You can give without loving. But you cannot Love without giving!!

Well I think I wont write a weather update anymore, because every time I get excited about the sun and beautiful days the next thing you know the clouds roll in and it rains the next couple of days! Yes, I did have to wear my long john’s again and sleep with a hot water bottle. The only advantage of the cold weather is that I don’t have to do my hair on those days and I just wear a “beanie” to work. I wonder if I can get away with that in the states??

Things are definitely in fast forward here with my time coming to an end and it’s actually been super crazy this week. I have had 3 random adults in the village come to the house, knock on the door and ask for me. I have no idea or clue who they are, but they seem to know me. They have all asked me to clean their teeth and have said they will even pay me. I really wish I could but I’m already seeing extra people at the end of my scheduled day to those that I have already promised. I kind of had a feeling that once I saw one adult it would probably lead to many others asking. I can’t describe the feeling of sorrow and shame that I feel when I have to turn people away. I have been working some nights until 6:00pm I did see an 80 yr. old man the other day that lives in a village an hour away one way and I could not turn him away. He was in tooth pain and I extracted 2 huge teeth from his mouth that day. (picture attached) He was so sweet and precious and told the hospital staff that he showered and got ready just to come visit the “lady doctor”.

I have attached some pictures of me holding and feeding “Sibusiso”. He is just so little and they said that the reason they named him “Blessing” is because the hospital where he was born doesn’t have equipment and technology to handle pre-mature babies especially 2 months early only weighing 3lbs. I spent about 4 hours on Saturday just holding him and taking care of him and he is so precious. The ABC House is very special and dear to my heart that I am going to help contribute toward their cause from now on. I think I told you last week they currently have 23 babies and that’s maximum capacity for them. The ABC House is run and operated solely by a husband and wife (Gerry and Robyn) and is not a government funded orphanage at all. I was there last weekend during feeding time and you can not believe the amount of milk they go through for all those babies. They use cloth diapers for all the babies because it would be far too expensive to buy and use plastic like we do back in the states. This is the couples personal home that they live out of and have converted all the bedrooms into 4 different nurseries. They have some pretty amazing stories that I will tell you all when I get home! If any of you are interested in learning more about the ABC House you can go to www.abcministry.org.za

I wanted to show you a picture of the little boy playing with his toy truck. The kids all have these toy trucks that they have made out of wire and are pretty cool. They don’t have yellow plastic Tonka trucks, they have these wire ones that they have made themselves! I’m telling you, life is simple here and I think I may have a hard time adjusting to the busyness and fast pace life that I once had before I came here.

I thought I would also include a picture of the orphan homes and what Bulembu looks like. The picture of the different colored homes are some of the BMS (Bulembu Ministry) orphan homes and some of the village workers homes that BMS has provided for the people. Something exciting that has happened this week is they finally got the bakery built. They had an individual donation come in for all the bakery equipment and just needed to get the building built. It’s been a neat project to watch over 2 months because I walk past it everyday back and forth to the clinic and home. I have some before photos of the building and now the final bakery up and going. That was a huge need that the town was very much looking forward to because one of the main staples that Bulembu feeds all the children are Peanut Butter sandwiches. They order bread 3 times a week from town that gets delivered here and now they can make it here locally and provide bread for all the children. They are also going to sell the bread for anyone in the town to buy. We got to try one of the first loaves that came out and it was still steaming. The butter quickly melted into the soft bread and the loaf quickly disappeared between all the roommates.

I also included pictures of the bike race from last week and a picture of the children with the horses doing their therapy.

I had my going away surprise party and they really got me on that one. I was with Nicole and we were doing some last minute things around the village and delivering spinach some lady hand picked for the children's homes and I came home to a house full of people. It was so nice to see everyone for dinner and desert and it was also sad saying goodbye. Everyone just keeps asking me when is my return trip????

This will probably be my last Saturday blog for you all but if you are interested in more pictures and stories I believe I have had 2 people offer up their home for me to come and do a type of slide show “show and tell” of the trip and I will get that organized when I return home and will email you all the details of where and when.

Thank You again for all your love, support, advice, encouraging words, prayer, and wisdom that I have received from many of you! You have all made this experience even more special for being in my life and encouraging me to be here. I hate to admit this, but now that I’m here and I absolutely LOVE it here, it’s going to be hard going back now for many different reasons.

Last week I spoke of life lessons that I have encountered and learned while being here, well one that I forgot to mention is that I have learned to Love. To Love in a way that I have never felt I have loved before. Agape Love is what I have experienced!! You can give without loving. But you cannot love without giving!

So goodbye for now until I return to the states and you all can email me on my normal cottongirl7@yahoo.com account when I return because I wont use the africa gmail when I return.

I also want to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my cousin Cenna, and Stacey and Happy late Birthday to my bro-in-law Bryan!! Sorry I missed your Birthdays but hopefully you all got your cards I sent!!

God Bless,

Melissa

Exodus 9:16 NIV

A Life Changing Weekend!!!

How do I describe or put into words this weekend...well I will attempt it; It all started on a wonderful weekend camping trip to Bilene, Mozambique. As we were driving in Swaziland still, off to the left we saw a huge elephant just walking slowly, and that was pretty amazing! Then I first had to get a temporary visa at the border and that all went just fine with no problems. As we were getting ready to actually cross the border about 13 guys ran up to the window quoting different exchange rates for their currency. At this point good thing I wasn’t in charge of changing the money over because it was all pretty confusing to me, and David almost got ripped off until he told the guy he owed us more money. We arrived at the destination and you could hear the water/waves rolling in and it was quite beautiful. They had to deflate their tires on all the vehicles first before driving into camp because the camp accommodations were literally right on the beach! We played all sorts of games on the white soft sand beach all day like cricket, soccer, etc... and went jet skiing as well. Oh and one of the many highlights of the weekend was catching a huge sail fish in the deep ocean off of a jet ski. Yes, a jet ski and NOT a legitimate deep sea fishing boat. We went out to sea on the jet ski to troll for some fish, possibly Tuna and also to see if we could spot some Whales. Sure enough we dropped our lines and about 30 min later I noticed we had a bite. So I picked up the rod and started to reel it in but the fish was too large and I couldn’t fight it so Barry took over. I was nervous about falling into the ocean and then 45 min. later Barry finally reeled it in. He took one good look at it and said we need to release him because he is just too beautiful! Oh and if that’s not cool enough I forgot to mention that we saw 6 Whales jumping, making noises, and blowing all around us. On the last day we drove into Maputo and stopped at a Yacht Club Restaurant and I had prawn curry and prawn cakes that were delightful. The price of seafood is crazy cheap and only cost $12.00

Camping in a tent on the beach and catching Sail fish off a jet ski-”PRICELESS”!!

We made it back across the border to Swaziland and we were now on the Bulembu dirt road back home and the 3 of us were the first ones on to the scene of a rollover accident. It was a Bulembu marked bakkie=truck with large 40 gallon water bottles dispersed all over the road and two bodies laying on the side of the road as well. One guy was holding his chest and coughing a lot and the other guy was bloody all over and not moving. So I immediately got on my cell phone and rang for the ambulance and nurse that I work with everyday at the Bulembu clinic and my phone wouldn’t connect. Then I grabbed the mans cell phone and made the phone call out. All I could do was think I just need to talk to someone, then I finally got it together and realized we were the only ones on the road and I needed to help this bloody man. So I quickly ran back to the car and grabbed a towel out of my bag and rubber gloves and tied the towel around his arm to stop some of the bleeding. His index finger was totally torn off and a ligament was hanging and the other fingers were badly mangled. Blood was coming out of his ear and head and many other places. I had the guy lay down because now he was confused and his body was starting to shake hard because he was going into shock. As he laid there on the road he kept looking up at me saying please don’t let me die, I know I’m dying now. He said can you please help me get out of pain. Then he asked me about 20 times what my name was and said please don’t let me die. I felt so inadequate and helpless and all I could do was say positive words and tell him he wasn’t going to die. I then asked the man if I could pray with him and he said yes and that was good. Then we waited about 30 min until the ambulance got there and it felt like the longest 30 min. of my life. I started to step away when the paramedics got there but he yelled out and said, “No please don’t go, don’t leave me I know you will save my life” So I just placed my hand on his shoulder and told him I would help place him in the ambulance but that it would all be OK. My other 2 friends kept their distance because they couldn’t handle the sight of blood they said and did a great job of picking up all the heavy water jugs to clear a path for the ambulance. The one gentlemen was released from the hospital the next day with minor injuries and the other guy was released on Thursday and suffered a concussion, lacerations of the skull, and his other fingers survived.

I am doing well, learning a lot, and keeping an open mind. Had a GREAT week of weather with sunshine and blue sky’s, it was divine! Great work week as well and I just love seeing the children smile.

The ABC infant orphanage just got a new baby in on Wednesday that is only 2 weeks old and tiny tiny because he was born 2 months early. His mom was a rape victim and she was only 13yrs old. His name is Sibusiso which means “Blessing”. He is so cute and just sleeps all the time.

Thursday evening the Swaziland Frontier Bike race came through Bulembu and that was the ending point for that leg of the 3 day bike race and my roommates and I were volunteered to help serve beverages to the racers. I tell you, never a dull moment here and constant activities. They host this race once a year and it’s an intense mountain bike race going up all those steep steep hills for a total of 3 days. Watching them Friday morning go up the hill past the Hospital inspired me to get back into my cycling when I get home and can’t wait to hit the gym hard!!

I can not believe how fast the time is going and I can say that I have learned many life lessons. I have seen things and met people I will NEVER forget and have learned the true meaning of THANKFULNESS through my time here. It’s really weighing heavy on my heart this week of leaving and it seems as though I have just developed some awesome relationships, learned the language more to better speak it, and have settled into the kids lives more. I will be completely sad to say goodbye! I’m excited that I was able to serve, share, and just being flexible to whatever, has been a good feeling. Flexibility is a must in Africa because things don’t always go as planned and they even have a saying over here that I hear used at least 3 times a

day. It’s called T.I.A which means "This Is Africa".

This is the wish I always wish,

The prayer I always pray:

Lord, may my life help others

It touches on the way.

Matthew 5:16

Hope everyone is doing well,

Melissa

"Blessed to Bless"

Hello-

I had a great weekend with lots of things to see, do, and fun times!! It started out with a ride into town (Mbabane) with rain, fog,and slippery muddy dirt roads. You know your in a third world country when your dodging cows, goats, and chickens when driving down the road, as if the thick fog wasn’t enough of a distraction. I went to spend the weekend with a friend of mine Chris from USA, his Aunt Carlie, Uncle Jim, and cousin David (who is tall, good looking, and very funny not to mention). They live about 30 min outside of Mbabane on a sugar cane farm called Malkerns. It was so peaceful and beautiful being on the farm just overlooking all the rolling hills of agriculture and beautiful mountains in the distance (picture included). There are Pineapple fields all around the sugar cane farm and I saw them picking the Pineapples as well which I thought was neat. We went to the candle factory where they hand carve candles, and it was quite impressive. Spoke to a gentleman there who has been carving for 22 years and also teaches the newer guys his stellar technique. Quite impressive to watch them quickly manipulate and carve the animals out of wax. Then we went to another shop and I learned how they make a picture on cloth material with wax called a “Batik”. It’s really neat to watch and understand the process of the final picture. Many intricate steps are involved. The lady is drawing the picture on the fabric with hot wax. (In my picture posted)

Went on a couple of great walks, went on my first Big Game type safari which David took me, and he did a good job explaining the different animals, he especially had an eye for the crocodiles!! Went to a Braai that evening and watched the Rugby game. Oh and I also watched some Cricket for the first time in my life, and after a while I was catching on to the concept. The family I stayed with was very delightful and very accommodating that I really didn’t want to leave so soon. (Thanks again Chris for the arrangement!!) Jim made a delicious breakfast of bacon, sausage, eggs etc... and we sat outside on the patio and had a wonderful meal with a beautiful view. It was a very nice weekend and enjoyed seeing so much more of Swaziland and many other beautiful places!

Work has been good and hard this week with a bit more of a challenge because I am working on mainly older children more. I have seen over 200 children now and have extracted 21 teeth to date. This was a big week for extractions, abscess’s, infections, and emergency tooth ache exams. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I didn’t leave the clinic till around 6:00pm still working on kids. I even had a little 8yr old girl knock on the house door Tuesday morning at 6:40 am and I answered in my pajamas because I am the only one up at that time in my house. I have never seen this girl in the clinic yet and who knows how far she walked to come find me. She said, Auntie Melissa can you please help me I have a bad tooth that hurts. Of course I had medical gloves inside the house so I invited her in and took a look at her mouth on the couch. She had a huge cavity and so I told her to come to the clinic that day so I could take it out and make her feel better. I also cleaned her teeth that day but come to find out she had 10 teeth with cavities. I had worked on a 16yr old boy for 1 hour 40 min just on his top teeth removing hard calculus/tartar and told him he had to come back another day to finish the bottom. He then said to me, “I didn’t know I was growing rocks under my gums” Very good description I thought. Then the next day I had a 17yr old boy that I spent 2hrs 10 min on and he now has a clean mouth. I actually took before and after photos of his gums to just document how bad it was to now how good his gums are already healing. He had periodontal disease, gingival hyperplasia, mobility, and major halitosis. So I decided to spare you all the before and after photos but for all my dental professional people reading/following this blog I can’t wait to share with you the photos and the gum tissue healing. On Wednesday I had an 8yr old boy ask me if I was trying to take his tooth out because I was scraping so hard and had to apply a lot of pressure to just remove the calculus/tartar. So I am telling myself that I really need a “Holiday” aka vacation to rest my hands and my mind.

Went horse back riding on Wednesday after work with Talitha who owns the horses here. They have horses for the orphans to ride as a type of therapy. It was fun taking them through the forest and it felt like something out of a movie. We saw many monkeys of course and the horses don’t like them so much. The weather has been about the same with about 2 days of sunshine half of the day. I have had more and more people show up to the clinic with tooth aches and wanting to be seen, that I think they know my time here is nearing and they are just desperate to be seen. It’s so sad because there is SUCH a need and I truly wish I had more time here!! I continue to think of you all back home and hope all is well with you and your families! Thank You all for all your prayers!

Blessings,

Melissa

1 Thessalonians 5:18

My roommates are GREAT!

OK well we had a great weekend last weekend and all was safe and sound! In these pictures you will see some native Swaziland people doing some native tribal dancing and they picked my roommate Leigh and I out of the crowd to help learn and dance with them. I’m definitely getting my dancing in over here and might be taking home some new moves! We went to the candle factory where they hand blow and carve beautiful glass sculptures and also had a chance to see some beautiful wildlife while we were out, that was neat! We saw some really cool animals, it was awesome! I had a chicken quesadilla for lunch that day and it reminded me a little bit of home since that’s the first type of Mexican food I have had in over a month now. (Oh how I miss LaPlacita)!!!

Speaking of food, I have had some family members and friends ask about the food situation here...I have to pack a lunch to eat at the Hospital because it’s too long of a walk to go home. I mostly eat cereal, yogurt, or eggs for breakfast, tuna and a piece of fruit like an apple or orange for lunch, and then a communal dinner that the roommates and I take turns making in the evenings. I have noticed that for every dinner meal there is ALWAYS some type of pasta, rice, or carbohydrate and I’m really starting to try and break away from the carbs because my body is going into shock eating all those carbs every night!! I’m going to start making baked chicken dishes and the other night I made a chicken dish without all the pasta and the girls liked it! Oh and I eat a lot of peanut butter. I had one of the village teenage girls over to the house to show me how to make this fresh spinach and peanut butter dish, and it was amazing! I buy fresh lettuce, spinach, and cauliflower from someone’s garden here in the village. The grocery store that is 2 hours away is small with about 6 isles and you can get just about anything generic that is basic. Most people back home think of Africa as a starving country and hardly a food source, but it’s really not like that here. There are places to buy food but where the starving part comes in, is that the people don’t have the money to buy the food therefore that’s why they are hungry. For example a man who has a job and works makes about R35 (rand) a day and that is equivalent to about $4.00 a day. So it’s not that Africa doesn’t have a food source, it’s more the lack of means for the people to buy it.The fresh fruit selection is not a wide variety like I was expecting and I went to buy a small can of green chilies so I could make my famous sour cream chicken enchiladas, and there are not green chilies to buy. But oddly enough they have all american type cereals and we buy a lot of frozen chicken breasts and ground beef to cook for dinners. We have a gas stove that I have to help light for the girls because they are afraid it will blow up on them when lighting the gas. We can do laundry ourselves or pay a lady named “Togo” to do it for us, and it all hangs outside to dry. So when we have rainy days it takes a little longer to get your clothes back.

I went over to a friends house on Sunday after church to learn how to make a traditional South African desert called Milk Tart. It’s so delicious, I’m bringing the recipe home. Oh yeah I forgot to tell you all that I was asked by the lady who took us on the Sat. bike ride if I could babysit her two children from 9:30am till 6:00pm on Sunday and I said yes. What is it with me and babysitting? I guess all those years of me nannying in college wasn’t enough. HaHa Yes, this is the second time I have babysat for this family and I thought for sure the first go around I would be fired and she would NEVER ask me again because they were filthy dirty from head to toe! (Pictures to show how filthy dirty from head to toe they were). Mom and Dad both said it was great because then that meant they had a good time since they were so dirty.

This week has been so much better, and I really can’t say enough THANK YOU’s for everyone who helped get me the much needed LONG JOHN PANTS and more dental supplies! The new instruments and sharping stone have made all the difference in the world and has helped me to carry on with all the cleanings. I have seen 154 children to date and have now extracted 12 teeth. It’s still raining here and carrying on with freezing cold weather. But boy I can’t tell you enough how much of a difference the long johns make, and I am much warmer now! They feel like little heaters on my legs and I’m soooo much happier having them. SO THANK YOU THANK YOU (Darla/Talisha)!!

My family all sent me a bunch of letters already signed and sealed that they packed in my bags that tell me to open on certain days, weeks, months, hard day, etc... and I can’t tell you enough how much reading those letters have made my days special. It’s kind of weird because they say the right thing at the right moment and I have gotten many laughs along with HUGE smiles. Yes, Bryan I am eating way too much rice and I would love to watch that movie and eat Pizukie when I return home with you and T!!

So now I will tell you about my roommates because quite a few of you have been wondering. First is Ruth (35) who is from Redding England and that is about an hour from London. She is the head person in charge of volunteers for Bulembu and works in the Ministry office of Bulembu. She has been here going on 3 years now and the only one with a car in our house. Then there is Natalie (22) from Manchester England and she got here a week before me but will be serving in Bulembu for 7 months. She works at the school as a teacher and mainly teaches Math and Biology. Then Sophie (18) who shares a room with me is from Redding England. She has been here already 2 months and just left this Tuesday to go back home before she starts college in England. She worked in the ABC House with all the baby baby orphans. She had many stories that she would share with me daily about the new babies they just got in, or even how her day was with 28 small babies all under 2yrs old. Then Leigh (21) from Vancouver Canada got here 2 weeks after me and is here for 3 months and going home right before Christmas. She has a very cool job in my opinion, because she was sent here by the Canadian group that mainly owns and helps finance Bulembu to do their website, and communications through journalism pieces. She gets to interview different people and go to different job sites taking photos, and video and then piece it all together. She is very talented and very funny! She along with Natalie and Ruth can really get me laughing! I have to say that I REALLY REALLY enjoy living with these 4 ladies and it’s been fun getting to know them and hang out with them. It’s even more surprising to say that we only have one bathroom for the 5 of us and we make it work just fine!! It’s sad to see Sophie go and it made me realize how very different it is to actually share a room and personal space with someone. After all these years of being by myself it’s kind of hard to come home to people or someone and discuss my day with them. Living with the girls has made me realize that I can’t just come home and unwind from my day by myself. Depending on the day I have to come home and start dinner, or help the other girls start dinner by chopping veggies or setting the table, and they even like to just talk about how your day went. It’s quite different and quite a change for me. Something about my job many people don’t understand is that not only is it taxing physically on the body and hands, but also mentally. Having to be in constant communication all day and make sure your not hurting people because they hate going to the dentist already is very tiring, not to mention the amount of tartar/calculus I’m removing isn’t pleasant for the patient or me. So it’s good coming home to my roommates, but much different then me going straight to the gym after work to unwind and then home to the LOVE of my life “Trotter Boy” Yes, my dog, I miss him terribly! It’s also different in a way because we don’t have appliances to make life easy so we have to take turns washing dishes by hand and cleaning up after others. It’s made me become more of a group person instead of just doing everything by myself. I know this may sound strange but it’s actually harder to adjust to living with people when your use to being by yourself and doing your own routine. So in closing I just want to say I hope everyone is doing great back home and all is well here!

Talk to you next weekend,

Melissa