Mr. YY came to see me today with an infection in his finger. The finger had swollen to twice it's normal size, yet had no open area and no center of infection. This is one of things that I have seen so frequently, sometimes with a wound, sometimes without. Two months ago I treated an 11 year old girl with the same thing. Her parents were unable to take her to the hospital, so the finger swelled so big that it split wide open all down the side. I had her come see me twice a day so that I could soak it in warm salt water, express as much pus as I could, pack it with antibiotic ointment, and bandage it up. It did eventually heal up and she has full use of it now. But back to Mr. Y.Y. - I had him also soak his had three times daily so that the infection would eventually reveal it's center. I tried to encourage him to at least go to the hospital and get an injection of antibiotic, but he had a "practitioner" of some sort help him the last time his finger got infected and as a result he has completely lost the use of that digit and cannot even straighten it. Needless to say, he is leery of anyones help. He was willing for me to see him though, and thanks to the healing power of God, with salt water, baking soda, antibiotic ointment, bandaids, and (believe it or not) okra leaves, his hand is fully healed and he is able to continue to work and provide for his family. Continue to pray for him as he has a heart for his people and a positive, happy personality - he will make a wonderful pastor. He and his wife are expecting their first child after many years of being unable to concieve. They are SO excited. Please pray for a healthy baby and a safe delivery. His wife, Kumba, is a remarkable woman, who stayed by his side when he was sick last year. In fact, he almost died and they were told that he would be paralyzed and never walk again. He walks, runs, and jumps - and is totally in love with Jesus.

Hey everyone! Hope your day is going well. We are enjoying the sun and about 105 degrees F. We are starting to get used to it though. I think that we are going to head to Freetown tomorrow so as to get some groceries. Little things like tuna fish and cheese make a big difference. I have been going to train under Binda still and I really have enjoyed getting to know her. She is a very hard worker and yet manages to enjoy every minute of every day. Some of you may remember little Mantene who was so badly burned that she almost died - well Binda is her mother. Mantene is doing very well, praise God - and is one of the most cheerful and pleasant children that you could hope to meet. Binda has been teaching me how to cook the African way. I have finally managed to learn to wash rice, which is much harder than it sounds. Hopefully I can start to cook plasas (sauce) soon. Everyday I am in awe of how hard these women work and how incredibly strong they are. Pray for me as I continue to build relationships. I hope to really listen to the women and their struggles so that I can make my health and bible teaching something that they can really use.

Hey everyone! Sorry to have been so long again. The internet is an intermittent blessing here. Things have been going well. We have now added a Genet to our family. This is something halfway between a ferret and a meerkat (sp?). He is very young and has to be fed reconstituted powdered milk with a syringe and had a broken paw, but is now on the mend and is a whole lot of fun. He is a tree climber, so we have moved a large branch into our living room. We also just got a Plaintain Eater, which is a bird, but I am not sure how long he is going to last. :( Everyone is healthy and happy. Roy is very busy teaching his classes and I am enjoying teaching mine. It is fun to see those lightbulb moments when you are teaching something biblical or health related and they just GET it. Praise GOD! We went into a village on Friday and held a service, spent the night, then drove home the next morning. The chief gave us a paper with 15 names listing those who had decided to follow Christ. If possible we are going to go in twice a month and hold services. It is about 20 miles away, but takes about 2.5 hours to drive there. Please pray for this village that they will continue to be receptive to the gospel. I am continuing to treat little things like cuts and infected wounds. Some of the students here have knowledge of the medicinal plants that are in the area, so I am trying to learn as much from them as possible and then make a garden of these plants. This will hopefully help in treating more illnesses in a cheaper way. Thinking of you all and missing you so much.