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Published: March 21st 2010
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Here lately, it seems like one day follows the next, and before you know it, another week has come and gone. It's been hard to keep track of what day it is, and usually our framework for figuring that out is when someone is coming or going.
Our Current House Guest March 12 brought the arrival of Lydia Purdom, who is to be with us until April 12. She came to spend some last "single girl time" with Julia. Before she returns home the goal is to get four bridesmaids dresses sewn. Hopefully she'll be able to take three of them back with her to deliver to three of Julia's bridesmaids. Last week I got one done, and am ready to start on a second one, so we are making good progress.
School and Taxes George is about to wrap up this term at ACSOP; this week is the last week for these classes. The guys have a two week break and then they'll start another set of classes. George has other work pressing upon him, particularly relating to preparing for a new batch of students who will be coming the beginning of next year. Since we will be
gone three months for furlough, much of this work needs to be done before we leave.
Taxes are also another pressing issue. We are waiting for some documents that are coming from the states, and once they arrive it will be necessary to devote some time to that. Hopefully George will be able to get them done in time so that Lydia can carry them back home and mail them for us. We'd rather not rely on international mail to handle such documents.
It's a Girl Last Monday, the 15h, Bonnie Samford and I went to visit Pastina. She and her husband are members of the Arusha congregation. She and her husband are from Zambia; he is here due to his job. They speak English, along with their native tongue, but not Swahili. They experience a different kind of prejudice - many Tanzanians look down on them because they do not understand the local language. Pastina recently gave birth to their third child. She went home to Lusaka, Zambia to give birth, since the medical care is more modern and safe there. They just recently returned, and so Bonnie and I took some food and baby gifts to her.
A Clinic Visit Last Wednesday, the 17th, George and Luke needed to take a trip to the clinic in Monduli. Luke had a spot on his leg that quickly got infected. It is very possible that it was a spider bite, since Luke does some of our yard work and there are millions of spiders in the grass; however, it has reminded us very much of the MRSA infection that he had on his foot several years ago, which landed him in the hospital for almost two weeks. The clinic does not have the necessary equipment to make a positive diagnosis of MRSA and so we are treating it as such. Since a staph infection can turn critical in a very short amount of time, Luke is being treated aggressively with two different kinds of antibiotics, as well as some topical medicine. It seems to be improving, but we still need to keep a close eye on it. We'll spare you pictures. We are so thankful to have Dr. Smelser to turn to when we have medical needs.
Worship at Monduli Today we worshiped with the Monduli congregation. Jacob taught an excellent Bible class on lessons from Jeremiah. George taught a wonderful sermon pointing out some lessons from Luke 16: the Rich Man and Lazarus. There was a lady present who had already imbibed in alcohol before she arrived. As usual, at the end of services we all filed out of the building and shook hands as we sang and formed a circle. As I was making my way around the circle, I came to this particular woman. After shaking my hand, she grabbed it again and loudly smacked the back of my hand with a kiss. Well, what do you know...Luke was behind me, and he was given the same "special treatment." Why just the two of us, we have no idea. Just the same, we wished she hadn't. After the final dismissal, she came over to me and grabbed my hand and pulled me to the other side of the yard. She was very agitated as she began to talk to Innocent, who also speaks English. It seems she was making accusations against her husband, who is a member of the church. She wanted the church to do something about it, but as she has already been told in the past, if she has legal matters, she needs to go to the police. She was loud, obnoxious, and wouldn't listen. Finally she figured out it wasn't doing her any good and she walked away. One of the saddest things about it was that she had a small child on her back, and it was obvious that in her state of mind, she was not able to be a responsible mother. Never a dull moment.
This evening we hosted our usual Sunday evening devotional and afterward the Gees joined us for supper. It is always nice to get together and spend some worship time in English and enjoy fellowship with fellow missionaries.
Furlough Plans A final note: we've purchased our airline tickets for furlough! We are excited about the opportunity to see many of you. Due to Julia's wedding, we will not be able to visit as many congregations as we did during our last trip to the States, but our plans do include PTP, which many of you attend, and so hopefully we will see you there, if not at your home congregation. Our departure date for the States is July 5.
May the Lord bless you and keep you,
Joy
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Well I hope that Lydia has "saluted" everyone and that she is having a wonderful visit and is settled in and enjoying the Jensen family. That is EASY duty, I know from experience how good those times are and how wonderful that home is. The first dress looks lovely and I am sure the others will look just as terrific! But I can tell you one thing all eyes are going to be on the young woman in WHITE!!! Love you all. God bless. Please be careful on those roads. just ken