I can hardly believe tomorrow will be a month since Mary Clare and I have been in Ghana! It has gone by very fast, and we have been through so much already!! Here's a little synopsis of the month:
*****Funniest Thing That Happened This Month****
Sister's newest orphans are these puppies who have been abandoned by the mommy dog. It must be something in the water here, or something!! Anyways, I am, sorry to say for all you dog lovers out there, not a dog person. The puppies are cute... there are 4 black ones and 3 yellow ones. Here in Africa, they are not given names, allowed in the house, or treated like one of the family. They will be used for protection against trespassers when they are big enough. They are living on one side of the house. Well, one day I was taking the toddlers for a walk around the house. We were strolling along, and I was pointing out colors and flowers, bugs and trees, and they were repeating what I was saying. All of the sudden, we turn the corner, and you would have thought they were on fire. Screaming like I have never heard before scorched my ears and the 6 little tykes all grabbed on to my legs so tightly I couldn't move. They were afraid of the puppies. Well, here I am, with the toddlers in a state of complete and total panic, with no one around to help, and I cannot move because 12 little hands were digging into me for dear life. I couldn't even take a step for fear one of them would go toppling to the ground. So I take these little tiny steps, with my frenzied tykes in tow until we turn the corner, which took some time, let me tell you. And then... Silence... until they see the cows, then it starts all over again!!!
********Health Update********
Mary Clare and I have taken over the medical responsibilities of the house. Mary Clare is so good at treating the children. She has patience and a sweetness about her, and yet is fearless when it comes to cleaning wounds and administering meds. Ajah is doing much better. His wounds are healing. He still loves Mary and I, but when we take him into the room we use as a medical center, he cries and cries. Poor little guy! Elizabeth is not fairing as well. The hole in her foot is getting bigger and is turning black. we clean and dress it and she is taking an antibiotic, but unless she gets good attention right away, we are afraid she may lose her foot. That is totally an unprofessional opinion, but that is what it looks like to me. We have a list of kids that have wounds on their legs that we treat and wrap every other day, we have kids who have ringworm, and a few we do physical therapy with. The hospital in Tamale is no help... we sent Elizabeth there on Thursday, and were told to come back on Tuesday. The good news is that we have a few doctors and nurses in Buffalo who have been helping us to diagnose and treat the kids via email. We send info and pictures and they give us their best advice on how to proceed. It is great to have that support and aid!!
********* Most "ARE YOU CRAZY????" Moment*********
One day, snakes were spotted within the wall of our compound. Since nothing is easy here, apparently, of course they were poisonous snakes!! Sister said they hide in the bush and won't come near the house, but it is a major concern because, without running water, the kids use the bush as a bathroom and it has to be safe. So, Sister had her gardeners chop down the high grasses in the bush and asked them to burn the bush outside of the wall. (that is all the background info you need for the story) On that same day, Sister asked Mary Clare and I to get the kids home early from school because there was a sickness in town and she didn't want our kids to get it. (the school, by the way, is right outside of the wall of our compound... do you know where I'm going with this??)
So, dutiful little missionaries that we are, Mary Clare and I go to the school only to find all the bush around the school on fire. !!!!????!!!!*****?????!!!! What????? ARE YOU CRAZY??? There are two year olds at that school! Who have no teachers! There are children with no sense of any danger at that school! Who probably have no teachers either! I mean, couldn't you wait till say 1pm when school is over to burn the bush??? So here we are, in the burning heat of Africa with the added burning heat of the fire, with smoke all around us trying to find all our kids and bring them home safely. Holy cow... All I can say is there must have been a fury of guardian angels bumping into each other that day trying to keep their charges safe. That is the only way no one got burned/hurt that day.
**********My DUH Moment******
I knew I was going to come to The Nazareth Home for God's Children for a year back in March. So, I've had a good 8 months to think about what I'd be doing here, to prepare for the trip, etc. However, it wasn't until I'd BEEN HERE for 2 weeks till it hit me... no more weekends!! Uh, yeah duh, Sarah... you are in the middle of Nowhere, Africa! Why did it take me so long to clue into that, and why was it such a surprise when I did?? It was such a let down, and yet, in some part of my mind I must have known this. Anyways, when it's Tuesday, and you are thinking, "man... it's gonna take forever for the weekend to get here," just think of me, here in nowhere, and how it will take 34 weeks till my next weekend. Hope that gets you through!!!
*******A Moment of Revelation********
I hope that I have grown as a person, as a caretaker, as a Catholic this past month. We have a very good priest here in the Sang Village. His name is Fr. Isadore, and he is a holy priest. I was in church one day and his homily was about God molding us, testing us in fire, building us up and helping to perfect who we are. I thought, after mass, that this is my time of molding. That God is trying to mold me into who He created me to be, and all I have to do is just let Him. It's not easy, because I have ideas of who I am, who I was created to be... except none of those were right. That person I left back in Buffalo, and who I am now is someone else. Never would I have thought I would be a missionary in Africa, but here I am. It is hard letting yourself be formed into something other than you expect, even painful. It is hard letting go of everything, until I realize, everything I need is here. Even those I love are here in my heart, and with me in prayer.
Thank you for being with me this first month, for your support and prayers. I am sure that the well of happenings will not run dry here and I will continue to write about my time here at the orphanage. Please continue to pray for us... for better medical care, for a good and constant source of water, for these abandoned children of Ghana and their caretakers. I have been keeping in my prayers all who happen upon this blog. xo
