Days of Grace

I've been horrible about writing, but I think of you all the time. I wish I could show you every new thing I see. I wish you could meet Toba and Olga and Anselmo. Anslemo is having surgery on his feet in February. He is going to South Africa. Toba came over today with a friend to ask for yogurt and to get a band-aid for his friend. He had a bad scrape on his arm. I doctored it with ointment and a band-aid and a kiss on the forehead. I needed to take the scooter to the mechanic to have the oil changed so I asked if they wanted to ride. They giggled and rode with their arms straight out as we rode down the bumpy hill to the mechanic shop. They had so much fun but the ride was so short so I took them for a few laps around the base as they waved to all their friends. They fought over who got to put down the kickstand.


I have a meeting in 45 minutes.


I got to talk to Laura for all of maybe two minutes on iChat. It made my day. I miss her a whole bunch.


Christine wrote and said the weather is cold and she is Christmas shopping. This world is so different.


Despite stories of yachting and lobsters on the beach, there is so much more to my life here. I want to show it all to you. I do feel protective of my new family and community here. I will not exploit them. It's poor. They are poor. Hunger, unclean drinking water, malaria, malnutrition, swollen bellies, children in rags. Poverty is everywhere here. It's overwhelming. And it is all so hard to talk about. I find that I just want to protect them and not talk about it and not take pictures and am so careful to give them privacy as I want to respect them. But I also feel responsible. I feel like I am here to help show you what you cannot see. I want to show you what life is really like here and seek out ways that we can help make their lives better. So just be patient with me. I am new at this.