a day in our life

May 28

So, after we found the baby with the head injury Wed evening and Gary went back and stayed until about 10:30 helping with that, he got home and took a shower and realized that we had a rat in our well. We started working on the well at 5:30 am and it didn't take me long to realize that it was going to be a crazy day, so I decided to journal it for you! I wasn't disappointed!

5:30 am - Gary called Jonathan to come help him try to fish the dead rat out of the well. They tried to scoop it out with a bucket, but that wasn't proving very effective.

6:00 - Gary thought I should run to the hospital before 7am when they have worship and lock the gate to get some bleach. He wanted a couple gallons, so I made soy milk to take down to my malnourished babies and tied a box on the back of the motorcycle to haul the bleach back in.

6:30 - At the hospital I checked on the baby with the head injury and he was sitting up and looked good. His head was quite swollen in places. I found out that my very malnourished baby who I had really tried to help for the last week had died during the night. Very sad, but we couldn't get her to stop vomiting, so what could I do? Another baby went home because it is time to plant, so the moms won't sit still, they have to get back and work.

Also tried to buy bleach. Had to wait for 15 min for someone to show up, and then they only had 5 liters left, so would only sell me one liter.

7:30 - While I was gone Gary and Jonathan got some guys working on some projects out on our property. I'm not sure what all was going on out there. They were pouring a post for the foundation of our hangar and the containers that will form the outside walls. At some point in here, Gary went to get another rope and told the guys to stop trying to get the rat because it was very bloated and he could see the stomach, but they didn't listen and proceeded to pop the rat, which promptly sank out of sight!

Cherise and I made and ate breakfast, but the boys didn't want to stop.

8:30 - Gary went back to the hospital to get a good rope. He was going to pump the water out of the well and then send someone down to try to find the rat, but he didn't have a good rope. He put a cargo net on the person for a harness. At the same time Jonathan went to the market to get nails for the forms the guys were building out at the project, so I had him get more bleach. He had to go to two different places to find enough.

Anne (our neighbor who now lives in N'Djamena) came over to ask me if we had some of their barrels which we do. We were storing food in them that we brought back with us to keep the bugs out. Well, they are going on furlough for a year, so are packing all their stuff, so they want all their barrels back! She was wondering when she could get two of them to get started.

9:30 - The boys are back working on the well again. Sent one guy down and he couldn't breath, so they hooked up the air compressor and pumped some air down in there. I guess it worked, I wasn't out there. But when they went down they couldn't find anything! Three different guys went down and found sticks, centipedes and rocks, but no rat!

I took the chance to read my bible while nothing crazy was happening here!

9:50 - I folded some clothes and started to put them away. Cherise came in and had been playing in the water they were pumping out of the well - gross!

10:00 - Got one drum ready for Anne and then she also wants all the stuff that belongs to this house, since she is packing all her stuff, she will put it in their old house and use that as guest house if anyone needs to stay at the hospital or anything. So, this is sheets, towels, and kitchen things mostly.

11:00 - I started grinding grain for hot cereal. All the grains have had to be washed and then dried in the sun and then I grind them in my vitamix. Since we are using solar and we only have two small batteries, I grind a couple batches, and then wait 15 min or so for the system to recharge. I am making a mixed grain cereal - sorghum, millet, corn, barley (this one came from the US so I didn't have to wash it!), and oats. I would like to add wheat too, but don't have any clean right now. Anyway, I haven't tried it yet, so I hope it's good.

11:15 - Started working on lunch. Didn't happen. Anne came back over and had some stuff for us since she is packing and then we talked for a while. By the time she left two other ladies were here with sick babies. One has rheumatoid arthritis and we have been working with him for a while. He is doing quite a bit better. The other baby is very malnourished. I sent her to the hospital and she will wait for me there until I bring the milk down for the other babies and then I can help run her thru the system.

12:30 - Finally back to fix lunch. Got a really yummy pasta sauce fixed and realized I never started the pasta cooking, so we end up having to wait for that. By now the boys have given up on finding the rat, and they are hungry. They put quite a bit of bleach in the well and hope for the best.

1:30 - We finally all sit down and eat lunch although there are still interruptions. Jonathan has to go check on the work crew who should be starting to pour cement soon and need constant supervision to meet Gary's work standard! Throughout the day Gary is also making phone calls and sending text messages to coordinate the purchase and transport of a couple of containers from Moundou that he will use as walls for the hangar.

1:40 - The lady who comes to work for us in the afternoons arrives - she is supposed to come at 1:00. Since there is no water available yet, I just have her sweep and bring in water from Jonathan's well to wash dishes.

1:45 - Tried to finish eating quickly!

2:00 - Put Cherise down for a nap.

2:15 - Back to the hospital to check on "my" babies. The baby I sent down is there waiting, so I pay for a consultation and leave her while I go check on Eliane. She is a nursing student from the US and is getting some practicum time in, so needs a US registered nurse to supervise. She is almost done for the day, so not much to worry about with her. I run over and make my milk at Tammy's house. Thankfully she has the same soymilk maker that I have, and since mine is dirty and we haven't washed dishes yet, I decided to make it there. She is happy to help. When that is finished I run it back over to the babies and then find the other one who is finished with the consultation, but they don't want to hospitalize him. He is very malnourished and really needs to stay for a long time, so they agree to hospitalize him for me since I don't have a place for them yet. (He ends up leaving the next day. Supposedly the father came and said they couldn't stay. Not surprising since the women are the ones that do most of the planting, etc.) It takes a long time at the pharmacy to get all the meds, etc. They write everything down several times and they are never in a hurry!

4:00 - Run to market. I am out of peanuts which I also use to make milk for the babies and Gary wants more bleach. Only problem is that I forgot to get more money before I left to buy bleach, so I go to one Arab guy that sells phone credit, but also a little shop and he agrees to let me bring the money tomorrow - it's the African credit card.

4:15 - Home again. They have pumped water into the tower and we can use it again! I would sure feel better if they had found the rat. My phone beeps - a message from Anne saying that they are going to release the head wound boy. What? We really would like to monitor him for 48 hrs. Though when I was just down there he was standing up and walking a bit and it looked like the swelling was starting to go down.

Two ladies show up with their babies for milk. One lives nearby and her baby isn't malnourished, but sick and not eating and he will drink the milk so since I'm making it anyway, I've told her to come. The other one is very malnourished, but they have discharged him from the hospital. For now she is staying nearby as well.

4:35 - I brought the journal to the bathroom to see if I could catch up! I really hope things slow down now! It's really a hot and muggy day.

Jonathan has a bible study on our porch on Wed and Thurs afternoons. It is supposed to start at 4:30 but no one is here yet, including Jonathan! I spend a few minutes straightening things up out there. We are sleeping out there still since it is much cooler at night.

5:00 - Cherise and I take a shower. It is VERY bleachy - like my nose and eyes burn a bit! Cherise is very whiny and so I bring in some of Jonathan's well water to wash her hair and face.

5:45 - Feed Cherise leftovers while trying to be quiet since they are still in the bible study.

Gary is and has been outside talking to people and listening to all their woes.

6:20 - Cherise and I have worship quietly and brush teeth, etc to get her ready for bed.

6:45 - They bible study is finished so Cherise goes to bed. I set up her fan, music, etc. It's dark already.

Discuss a few things with Gary until somebody else shows up to talk to him. I try to send/receive email, but it doesn't work.

7:00 - Eat by myself, since who knows when Gary will be done.

7:30 - J&G finally come back in and eat. Then we clean up using Jonathan's well water to wash dishes.

8:15 - I'm exhausted, so I head to bed, which still takes several minutes! We have to bring a chair with books on top to put the fan on and then put the mosquito net down and then take the quilt off the bed so that all the dust from the mosquito net won't fall on the bed! Gary is still doing something on his computer and I barely notice when he comes to bed.