Living a "normal" life??

A house; access to good roads; working in a garden, weeding raspberry plants; playing with a dog on the grass; getting cold enough to wear a jacket; while traveling, the opportunity to take bathroom breaks at gas stations; phone and internet service in your house; doctors you can call, appointments you can make.

These are some of the things I've observed during my "break" here in Canada that has part of me longing for a "normal" North American life. But life is never "normal", no matter where you live, and I wouldn't be happy here for long if God's plan was for me to be overseas. So I'll enjoy these things while I'm here, and next week I'll be back in Cameroon and can enjoy a different set of "luxuries"!

Family picture March 2007

This is us - back row Mike, Kenneth, Becky; front row Christy, Laura, Jenny.

sleep?

Douala, Cameroon, 11:40pm, in an SM Brussels airplane: I sat down next to a lady fast asleep, sprawled over 3 seats. She amazed me - in the middle of the noise and confusion of loading passengers, she slept on, waking long enough for the take-off, then back to sleep again.

High in the air, 3:30am: Yours truly still can't sleep. How many different ways can you find to try to sit, lean, scrunch up, or half recline in an effort to fall asleep? I think I tried them all, looking enviously at my snoring seat-mate and at many others who were blissfully unconscious of my failure to slumber.

Of course, the whispers from the area by the toilets didn't help any. Some kind of concern over a male passenger apparently unwell. A lady approached the restroom and was greeted by a crew member... "Ma'am, are you all right? ... Did you eat the fish or the beef? Oh, the fish...." I think I'm glad that I don't generally like eating fish! This was followed soon afterwards by the general announcement, "If there is a doctor on board, please identify yourself..."!

On the positive side, everybody walked off the plane - no medical emergency that I could see. On the negative side, I never did get to sleep on that flight. But that's not unusual....

Malaria vs. malaria treatment...

Headache - like your head is caught in a vise
Bodyache - like you just got run over by a truck
Fever - a continual process of watching your temperature rise, until it spikes near 104
Stomach unrest - food is unnecessary; sometimes breathing deeply is necessary.

Yup, that's malaria once again. Ok, time to take some of that strong medicine. Now what's going on?

Head - no aching, but very dizzy
Body - no aching, but very lethargic
Fever - gone
Stomach unrest - definitely - food definitely unnecessary, deep breathing and frequent bathroom trips a necessity.

But at least it is only temporary!!

opposites

Kenneth (6 years old): the sides of my bread go in at the sides.

Jenny (10 years old): the sides of MY bread go OUT at the sides.

Kenneth: Your bread is the antonym of my bread, and my bread is the
antonym of your bread!

(I guess he really IS listening in school!)

over 104

Tears slowly seep down her face as I wash Laura(3 1/2) down with cool water.

Christy (12) sings praise songs in the shower after a 5-minute cold
shower as she takes her temperature, praying it has gone down from over 105.

Jenny (10) takes her turn in the shower, as well as manning the timer
for Christy's cold showers.

Kenneth (6) bravely throws off the covers and turns on the fan, even
though he is shivering, to try and stay out of the dreaded cold shower.

***************************
Those acts of bravery took place over the longest 4 days I have had in a
long time, if ever. All 4 children with spiking fevers, and Mike out of
the country; fortunately, no two spiked at the exact same time! God was
sufficient, as Christy kept reminding me. But I sure am glad it's over!!!

Trying this again

Hello! I've been trying to post to my blog via email (from Cameroon)
for the past several months but have not been successful. Let's see if
this works, and if so, I'll try to start writing again - finally!!!