Global Andy

I have always associated Shingles as an old person’s disease.  I guess I an officially old because I have them.

It started out about a week and half ago.  I had these incredibly itchy sores on my right neck.  I had shaved my head the night before so i thought I just cut my neck or had an ingrown hair.  But the pain never went away and I just tried some topical ointments.   Even though maybe some parasite was living inside my neck trying to eat my brain cell.   It got worse… burning or like needles in my neck.

Friday night we were babysitting our neighbors kids.  They (the parents not the kids) happen to be nurses so I had Jennifer look at my neck.  She called back and said she thought it was Shingles and asked if I’d come down and let John look at.  John is the practicing nurse.

Shingles.   I really didn’t know what they were so John fills me in.  It’s like something out of a science fiction novel.  It’s the same virus as Chicken Pox.  In fact that sucker never leaves the body but lies dormant in the nervous system waiting to come out.  So its been in my body for 45 years since I had Chicken Pox as a baby!!!   Is that freaky or what? Usually it comes out because of stress or when your immune system is down.  BINGO!  I had the flu right before the outbreak.  (Not sure if it was H1N1 but might have been.)

So John prescribed me some medicine to help prevent it from spreading.  This is also science fiction in that it hooks up with other cells and gives them the DNA to spread….  or something like that.  I really didn’t catch it all because when John was describing, I was freaking out because it was a little parasite eating my nervous system.

So here I am in major pain.  (John also prescribed me some heavy pain killers.)  Sometimes I just want to scream and have Robin cut my head off at the neck.

I was out of town last night but when I got home Robin relayed this event to me…

Jack – who is deathly afraid of storms especially after the tornados we had in the area in June – was on the deck with Robin & Drew last night.  There was a dark cloud – no storm – in the distance.  Jack frantically yelled at Robin and Drew to get in the house.  As Drew was walking in, I guess he wasn’t moving to the speed of Jack’s paranoia so he pushed him.  That of course set Drew off.

In the midst of two boys screaming and yelling, Jack said “Drew I didn’t want you to get hit by the lightening.  I was trying to make you safe.  You know I am going to be a policeman when I grow up.”

Jack (joyfully upon seeing two African-American men in the Wendy’s parking lot yesterday): “Look mom! Africans!”

Note: Jack is 4 years old, he is without guile, we spent a month in Africa this summer and we live in Colorado with few African-Americans.

You can click here to read our August letter. You can download a copy or red on-line if you prefer.  We highlight our past month in South Africa – mostly from Robin’s POV.

Drew: Dad, does Mom know how to make pancakes?

Me: Yeah.

Drew: Did you teach her?

It’s Robin’s (first) 39th Birthday today.

I am so blessed to have her as my wife.

Words I think of when I think of Robin…

Lovely

Beautiful

Kind

Tender

Compassionate

Servant-hearted

Hardworking

Loyal

Faithful

Generous

Patient

Honest

Open

Funny

She is a treasure, a good gift from the Lord.  I am deeply in love with her and can’t believe how blessed I am.

Happy Birthday, Love.

Yesterday afternoon (Sat), Robin, the boys and I piled in the ‘bucky’  (pick-up truck) and drove a few clicks (km) down the road to Roodeplaat Nature Reserve.    It’s really close to Louis & Erika’s where we are staying. 

Fun little drive without the Big 5but also only cost us about $3.  We saw wart hogs, a lot of exotic birds, zebras, spring bok, water bucks (or boks, not sure), and kudu.  At first, we thought there were only art hogs but evidence (dung) said otherwise and sure enough we saw zebra and later  on the other game. 

I figured the game had to be small since there were walking trails but its Africa so you never know.  Robin and I would have loved to walk more but the boys were having none of that.   Then I started walking to get a better few of a herd of zebra.   Jack followed, then Luke.   We most likely could have walked more but I realized I was so excited about scouting game that I had left the keys in the bucky with the door open.   Realizing it could have been a diversary tactic and another zebra was waiting to hijack the bucky and drive to Kruger, I doubled-back.  Sure enough another smaller herd was scoping the bucky out but I outsmarted them.

Robin even drove for the first time in South Africa as she drove home.  All in all a good little time… until we came home and fights broke out among Jack and Drew.  Not sure over what, maybe looked at each other.     Moral – look at game but not your brother.

Can’t believe that today is the halfway point for our family’s time in South Africa.  All of our team has left.  The STINT midyear is over.  And I have checked off the necessary partnership meetings for CCC - though will meet the Commmunity Director tomorrow and may still meet with other folks.

This window is about our family, meetign with people in the community and deepening our partnership and friendship with Louis and Erika of BEAM Africa.

I choose St. Lucia as a location for the midyear for the 8 STINTers because website said it was 4 hours from Jo’burg and not to mention it had hippos, crocs and the Indian Ocean.

People told us the drive was 8 hours and I thought they just don’t know.  Well 8 hours was too conservative.  The road that looked like an interstate on the map was mostly a two-lane road and often a one-lane due to construction.  Once we sat for 30 minutes waiting for our turn to drive through the construction area.  It took 10 hours.

But we made it.  And had an excellent dinner where we are stating.  The accomdations are excellent.

It’s warm here.  This am we went on a boat ride in the estuary and saw crocs and hippos.  This afternoon I dipped my toes in the Indian Ocean.  And for several hours Robin and I had a great time interacting with the STINTers.  We asked to share their highlight and then what has been the greatest challenge.  It opened up a lot of things.   Pray that we will be able to address some solutions that mostly deal with their ministry scenerios.

Tonight we have a braai (BBQ) and tommorrow a devotion followed by a game drive.  Worth the ten hours in a car with cranky kids.

On Monday Drew asked why a little boy was sitting in my lap at BEAM.  I said, “Maybe he doesn’t have a daddy to hold him and love him like you do.  Drew, can he borrow your daddy?”

Drew answered “yes, he can borrow my daddy.”