It's funny how your brain works. I am so inexpressibly tired. Every part of me is tired, and I just want to lie down and sleep and rest and vegetate for weeks. My brain has been telling me, "Just get to the end of term. You can do it, you're almost there!" It has been telling me that somehow things will slow down and there will be a chance to catch my breath. Now it is the night before graduation. Today was the last day of classes. The term is ending, and tomorrow we will have a celebration and our students will leave and the College will be very quiet and uninhabited for the better part of the next 4 months. And yet, suddenly, I have realized that this is just the beginning! I am tired now, and somehow I don't think that's going to change. Why was I ever thinking it was going to change? After the graduation, I have to finish writing our newsletter, and send it. I have to write a column about the graduation on behalf of the College. I have loads of baking I need to do to finish up the flour, sugar, oats, etc. in my cupboards before we leave the house for 4 months! I still have organizing and scrubbing and cleaning to do to prepare my house for our absence so that everything is clean and orderly while we are away. I have one week to do all these things and more. And then when we get to the UK... no, things are not going to slow down there. David will be preaching twice every Lord's Day, plus we will have mid-week meetings as well, and reports to give for the College. Traveling throughout the country, visiting as many friends as possible, navigating by bus and train again... it will be a busy time. Then we will go to the States. More travel, more speaking engagements, more preaching, more visiting. And then, after a few weeks, yes, things will finally "slow down." For me, at least! David will still be preaching and reporting in churches, plus preparing his College lectures and working on administration.We will be settled in one place, with family. Awaiting the birth of our second child! After the birth... recovery. That takes time. A newborn. A new schedule. A toddler who will have to get used to the idea of a brand new sibling occupying Mama and Daddy's attention! There will be preparations to make - clothes to sort through, shopping for things to take back to Zambia, all sorts of paperwork. Baby's birth certificate, baby's new passport, baby's plane ticket. And then, more international travel, this time with two children in tow, one of them only a few weeks old. Back to Scotland in the dead of winter... traveling the length and breadth of the country... more preaching and reporting. More visiting with dear friends and supporters. More gathering of supplies. And then at the end of it all, our return to the College. Another international flight with our young ones. Readjusting to our previous life which will be all new.... new baby, new routine, learning how to do things with my hands full, always. Hot weather after 4 months of cold and coats and snow! The start of a busy new term, February 2012.
Yes, somehow my brain tricked me into thinking that things are about to slow down now that the term has ended! :) So my mantra is: "Take it one day at a time."
Thursday, 29 September 2011
Friday, 23 September 2011
hazards
As we anticipate traveling to the UK in just a few weeks (!) and then on to the USA, I've begun to realize what a big change this will be for Elijah! How many new experiences he will have, as a toddler -- experiences he never had as a non-mobile infant Here at the College it is easy to feel like there are many dangers. I keep a close eye on Elijah. In and around our house we frequently have scorpions and poisonous centipedes. We are training Elijah to identify these "creepy crawlies" and how to smash them with a shoe! There are also lots of snakes around and we have to always be on our guard. Yesterday morning I went out our front gate to shoo away a stray goat which our dogs were barking at, and there was a snake just outside our gate! It was so close to me and I never even saw it. I am so thankful that it decided to run rather than bite. Based on the size, speed, and behavior it exhibited, I am sure that it was a black mamba, upwards of 3 feet long. And then there are not-so-deadly but still nasty little pests, like the bees that are everywhere in our garden, and hornets. This morning Elijah was stung twice on the hand!
But then I have started to think about how I must prepare my son for the hazards of the Western world! Like gas radiators and fireplaces, and wood-burning stoves. (Thankfully, he already knows and responds to the word "Hot!") Like stairs (he's never met a 2-story house since he became mobile!). Like busy streets. Here at the College, we might drive to town once a week, at MOST! We live at the end of a very long driveway (4-5 miles long?) and the only traffic coming to the College is our colleagues, so Elijah hasn't really seen more than one vehicle at a time since we moved here. We will have to teach him how to live safely in a house that doesn't have a fenced and gated compound.
I've just been thinking that it's funny how some people assume that since we're living in Africa, there are more dangers. But there actually aren't. They are just different dangers. And the key is to be aware and to train your children, while they are young!, to recognize and avoid the dangers. It will be an interesting 4 months in a cold climate full of strange and new experiences for my curious toddler. The hazards will be there, but so will be the fun!
But then I have started to think about how I must prepare my son for the hazards of the Western world! Like gas radiators and fireplaces, and wood-burning stoves. (Thankfully, he already knows and responds to the word "Hot!") Like stairs (he's never met a 2-story house since he became mobile!). Like busy streets. Here at the College, we might drive to town once a week, at MOST! We live at the end of a very long driveway (4-5 miles long?) and the only traffic coming to the College is our colleagues, so Elijah hasn't really seen more than one vehicle at a time since we moved here. We will have to teach him how to live safely in a house that doesn't have a fenced and gated compound.
I've just been thinking that it's funny how some people assume that since we're living in Africa, there are more dangers. But there actually aren't. They are just different dangers. And the key is to be aware and to train your children, while they are young!, to recognize and avoid the dangers. It will be an interesting 4 months in a cold climate full of strange and new experiences for my curious toddler. The hazards will be there, but so will be the fun!
Wednesday, 21 September 2011
improvement... and a hospital experience
Many thanks to all of you who were praying for us as we had another antenatal scan and more bloodwork done to check my hemoglobin levels and the growth of the baby!
We're relieved to report that according to the scan, everything looks fine with the baby's growth. And she is certainly VERY active. I feel like I have an acrobat-in-training doing trapeze stunts inside me! I've not gained any weight in the past month, but the baby seems to be happy and healthy.
The bloodwork revealed that my hemoglobin levels have risen from 9.3 to 10.0! Not as much of an increase as I was (probably naively) hoping for -- but it is a definite improvement, and we're moving in the right direction! As David was quick to remind me, the fact that I've been able to increase my hemoglobin by .7 within 4 weeks, in an environment which does not provide a high-iron diet, shows that I've been diligent with my supplements and getting what I can by way of diet, and I should be encouraged! So we will continue doing what we can, and within a few weeks I will be back in the "Western world" where I will be able to rigorously monitor my diet for the entirety of my 3rd trimester! I do have 3 more months to keep working on my hemoglobin levels!
When we went to the hospital on Monday I was hoping that it would be a quick "in and out" visit like it had been the week before when we took David to be treated for the dog bite on his arm. Well, the hospital was pure chaos! I think part of the pandemonium was due to parts of the hospital closing at noon because the following day (Tuesday) was Presidential Elections here and so there was a half-day holiday. It was very crowded and there were crying babies and harried-looking mothers everywhere. First I had to wait in line in one room to register. Then I had to wait in line in the main waiting room to be weighed and have my blood pressure checked. It's not like a normal "doctor's office" -- it is a big open room with rows of benches on either side crowded with people, and a scale right in the center of the room! You have to "queue up" and wait for your turn to step on the scale, the staff worker quickly jots the note on your registration card, and then you are waved into a different queue to get to the table at the front of the room to have your blood pressure checked. All completely in public, for all to see, in front of hundreds of waiting patients!
There are several examination rooms on each side of the main waiting area where each patient sees a doctor, and I was told to wait in front of Room 16. I tried to explain that I was not sick and did not need to see a doctor, I just needed to get some bloodwork done and an antenatal scan, but I was told to wait for a doctor anyway! Apparently the way the hospital works (I'm guessing because no one actually explained this to me) you have to see a doctor first so that you can get a piece of paper with their written permission for whatever bloodwork, radiology, etc. you might need for your condition. There was no place to sit, so I was standing in line in front of the door for perhaps 20 minutes. The door to Room 16 remains open so you can see that the two doctors inside are dealing with patients. After waiting for a long time and the line hadn't even budged, one of the doctors inside Room 16 looked up and for some reason called out to me -- I have no idea why! I was the third person in line. I don't remember what he said at first but it was something like "What do you need?" I said, "I just need a full blood count and an antenatal scan, that's all!" He said, "Go to Room 15!" I said, "I really don't need to see a doctor at all, I'm not sick." (Really hoping to save them some time and trouble!) He insisted: "You are sick. Go to Room 15!" *sigh*
So I went back to Room 15 to wait. But immediately it became apparent that no one waiting in front of Room 15 knew who was in the queue, where the queue started or where it ended! There were no remaining seats so about 6-8 people were loitering in front of the door. Every time the door opened, several people who were closest would make a dash for it and try to get inside to see the doctor before the door closed! It was absolute pandemonium. I was standing there trying not to get trampled, and really not convinced I was in the right place at all. A few nurses tried to sort out the queue for Room 15 but gave up because there was so much confusion. No one knew what was happening! Finally I spoke to one of the nurses (knowing that she would speak a little English!) and explained my situation -- that I simply needed a full blood count and a scan -- and asked her to tell the English doctor, who knows us at the College, that I was here waiting because she would be expecting me. (I had spoken to the doctor the previous week to find out about getting a scan, so she knew I was coming that day.) The nurse didn't know what to do with me so she asked another guy. The man said "Follow me" and before I knew what was happening he opened the door to Room 14 and took me straight inside, where the doctor was already dealing with a patient, and motioned for me to sit in the corner! So I waited while the doctor finished with the patient and then it was my turn to explain to the doctor -- again -- WHY I was there and what I needed. I spent several minutes trying to convince the doctor why I needed the scan and bloodwork in the first place.
"You're not sick!" she said.
"No, but I was anaemic last month when I saw my doctor in Lusaka, so she wants to check my hemoglobin levels to see if they've come up, and she wants a scan to check the baby's growth."
"But you had a scan in Lusaka last month, why do you need a scan here?"
"To check the baby's growth! I've not gained any weight in the past month and they are concerned to make sure the baby is still growing!"
"Is the baby moving?"
"Yes!"
"Then why do you need a scan?"
and so on.... followed by "Why do you need a blood test?" Next time I will make sure I have a letter of referral from my doctor! A referral letter is not necessary, but it certainly would have made my morning easier so that I didn't have to keep convincing people of why I had come to the hospital in the first place!
Finally I got the paper from the doctor, rather grudgingly, which allowed me to go to the lab to have the blood test done -- more waiting. . . and then from there to the radiology department to have the scan done -- even more waiting! That was an experience in itself. When I went to the radiology room and told the man at the front desk, "I'm here to have an antenatal scan," he immediately said "Follow me" and quickly ushered me through the waiting room (where about 8-10 ladies and a couple of men were seated) and straight into the ultrasound room where the doctor was seated at his desk.... at the same moment that another man was wheeling another patient who was in a wheelchair into the ultrasound room! Hospital policy is that urgent cases always go first, and I was just following instructions, so I waited for the doctor to tell me what to do after the receptionist handed the doctor all my paperwork and left me in the room. The doctor said, "Madam, wait outside the door and I will see you next, after the man in the wheelchair." So I obeyed and stood outside the ultrasound room door, since there were no remaining seats.
After a couple of minutes I realized that all the women who were seated were getting upset because it was obvious that I was suddenly at the head of the line when they had been waiting for who knows how long! There was a lot of muttering and murmuring in Nyanja which of course I couldn't understand but I certainly was getting the gist of the conversation! Finally one of the women got up and huffed out of the room. She came back a few minutes later with a nurse who took the woman's paperwork (like the receptionist had done with mine), barged into the doctor's office, gave him what sounded like a major telling-off (in Nyanja), left the woman's paperwork inside, and came out. The other woman looked pleased with herself. I, meanwhile, had managed to find a corner of a table to half-sit on while I waited. I noticed that one of the other women had inched her way to the end of the bench where she was seated and looked like she had every intention of dashing inside the doctor's office as soon as the door opened so as to get inside before I did. I had absolutely no interest in fighting and elbowing my way into the doctor's office so I completely ignored her. Sure enough, when the door opened and the wheelchair patient emerged, said woman shot inside the office and immediately plunked herself down on the examination table while I followed her through the doorway and wondered what on earth the doctor was going to do in this situation. The woman sat there with her arms crossed and rattled off something in Nyanja to the doctor and he looked at me and said, "Let her go first. You wait outside and come in next." So, I returned to my post standing in front of the door. I felt really bad about being at the "head of the line" and I didn't understand why I was given "preferential treatment" but at the same time I felt very strongly about obeying the doctor's orders, because he was the only one around who was giving clear instructions! All morning, I had been struggling to figure out where to go and what queue to stand in, and everything was so disorganized that I was determined to follow the instructions which were given to me. I waited, and as soon as the doctor's door opened again another woman repeated the trick and dashed inside, nearly knocking me flat. The doctor quickly told her to leave, and as I settled myself on the examination table, he muttered something about "always pushing and shoving their way in...!" This experience made me really sad because I didn't like the feeling of "cutting in line" but I was really trying hard to obey any instructions that were given to me because it was so hard to know what I was supposed to do. And in a situation like this where there is no orderliness and no one knows where the start/finish of the queue is, the doctor is the only one who can decide who he is going to see next! It was an unpleasant experience, but I was thankful to be finished quickly and out of the way so that the women could finish fighting over who's turn was next.
In all, it was an exhausting and stressful morning... BUT
* we are so thankful to have a hospital not too far away
* we are so thankful to have access to basic medical care (and if it was an emergency, they would take good care of us!)
* we are so thankful to be able to check the health of the pregnancy without having to travel all the way to Lusaka!
And I learned a few more lessons about life in Zambia in the process! :)
We're relieved to report that according to the scan, everything looks fine with the baby's growth. And she is certainly VERY active. I feel like I have an acrobat-in-training doing trapeze stunts inside me! I've not gained any weight in the past month, but the baby seems to be happy and healthy.
The bloodwork revealed that my hemoglobin levels have risen from 9.3 to 10.0! Not as much of an increase as I was (probably naively) hoping for -- but it is a definite improvement, and we're moving in the right direction! As David was quick to remind me, the fact that I've been able to increase my hemoglobin by .7 within 4 weeks, in an environment which does not provide a high-iron diet, shows that I've been diligent with my supplements and getting what I can by way of diet, and I should be encouraged! So we will continue doing what we can, and within a few weeks I will be back in the "Western world" where I will be able to rigorously monitor my diet for the entirety of my 3rd trimester! I do have 3 more months to keep working on my hemoglobin levels!
When we went to the hospital on Monday I was hoping that it would be a quick "in and out" visit like it had been the week before when we took David to be treated for the dog bite on his arm. Well, the hospital was pure chaos! I think part of the pandemonium was due to parts of the hospital closing at noon because the following day (Tuesday) was Presidential Elections here and so there was a half-day holiday. It was very crowded and there were crying babies and harried-looking mothers everywhere. First I had to wait in line in one room to register. Then I had to wait in line in the main waiting room to be weighed and have my blood pressure checked. It's not like a normal "doctor's office" -- it is a big open room with rows of benches on either side crowded with people, and a scale right in the center of the room! You have to "queue up" and wait for your turn to step on the scale, the staff worker quickly jots the note on your registration card, and then you are waved into a different queue to get to the table at the front of the room to have your blood pressure checked. All completely in public, for all to see, in front of hundreds of waiting patients!
There are several examination rooms on each side of the main waiting area where each patient sees a doctor, and I was told to wait in front of Room 16. I tried to explain that I was not sick and did not need to see a doctor, I just needed to get some bloodwork done and an antenatal scan, but I was told to wait for a doctor anyway! Apparently the way the hospital works (I'm guessing because no one actually explained this to me) you have to see a doctor first so that you can get a piece of paper with their written permission for whatever bloodwork, radiology, etc. you might need for your condition. There was no place to sit, so I was standing in line in front of the door for perhaps 20 minutes. The door to Room 16 remains open so you can see that the two doctors inside are dealing with patients. After waiting for a long time and the line hadn't even budged, one of the doctors inside Room 16 looked up and for some reason called out to me -- I have no idea why! I was the third person in line. I don't remember what he said at first but it was something like "What do you need?" I said, "I just need a full blood count and an antenatal scan, that's all!" He said, "Go to Room 15!" I said, "I really don't need to see a doctor at all, I'm not sick." (Really hoping to save them some time and trouble!) He insisted: "You are sick. Go to Room 15!" *sigh*
So I went back to Room 15 to wait. But immediately it became apparent that no one waiting in front of Room 15 knew who was in the queue, where the queue started or where it ended! There were no remaining seats so about 6-8 people were loitering in front of the door. Every time the door opened, several people who were closest would make a dash for it and try to get inside to see the doctor before the door closed! It was absolute pandemonium. I was standing there trying not to get trampled, and really not convinced I was in the right place at all. A few nurses tried to sort out the queue for Room 15 but gave up because there was so much confusion. No one knew what was happening! Finally I spoke to one of the nurses (knowing that she would speak a little English!) and explained my situation -- that I simply needed a full blood count and a scan -- and asked her to tell the English doctor, who knows us at the College, that I was here waiting because she would be expecting me. (I had spoken to the doctor the previous week to find out about getting a scan, so she knew I was coming that day.) The nurse didn't know what to do with me so she asked another guy. The man said "Follow me" and before I knew what was happening he opened the door to Room 14 and took me straight inside, where the doctor was already dealing with a patient, and motioned for me to sit in the corner! So I waited while the doctor finished with the patient and then it was my turn to explain to the doctor -- again -- WHY I was there and what I needed. I spent several minutes trying to convince the doctor why I needed the scan and bloodwork in the first place.
"You're not sick!" she said.
"No, but I was anaemic last month when I saw my doctor in Lusaka, so she wants to check my hemoglobin levels to see if they've come up, and she wants a scan to check the baby's growth."
"But you had a scan in Lusaka last month, why do you need a scan here?"
"To check the baby's growth! I've not gained any weight in the past month and they are concerned to make sure the baby is still growing!"
"Is the baby moving?"
"Yes!"
"Then why do you need a scan?"
and so on.... followed by "Why do you need a blood test?" Next time I will make sure I have a letter of referral from my doctor! A referral letter is not necessary, but it certainly would have made my morning easier so that I didn't have to keep convincing people of why I had come to the hospital in the first place!
Finally I got the paper from the doctor, rather grudgingly, which allowed me to go to the lab to have the blood test done -- more waiting. . . and then from there to the radiology department to have the scan done -- even more waiting! That was an experience in itself. When I went to the radiology room and told the man at the front desk, "I'm here to have an antenatal scan," he immediately said "Follow me" and quickly ushered me through the waiting room (where about 8-10 ladies and a couple of men were seated) and straight into the ultrasound room where the doctor was seated at his desk.... at the same moment that another man was wheeling another patient who was in a wheelchair into the ultrasound room! Hospital policy is that urgent cases always go first, and I was just following instructions, so I waited for the doctor to tell me what to do after the receptionist handed the doctor all my paperwork and left me in the room. The doctor said, "Madam, wait outside the door and I will see you next, after the man in the wheelchair." So I obeyed and stood outside the ultrasound room door, since there were no remaining seats.
After a couple of minutes I realized that all the women who were seated were getting upset because it was obvious that I was suddenly at the head of the line when they had been waiting for who knows how long! There was a lot of muttering and murmuring in Nyanja which of course I couldn't understand but I certainly was getting the gist of the conversation! Finally one of the women got up and huffed out of the room. She came back a few minutes later with a nurse who took the woman's paperwork (like the receptionist had done with mine), barged into the doctor's office, gave him what sounded like a major telling-off (in Nyanja), left the woman's paperwork inside, and came out. The other woman looked pleased with herself. I, meanwhile, had managed to find a corner of a table to half-sit on while I waited. I noticed that one of the other women had inched her way to the end of the bench where she was seated and looked like she had every intention of dashing inside the doctor's office as soon as the door opened so as to get inside before I did. I had absolutely no interest in fighting and elbowing my way into the doctor's office so I completely ignored her. Sure enough, when the door opened and the wheelchair patient emerged, said woman shot inside the office and immediately plunked herself down on the examination table while I followed her through the doorway and wondered what on earth the doctor was going to do in this situation. The woman sat there with her arms crossed and rattled off something in Nyanja to the doctor and he looked at me and said, "Let her go first. You wait outside and come in next." So, I returned to my post standing in front of the door. I felt really bad about being at the "head of the line" and I didn't understand why I was given "preferential treatment" but at the same time I felt very strongly about obeying the doctor's orders, because he was the only one around who was giving clear instructions! All morning, I had been struggling to figure out where to go and what queue to stand in, and everything was so disorganized that I was determined to follow the instructions which were given to me. I waited, and as soon as the doctor's door opened again another woman repeated the trick and dashed inside, nearly knocking me flat. The doctor quickly told her to leave, and as I settled myself on the examination table, he muttered something about "always pushing and shoving their way in...!" This experience made me really sad because I didn't like the feeling of "cutting in line" but I was really trying hard to obey any instructions that were given to me because it was so hard to know what I was supposed to do. And in a situation like this where there is no orderliness and no one knows where the start/finish of the queue is, the doctor is the only one who can decide who he is going to see next! It was an unpleasant experience, but I was thankful to be finished quickly and out of the way so that the women could finish fighting over who's turn was next.
In all, it was an exhausting and stressful morning... BUT
* we are so thankful to have a hospital not too far away
* we are so thankful to have access to basic medical care (and if it was an emergency, they would take good care of us!)
* we are so thankful to be able to check the health of the pregnancy without having to travel all the way to Lusaka!
And I learned a few more lessons about life in Zambia in the process! :)
Saturday, 17 September 2011
prayer requests
We would greatly appreciate your prayers for two specific items:
1) On Monday (19th Sept) we will be going to the hospital an hour away where Katie will have more bloodwork to see if her hemoglobin levels have risen, and another antenatal scan to check on the growth of the baby and the health of the placenta. Please be in prayer that all of Katie's nutritive efforts will have brought her hemoglobin back into the "safe" zone! And especially please pray that our little unborn daughter would be healthy, strong, and growing properly and that the pregnancy would continue to be uncomplicated.
2) On Tuesday (20th Sept) there will be presidential elections here in Zambia. Please keep the country in your prayers during this time. Zambia is a peaceful nation, but there is always a measure of discontent and chaos during election seasons in any country. We do not anticipate any trouble, and we live in a quiet rural area, but we will be lying low for a few days and not venturing out much. Please be in prayer for Zambia next week and in weeks to come.
Friday, 16 September 2011
antics
Elijah has now reached the "I'm going to climb on everything heedless of my own mortality" stage. The side of the tub, the side of the sandbox, the dining room chairs, the storage trunks, the kitchen steps. Now the sofa is his newest trick. I'm fine with him climbing on and off the sofa. Climb up, turn around, squirm down. Climb up, turn around, squirm down. It's the gleeful scaling onto the back of the couch and using the arm of the couch to try to wrestle his way onto the windowsills that has me concerned. Um, I can't just hide the couch to keep him from climbing on it. So Mr. Spoon emerges to teach Elijah that Mama does not approve or condone of that new trick.
Yes, we have reached the stage where "No" is an all-too-common word, but thankfully legitimate amusements also interest this little monkey. He has learned from his daddy how to dribble one of his small plastic balls around the house! I foresee a football fanatic in our family. (Wait. We already have one...)
His other new antics this week: giving "high-fives," which he thinks is the most hilarious thing in the world (you should hear him cracking himself up! such a belly laugh) and wearing Mama's sandals around the house. I have the feeling I'm going to be searching for my shoes often in the future.
His vocabulary so far includes "touch" and "yes." And I am positive that he was trying his best to say "bath" the other night. (He gets so excited about bathtime!)
As for my antics, this is what I'm up to: entering another giveaway over at Life in a Shoe. 'Cause I'm a good, faithful reader, that's why. And 'cause I love long, modest, beautiful skirts! And these giveaways have been too good to resist!
Yes, we have reached the stage where "No" is an all-too-common word, but thankfully legitimate amusements also interest this little monkey. He has learned from his daddy how to dribble one of his small plastic balls around the house! I foresee a football fanatic in our family. (Wait. We already have one...)
His other new antics this week: giving "high-fives," which he thinks is the most hilarious thing in the world (you should hear him cracking himself up! such a belly laugh) and wearing Mama's sandals around the house. I have the feeling I'm going to be searching for my shoes often in the future.
His vocabulary so far includes "touch" and "yes." And I am positive that he was trying his best to say "bath" the other night. (He gets so excited about bathtime!)
As for my antics, this is what I'm up to: entering another giveaway over at Life in a Shoe. 'Cause I'm a good, faithful reader, that's why. And 'cause I love long, modest, beautiful skirts! And these giveaways have been too good to resist!
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
women's conference
We mentioned this briefly in our August newsletter, but I wanted to share in more detail so that you would know how to be praying for our ministry to these women. This post is taken in part from an email I wrote to a friend.
Each year (usually twice a year) Covenant College hosts a conference for the wives of our students. This conference is one of the vital ways we can reach out and minister to these women, encouraging them in their roles as wives and mothers and offering practical, Scriptural, and medical instruction. It also gives them an opportunity for fellowship because many of these women travel quite a distance to reach the College, and if they meet a new friend who is also a student's wife who lives in their area, then they have an opportunity for mutual encouragement in the future.
The women arrived here on Thursday morning, 1st August. They travel by bus or taxi or pay for a lift on a passing lorry. They travel in any way they can. After their arrival, they had time for a cup of tea and a bun, before the program started at 10hrs. Since it was a Thursday and the students still had their usual 7:30 class that day, we asked the students to stay after class for the start of the conference, so that we could speak to the students and wives together in a special talk. Heinrich spoke from 10-11 on the topic of being created male and female in God's image, from Genesis 2. Then David spoke from 11-12 on the topic of Christian family life (the importance of teaching your children the Scriptures, family worship, etc.) from Deut 6. After lunch, the students left the College and traveled home for an extended weekend (all except for a few weekend students who camped out in the small classroom) and the women moved into the dormitory.
In the afternoons (Thurs and Fri) we had three items on the program: a health topic taught by Mercy (a trained nurse from Katete who is also the wife of one of our graduate students), teaching the women some of the Nyanja Psalms, and a craft led by Marjanne. Acklas Banda, one of our graduating students this year who often leads the singing during the students' morning worship, kindly delayed his travel home on Thursday afternoon to teach some Nyanja Psalms to the ladies, which we then reviewed throughout the rest of the conference. The women LOVED learning new Psalms. They requested that we please teach them new ones at each conference in the future!
This was the second women's conference I had the opportunity to assist with, and this time I had a much bigger responsibility - to lead one of the Bible studies! On Friday morning I led the first Bible study of the conference. We started at 8am to study the story of Mary and Martha (from Luke 10) and the importance of seeking fellowship with Christ and not being distracted by our daily labors. Then from 9-10 they broke into small groups to discuss the questions I had written about the passage. After tea break we had another hour and a half to discuss the questions together, and then I finished my Bible study with some practical suggestions of how to find time in a busy day to spend in God's Word seeking the Lord. The ladies asked if they could have copies of the Nyanja discussion questions about the Bible study to take home and lead their own Bible studies. There must have been 25 women at the conference because that's how many copies I printed and each woman got one!
On Saturday morning Jacomien led the Bible study from Genesis 2, about Eve and the role of women in marriage and family life. It was the same program - an hour of Bible study, an hour of small group discussion, tea break, and then the remainder of the morning was spent discussing all the questions together. The women had so many questions about marriage and family life that the session didn't end until 12:30 and their lunch was late!
Marjanne was in charge of crafts each afternoon. She helped the ladies use clean baby food jars to create candle-holders or salt shakers. They decorated the outside of the jars by gluing pretty stones and beads and gems.
The first afternoon, Mercy, the nurse, spoke to them about puberty: how to understand the changes in your child's body, why they are happening, and why it is important to communicate clearly about these things without embarrassment. She dealt with the cultural issues which require that the parents do not speak to the children about these things - only the grandparents or another relative can speak to the children. She had two helpful pamphlets which explained things simply so that the women could understand what is happening in the male and female body. The women had SO many questions! In fact, after dinner that night they requested that Mercy please teach them more. So she spent another TWO HOURS teaching them late into the night, and they could ask her many questions.
The second afternoon, Mercy spoke to them about family planning - simply outlining the options available. She then asked Jacomien, Marjanne, and myself to say something about what to do if you have a choice of birth control which will kill a fertilized embryo (baby). So we all had a chance to share with the women the importance of remembering that God sends children as a "heritage," the importance of making all decisions with prayer and searching the Scriptures to see what would God want you to do (not just what do you want to do), and the importance of choosing a method of birth control which will not abort a newly-conceived baby but will simply prevent the bodies from functioning properly to create a pregnancy. The women said that they
were very satisfied with our answers and very thankful for the teaching.
It was very encouraging to see how excited they were about learning and also fellowshipping together. We heard them singing and praying and sharing Bible study late into the night. Whenever we saw them having tea break, one of them would have her Bible open and they would be discussing things from the Scriptures! On Friday morning they were all assembled in the classroom 15 minutes earlier than we had asked them to be, so that they could have a longer time for singing Psalms! It was a joy to behold.
Throughout the conference, we were helped with translation by Edah, Mercy, and Veronica - the wives of three of our students. Amazing women, as always! Able to facilitate discussion and communicate clearly with the other women, they served as our 'group leaders.'
There was such a good atmosphere about this conference, the women were so eager to participate and of course that is the key for a successful conference. It was so encouraging to have them so willing to answer
questions, participate in the discussion, ask questions, and keep discussing things among themselves! That willingness to participate makes all the difference and it is very encouraging to those of us who are teaching!
The ladies left after lunch on Saturday 3rd August after an uplifting conference. We shared a photo of the group in our August newsletter. Unfortunately I've not been able to upload photos on Blogger recently - for some reason it has refused to work properly. I will attempt again at some point to put a few photos up on my blog for you all. In the meantime I hope you are okay with just posts!
Each year (usually twice a year) Covenant College hosts a conference for the wives of our students. This conference is one of the vital ways we can reach out and minister to these women, encouraging them in their roles as wives and mothers and offering practical, Scriptural, and medical instruction. It also gives them an opportunity for fellowship because many of these women travel quite a distance to reach the College, and if they meet a new friend who is also a student's wife who lives in their area, then they have an opportunity for mutual encouragement in the future.
The women arrived here on Thursday morning, 1st August. They travel by bus or taxi or pay for a lift on a passing lorry. They travel in any way they can. After their arrival, they had time for a cup of tea and a bun, before the program started at 10hrs. Since it was a Thursday and the students still had their usual 7:30 class that day, we asked the students to stay after class for the start of the conference, so that we could speak to the students and wives together in a special talk. Heinrich spoke from 10-11 on the topic of being created male and female in God's image, from Genesis 2. Then David spoke from 11-12 on the topic of Christian family life (the importance of teaching your children the Scriptures, family worship, etc.) from Deut 6. After lunch, the students left the College and traveled home for an extended weekend (all except for a few weekend students who camped out in the small classroom) and the women moved into the dormitory.
In the afternoons (Thurs and Fri) we had three items on the program: a health topic taught by Mercy (a trained nurse from Katete who is also the wife of one of our graduate students), teaching the women some of the Nyanja Psalms, and a craft led by Marjanne. Acklas Banda, one of our graduating students this year who often leads the singing during the students' morning worship, kindly delayed his travel home on Thursday afternoon to teach some Nyanja Psalms to the ladies, which we then reviewed throughout the rest of the conference. The women LOVED learning new Psalms. They requested that we please teach them new ones at each conference in the future!
This was the second women's conference I had the opportunity to assist with, and this time I had a much bigger responsibility - to lead one of the Bible studies! On Friday morning I led the first Bible study of the conference. We started at 8am to study the story of Mary and Martha (from Luke 10) and the importance of seeking fellowship with Christ and not being distracted by our daily labors. Then from 9-10 they broke into small groups to discuss the questions I had written about the passage. After tea break we had another hour and a half to discuss the questions together, and then I finished my Bible study with some practical suggestions of how to find time in a busy day to spend in God's Word seeking the Lord. The ladies asked if they could have copies of the Nyanja discussion questions about the Bible study to take home and lead their own Bible studies. There must have been 25 women at the conference because that's how many copies I printed and each woman got one!
On Saturday morning Jacomien led the Bible study from Genesis 2, about Eve and the role of women in marriage and family life. It was the same program - an hour of Bible study, an hour of small group discussion, tea break, and then the remainder of the morning was spent discussing all the questions together. The women had so many questions about marriage and family life that the session didn't end until 12:30 and their lunch was late!
Marjanne was in charge of crafts each afternoon. She helped the ladies use clean baby food jars to create candle-holders or salt shakers. They decorated the outside of the jars by gluing pretty stones and beads and gems.
The first afternoon, Mercy, the nurse, spoke to them about puberty: how to understand the changes in your child's body, why they are happening, and why it is important to communicate clearly about these things without embarrassment. She dealt with the cultural issues which require that the parents do not speak to the children about these things - only the grandparents or another relative can speak to the children. She had two helpful pamphlets which explained things simply so that the women could understand what is happening in the male and female body. The women had SO many questions! In fact, after dinner that night they requested that Mercy please teach them more. So she spent another TWO HOURS teaching them late into the night, and they could ask her many questions.
The second afternoon, Mercy spoke to them about family planning - simply outlining the options available. She then asked Jacomien, Marjanne, and myself to say something about what to do if you have a choice of birth control which will kill a fertilized embryo (baby). So we all had a chance to share with the women the importance of remembering that God sends children as a "heritage," the importance of making all decisions with prayer and searching the Scriptures to see what would God want you to do (not just what do you want to do), and the importance of choosing a method of birth control which will not abort a newly-conceived baby but will simply prevent the bodies from functioning properly to create a pregnancy. The women said that they
were very satisfied with our answers and very thankful for the teaching.
It was very encouraging to see how excited they were about learning and also fellowshipping together. We heard them singing and praying and sharing Bible study late into the night. Whenever we saw them having tea break, one of them would have her Bible open and they would be discussing things from the Scriptures! On Friday morning they were all assembled in the classroom 15 minutes earlier than we had asked them to be, so that they could have a longer time for singing Psalms! It was a joy to behold.
Throughout the conference, we were helped with translation by Edah, Mercy, and Veronica - the wives of three of our students. Amazing women, as always! Able to facilitate discussion and communicate clearly with the other women, they served as our 'group leaders.'
There was such a good atmosphere about this conference, the women were so eager to participate and of course that is the key for a successful conference. It was so encouraging to have them so willing to answer
questions, participate in the discussion, ask questions, and keep discussing things among themselves! That willingness to participate makes all the difference and it is very encouraging to those of us who are teaching!
The ladies left after lunch on Saturday 3rd August after an uplifting conference. We shared a photo of the group in our August newsletter. Unfortunately I've not been able to upload photos on Blogger recently - for some reason it has refused to work properly. I will attempt again at some point to put a few photos up on my blog for you all. In the meantime I hope you are okay with just posts!
Friday, 9 September 2011
I approve of this giveaway.
Yes, I'm doing it again. I wonder if this will become a frequent occurrence? Life in a Shoe is hosting another awesome giveaway this week! I guess my thoughts on the matter are: 1) if it's a blog that I enjoy, 2) it only takes a few moments of my time to enter, 3) no spam involved, and 4) I could potentially win something really valuable. . . why not? :-) So, yes, I have my eye on these great maternity skirts. Not only do I actually need something like that, so it would be awesome to win, but do you know how difficult it is to find ANY skirts, but particularly maternity skirts, which are attractive, modest, AND the right length??
In other bargain-hunting news, I am trying out Swagbucks. I have some upcoming Amazon purchases to make, and figured I might as well try to save a bit of money here and there. It sounds like it's relatively easy and non-time-consuming to find Swagbucks while I'm searching things online, which I do every day, on one topic or another. And a penny saved is a penny earned!
In other bargain-hunting news, I am trying out Swagbucks. I have some upcoming Amazon purchases to make, and figured I might as well try to save a bit of money here and there. It sounds like it's relatively easy and non-time-consuming to find Swagbucks while I'm searching things online, which I do every day, on one topic or another. And a penny saved is a penny earned!
Thursday, 8 September 2011
25 weeks
Today I'm 25 weeks along! Celebrating by eating a lovely fresh salad with lettuce and chinese broccoli leaves from my garden, hard-boiled egg, a tiny bit of cheese, and some tomato and carrot. Somehow that number seems substantially bigger than 24. Funny how the pregnant brain works. Baby is active and happy. She seems to like kicking her big brother when he is cuddled in my lap drinking his milk before his morning and afternoon naps! Amazingly, he hasn't noticed. We've tried to draw his attention to the Bump and explain, "Baby in Mama's tummy!" but we generally can't even get him to look where we're pointing. I am sure that he will notice eventually. . . though it might not be until this strange-looking tiny thing that makes odd noises shows up in Mama's arms.
Overall I'm doing okay, and I'm still doing my utmost to maximize my iron intake each day. I'm tired, but often find it difficult to rest comfortably. I also find it difficult to push myself enough in the mornings that I get a substantial amount accomplished without crossing the line and making myself feel sick. There's an element of sleep deprivation recently which I could really do without. . . waking up every two hours either because I desperately have to pee, my toddler is crying, the dogs are chewing on a empty water bottle outside our bedroom window, I have to pee again, or the toddler is crying again (he's teething. . .) and then the toddler wakes up for the day at 5:48 when your alarm is set for 6:15 and you think. . . NO. Please no!
25 weeks along, and I can tell my brain is going into "nesting" mode. I think mostly because I've started to realize that we're leaving the College in one month -- and all the things I have to do before then to prepare my home for our 4-month furlough! Things really must be left in good order because when we come back in February, I won't have the time or energy to expend putting my house to rights after a long absence. And I will admit that there are still boxes remaining to be unpacked, from our move into this house in June. You know the boxes, the ones that have the random bits of flotsam and jetsam which you can't throw away, but which are just too "miscellaneous" to acquire a category and a permanent place of abode. But I have determined that these boxes must and shall be emptied and broken down before we leave and the contents thereof dispersed throughout the house in a tidy manner. And then I consider my kitchen cupboards. . . *guilty sigh* There has been no organizational efforts on that front either, since we moved in. Summary: complete and utter chaos, and inability to locate a particular spice jar when half-way through following a recipe.
And then there's our bedroom. We recently moved bedrooms. We had been sleeping in the room which was used by the Ms as their "master" bedroom, at the end of the hall with a bathroom attached. Their bed remained in this room for our use until we could purchase our own. Well, we did purchase our own mattress last month while we were in Lusaka, and got a beautiful solid wood bed-frame made here in Eastern Province, and when our new bed was assembled, we moved rooms accordingly. Result: everything, particularly our clothing (because we had to empty the large clothes cupboard so that it could be moved into the new bedroom), is in chaos, and I've not yet sorted the chaos out. Our "master" bedroom is now the first bedroom in the hall, directly across from the main bathroom and also directly across from Elijah's bedroom. The room we were previously using will become the guest room, which will be really nice since it is quiet, private, has its own outside entrance and its own bathroom with shower. (This is a shameless plug to get you to come visit us. COME VISIT US.)
Yes, hard to believe that in a month's time we'll be headed to the UK for several weeks. And then in November, headed to the States to await our baby's birth. So much to do between now and then!
And I will close my post by asking my mommy friends in Scotland, NC, SC, and PA (because that's mainly where I'll be for my 3rd trimester): do you have any maternity clothing you no longer need and would like to get rid of? If so, PLEASE let me know because I could really use maternity clothing and I will be very grateful for any hand-me-downs! Thank you!
Overall I'm doing okay, and I'm still doing my utmost to maximize my iron intake each day. I'm tired, but often find it difficult to rest comfortably. I also find it difficult to push myself enough in the mornings that I get a substantial amount accomplished without crossing the line and making myself feel sick. There's an element of sleep deprivation recently which I could really do without. . . waking up every two hours either because I desperately have to pee, my toddler is crying, the dogs are chewing on a empty water bottle outside our bedroom window, I have to pee again, or the toddler is crying again (he's teething. . .) and then the toddler wakes up for the day at 5:48 when your alarm is set for 6:15 and you think. . . NO. Please no!
25 weeks along, and I can tell my brain is going into "nesting" mode. I think mostly because I've started to realize that we're leaving the College in one month -- and all the things I have to do before then to prepare my home for our 4-month furlough! Things really must be left in good order because when we come back in February, I won't have the time or energy to expend putting my house to rights after a long absence. And I will admit that there are still boxes remaining to be unpacked, from our move into this house in June. You know the boxes, the ones that have the random bits of flotsam and jetsam which you can't throw away, but which are just too "miscellaneous" to acquire a category and a permanent place of abode. But I have determined that these boxes must and shall be emptied and broken down before we leave and the contents thereof dispersed throughout the house in a tidy manner. And then I consider my kitchen cupboards. . . *guilty sigh* There has been no organizational efforts on that front either, since we moved in. Summary: complete and utter chaos, and inability to locate a particular spice jar when half-way through following a recipe.
And then there's our bedroom. We recently moved bedrooms. We had been sleeping in the room which was used by the Ms as their "master" bedroom, at the end of the hall with a bathroom attached. Their bed remained in this room for our use until we could purchase our own. Well, we did purchase our own mattress last month while we were in Lusaka, and got a beautiful solid wood bed-frame made here in Eastern Province, and when our new bed was assembled, we moved rooms accordingly. Result: everything, particularly our clothing (because we had to empty the large clothes cupboard so that it could be moved into the new bedroom), is in chaos, and I've not yet sorted the chaos out. Our "master" bedroom is now the first bedroom in the hall, directly across from the main bathroom and also directly across from Elijah's bedroom. The room we were previously using will become the guest room, which will be really nice since it is quiet, private, has its own outside entrance and its own bathroom with shower. (This is a shameless plug to get you to come visit us. COME VISIT US.)
Yes, hard to believe that in a month's time we'll be headed to the UK for several weeks. And then in November, headed to the States to await our baby's birth. So much to do between now and then!
And I will close my post by asking my mommy friends in Scotland, NC, SC, and PA (because that's mainly where I'll be for my 3rd trimester): do you have any maternity clothing you no longer need and would like to get rid of? If so, PLEASE let me know because I could really use maternity clothing and I will be very grateful for any hand-me-downs! Thank you!
Saturday, 3 September 2011
blogs
I was inspired to write this post by the current giveway over at Life in a Shoe, one of the blogs which I really enjoy reading. Her posts make me laugh, and I agree with many of her philosophies (which I think always makes reading a blog more enjoyable). I can relate to many of her stories because I am from a "large" (by modern standards) family of 7 children (and also homeschooled), which isn't the same as being one of 12, but probably generated close to a comparable amount of chaos at times. I will admit that I have always been a "lurker" and that I am de-lurking simply because I couldn't resist entering this giveaway! I took one look at those Flexi Clips and thought "That's exactly what I need to keep my hair off my neck in this Zambian heat."
And while I am on the subject, let me share a few more blogs which I enjoy checking out on a regular basis. . .
Appellation Mountain is an awesome baby name blog. It's fascinating stories of every name you can think of -- from the common names to the names you wouldn't ever think of! I also like her balance between posting daily Baby Name of the Day posts, combined with occasional submitted baby name stories from readers, celebrity birth announcements and a weekly round-up of all sorts of interesting links to other blogs and articles.
Yes, I like baby name sites. Here's another, this one is more of an advice blog for those who write in with questions or dilemmas about their name options.
Free Range Kids is a fascinating, thought-provoking blog which I don't always "enjoy" reading, because sometimes reality is depressing and I don't like the direction that things are headed with media hype and irrational fear in Western society. But I agree with her philosophies -- and I've discovered that more and more since we moved from Western society to a rural African setting where you will find 5-year-olds in charge of their 2-year-old sibling for the day while Mama works in the fields. A note: While the blog is superb and its content illuminating, I don't find reading through the comments very edifying, simply because there is too much squabbling!
This blog saved my sanity when I was at a stage of sleep deprivation with Elijah which I thought might never end. Some people swear by the "Cry It Out" method. Some people swear by "Babywise." Some people swear by Drs. Sears, or Pantley, or a whole host of people who have authored books about how your child should sleep which admittedly some people find helpful. I don't find those books helpful. What I find helpful is Moxie's lovely, refreshing, no-nonsense, reassuring, and overwhelmingly PRACTICAL and comforting reminders that life goes on, that some day I will sleep again, and that this is not my child being abnormal nor me being a bad parent -- it's part of the growing process, it's another stage in development, it's a step forward in my child's life. WOW. I was blown away when I found Moxie. She writes on any number of topics related to real life and parenting.
Maybe I will share more linkies another day. For now, it's bedtime.
And while I am on the subject, let me share a few more blogs which I enjoy checking out on a regular basis. . .
Appellation Mountain is an awesome baby name blog. It's fascinating stories of every name you can think of -- from the common names to the names you wouldn't ever think of! I also like her balance between posting daily Baby Name of the Day posts, combined with occasional submitted baby name stories from readers, celebrity birth announcements and a weekly round-up of all sorts of interesting links to other blogs and articles.
Yes, I like baby name sites. Here's another, this one is more of an advice blog for those who write in with questions or dilemmas about their name options.
Free Range Kids is a fascinating, thought-provoking blog which I don't always "enjoy" reading, because sometimes reality is depressing and I don't like the direction that things are headed with media hype and irrational fear in Western society. But I agree with her philosophies -- and I've discovered that more and more since we moved from Western society to a rural African setting where you will find 5-year-olds in charge of their 2-year-old sibling for the day while Mama works in the fields. A note: While the blog is superb and its content illuminating, I don't find reading through the comments very edifying, simply because there is too much squabbling!
This blog saved my sanity when I was at a stage of sleep deprivation with Elijah which I thought might never end. Some people swear by the "Cry It Out" method. Some people swear by "Babywise." Some people swear by Drs. Sears, or Pantley, or a whole host of people who have authored books about how your child should sleep which admittedly some people find helpful. I don't find those books helpful. What I find helpful is Moxie's lovely, refreshing, no-nonsense, reassuring, and overwhelmingly PRACTICAL and comforting reminders that life goes on, that some day I will sleep again, and that this is not my child being abnormal nor me being a bad parent -- it's part of the growing process, it's another stage in development, it's a step forward in my child's life. WOW. I was blown away when I found Moxie. She writes on any number of topics related to real life and parenting.
Maybe I will share more linkies another day. For now, it's bedtime.
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