I'm Back!

If it seems as if I have fallen off the face of the earth, well that is what it has felt like recently! Team number two has long come and gone, and went incredibly smoothly. They were able to accomplish not only the dining hall but many things in the unfinished dorms as well. They were a great group, from all over the US (Alaska, Georgia, Oregon, Ohio, SC, NC, Florida). Once again we celebrated with a big dinner, and one was crowned the African chief, and another the African body guard- they were ceremoniously "gowned" in the African ware and looked mighty fine!

The last week of their time here I was experiencing extreme exhaustion, and couldn't put my finger on what the problem was. I had talked to my friend who is a nurse here in Liberia, and we were thinking it was that I was anemic. But then I figured out the real problem to my extreme exhaustion, exxessive sleeping, headaches and stomach aches. The fumes from our diesel generator were not escaping up and over the roof, but getting trapped between the tin and the ceiling tiles in our house. So when the winds would pick up before a storm, tiles in my room would blow off and all the fumes were coming into my room. I didn't realize it until I finally found something tall enough for me to stand on to replace the corner tile I couldn't reach all week! It was like an instant change in odor in my room. Not good-oh! So since then we have moved the generator and placed an exhaust pipe that moves the fumes up and over the roof.

The morning we were to return to Monrovia with the team, I woke up with flu like symptoms. I knew I just needed to make it back to Monrovia, get the team off safely and I would be able to rest. I did just that, but as soon as I arrived home from dropping the team off, my body gave in. I fought malaria that whole week, and since my body was already worn down from the diesel fumes, it didn't have any strength to fight the malaria. I'm telling you, it was miserable. I had had malaria while I was in Niger, but it was VERY minor compared to this, and is something I never want to go through again, that is for sure! But I am very thankful that God healed me and i've been gaining my strength back every day.

While I was down with malaria, our Monrovia office had their annual staff retreat. Unfortunately I had to miss out, I had been looking forward to socializing with my fellow staff outside of the office. I was telling my friend Bev that it reminded me of when I was in kindergarten, and I had the chicken pox and had to miss my very first track meet. I was devastated! I begged my mom to just let me go and do the running long jump. She finally convinced me (well I don't know if she totally convinced me) that it was best that I stay home, and it would only hurt to land on my feet with the chicken pox. Oh the memories. So now I have a new memory- the time I couldn't talk or move because I was so sick with malaria... and a new lesson... don't forget to take your doxicycline!

Sunday night, June 1st my third team arrived safely. It is a smaller team, from a church in Arizona. We traveled up to Yekepa yesterday, and arrived safely last night. The school is progressing and I'm happy to be back in the beautiful mountains of Yekepa!

Also, I just wanted to say thank you for all of you who prayed for me while I was sick, and for all of you who prayed for me even though you didn't know I was sick! A few times I heard from people who said I had really been on their heart, and they had been praying for me, and I hadn't even told them I was sick. As my friend Dave says, "prayer is the least you can do for me, prayer is the most you can do for me, and prayer is the BEST you can do for me." And in the words of a Liberian friend, "Prayer is FREE!"

Thanks for those prayers!