Togo--post 3 & 4

Post 3

Hello. I have some time to write today because we had to stay home from church today. Ryan is not feeling well. He has feverish symptoms. He was/is also dehydrated, but I made him drink 32 oz of Gatorade this morning so he should be doing better soon.

This week we took a trip up to northern Togo to a town called Mango. There we saw the sight of where the new hospital will be. It is near a nice airstrip that is owned by the government. Mango was hot and had quite a few more mosquitoes than we have here at the hospital compound so we were glad to get back here.

In my last note, I mentioned that I would be teaching sign language to some gentlemen. I taught them the alphabet and numbers on Monday before we left for Mango, and on Friday, we reviewed what we had learned and I taught them the Christian words like God and "Jesus died on the cross for us." I also taught the some animals. I have forgotten some signs that are relevant here like goat, knife and a few others. For fun, on the way back from Mango, I did my best to interpret a sermon that I had brought of Pastor Frank's (Valley Bible Church) on our i-pod. It was fun, though there are quite a few words I did not know.

Yesterday we went to market in Kpalime (pal eem A) to look for fabric. We're not used to the idea of bargaining. Then we went to ABWE's blind center where we can buy hand crafted wood carvings and such that profit the blind center. We didn't have to bargain there and it gave us a better idea of what we should really be paying for the items that we purchase. After that we stopped at a wood shop where we watched the men carve huge, beautiful elephants out of ebony and other beautiful woods using a knife that looks like a hoe. There they also make dishes, figures, chairs, masks and many other things. We got it on video so that you could see it when we get back (by the way, if you know how to add video to our blog please leave a note for us. I haven't figured out how to do that yet.)

Post 4
Ryan is feeling better. I think he was dehydrated pretty bad. It made him dizzy and all. I made him drink 64 oz of Gatorade and sleep it off. All looks good now as he sits at the table with the others cracking jokes as usual.
Here in Togo the word malaria is often used and is one of the first things people think when someone gets sick. However, we are in good hands as we are at a hospital where 90% of the people who come in have malaria. In any case, if we have to get it, I would rather get it here than in the states, because here the doctors know how to treat it very well.
Anyway, everything looks good for which we are all grateful. Have a wonderful rest of your day.
Stephanie