snooow!

So, my trip to Lesotho was great, and there were a few surprises along the way including a snowfall that kept us stuck in Jayne's village for a couple of days. It was really cool to get to visit Jayne and see what she does. She moved into a village called Molumong in the mountains of Lesotho to improve her Sesotho skills, but she really saw the need there and felt like that was were God was calling her to stay for now. So she's helping form a support group and linking them with the local clinic and hospitals. People are hearing about her and come knocking on her door to be tested for HIV. She's also leading workshops and reaching out to previously unreached people, like the herd boys who spend days and days alone herding sheep and cattle. Once she has the support group to a point where she feels like they are self sufficient, she's planning to move to another village and start over. She talks to the people in the village about Jesus every day. She's living in this little house with no electricity, no running water and I think she's one of the most content people I've ever met.

For me, using the village outhouse would take some getting used to...especially in the snow! I had a really good time visiting her though, even when we rode horses into another village to check on a patient. I hadn't ridden a horse in about 10 years and even though it was better than I remembered I suffered for it for a couple of days every time I tried to sit down. One of the local women who didn't speak any English taught me how to make Basotho steamed bread with a lot of hand motions and just talking to me in Sesotho anyway (since I've been in Africa I've learned that a lot of things Americans get stereotyped for are not only American things, such as telling someone who doesn't understand your language the same thing over and over again, just louder). On Sunday there was no church because of the snow and a leak in the church roof, so like good missionaries we skipped church and played cards all afternoon. Jayne and I played with 3 of the guys in the village, only one of whom spoke English, but I'm pleased to report that trash talking and bragging transcends cultural boundaries. I would also like to report that I am the reigning Molumong Crazy Eights champion, much to the dismay of several Basotho men.

I posted more pictures of my trip to Lesotho and the kids at Lily.

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2058704&l=40373&id=34104123

Here's one of my favorites videos I just took a few days ago. Enjoy! Bonus points if you can tell which verse is in English ;)

well...

My plan last week was to post a little video that I made with one of the kids saying hello and giving a short update on everything. However, I waited for an hour at the internet cafe for the video to upload and realized it just wasn't going to happen. So I haven't been totally neglecting this blog.

The past week has been pretty hectic. Monday was Lily clinic, or was supposed to be, but the doctor didn't show up. Again. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we were all at the hospital. Wednesday, because the doctor didn't come Monday, we had so many kids and house parents who had to go that we had to take the big bus that we use to take the kids to school. Needless to say that was a long and hectic day for me. Thursday we went to Northdale, my most hated hospital here. We have a little boy here with what seems like recurrent UTIs, but urine culture have shown no bacteria in his urine but they have shown blood. Since Northdale is our regional hospital, that's where we have to take him to try to get further tests done or xrays of his kidneys. However, his doctor has decided that he got an infection from swimming in a river. I said, there are no rivers where we are. It would take him at least an hour walk to get to one. The doctor's response? "You don't know anything about little boys." And then he prescribed him an antibiotic and tylenol. The local doctor has even written a letter to the hospital stating that he felt the child needed xrays and an ultrasound but they've pretty much ignored that. I'm going again on Monday with him and we'll see if we can make any more progress. I think I surpised the doctor last time because he's not used to having anyone question him or argue with him, and I have no problem doing either. Ha.

Tuesday I'm leaving for Lesotho with Pieter and Larensia, a South African couple that I met through my former roommate Ana. We're going on a very short "mission" trip to stay with Jayne, an American nurse through AIM that's the head of their HIV initiative in Lesotho. I'm pretty excited about it even though I realized I have no clue what I'm going to be doing while I'm there. I'm really looking forward to seeing another side of HIV ministry.

A church from California that sponsors Lily recently donated money for them to put in in-ground trampolines. This has provided endless hours of entertainment for the kids, not only when they jump on it but when we do too. One of the girls told me I was too old to jump on the trampoline and I was going to break my bones. And this was even before I turned 25.

My favorite things I've heard this week:
"Miss Sarah, how old did you turn on your birthday?"
"25"
(GASP) "You're joking!"
said to me by a 4 year old girl

"Oh! You're so beautiful!"
said to me by a 7 year old boy one rare day when I wore a skirt

"Miss Sarah, I love you!"
that's my favorite