Mom and Dad just left a few hours ago and I'm sitting in an internet cafe in Durban. It's amazing to me that they've already come and gone! When we said goodbye at the airport earlier I realized I'll be home exactly two months from today, which is hard to believe. The next few weeks are going to fly by and before I know it this experience that I have been planning and living in for so long will be over.
We had such a good week while they were here though! They were able to meet a lot of the kids and house moms, which was great. Sunday we took two of the younger girls to Tala, the game park that borders Lily. They immediately started naming the people in car, pointing to me and saying "sister", pointing to Mom and saying "mother", and pointing to Dad and saying, "Grandfather!" They continued to call him that the rest of the day and my favorite moment was when Amanda, the 5 year old with us, decided she wanted to sit in Dad's lap for the rest of the trip and shouted out to him, "Grandfather, I'm going to sit on you!" I would hope that any friends and coworkers of my Dad would be thoughtful enough to remind him of this frequently. Even use his new nickname, if you like.
On Thursday we got up early and went to Hluhluwe and Imfolozi, the game preserves near St. Lucia. We saw elephants, rhinos, zebras, water buffalo, baboons, monkeys, wildebeest, warthogs, giraffes, crocodiles, antelope....and the most exciting, lions! We saw a male with 2 females and 3 cubs! That was by far my favorite thing and it was the last animal we saw as we left the park. Because it's spring here, all of the animals had babies with them too which was really cool to see.
Things at Lily have been going pretty well. As far as the medical side of things we have really gotten through the most hectic part of October. We have one Lily clinic coming up Monday and a trip to the hospital on Wednesday, but other than that it all looks ok. The kids have been most healthy too, a few ear infections and coughs but nothing more serious than that. I spent one long unpleasant day in the hospital a couple of weeks ago, but every day I spend in the hospital makes me more and more grateful for our American hospitals. Every time I go, I meet a nurse or someone that wants to know how they could come to America to work. The nursing staff in the CDC at Grey's all says they're coming back with me when I leave in December!
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3 comments:
Sarah,
We had a great time and it went WAY too fast for us! The work you are doing there is such a blessing to the kids and the community. Even so, we can't wait for you to come home! We are praying for you every day, and obviously I need to add to my prayer list for you that you not tell anymore untrue stories about kids calling me Grandfather....you must have misunderstood what the girls were saying!!!
Love,
Dad
hey sarah!
aww, thats really nice that your parents got to come visit : ] i think you will appreciate that even more when you come home, because they will be the one connection back in the states and they will know what you are talking about from personal experience. i think i will already be back in CA when you come home, so that means you'll have to make a NY trip to come see me soon! : ] i am praying for you guys lots.
nat : ]
I know you were glad to have your parents there for a little visit! I know when we were in Bishkek, Joanie, Bruce, and Granny's visit really set a countdown point for us. Enjoy the rest of your time there and give away LOTS of hugs and smiles!
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