Hurray! Janice has gained 4 pounds. Now, I know that there probably isn't a woman in the United States who would rejoice over gaining 4 pounds. However, when you consider that Janice has lost 20 to 25 pounds or more since arriving in Chad and when you couple that with her inability to gain weight following her last round of sickness.... well, you get the point.
Every one of us has lost weight, except for Hudson. That's life here in Chad. I've lost 20 pounds total since we left Fergus Falls. I lost 10 in France and 10 here. I won't bother to tell you what I weigh. Even Alex lost weight while she was here (and she was in no ways over weight).
We hope that there is something left of us by the time we return to the States in 2011.
I can see it now.... milkshakes every day, chocolate cake, pizza, chips, soda.... oh, wait a minute, that's pretty much how us Fludes eat anyways! Drat. Maybe we'll have to start drinking protein shakes. Yum, yum.
Hope you all are having a great day.
sf
Monday, July 27, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Goin' with the FLow
Not much out of the ordinary has been going on around here for the last week or so. We've enjoyed a stretch where everybody's been relatively healthy and the weather's been on the cool side. So, all things considered, not a bad stretch at all.
Last night as we were leaving to take some friends home, our guards killed about a 2 foot long viper that was hanging around the front gate. One of our guards told me that if you get bit by one you'd better be pretty close to a hospital otherwise you'd probably die. Now, I don't know if that is true or not. But, I can tell you I don't want to find out.
Several of the kids had just walked by the snake. A number of them didn't have any shoes on and it was dark. All this despite our consistent reminders to wear shoes at all times.
Hope you all are having a great weekend. We sure are.
sf
Last night as we were leaving to take some friends home, our guards killed about a 2 foot long viper that was hanging around the front gate. One of our guards told me that if you get bit by one you'd better be pretty close to a hospital otherwise you'd probably die. Now, I don't know if that is true or not. But, I can tell you I don't want to find out.
Several of the kids had just walked by the snake. A number of them didn't have any shoes on and it was dark. All this despite our consistent reminders to wear shoes at all times.
Hope you all are having a great weekend. We sure are.
sf
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Camels
Janice and the older kids spent some time before church today riding camels at a place not too far from our home. By all accounts, everyone had a great time. I stayed home with Ethan, Tawnee, Esther, and Hudson. We had a good time too as we watched 2 episodes of Little House on the Prairie. (Ethan thought it was great when Nellie Olson got a spanking!)
We had a fun day hanging out with some guests here and Janice and I managed to sneak away for a nice dinner in town.
That's all for now.
sf
We had a fun day hanging out with some guests here and Janice and I managed to sneak away for a nice dinner in town.
That's all for now.
sf
Friday, July 10, 2009
Box of Cereal Anyone?
Well, today wasn't exactly your typical Chadian "hot season" day. We awoke to temperatures below 70 degrees. Even opened up the windows and let the cool air blow in. It rained off and on most of the night so there was a good amount of water and mud all around. After a rain like that bugs were expected this evening and they didn't disappoint. There must be millions of flying termites in the air tonight. Quite a site.
Nice thing about today was that it barely passed 90 degrees. Ethan went to town with me today in long pants and a jacket! Speaking of town, Emma went too and while we were there she wanted to buy her very own box of Frosted Flakes (Frosties as they are known here and in France). Their cost? 4,250 Francs. That's equivalent to about $9.00 or so. And, that's not even a big box! Funny thing is I bought 4 more boxes of similar cereal. What a treat! The kids ate a second breakfast when we got home around 9:30 AM. Yum yum!!!!
We are looking forward to the weekend as our Director will be here along with 3 other people from the States. They are just passing through and will only stay a few days as they are no their way back home after a couple of weeks here.
Hope you are all doing well. We seem to be. At least Janice and Emma are on the mend and everybody else looks to be doing well.
Until next time.
sf
Nice thing about today was that it barely passed 90 degrees. Ethan went to town with me today in long pants and a jacket! Speaking of town, Emma went too and while we were there she wanted to buy her very own box of Frosted Flakes (Frosties as they are known here and in France). Their cost? 4,250 Francs. That's equivalent to about $9.00 or so. And, that's not even a big box! Funny thing is I bought 4 more boxes of similar cereal. What a treat! The kids ate a second breakfast when we got home around 9:30 AM. Yum yum!!!!
We are looking forward to the weekend as our Director will be here along with 3 other people from the States. They are just passing through and will only stay a few days as they are no their way back home after a couple of weeks here.
Hope you are all doing well. We seem to be. At least Janice and Emma are on the mend and everybody else looks to be doing well.
Until next time.
sf
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Stuff
Hello there!
Well, you know things are back to normal around the Flude house when Janice gets sick again. And, like clockwork, Janice is sick again. This time, she's managed to contract some sort of infection that has been giving her "chest" pain and throat pain. We went to the clinic 2 days ago and they've got her on some antibiotic so she seems to be doing better. That's the good news. Bad news is that Emma's sick today with what we think is Malaria. So, she's started taking a course of treatment medications that should begin to work within 24 hours.
The most curious thing about Janice's little illness is that it coincides with our Mission Director's presence here. Now, this represents the second time in the last 9 months that he's showed up and Janice has been struck down by some bizarre illness. The kids have asked him if he could come back in a few months to see what happens to mom. If she gets sick again they're planning on permanently banning him from visiting us.
We finally got some rain last night and this morning we awoke to 81 degree weather. Very nice and comfortable. I don't know what the temperature is right now but it isn't over 90. So, a good day thus far.
Hope all is well with you and your world.
Until next time,
sf
Well, you know things are back to normal around the Flude house when Janice gets sick again. And, like clockwork, Janice is sick again. This time, she's managed to contract some sort of infection that has been giving her "chest" pain and throat pain. We went to the clinic 2 days ago and they've got her on some antibiotic so she seems to be doing better. That's the good news. Bad news is that Emma's sick today with what we think is Malaria. So, she's started taking a course of treatment medications that should begin to work within 24 hours.
The most curious thing about Janice's little illness is that it coincides with our Mission Director's presence here. Now, this represents the second time in the last 9 months that he's showed up and Janice has been struck down by some bizarre illness. The kids have asked him if he could come back in a few months to see what happens to mom. If she gets sick again they're planning on permanently banning him from visiting us.
We finally got some rain last night and this morning we awoke to 81 degree weather. Very nice and comfortable. I don't know what the temperature is right now but it isn't over 90. So, a good day thus far.
Hope all is well with you and your world.
Until next time,
sf
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
What's Going On Around Here?
My apologies for the lapse in blog entries. It's been a crazy couple of weeks since Janice and the kids got back. Probably the most bizarre thing that happened was even after all the tests and exams that Janice had while in the States the doctors didn't discover a fourth malady until the day she left. So, she arrived back here with a pretty good case of Giardia. Thankfully, that is a common sickness here so getting the proper drugs wasn't any problem. But, it does beg the question: How come it took the doctors so long to determine what the problem with my wife was?
Today we will be welcoming some guests to the Welcome Center from the states. And, one of them, Libby, will be living with us for the next year. The kids are so excited (and so is Libby). There's lots to do between now and the time their plane arrives tonight. Unfortunately, I'm sick in bed with Malaria. So, Janice and Gracey are doing the last minute errands.
Hope all of you who read this blog are having a great summer. We are.
Until next time.
sf
Today we will be welcoming some guests to the Welcome Center from the states. And, one of them, Libby, will be living with us for the next year. The kids are so excited (and so is Libby). There's lots to do between now and the time their plane arrives tonight. Unfortunately, I'm sick in bed with Malaria. So, Janice and Gracey are doing the last minute errands.
Hope all of you who read this blog are having a great summer. We are.
Until next time.
sf
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