I'll start with Tuesday, at 10 hours the women come for English classes. Sophie is teaching the more advanced women, who speak quite well, but need help with spelling and grammar. And Mary is teaching the women who speak the least and understand very little. They begin at 10 hours, but the students began arriving at 9 hours! It is just crazy here! Early or late, never on time! But we are invoking our new policy, anyone arriving more than 30 minutes (we usually go 45) is not admitted in the gate. We hope this helps get them here on time. We’ll see!
While they were doing their classes, I worked on some of the printing stuff, I added up all of the books that are still needed and checked all the Ndola numbers.
At noon we had left over pasta, and I worked on the Hand’n’Hand project. Catherine and I are going to Kamwala on Thursday to price fabric. Tomorrow I am going with Bob to Chongwe and then to the printing places to see about additional quotes.
Tuesday is BOGO Pizza night, so we had them delivered. Annika (an Every Orphan's Hope 6 month intern) joined us and we had a great evening of fellowship.
May 19, 2010 Wednesday
Bob and I were able to Skype first thing this morning. He leaves his computer on, and when I get up I call him, and he wakes up and we talk for 30 minutes, sharing about each others day. It is usually around 1:00- 1:30am his time.
Bob Sendgikoski (our building contractor for the Esther School) was here to pick me up at 8:00 we headed first out to Chongwe. He wanted to show me something, I thought it was that the teacher’s house was totally finished, but it wasn’t that. He would like to move the elementary building and the pre-school building over a little and wondered what I thought. We walked the property again; they have begun clearing the brush and are making a road to bring in stones and materials for the beginning of the building these two buildings. It makes sense to me to move it; I’m not sure why it is such a big deal and that he wanted me to see it. He said so I can explain it to Jan, women to women! The best part of the morning was getting to walk through the house, it is ALMOST finished, they are missing a few of the ceiling fans, they were back ordered. They were mopping the floors getting them ready for paint. The bathroom showers had been tiled. All the tools and equipment had been moved out! And some of the guys were cleaning up outside. They hope to start making bricks on Monday for the new school buildings.
The kitchen in the teacher's house with the lights hung.
The tiled shower, only needs the rod for the shower curtain.
The Great Room for gathering. Notice the three
white boxes on the wall, those are electical outlets
powered by the solar panels. What is being plugged
into these outlets? Phones of the Zambian workers!
The electric is divided into different circuits for different
kinds of electricity. These are for phones and computers.
There is a circuit for lights and fans, and separate ones
for appliances and curling irons, the real electric grabbers.
We headed back into town, Bob was going to take me to a couple of more printers, for quotes on the books we need. We went to two different places that he knew of, both which do digital printing but not on paper, one was on vinyl and the other on canvas. So we decided to go back to Associated Printers where I got the first quote, BUT I didn’t remember where it was. Siwale was driving, and I wasn’t thinking that I’d need to remember just how to find it again. I knew the area, but didn’t have a clue to what street it was on. We had asked at the second digital printing place we stopped at, and they gave Bob directions. We could not find it, we went to right where they said, across from the Honda dealer, but it wasn’t there. I asked Bob to call Siwale, but he said Zambians don’t give directions. "The guys just sent us across from the Honda dealer remember!" When Siwale and I had gone early last week, we had made several stops and I just couldn’t remember how we got there. I did know how we found it, we had stopped at a printing place on Cairo Road, and they directed us from there. So….Bob and I went back to that place, I could find that one, and then they gave Bob directions. Bob wasn’t so sure, but as soon as we turned on one road I remembered going there. I remembered where to turn and we found it. We parked the car, and where walking up to the building when Bob’s phone rang. I had left mine back at the Service Center. Duh! He said the call was for me. So I took the phone, it was Mary Leslie; she said Sophie was very sick and she didn’t know what to do.When we arrived Sophie was in a sweatshirt and sweatpants, and had two heavy fleece blankets on her, she was trembling and shaking. I went and found Bob and we agreed she needs to be seen by a doctor. Bob knew of a hospital where he had been taken and was cared for well. They took her right to an examination room and told me I needed to go back and give them her information.
We went back down to the room where they had taken her it was a ward with 4 beds on one wall, and only one other bed had a small child in it. We were so thankful, that they began working on her immediately and she didn’t have to wait long for the doctor. He came and told us he believed it was food poisoning, but they wouldn’t be sure until the lab tests came back. He also said the blood work would show if it was malaria. Because they are here for such a long time, they are not taking the malaria pills. When he said food poisoning, I thought but we all ate pizza last night, and only Sophie is ill. But then I thought, we all had our own pizza’s, so that we have lots of left over’s. Both Sophie and I had a veggie but still it was different pizzas. Bob and I continued to wait in the hall, going in every 30 minutes or so, to check on her and see if her labs had come back yet. Bob and I headed back home to get her some things she needed. While we were gathering up the things that Mary Leslie had asked for, Mary Leslie called and said they were going to admit her. They didn’t have the labs back yet, but they wanted to keep her for the next 24 hours. Bob and I headed back to the hospital and just as we walked into the room, which now had someone in all four of the beds. The doctor was reading her lab work. They started her on an antibiotic before we left the room. We waited another 30 minutes and went back in, she had some color in her face, and her lips were once again pink. The nurse came and said they were waiting for a bed in the ward, before they could move her. Bob had to be home before 5:00, so we left and he brought me home. Mary Leslie will stay the night with her at the hospital. Bob and Mary Sendgikoski are going to dinner, just across the street from the hospital, so will check in on her tonight.
I came home, put the left over pizza in the trash and made myself some vegetables for supper, beans, carrots and a potato. Just as I finished my dinner, the power went out and has been out now for over an hour already. Glad my computer has good battery backup, but I’m sure it is running low now.
What a day, first rejoicing in the Esther School house, and being able to see it again. See the progress beginning on the next building site. To driving around downtown Lusaka looking for a printer I don’t a clue where it is. To rushing home to find such a sick Sophie, I know she was the sickest person, I have ever seen in all my years of being a mom. Praying we were doing the right thing, bringing her to a Zambian hospital. She needed the fluids when we got her there, and had them within 30-45 minutes after our arrival.
I am just so thankful that I was out with Bob this morning. That he had a vehicle to take her to the hospital with, that he knew what hospital to go to and that he was there to offer support. Nothing in Zambia ever goes as we think it will. I am so thankful today God was there walking with us each step of the way! PTL! Just like He does every day, but when you’ve been through a day like this you know you could not do it in your own power!
When I was there yesterday afternoon,(Thursday) they were still giving her fluids and antibiotics by IV.
If you can imagine some of the hospitals you see in movies of the late 1940's and early 1950's and that is what I would compare this one to. Mary Leslie says she is receiving good care. Just not all the technology and services that we're use to! Visiting hours are strictly maintained. You don't get in if it isn't visiting hours. I know that because I tried! And I was denied!
1 comment:
Hope this past week has brought healing for Sophie. Prays for her health as well as that of you and Mary. Prays for continued God sightings each day. Linda
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