Another exciting week at Chidamoyo!

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Well it has been another busy week at Chidamoyo!  On Monday the 2nd of July we bid farewell to the Taninguchi family and Rachel who were with us for a short 2 weeks.  They were all a big help in our special polio clinics, counting pills, seeing patients and helping in theater.  They also were here at the end of the month and got to do month end statistics—a favorite with everyone around here-not!

As we bid them goodbye, 3 new people arrived.  Rick and Sue Hahn from Sana Rosa, CA and their granddaughter Jordan from Napa, CA arrived.  Rick and Sue served in my home church in Sebastopol,CA  as the ministers for almost 30 years.  They have been here 4 times before and now they are retired and have come to help us for 6 months.  We are so excited to have them!  Rick will be working with our ministers to encourage and teach them and Sue will be working with our ministers wives in some teaching and sewing projects.  They are also helping out at the hospital with painting of the new buildings, getting pills ready for our ART outreach and Jordan has been busy doing some computer tasks for us.

On Tuesday the 3rd we had visitors.   Mrs. Eva Mbangani who lived here with her husband and 2 children in 2003-2006, came for a quick visit.  We had dinner and she and her sister left in the morning,  Dr. Mbangani was our doctor here for 3 years.  Eva is expecting a new baby in September.  It was great to have her with us, even for a short time.

On Wednesday the 4th of July we enjoyed a traditional American dinner with BBQ hotdogs, hamburgers, baked beans, potato salad and all the trimmings.  We invited our doctors and Major’s family to come.  We had 14 people to celebrate.  Then after Bible Study that night we served Red-White and Blue cupcakes and then went to set off some fireworks.  It was quite exciting as we had Chinese fireworks leftover from NY Eve which had no instructions and the first one went off and we went running as it went all over exploding on the ground!

On Friday the 6th we wished Sarah a farewell after 2 months with us. Sarah was kept very busy putting all our ART patients on computer for us and starting a debtor register on computer.  She gladly handed over her work to Jordan.  She also helped in our Well Baby clinics and kept going back for more even during the busy NIDS week.  We appreciated her time with us and wish her well as she continues her pre-med studies at America University in Washington, D.C.

On Saturday the 7th of July we took 23 people from the hospital to Chinhoyi to visit Chinhoyi Caves and have a special dinner to honor our long service people.  We had 2 people who have served 30 years (including me) and 1 for 25 years, 1 for 20 years, 1 for 10 years and 1 for 5 years.  Each person brought one guest and then our doctors and visitors went.  We had a great time seeing the caves and a wonderful dinner and program at the restaurant there.  We got home at 12:30 a.m. after a wonderful day.  Many of the people had never seen the caves before or had dinner in a restaurant, so it was exciting for all!

This week Rick and Sue and Jordan have been putting another coat of paint on the Pediatric extension building and putting up the boarder wallpaper.  The men are working on the new nurses’ station/recovery room and we hope to be painting it by the end of the week.  We are thankful for the children of Sebastopol Christian Church who raise money for paint and the boarders during their VBS program in June.

I am leaving next week on July 20th for a month trip to the US.  Through the generous help of Dr. Palleschi in Santa Rosa he has arranged for me to see a gastroenterologist in Santa Rosa, CA to try and figure out my health problems.  God has provided the Hahn’s to be here to help Major while I am gone and has opened the doors for me to get the care I need.  Please pray for the hospital and work here while I am away and also for my trip and for the doctors to be able to help me feel better.
 Taniguchi Family getting meds ready for ART clinics
 Major greets Rick with Jordan and Sue behind at Harare airport
 Kathy and Eve Mbangani
Rick cooking BBQ for 4th of July
 Eating 4th of July dinner
 Major lighting the fireworks
 Sarah's farewell at hospital
Sarah's farewell dinner



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