pain

Last week I met a lady named Elizabeth. She was about 50 and dying of AIDS. I've never seen anyone so skinny. Just bones. A neighbour lady would check in on her everyday- the neighbour was an old granny who was looking after 8 orphans (some her grandkids, some were neighbour's kids). 8 little kids and a dying neighbour. We got to wash this lady, and talk and sing with her. She wanted us to sing the South African national anthen- I'm afraid I wasn't much help there. We washed all her filthy clothes and blankets -African style-in a river. I was so happy to be there- to help this dear woman who was suffering so much. Elizabeth died a few days later, but we were able to get her into a hospice for her remaining days so she could die comfortably.

Driving home from Elizabeth's we passed three women who were returning from the clinic. One of the women was carrying her friend on her back. The woman being carried was about 30, dying of AIDS, had an 8 month old baby, and could barely walk. Her friend was carrying her down a huge hill . On her back. A woman carrying another woman. I am shocked by what the
people here have to go through. Sometimes people are even taken to the hospital in wheelbarrows. There is so much hurt here, but we can do small things. We were able to comfort a dying woman, and we were able to drive the ladies to thier home. We can always do something.

Ahh languages...

Communication is one of the big things that we’re learning about here- how to communicate effectively with people from other cultures. How to be culturally sensitive, how to learn, how to teach etc…

Right now Dara and I are busy trying to learn Portuguese before we go to Mozambique. This week we got to practice what we’ve learned with Carlos. Carlos is the project leader in Mozambique, and we will be working closely with him and his wife. I was trying to ask him about the challenges in the project, so I asked him how to say the word “challenge”- he replied “dez a few”. I thought he was saying that there were a few words in Portuguese that meant challenge, so I smiled and said “all I need it one of the words- that I would forget more than one word for challenge”. Again he said “dez a few”, and again I asked what the word was- then my friends yelled at me- “Laura! That’s the word for Challenges- “desafio”.

Another funny moment was when one of the men from Nigeria was leading a song in Church. The song repeated a few phrases such as “everyday God, give me love”, “everyday God, lift me higher”. Then he started repeating – “everyday God, give me sausage, everyday God, give me sausage”. He was actually singing give me “success”, but the resemblance to the work sausage was extremely close, making it very hard for me and many others not to giggle through the long and repetitious verse! I expect a lot more of these experiences!