sweet little andrew

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Today was our last day in Livingstone.  After our filling breakfast at the hotel, Reagan, Lauren, Ashley and I were picked up for the zip-lining adventure.  Tessa and Ben went the day before and said that it was definitely worth $40.  Tessa was terrified before and during all the extreme adventures but she said her guide gave her a pep talk that helped.  “Tessa, you do not have to do this if you don’t want to, but in your eyes, I see a thumbs up,” he said.  I love it. 

We got strapped up, took some pictures and I was voted to go first. The guide gave me a quick talk and then counted to three, I ran as fast as I could and jumped off the cliff.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  I bet Pa would have loved to be there with me.  The guide let me go twice so the second time I tried to run faster and jump farther but I still didn’t reach the Zimbabwe side. Reagan said that the 96-meter high and 136-meter wide gorge was bigger than she anticipated and she was incredibly nervous (visibly shaking).  It took her a minute to sike herself up for the jump but she did it… I was proud of her.

I need to blog about my market experience even though it was not the best experience.  First, I bought two wooden and cow-bone bottle openers for my dad and Grayson.  The market men hound you, beg you, plead with you, lie to you and attempt to rip you off.  I am pretty sure I was ripped off the first time but after that I just started telling the men that I didn’t have any dollars, pounds, or kwacha and I only wanted to trade.  I brought t-shirts; sweat pants, flip-flops, hair ties (incredibly popular) and pens (most popular) to trade.  Towards the end I was getting annoyed and asked the man if he knew the word “chill” and he said, “yes, breath in and out” and I said, “yes, do that” and he sat back down.  It was wonderful; I was able to look through the wooden crafts in quiet. 

Last night we went on a sunset cruise along the Zambezi River.  We saw hippos, antelope, numerous birds, and crocodile.  One of the hippos had the biggest yawn I have ever seen but I was changing my lens when it happened.  They served us appetizers and deserts, which was all included.  It was relaxing and we had perfect opportunities to take some photos of the sunset. 

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Sunday is Leonard’s only day off so we are in charge of preparing food and cleaning up.  Anna and I decided to make a big salad for dinner so we picked fresh lettuce from the garden in the back of the Hamby House.  A couple people from the medical mission showed up to get everything organized before the rest come.  A total of 200 people are coming this year to pass out medicine and a couple doctors are coming to perform surgery. 

Today was not the best day for news.  We heard that Andrew was sent to the hospital because he hasn’t eaten anything in nine days, Hamilton has caterax and is loosing his vision fast, and Layla is possibly deaf.  When it rains, it pours.  I was in a terrible mood so I went to see Lincoln.  He put me in a better mood for a couple hours until I got back and heard that Andrew’s veins were collapsing and his lungs were not looking good.  Please keep sweet little Andrew in your thoughts and prayers.  I pray that Andrew is still fighting when I wake up.