Monday July 5, 2010
I sent an email to David about the soccer games. I figured that you were really busy at Lexie's. And noone uses the email much there. I have written another email but haven't sent it yet...am waiting to see what pictures to include. It will go out shortly.

I guess I have been a little down about the blog since Mom was my biggest fan. Everyone else is very busy, but the emails meant a lot to Mom. I guess her passing has affected me more than I thought.

The work is a bit discouraging right now since we are being asked to give detailed accounting for past projects before any more funding will be given. The questions they ask are difficult if not impossible for us to answer. We are also expected to go out with the auditors next week to survey projects done in 2009. There is always a question about whether all wells are done that we contract for. They have asked for a sampling of about 400 wells in widely spread areas. It is all very tiresome, but we will do what we are asked. Don't mind me, I'm a little down.

EMAIL #2
Thanks cutie...I'm much better now. Part of my frustration was feeling completely responsible for two impossible requests for information from the auditors and from South Africa. After prayer this morning, I felt that I needed to turn the responsibilty over to Dad...he is much more used to doing that kind of high-pressure stuff. However we work so differently...who knew? He must finish each thing before going on to something else (even his food)...not necessarily in order of importance. I was completely frustrated with his pace because I make lists and frantically multi-task. As a result am comparatively disorganized and things don't always get finished. Dad works more slowly and methodically. My mistake was in turning the responsibility over to Dad but still wanting to direct his work.

We just returned from FHE at the home of the new Mission President. All 6 of the missionary couples went. The Broadbents are wonderful people and will make an impact here. They served for 4 months in Mozambique as humanitarian missionaries until they were called to be Mission President here in Nairobi. They left Mozambique in February and just arrived. So they had 5 months to prepare.

I think about you being in the hospital without my help, and I just hate it. I remember driving up to Ann Arbor for Elijah's birth (on your hands and knees in very difficult labor pains for an hour so that you could minimize the stress on him). I remember being in the labor room when Claire was born and watching her come through the canal. It was difficult for me to see you in so much pain. You handled it well; you are very brave. I think I remember David joking with the medical staff. I remember your nursing colleagues from the research studies coming in to see you.

I also remember David Schmitt's birth with parents, in-laws, and I think even some students as observers. I remember sleeping with David when Tyler was born. David was like an octopus. I remember Lex holding off the delivery of Noelle Roslyn until I could get there and watch the birth of my namesake, a sweet surprise and gift for me. I remember how the OB flipped Elle and everyone had to come in and watch. Clayton is the only one I missed, but Diane was there and I came shortly afterwards.

Instead of being at Max's birth, I came when he was ready to come home from the hospital and stayed to help with the premie. I arrived later for Elise too, and remember having to stop to get a flu shot in Morgantown on my way to Boston before Hunt would let me handle their sweet and vulnerable newborn daughter.


Ethan was born in Idaho in a birthing room with a midwife. Leah had been in labor since early morning, but toughed it out at home, then we walked aroung the frozen pond before going to the hospital. She sat for an hour in a hot tub while she was in hard labor, then only spent about 1.5 hours pushing. It was very hard work, but she was brave enough to do it without any medication. I was with Ethan when Eliza was born in West Virginia. When we took Ethan to see Eliza, he had a car for her and we bought her a dog that Ethan took possession of.

See if you can somehow keep me involved in the birth of your sweet daughter. I will miss that experience, but know I am where I am supposed to be. I am so appreciative of how you all kept me in the loop with Mom's passing. It was very comforting and touching to me that you all cared enough about her and me that you went to her bedside. Passings and passages, traumatic but necessary, sorrowful and full of pain but also joy. Just like with missionary work...very hard but very rewarding.

Missionary story: when we were at the immigration office getting fingerprinted for our work permits, I met a man who saw my nametag and asked about the Church. He was a Pentacostal and asked what the difference was between our Churches. Not really sure what I said, but explained about prophets and apostles and maybe the plan of salvation lightly. Anyway, I gave him a card and he emailed me a couple of weeks later and said he would like to talk about religion. I emailed back and said we were in the middle of lots right now but told him I would have missionaries contact him. Last Sunday we were at a fireside, and the man was there, came up to me afterwards and said that he had been at Church that morning too, at the invitation of the missionaries. He said that he thought he had found his Church. It is easy here to talk about the Church here because people are so openly faith-filled. We went to a government school today to give them some bookbags for a prize day and saw a poster in the headmaster's office in Kiswahili. The only word I recognized was "Jesus Christ." I think most Kenyan schoolchildren sing daily about Christ, read scriptures and pray.

EMAIL #3 Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Thank goodness for answers to prayers. My answers are not always so clear...but when the water was cut off here for about 2 months and at the end we were having to haul buckets of water in from the outside faucets (it used to infuriate us to look down and see all the cars being washed from the outside faucet and we had no water for showers). At the very end there was no water in the outside faucets either. Dad was threatening to move frequently...not sure if you realize how fastidious he is, but when he has to go without a shower for 2 days he gets fierce. We went out looking for alternative apartments and didn't find anything comparable. I couldn't bear the idea of moving by ourselves...the support group here keeps me going with all the senior missionary couples in one stairwell. Towards the end, I was praying hard that things would resolve. Shortly after that the owners decided to check for water leaks on the premises...and they found and repaired the leak right in our parking lot. Though that is not a clear answer to prayer...it is close enough for me. Many of my answers come when Dad and I have differences of opinion and one of us gets very grumpy. We can resolve almost anything very quickly now (by quickly I mean a few hours).