good night, sleep tight

don't let the bed bugs bite. they did. they devoured my right arm. so my mattress is out in the sun on the steps and i doused it with an aerosol bug spray. the past few days have been hot and eventful. we were going to interview a few of the girls here at the base to get their stories and ask them questions about their future to get an idea and a profile of what these kids interest are and how we could create a curriculum or lending program or vocational school around them and to give the school a voice for those of you back home. real kids. with real needs. but simple solutions. but one problem. they didn't show up. so we will reschedule and perhaps schedule again after that. this is Africa. so we went into town. i was shocked at how the prices had gone up even more since my previous visit. only a few formal "markets" and you can get more in the grocery aisle at Walgreens than you can in these supermercados. all the sites and sounds and colors of shopping and markets in Africa and abroad fascinate me. this excursion was hot and exhausting. the markets have not changed otherwise. same smell in the Supermercado of bathroom cleaner, the lights are out, dusty shelves, plastic overpriced dishes from Hong Kong. canned goods from South Africa. Osman's stunk to high heaven but i think part of the stench was me. you know it is bad when you think, "ugh. yuck. what IS that smell…oh. wait. i think it is me". i had hugged and danced and sat in the floor at church and wore the dress again the next day. now i am fully entrenched. i still look so incredibly American from head to toe, but at least i smell like Africa now. a little like dirt and something burning and sweat. yesterday i had the honor of interviewing one of the Iris nurses about the new hospital the intend to build. it was so beautiful to hear her heart. she becomes all consumed when you ask her and her eyes dance as she talks about her dream coming to life. essentially, at the moment, it appears it will be an advanced clinic. currently, the care for minor wounds and cough and cold and fever, malaria. but they have no diagnostic tools. they can't really test you for malaria, they don't have AIDS medicine, they cannot do X-rays. they want to take some of the burden off the hospital where people often walk for many miles and wait in long lines. she shared with me her heart in all of it and deepest desires and how she came to Iris and when i asked who she needed to staff the hospital, wanting specifics of types of specialities, she just said, "those who are willing and want to come and serve". she then shared with me that if your identity and calling is in your position, you will be disappointed. you simply have to come yielding and willing and God does all the rest. that is a huge leap. she took me to the hospital and we waiting in the long lines. waiting on paperwork for a patient. after two hours, we just took our paperwork back and decided to come again another day. this is Africa. we stopped in town for Refreshcas. i always get Coke. sometimes Fanta Ananas, but usually Coke. it's the Atlanta girl in me. i sipped on that and drank it fast because it gets hot in a hurry. holding the sweaty bottle as we ramble down rough roads in a Land Rover reminds me for a moment of the Gods Must Be Crazy and i can't help but laugh. that is one of my father's favorites and i confess, mine too. we come back to the clinic and i am served rice and beans by a sweet lady in a crisp uniform. i still for the life of me cannot figure out how they stay so tidy. i sweat. i wrinkle. i try. i put make up on in front of the fan, the only time my face is not covered in perspiration. but her pretty face glows and she smiles big. we then all go out to the beach at Maranganha. every month they celebrate the children's birthdays with cake and presents. i spent the night out at Maranganha once in a tent in 2007. it is a lovely piece of land, surrounded my ocean, waves, shells, a constant breeze. this time the waves took my sandals and i had to go home barefooted. i will now spend the rest of the trip in a hideous pair of Birkenstocks. oh well. really hard to complain about much of anything in a place like this. this morning we went to interview the director of education for this Cabo Delgado region. i wore my only skirt that didn't stink and my ugly sandals. but when we arrived we were told she had to attend a "ceremony" and so the meeting never happened. this is Africa. so we stopped for a cold drink, as is evidently custom or maybe just survival. i am leaving in a few minutes to go out to a village where two boys have started their own business. they are having someone make bricks and they sell them and are making a profit. we want to use them as an example as well as see if there are ways we can help the boys market their goods. the opportunities here are endless and it honestly doesn't take much. one next step and obvious thing we have seen is a need for education and training in the area of finances. if we want to raise up a generation to be entrepreneurs and create an economy here, we need to give them training in how to spend and save. so we are looking into that. so many things that need to be done. i was able to meet with leadership and have been extended a very gracious invitation to come. it is enticing. i am open and yielded. but for now, enjoying the moment. we have no idea what the future looks like. but i am looking "right now" in the face and am enjoying it immensely. i feel like i am home and i am with family. it is a far cry from Atlanta and there is no Capital Grille. but we have lobster dinners for 180METS so i hear. determined to find that. so i am just sitting here. barefoot and yielded in front of an oscillating fan that is still. open to most anything because i know God can do it. not really thinking too much about the future because it would take my focus off this very beautiful moment.