think, 3 chickens for 18 people on Thursday!   That will be a meat overload for my stomach, but it probably won’t hurt for one day.   Meanwhile, the clinic will go on as usual, as there is no equivalent holiday in Guinea Bissau.  It do know that living here makes me thankful for many things, but the things that I think of include intangibles, like family, and friends, and a God who loves me and cares for me, so much that he sent his only Son to die for me.  That is good news, let me tell you.  And if you want to think of other more tangible things, my mind in Africa is thankful for clean water to drink, for even squat toilets, for fly swatters, or moska mata, as i call them here.   I am thankful for friends who value time with friends more than money, and even the sharing of very poor neighbors who always invite me to come and eat….and share their meager fare.  I am thankful for the joy I see in African children who push around a tire rim by using a stick and think it is the greatest fun in the world.  Yes, there is much to be thankful for but most of it doesn’t involve possessions, does it?  

I just left Kristin at the Ziguinchor airport.  It was sad to see her go after a good two weeks.  This past weekend, we went to Bissau, the capital city, with a friend, Sabino, from church.  It was an exercise in flexibility, but very enjoyable.   We stayed in his house, and met most of his very extended family.  There were a lot of activities, but most of it was just enjoying being with an african family, and enjoying their food and fellowship.  The only thing is that we konked out at 10 pm, and everyone else seemed to be going strong at midnight still.  And then Kristin and I slept in the same bed for the first time in years!  She said I snore, but not as bad as some people.   I think that is a compliment.  We also slept with a pig, one that Sabino had brought with him.  He was kept in the house, and so his snufflings could have been what Kristin heard!  In the morning, I unlatched the door to go out and take my shower, which was essentially open air, before everyone got up, and before it was too light!  I forgot the pig, as he seemed to be docile.  He however saw the open door, and decided to make a break for it.  I realized that unless I did something fast, he was going to be loose in the big city of Bissau and never come back.  So a flying leap that would have made a linebacker proud, and I snared him.  His protests of the rude treatment woke everyone up, so there went the private shower…

I know that most of you would love to have more pics, and I would love it as well, but am afraid with the Internet that I have, it will need to wait.  I will have to post those later.  Thanks to everyone who tries to keep up here…I am learning a lot, and hope to continue that for the next 4 weeks, so that I can finish well.  God bless….

     November 2 dawned bright and clear, and there is change in the air.  The air is less humid, and the wind is blowing briskly out of the north, for the first time since I have been in Guinea Bissau.  These are signs of the change from the rainy season to the dry season.  Guinea Bissau will get very little rain until next May.    There is also a lot of change here on the mission.   Tonight marks my last night staying at the Kasa di Forester, as Beryl’s house is called.  Tomorrow, I will move down to the mission house where the YES team and the rest of the missionaries live.  Beryl’s house will be used to house Steve and Pam Jablonski, the PA and nurse who are coming to replace Terriann, as well as their daughter Kati, and another nurse Magan.  We are looking forward to breaking in the new workers as soon as possible, because our local nurse, Tening is going back to school next week.  So the medical call can be shared a bit now.

   Last night, November 1, the children in the village went from house to house asking for treats, and singing songs.  The celebration seems to be better than our Halloween, as there is no dressing up, and the songs they sing speak of Ave Maria, so I suspect it is a Catholic celebration .  I understand that it goes on for 4 nights.  Another difference was that it is only children going from house to house, as there is no need for adults to accompany in this safe environment. I was unprepared last night, but that means I need to buy some candy or treats or something for this evening, my one more night alone in the house…

   Also, this next week, daughter Kristin is coming to visit.  I am very much looking forward to her visit, and I think it is coming at a good time, as we could use the extra help while she is here.  She is flying to Ziginchoir, which is in Senegal, about 30 miles away from here.  Since she won’t get there until 4:30 pm, we will have to spend the night in Ziginchoir so that she can get a visa the next day for Guinea Bissau.  Senegal is primarily French, so I don’t look forward to negotiating all that in French, but will feel much more comfortable when I get back to Guinea Bissau.  The advantage is that I hope to get a motel where maybe internet will be a bit more favorable and maybe get caught up a little with some of my work there…

    Today, I take my last lesson in Kiriol.  I have enjoyed the lessons, but think that it is time for me to learn on my own, and I hope to continue that.  I try to read the children next door stories every day in Kiriol, and that helps with the language, as well.

      Well, what else is happening here?  Wednesday, they came from the capital Bissau, to inspect our clinic for certification.  Just like in the states some times, it did not go all that well.  They had a lot of things that they want changed in the clinic, and some of them seem rather superfluous.  One of the things that they want changed is the nice tin ceiling in the clinic, which keeps bugs and other things from dropping down into a sterile field.  They said it is too hot.   I was here during the hottest month, October, and there was never a time that I thought it was hot in there?  So go figure.  They want a fabric or thatched ceiling.  As we say in America, “Let sleeping dogs lie”, or in Kiriol, “Kacur durmi bu ka pudi manzi”.  They want more entrances, more rooms than the specifications call for, and more bathrooms, so I am not sure we will get certified….and to top it off, they may not think we are operating legally right now…so change is the buzzword. 

    On the medical front, we had a child come in through the back door screaming last week and here she had spilled boiling water on her abdomen.  It was the middle of a very hectic day, and people were everywhere.  We rushed her in and dressed the wound as best we can.  I told her to come back in 2 days, but here when she came back, it was obvious to me that it was more than just a blistered abdomen, but that it was a 3^rd degree burn.  I suggested to them to go to the hospital to get a skin graft but they refused.  So we have been treating it on a few days basis, and it still looks bad.  But she is having less pain, and eating okay, and so what do you do?  We will continue to see her back regularly.

   The mission house is blessed with a small sancu, or monkey.  One of the guys (Joe) thought it would be a good idea to have one and bought it, but now he is gone to a neighboring village for the next 8 months. So he has to be taken care of and given food and water.  He is sort of a baby, as he cries a lot.  His name is Mama, which is a name here, but also means breast, and breast feeding, so I am not sure of the significance there.  But if anyone wants “percolated monkey meat”, I think I may be able to help!

     God bless those of you who are sticking with this blog.  I think I tend to repeat myself, due to not always being able to post.  And forgive the typing errors—the program I am using is responsible, I am just saying…Remember the work that is here, and the people who continue to need love and help in a dark place…..