I woke up early this morning, and headed across the property to the outhouse. As I made my way through the living room, I noticed that all but one of the mosquito nets had been put away for the day, and the inhabitants were gone. I guess my idea of early and theirs are two different stories! In the kitchen, Jason, Memewah and Ahmesow were making breakfast. At the well, Thunduh was doing her laundry and taking a cold bath. Daylowtoo and Pawkuhmooeydee were filling the water tanks at the outhouse.  Walking over that way, the roar from the creek is so loud that I am amazed that we lived over that creek for so long! No wonder we couldn’t hear ourselves think. The creek we live beside now is smaller, and the waterfall makes a lovely background noise, that is gentle, not loud like the last one.

This week has gone amazingly smooth, considering everything. Having Roy back makes all the difference in the world. He has already turned Ahmesow from a nuisance, into a son. Having two parents in the house is a must under these circumstances. Not that things always go right…Chowin got upset yesterday and packed her bags to leave. But, since there were two of us…one to take care of the other kids while the other worked on Chowin, the crisis passed, and happy cries of “good morning” were heard from her this morning. She went off to school with a happy heart. (the kids do not know how to treat each other well, which is something that we are working on teaching them. In the mean time, many little things become big things in their minds, and if we are not right there to work them through it, they end up very upset)

We are in the heart of rainy season now, and it rains most of the time. It is hard to stay dry for long. That also makes for a lot of patients. I did my first “surgery” yesterday on a little two year old boy that had a huge infection on his head. I knew that I needed to drain the infection, so I got out all my instruments…which consists of a sewing needle, and a real scalpel. Then, I pulled out the paper towels, Betadine, band-aids, and alcohol, and I was ready for business! If only I had some anesthetic, I think that my patient would have enjoyed the procedure a lot more. This surgery was conducted with at least 7 children crowded around, with Roy and the mother trying desperately to hold the baby still, while the mother yelled directions and threats. (I think that the threats were for the child…not me…..I hope) I have learned to concentrate on the problem and ignore the clamor around me. I did discover that I have a real good surgery assistant. I am not sure which child kept handing me clean paper towels when I needed them, but whoever it was did a good job! After doing the best I could, I gave the baby an antibiotic which my books say is just the thing, and away they went. I can’t wait to check on them today and see how he is!

Now for some pictures.