Well hello cyberspace! It's been awhile since we last chatted! Let me fill you in on the going-ons of my life at present.
Be warned-- I am both caffeinated and unnaturally happy right now. The two may be related.
I dreamed about the kids this week. It was.... interesting. David, Sarah, Zeger, and I all pulled up to the orphanage in the bus that travels from Lusaka to Kazembe. I jumped out before it came to a complete stop and bee-lined it for Johnny, scooping him up into my arms and hugging him as if I would never let go. He was moderately happy to see me, but mostly he just wanted to go build a tent, so he kept trying to get away. I bribed him to stay with me by slipping him tiny pieces of chocolate. Then suddenly Zeger ran through the room at high speed, closely pursued by Amy, who was brandishing a broomstick at him. He had started a blog and written something she didn't like, and she apparently intended to let him know... Then Johnny said, "Look, Auntie Meghan! Uncle David has stolen Theresa!" I followed his gaze to the window, where David could be seen running up the road with Theresa tucked under his arm like a football. She was shouting, "Awe! Awe! Awe!" and kicking like crazy. I could hear his shouts as they faded into the distance: "I'm her favorite! She loves me!" Then I looked up to see Sarah draining all the blood out of her hand into a bowl. In response to my puzzled query, she informed me that she had been bitten by a mosquito and wanted to avoid malaria.
Then I woke up.
Just a few background notes and points of clarification: Amy's reaction was nothing like the real Amy, who is kind, compassionate, and a wonderful momma to 22 of my favorite African munchkins. The David/Theresa combination was probably my subconscious's response to an ongoing joke between the two of us; I was showing him pictures of the kids one time and babbling on about their personalities when we turned to a picture of Theresa. He hushed me and put his hand over my mouth, saying, "Shhh.... just look at that face. Look. Nothing else matters." She is his unofficial favorite, and we often joke about how he'll react if she doesn't like him. I highly doubt that Zeger would post anything broomstick-beating-worthy on the internet, and Sarah doesn't like blood, so there's little danger of the above episode playing out in real life.
I've had an exciting week at school as well. Several discussions with several different professors somehow collided, and to make a really long story short, I'm meeting with a pharmacy professor next week to review and discuss the orphanage's clinic inventory (how to best use what we have, dosage recommendations, what we shouldn't use, what we need that we don't have, etc.). One of the other professors connected me with a couple who work for the CDC in Lusaka doing something with malaria, so I'm hoping to meet with them while we're in the capital. Yet another professor gave me some advice for locating and modifying existing developing world treatment protocols for HIV, malaria, TB, and pneumonia to exactly suit the resources and conditions of Kazembe. Finally, I'm meeting with some of the aforementioned professors in a week to discuss the possible development of a semester (or semester+summer) study abroad opportunity for future nursing students, which-- God willing-- could result in having some of those students at Kazembe annually!
The weekend before Easter, Amy was in Nashville (WOOOOOO!!!!!!!). It was so nice to catch up and spend some time with her-- I've missed her a lot. One of my (amazing) residents, who is also a very dear friend, spoke with her church in Knoxville and was able to get Amy the opportunity to set up in the lobby and speak to people as they came in. The church also took an offering and were wonderfully generous, especially considering that they did this on a week's notice and would be taking up another special offering for other needs the subsequent two Sundays. It was a blessing and an encouragement to see a congregation step up and take their responsibility as Christians seriously. As we were leaving, the pastor invited Amy to let the church know the next time she was Stateside fund raising so they could invite her again.
In other news, there are only two (ridiculously packed) weeks of school left! I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...
A friend just sent me a text asking what I was up to. My response: "High on life (or caffeine). Writing. Dreaming. Hoping. Rejoicing. Listening to Disney songs. Marveling at the goodness of our God and the paradox of a divine ultimatum that bids you leave and give what you can never keep to gain what you can never lose."
That pretty much sums it up, ladies and gents. Have some coffee. God bless.
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