Lots to say

Since I didn't get to write yesterday, I have lots to say today and probably not much time before I lose my internet due to the storm that's rolling in. The news from MOI is this. When Mirland went in yesterday they said again that they were working on it. So Mirland said that we need to go in again but to wait till Barbara got back. I didn't really want to just sit and wait till Barb got back (tomorrow) so I thought maybe we could call "the man" in MOI and ask him about the progress since we had been in to see him for the interview appointment. Mirland said that would be good, that we should call him. After several telephone conversations what happened is this. He said that we should come in. We were unable to make it until tomorrow so we sent Mirland instead. He told her to have us call him and he will tell us what is going on. So, I called him today and he did remember Kerwin's name and that he said he had checked on our dossier and it will be ready on Friday. Now, you may be getting a slight feel for what it's like to work with government offices in a third world country. You have probably guessed that we are not holding our breath for a Friday exit from MOI but it is possible. Mirland said that we should call him everyday and stay on top of him so that he will push our dossier through the process. Perhaps this is what we should have been doing the whole time. I don't know. Anyway, we are hoping to stay on top of things until Friday and see where that gets us. Mirland did seem to think that once we get out of MOI things should move pretty quickly for us. I hope she is right.

Regarding Kerwin, he is doing fine as usual. He has been enjoying washing the dishes recently. The dish washing method is two tubs and a draining rack in the bathroom. So, he sits on the toilet and washes while I rinse and oversee the washing. He has also been working on writing and fingerspelling his name. He is doing better but still needs a lot of practice at writing. He spent most of the morning inside and then played outside this afternoon and got as dirty as ever. There is just no clean place to play.

Speaking of this afternoon, it was a bit dramatic. We are not sure when we will need to get out of the clinic because other people are coming to stay there. It could be very soon. So, I wanted to go ahead and clean the place really well. Also the toilet seat has been broken ever since we got here but we have just been using it anyway. Johnny bought us a new one a long time ago but I didn't want to put it on lest we break this one since apparently the toilet seats break fairly often around here. (I don't quite know why that is.) So, I finally got around to putting the new toilet seat on. While I was doing all of this, I here the wailing which is normal for this one girl here in the village. She cries and throws a big fit every day over a variety of issues. However, when I looked at her, she had blood running down her face and down her back. It took a while to get her to hold still but when I did I still couldn't see the source of the bleeding because her hair was really thick and bloody. I ran to the clinic and got gloves, gauze, peroxide, and a sterile towel. Eventually I found the gash. It was about an inch long and probably wouldn't have required stiches in the States. But here we just cleaned it, put some Neosporin on it and she was on her way. I gave her the tube to keep applying. I didn't know what else to do.

Shortly after this episode, I caught Kerwin sticking a piece of wood from the groud in his mouth. That was the last straw. We have spent the last two months Americanizing this kid and I am beginning to feel like we are taking a step back. I like that there are kids here but the kind of play they engage in is the kind I'm trying to get him to stop doing. I told Mike how I felt and he felt that today he had reached his breaking point to. So, I think we have decided that we are going to go back to the Visa Lodge really soon. Barb returns tomorrow and we will see when the next group is moving into the clinic. Depending on the answer, we'll figure out what we are going to do. Additionally, Lawanna leaves on Sunday and it just won't be the same without her.

So, I am again asking for prayers. Please pray that "the man" will be true to his word and that out dossier will leave MOI on Friday. Pray that Mike and I will remain hopeful, patient, and in good spirits. Pray that Kerwin will continue to grow and learn and develop. Pray that we will continue to grow together as a family. We are praying that we will see you all soon.