March Madness

This has been a crazy month.  I can hardly believe that April starts next week.

It's been a month of ups and downs and this little graphic describes it best...

The month started out with the return of Lassa Fever to our region of West Africa.  At first we had only a couple of patients in our hospital that had come from neighbouring countries.  Let me just say that our medical team, having experienced Lassa Fever last year, was prepared. They had guidelines all set out for what we needed to do, as a team, to avoid contracting it as best we could.

Lassa fever is a contagious illness that is passed through bodily fluids. It doesn't often kill the person who gets it, but it can and it has and it did. So once it was confirmed that we did indeed have a Lassa case in the hospital, we were required to follow some simple guidelines including taking our temperatures, avoiding public places and washing with bleach water upon entering our homes.  The hospital shut down any non-essential services and non-urgent surgeries to be able to focus on the Lassa patients and avoid the line-ups of people outside the hospital "sharing" the disease with one another.

The guidelines were simple and easy to follow, except for one little part.  It was March Break here. Meaning there was no school, meaning there was kids home all day long, and meaning that we were (at first) not allowed to go to the pool because that was considered a public place where we could spread it to one another.

And it's hot season. In fact, one day of March break hit 46 degrees celsius.  And no pool.  And then that same day we lost our electricity for the entire day.

It was awesome.  Kids home + stuck inside + very hot + no fans + no pool + no friends to hang out with = a whole new level of sanctification (read: a miserable few days)

As things progressed over the month, there were a couple more cases of Lassa fever found in our region, closer in fact to us. The medical staff kept us up-to-date but did allow the kids to go to school after March break and did, kindly, allow us back into the pool since basically it's like a big bleach bath anyhow and as long as everyone took their temperature before entering the pool.

Aunt Melissa (an MD) teaching the children about Lassa and how
to wash their hands properly with soap and then with bleach water.

After March break was over and things were somewhat back to normal, we found out that it was time for us to move!

It was a Monday when we found out that a house had opened up for us on the compound....and not just any house, but the house we lived in when we were here in Togo in 2013!  It was like moving home - again! We packed up all day Tuesday and moved in on Wednesday.  Thankfully we don't have a whole lot of stuff, and with the help of some very wonderful men, it took three truck loads of stuff to get us all moved in.

Josh, Bill and Bruce helping us unload the second load of stuff.
These men had it all unloaded in just minutes.

It took us until Friday to get all settled in, but after that, well, I cannot tell you what a blessing it has been to be on the compound.  There are several perks that make this a great place to be (and actually make us feel a little guilty for being able to enjoy them) - they include: 

1.  Clean water!  All the water on site is filtered and clean and wonderful.  It is SO nice not to have to filter all our water or worry about ingesting an amoeba in the shower or off a not-quite-dry cup or plate.

2.  Electricity!  Consistent, wonderful, beautiful electricity!!  When the power in town does go out, we wait about 30 seconds and it's back.  What a blessing.

3. Only steps to the pool.  The pool is out our front door and to the left. Easy access is amazing.

4. Close to work, school, and friends.  Nate pops out the front door every morning and walks across to the job site.  It's so easy. The boys bike over to the MK school and wander the property with their friends. Jack has enjoyed having easy access to the farm here, especially the two donkeys that he likes to ride and pet.

So, as you can see, we are VERY thankful for the opportunity to live here.  Being on site means that I have started taking on some of the responsibilities of managing the guest house.  I'll be taking that role on full-time in the next couple of months.  Currently, it's run by an amazing couple named Bill and Melanie.  We're very sad that their time in Togo is coming to a close.  I'll be the "Melanie" and Nolan plans to be my "Bill" - helping me with a variety of jobs from taking the compost to the chickens,  "burping" the boiler at the hospital (don't ask me what that means) and a bunch of other stuff.

Since the Lassa thing has started, Kylie and I have not been into the hospital at all (because they asked any non-essential people to avoid it) - actually, that's not 100% true.....

Jack and his buddy, Aaron, were climbing a mango tree here on site and picking and eating mangoes til their hearts content.  A few hours later, we notice Jack had some red marks on his face.  By the next morning, he had a lot of red on his face - rashy and swollen.  Turns out Jack is allergic to a particular kind of mango.  The one on the trees here.  I discovered that the skin of the mangoes has an oil similar to poison ivy - and if you know our family, you know that we have had several nasty run-ins with poison ivy, Jack included.

Over the next day or two, his rash continued to spread over his body so we popped into the hospital to see what our doctors thought.  They put him on a few days of steroids and he has recovered well  - and avoided the mango tree.

As for construction, Nate has continued to work in the heat of this terribly hot season.  The other day we were told that it was 120 degrees Fahrenheit/48.6 degrees celsius.  And he just keeps working.  House #1 is coming along nicely with the plumbing almost done and the tile starting next week. And here's a photo of House #2 with the steel roof on.  They'll begin interior walls in this house soon.

House #2 with a roof on -which means working inside the house
is now a shady place! Yay!

Nate's buddy and co-worker, Bruce, is only here for another month.  We'll be very sad when he and Mary leave us to go back to Michigan.  He's been an amazing leader on these projects, a great friend and a real encouragement.  You can pray with us that they'll return later this year!

Kylie and I and our two friends.

Lastly, here's a photo of a dear friend of ours, Mr. M.  He has been at the Hospital of Hope since last May and just went home with his sweet daughter a week ago.  He came to the hospital with a nasty broken leg from a moto accident.  Over the months his leg didn't do so well but his heart did.  He came to know Jesus personally.  Please pray for him now that he is back in his village.  He will, indeed, face trouble for his new faith but we are so excited to see him when he comes back for a check up in mid-April.  He told us that he was so very grateful for his broken leg because it led him to know the truth of Jesus Christ.  And God, because of His awesome power and amazing grace, chose to heal his leg too, so not only does he head back with an ability to walk, but also with a joy and peace inside of him that has changed his life.

The one drawback to living on the compound is that the internet here is pretty lousy, so please be patient as we attempt to communicate through the blog.  A shout out to Ashley who often asks "when the next post is" - thanks for being patient, Ash!!  

Thank you, again and again, for praying for us and for taking the time to read what's happening over here in Mango.  We're happy to be here and are so grateful for your love and support.