Lou, Rain, Smile Train, BCS

Lou has been doing pretty good. We are pretty much resolved on the reflux issue - it was totally by his choice (not medical related) and now after a few weeks of staying on him and encouraging him not to do it by putting a bowl under his mouth (which he never liked) he has completely stopped and it isn't an issue (Tina thinks he still does it with milk since he likes it so much - he is sneaky!).

He has regressed a bit with the potty training. He was coming close to telling us all the time when he had to go, but now he has gone backwards and is only waiting for us to ask. If we don't ask, he'll pee. He even went a few days (weeks) without peeing at night and naps, but now he seems to think that he can get away with it so he always has a wet diaper. At least we save diapers (read: money) during the day.

We started to do sign language with him, but have decided to stop because if he knows the sign, we will not try to speak. He is starting to say some things (barely) in English. It takes A LOT of encouragement to get him to talk or communicate.

Mealtimes at the dinner table continue to be the most challenging with him because he still wants to swallow his food whole. He watches us and tries to sneak one in whenever he can when we are not looking. This causes us some frustration. We realize that there will always be challenges and with the Lord's strength, we will make it through this issue and the next.

Rain

After about 4-5 months of only a couple sprinkle of rain, we have had about 2 inches in the last 4-5 days (it has rained 4-5 days straight now - almost as if God threw the switch for "rain" here around the Mission). It is much needed as we were nearly running dry in most cisterns (and did run dry in some). The hospital was buying water by the truckload. We thank the Lord for this rain!

Smile Train

The Smile Train folks arrived on Friday and started to do interviews. I have never seen so many people here at the mission and never so many with cleft lips/pallets). I am sure that there isn't any other organized gatherings besides events like these, so seeing so many folks with this medical issue isn't a surprise. Some people were in worse shape than others. It's so amazing to think that some of these people have lived this way for years. Some can't talk well because of it. Some have teeth where it appears teeth shouldn't be.

I went to take picture of the registration and of people. When I got closer, I realized that given their circumstances, they may not be willing to have their picture taken. So out of respect, I refrained from taking pictures. I could have asked, but didn't. Another reason I didn't take pictures is because there were two photographers associated with the event and I was told that they would give us their pictures. When I receive them, I will be updating the BHM Blog (Field Journal) with the pictures and the results (numbers of patients) of the event. Here is the one that I took before I got there:


Something I didn't think of before is that these people coming in often have other medical issues - from AIDS to malnutrition. So taking care of them sometimes means more than just fixing their lip and pallet.

Boring Car Stuff...

I have determined the issue with the generator - it's the oil pressure sender. We had one of our guys go get a new one, but they didn't have any in stock. They wanted $110 US dollars for it. I recalled from my car racing days that these are not that expensive. I have found a few on eBay for less than $50 so we are going to order a couple and have them brought in when a friend comes near the end of March (Thank you Kris!!). I am glad that I don't have to drop the oil pan right now (although, it may still be time to check the bearings and do a rebuild).

There hasn't been any progress on the old generator. I haven't found any manual and have emailed the company in the UK to figure out if I can get information about a repair manual. I hope they have one available because we have two of these things and it would save a lot of money to get them running right. The beach house is usually booked all summer long with various organizations using it to run camps for the Haitian people. It is these two generators (now one) that provide them with electricity.

The alternator issues continue. The Montero and the Pathfinder alternators did not work when I hooked them up - they were not rebuilt correctly. The Montero one looks like they did a good job painting it - too bad paint doesn't make an alternator work. One of our guys took the Montero to the place that rebuilt it to show them it doesn't work. I'll find out today what the result was.

While checking things out on the Montero, Mr. Kryk and I were messing around with the fuse box. We took it out and Mr. Kryk noticed where a wire was bare. We had issues with this truck slowly draining the battery after a couple days and this may be the problem. We fixed it and after the alternator starts working, we'll know if the battery drain is resolved. The truck is VERY beat up, but it has miles left in the engine and tranny (clutch may be ready to go out however).

The Ford Ranger continues to eat upper control arm (A-arm) bushings. This truck goes on more bad roads than any other. I have to take it apart again on the passenger side because it is most likely almost (of not completely) through the bushing. It is Pastor Rob's truck and if he decides he wants to keep it a while longer, then I'll be looking to order polyurethane bushings. When I take it off this time, I will be taking good measurements to see if I can find one like it in the States that is polyurethane - it will surely last longer if I can find one.