Kementian News. 01-13-08 Edition

 

01-13-08

Howdy folks!

Things are continuing to continue on out here. The weather can't really decide if its rainy season or dry season, stuff keeps needing fixed, the clinic coming along, and is being held up by a lack of materials. Yup, pretty much the normal around here.

I am quite happy to say that my relations with my supervisor have improved dramatically. I ask that you continue to keep this specific issue in prayer as I know that its only through everyone's prayers that it is working out.

Had communion at church yesterday. Its a fair bit different here then back in the States.

For the foot washing service we used whatever buckets, pans, pots, etc that we could find.

The unleavened bread looked like a pancake (about 3" dia) and tasted like fried flour. Quite tough, but entirely edible.

The 'wine' was coconut milk. Again, different, but worked quite well.

Like everywhere else, the kids had a hard time waiting to eat the bread and drink the juice when it was already in their hands. Even saw a few adults 'sampling' before it was time.

With communion, church ran nearly an hour over. This wouldn't be a problem except we were hiking out to Bingbilang and Malis. We finally got on the trail for that just after 1400, and made it out in about 1.5hrs. Told our stories and sang our songs at Bingbilang then loaded up to head over to Malis.

I don't know if I've explained this before, but Bingbilang is basically at the trail head. Malis is about a 20min drive away. All, and yes, I do mean ALL, the kids from Bingbilang just love to climb in the back of the Hilux pickup for the ride to Malis. Yesterday the bed was so full that they all had to stand, no sitting cause there wasn't room. To top this off, there were six of us in the cab where there's only supposed to be five. Just wait, it gets better. At Malis we sang our songs and told our stories, then it was time to find the patient that needed to be taken care of. We were thrilled to find out that the individual was actually at Malis so we wouldn't have to go chasing all over the place to find him. So we loaded up the patient and his three family members (family is required at the hospital as the hospital provides no services besides medical and thats after we bring the meds to them from the pharmacy). Course the sick people go inside the cab so now there's 7 people where there's only supposed to be 5 and now we have three people hanging onto the window frames and standing on the running boards. I wish I'd been able to get a picture of everyone on the truck at once. But I was basically unable to move.

We needed to call back into Kementian to see what we were to do with the patient, so we drove out to the National Highway where the radio would reach into the mountains. While they were talking on the radio all the kids and those of us not involved in the radio conversation stood around and goofed off. Took a few pictures, which prompts everyone else to want a picture of them too. Showed them some juggling, got a picture of me juggling in the middle of the National Highway. And watched a tricycle (its a ~150cc motorcycle with a homemade-sidecar-type-thing attached go by with a carabow in it. Now a carabow is a domesticated water buffalo. These are quite large, about the size of your average cow back home. I'm really not sure how to explain how this thing fit in the tricycle cause it just doesn't seem possible. I don't fit in a tricycle very well, let alone something that big!

I wish I'd had the good sense to take a picture of it. I think I was too busy staring and trying to contemplate how in the world that could actually happen to snap a pic with the camera that was in my hand. Oh well, such is life.

Speaking of pictures, I've been able to get the first couple months worth of pictures sent home. Now if we can persuade my family to quit looking at them long enough to put them online (amidst all the other things they have to do) I'll be able to give y'all a link to them. Don't hold your breath till it happens as my family is pretty swamped. It'll happen, I just don't want to get your hopes up too high.

A wee tidbit of news that has nothing to do with my being here, but something I'm kinda excited about:

I received an email last week telling me that my attempt at completing over 1000miles in less then 24hrs on a motorcycle has been accepted by the Iron Butt Association ( www.ironbutt.org) and I've been admitted into their ranks. Most of you think this is nuts I'm sure, and I would have to agree. Its and idea I'd been toying with for awhile and then the opportunity was forced on me when I needed to get to AFM's training (1200mi from home) and only had a day to do it in. So yeah, I can now say I've done it and I get a few nick nacks to prove it. Now I think I'll pass on doing anything like it again for quite some time.

If any of you are bored enough to go look at the trip report, you can go to http://1talltxn.blogspot.com and look it up there. You'll have to dig past all the Kementian News to find it. Should be under the month of July '07.

Ok, enough rambling from me.

I thank you all for your continued prayers and support. I can't express how much they mean to me.

I pray that this note finds each and every one of you happy and well.

May God bless y'all

Nathan