Sorry for the long break between posts. We have been more busy lately than we ever have. So here is what we have been up to.
We were blessed enough to take a quick vacation for a few days to Tanzania last week, and boy am I glad we took it when we could because since we have been back, we have barely sat down. Our vacation was really amazing and special and if we weren't living in this part of the world, we would never be able to go to a place like this. We went to a resort on the island of Pemba, which is just north of Zanzibar and off the coast of Tanzania. It only took half of a day traveling but the resort itself was pretty remote. We left Entebbe, Uganda at 5am Wednesday morning, had a quick layover in Nairobi, and landed in Dar Es Salaam around 10:00am. We then very quickly went through customs (luckily there was someone there to push us through) and made our tight 10:30 connection. We got on a little 12 seater plane that was more bouncy than I would have liked, but the view was amazing! You could see all of the beautiful coral reefs below and we sat right behind the pilot so it was fun to watch him fly the plane. We had a quick stop in Zanzibar (total of 5 minutes) for some passengers to get off, and then we flew on to Pemba. When we arrived in Pemba there was a shuttle from the resort there to get us. We drove across the island to the port where a boat was there to pick us up. Then we had a 15min boat ride to the resort. So, it seemed like a lot of traveling with all of the getting on and off planes, cars, and boats, but we arrived in time for lunch. The place was really beautiful and it looked like something the Swiss Family Robinson would have built ( but with a few more luxuries). The food was fantastic, the weather was amazing, and the best part was Newman's phone and internet didn't work there! We only stayed 3 nights, but we were able to really relax. We went offshore fishing together one morning, and Newman went a second time the next afternoon for just a couple of hours while I got a massage :). We spent time by the pool and on the beach and on the dock. Its a trip we will never forget and we felt so blessed to be able to go. In the work that we are doing, if you don't physically remove yourself from that place, then you never really stop working, so we were really in need of a getaway. Here are a few pictures from the trip.
5am on our first flight- sleepy but excited
Our tiny plane from Dar to Pemba
Our final mode of transportation
Newman fighting his fish
Newman's Spanish Mackerel he caught. They made it into sashimi and it was on the menu that night for guests. We got our own big plate of it too, and it was amazing!!
The Jetty Bar
Where we ate our 1st dinner
Traditional Dhow
Eating lunch by the pool
The pool
Dipping our toes in the Indian Ocean
Newman wouldn't let me see his shells during our walk because he said he wanted to have "show and tell", so this is a picture of "show and tell"
The monkeys would come visit our deck every day and sometimes throw our towels and cushions around.
Dinner our last night...so yummy
On the tiny plane
Our room, which is actually just a fancy tent
So after this wonderful vacation, we returned to Masindi on Sunday. For the entire next week, I spent all of my time, with a few helpers, doing inventory of all of our donated materials which fills two entire storage containers (like the ones you see on big cargo ships). It was a daunting task to say the least and extremely exhausting, but we were able to count every last item in both containers and have sorted them into categories. There is still some fine tuning to do, but they at least make a little more sense now and its a lot faster to find the supplies we need. I am working on compiling everyone's handwritten lists now into an excel spreadsheet which has also become a huge task but necessary. There now seems to be light at the end of the tunnel of this project. I was beginning to doubt it last week, but we're getting there. Newman too has been very busy of course. Our new Doctor arrived the day we got back from vacation, so Newman quickly made sure he was getting settled in. We have also completed the Labor and Delivery and Surgical ward as well, so Newman was extremely busy making sure we had everything in order to begin accepting patients. We decided that yesterday, Monday, would be the first day to accept a patient, and last night our first expectant mother arrived. To top it off, she is having twins! Everyone is nervous and excited. She has been making slow progress, and as of right now, 24hrs after admission, she has not yet delivered. We are hoping she will make some more progress, or else we will have to do a c-section. We are as prepared as we can be if that is the case. Our new doctor, Dr. Dan, is really great and I think he will do a fantastic job. We are tired right down to our bones, but we are running on adrenaline at this point. We didn't take off any time last weekend because we were still doing inventory of the containers, so hopefully we will have a little time to breathe this weekend. Please pray for this first week the new ward is open that we have good outcomes, good health all around, and a good report back home! Thanks so much for your love and support! Love, Trish
