Extended Stay!

PIC ABOVE: Betty from the Light Gives Heat Volunteer house and me!
We have officially moved into the new building! It’s really nice but definitely different as we used to meet under a big tree in the village. The building is great because we are no longer weather dependent, especially since we are coming into the rainy season. My friend Katie and I spent 3 days painting the whole inside and it looks really great! I love to paint (I paint a lot at home), but I have never had such an audience while doing it. It was hilarious and fun to experience all the reactions of the village children to our work!

In my last letter I told you guys how a baby died at the main hospital. Well this month I got help bring 1 into the world (well, kind of). When I finished painting the other day, one of the 2 Suubi Ladies who was pregnant took me to see her house because she was ready to deliver any day and I had told her I would take her to the hospital. She had been to the doctor that morning and she was in the early stages of labor, she said she thought it was going to be that night. Well, about 2 hours later I got a text from her saying her pain was increasing. I tried calling her to see when she wanted me to come but couldn’t get through, so after about 15 minutes I just decided to go. I threw Stephie in the car and we headed off.

It was one of those surreal experiences. One of the other Suubi Ladies met me when I got to the village to show me where to go. I was quite a sight dragging Stephie through the village- everyone was cooking dinner outside on the fire staring in amusement at the white girl with a child running by! We got to the house and the only source of light was just a little candle - it was so dark in there I don’t know how they could see anything. By the time I got there she had just had the baby. I helped wash the baby and get him dressed while the Mom delivered the placenta… I felt really bad that I missed it, but it was really a blessing because if I had gotten there earlier to take her to the hospital I think she would have delivered the baby on the side of the road in my van! That would not have been good. Mom and baby are happy and healthy, praise the Lord! Births in the village can be so dangerous; with no sanitation the possibility of infection there is huge.

There are some volunteers coming to work with Suubi soon. I’m not sure how everything will transition with more people to share the work load – I’m so used to doing it all myself and I still hope to be involved in things. I have grown to love these ladies so much! You know, when I came here it was to work with children. When I started to do things with Suubi I thought that my heart wouldn’t be in it as much, at least not as much as when I was with the kids, but I was wrong. Each one of the Ladies amazes me every day. I love what I do with Suubi so much and wouldn’t trade it for the world! I have learned so much and been blessed in just spending time with them. Each day I thank the Lord for this opportunity.

Till next week!