Thanksgiving Golf

If you are wondering how we celebrated Thanksgiving here in Liberia, I can sum it up with one word.

GOLF!

There is a golf course on the Firestone Plantation about an hour drive from our team house. Besides playing Putt-Putt Golf this was a first for me. Most of us were pretty new to the game so we played teams - best ball, which means whoever hit the best ball is the one we played. It still took us 5 hours to play 9 holes! We had a blast but were exhausted after playing out in the heat all day.

Our Liberian caddy, Jesse, has played golf for 11 years. He was very patient with us and tried to give us helpful tips. Which usually resulted in him saying a defeated "No" after each attempt. At one point I told him- "You don't have to tell me no, I know I didn't hit it." I did get a few good drives and a great putt which won me an "I loved that!" from Jesse.

Team "Dark Meat"- Ashley, Andrew and I

After the game we had cheeseburgers at the golf course restaurant and then went home to play dominoes and eat brownies and shortbread which a friend from Mercy Ships had made for us. We even had Christmas napkins to enjoy our goodies with. You need not worry though, I did get a "real" Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday at a friends house- mashed potatoes, stuffing, even pumpkin pie!

What a Week!

This week has flown by! This was our 1 week break between guests. Last Friday a 6 person short term team (including the ORR president and VP) left and tonight a girl is arriving who will be staying with us and observing our work here for the next 2 weeks.

Of course the work of serving the orphans does not stop and this has been quite the week...

Gifty continues to keep me busy. She is still in the hospital (I feel like I keep saying that, ah!) and now on a 3rd round of antibiotics to treat this stubborn respiratory infection. I was allowed to carry her from the hospital to the feeding clinic on Wednesday and she now weighs a whopping 5.6kg (up from 5.2 a month ago). Her adoptive mom from the States is arriving next week! We are still working on getting her a passport and medical VISA, but God willing Gifty will be returning home with her and meeting the rest of the family in a few weeks. The doctors at a hospital nearby are also awaiting her arrival.

I have been visiting some local clinics to try and find the best care for a couple of our orphanages. I don't understand why, but the Liberian medical answer to everything is an injection. No matter what the diagnosis an injection is prescribed for it. Usually it is not just one but the child has to return for 5 days of injections. And they are not always clear about what exactly the injection is. In the last week 5 different children from 2 orphanages have had to go to the local clinic and they all have received injections. Part of me wants to fight the system and the other part acknowledges that this is the normal way they do things here. I just don't know what to do!

We have had a malaria outbreak at one orphanage. 5 children have tested positive for it in the last week. When I was talking with the caregiver I discovered that they have not been using mosquito nets for the last 2 weeks due to some renovations they were doing. These are the hardest working orphanage directors that I have met here. They are actively trying to make their home a better place. In the last month they have built a new latrine, showers, well and nursery/garden. It breaks my heart that the kids are sick because of a simple thing that was overlooked as they were trying so hard to make things better for them. Oh, yes- the nets are back up now!

We got a new car! We also got our jeep fixed, but in true Liberian fashion, it broke again a day later. And the truck is back at the garage to get the brakes fixed for the 3rd time. So, we have 1 out of 3 vehicles running right now, but we have one running! It is great to get around in a car that is not a taxi!

Thursday's are food delivery days. We delivered food to 3 orphanages this Thursday. It is always so good to see the faces of the children and care givers when they see us. The last few weeks we have brought oranges in addition to the normal, rice, beans, oil and milk. The kids are devouring them like candy! One orphanage director literally jumped up and down and hugged us as we arrived with her food this week. She told us we were an answer to her prayer. She had decided to go and beg a neighbor for some oil so she could cook a meal for her children but since we brought her a whole tin of oil now she would not have to beg for some!

In addition to the busy days this week the nights have been interesting as well. Our "friendly" next door nightclub has hired a new security company who scrape their cutlasses, bang on the metal doors and occasionally yell out to try and deter criminals from breaking in. It has also worked to deter us from getting any sleep!

I am definitely ready for the weekend.

A Day at Benson Hospital

A self portrait with Gifty.

This was taken on the day I ended up waiting 3 hours for the Social Worker from the Liberian government to come. It was the third day that week I had waited there for her. She did finally come and I can not complain too much about undisturbed Gifty time.

I do not know this boys name, but I do know that he is humiliated by the amount of baby powder his ma has covered him in. I do not know why Liberian mothers feel the need to do this to their children. Of course his ma told me he was sad because he is sick and scared of the white woman. I think we all know better.

Oh Boy Omito!

This might very well be the cutest boy in Liberia. When I first met Omito he was very sick and sharing a room with Gifty. I could never understand what his mother told me he had, but I would guess he was severely malnourished. His entire body was swollen and the skin was peeling off his legs. He was lethargic and never smiled. After a week or so, as he was feeling better he came out of his shell. He would greet me with a high five and his contagious laugh every time. Even when he had been moved to another ward at the hospital he would find me to say hello with his silent head bob and eyebrow lift.

One day a hospital worker found me and told me about some triplets that has been born the day before. These 3 were a surprise to their mother, Mary who did not know she was pregnant with triplets! They are so tiny, I would guess 2-3 pounds each. In America they would definitely be in the NICU. They seemed to be doing OK, but in addition to their 4 year old sister they are going to be keeping Mary very busy! After a week of me visiting and asking for their names she finally told me (are you ready for this?) Rose, Roselyn, and Rosetta.

Eman is a 10 year old boy who was in the hospital with burns on his hand and back after falling into a cooking fire. He would always find me with his big smile and loved visiting Gifty. He reminds me a lot of my friend's son, Ethan. You might say Eman is a Liberian Ethan. :-)

This is the stair case that I have to climb every time I come to the hospital. Many might think, "so what?' But for those who know me and my fear of open grates you may understand how big a victory it is for me to now be able to climb these stairs and not get that nervous feeling in my stomach anymore.

Next I will tackle my fear of down escalators, but that will probably not be happening in Africa.

Rollercoaster Ride

In the rollercoaster of life there are up days and down days.

Today is a down day.

I went to the hospital this morning to pick up Gifty, she was supposed to be discharged today. Xavi (her doctor) greeted me in her room and told me the bad news. She is sick again. Her fever is high and her breathing too fast. The respiratory infection is back. It is so hard to see. Yesterday she looked SO good. She was happy and laughing and bright eyed. Today she is feverish and lethargic. It breaks my heart. The infection hits her so fast. Xavi has started her on a new antibiotic cocktail. She will be in the hospital at least another 10 days. Tomorrow we are going to another clinic in town for a chest x-ray.

It is getting harder for me each time. Each up day is euphoric. But the down days come crashing hard.

SuperGifty

I just had to share this little piece of heaven with you.

Ups and Downs

The last week and a half has been full of ups and downs for Gifty.

Last Monday I had to bring Gifty back to the emergency room due to a high fever, cough and very fast respiratory rate. She was diagnosed with another respiratory infection and readmitted to the hospital for a stronger run of IV antibiotics. On Friday the doctor told me she was not responding very well to the medications and continued to spike fevers at night. He was very concerned because her chronic health problems and inability to fight infections complicates everything. He already had her on the strongest antibiotic that is available here. He laid out a very poor prognosis (which we already know, but it is very hard to hear).

Due to Andrew's keen detective work, some information about Gifty's past was found, including a birth certificate. We now know her birthday, May 28, 2007, which means she is 17months old. I also met with a Social Worker from the Liberian government this week. Her report will hopefully go far in expediting the paperwork that needs to go through for Gifty to be able to leave the country and be adopted.

Despite the fight going on within her small body Gifty continues to grow. According to the hospital scale she is up to 5.8kg. She is a great eater, loves her milk and is trying new foods. She can not get enough of the special crackers that her care taker Tonia buys for her. And we discovered another love of Gifty's. . .Music! She can't get enough of it and starts kicking her legs and bobbing her head every time.

Today when I met with Gifty's doctor he was very happy with how she was doing. She has not had any fevers for 3 days and is breathing normally again. He wanted to discharge her today! I asked for a few more days to insure she is really infection free before we return her to the orphanage. Hopefully if everything goes as planned she will be discharged again on Wednesday.

This cycle of infections will continue until Gifty can receive the surgery she needs to fix her failing liver. Each time she gets sick it is harder on her body and they have to use stronger medicines which are not good for her liver, but are necessary to fight the infection. This is a truly urgent time to pray for a miracle in Gifty's body and for getting her the medical care she needs but is not available in Liberia.

Each time I hold Gifty, I pray for her. I pray that God will bless her and strengthen her from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet. I whisper truths to her about God and how much he loves her. I remember the promise He gives us that He will complete the good work that He has started in her.

Please join me in these prayers.

Jessie

We spend many evenings after dinner walking to the beach. It is a good way to unwind, get some exercise and escape the crazy Menitama night club's nightly extravaganza. A few weeks ago on our way back to the house we met a new friend.

Jessie. . .

Last night we took a walk to visit Jessie and brought the camera this time. We all took turns posing, here's me. It did take me a while to warm up to the idea of holding her, but it turns out she is really sweet and loves to cuddle. The first time I held her she just put her head on my chest and closed her eyes and then when I tried to put her down she just held on tighter.


No doubts now, I really am in Africa. Holding a chimp? I can't believe it.

Workshop

Monday marked the first ever ORR workshop.

The "Raising Healthy Children" workshop was a huge success. About 25 directors and caregivers participated in the workshop.

( Registration table.)

I talked about a number of basic health care related topics- germs, hand washing, cleanliness, common diseases, and first aid. Other topics included nutrition, safety, the importance of raising children to be responsible members of society, and ORR's role in the orphanages we work with. It was great to see the directors "getting it." I saw the light bulbs going on with several of them.

(Teacher Deb - note the awesome Liberian blackboard.)

We were also blessed to have Zeke, a Liberian man who just returned to Liberia after 17 years in America, share and encourage the attendees. His talk received the only spontaneous applause of the day and was very powerful.

(Ashley and I with some of the participants showing off their certificates.)

When it was all over the participants were presented with certificates of completion. This is of great importance in Liberia, they take pride in completing a workshop and will often display their certificate for all to see.