The weekend before Thanksgiving we had a great time! First, we hosted our good friend, Desire Ilunga, from Lubumbashi. He's a church employee in Temporal Affairs and a Bishop in Lubumbashi. He came in on the usual 1 am flight and spent a few days helping us get vendors arranged and discussing physical facilities arrangements. We really didn't know if we would ever see any of our old friends from Lubumbashi again, so this was a real treat. We loved having him come.
We found a very nice hotel near our house for him. That was a great help since we spent most of the week taking him around to see different stores and work on securing vendors. Having him stay close was a real help to all of us. We think this will be our choice of hotels for all visitors.
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On Sunday morning we took Desire to the airport for his 1 am flight. Coming in on the same
plane that he was planning to take out was the area medical advisor and his wife, Keith and Diane Merrill. We dropped off Desire and picked up the Merrills on the same trip. So, we only had to be up until two one night instead of two. Our great taxi driver, Jean, did the driving as we had been advised that going to the airport in the middle of the night, alone, is not wise. Jean has all kinds of connections with the military who police the roads. He calls them and checks the safety of the road and alerts them that he's on his way, so he's a good person to keep us safe.
We had spent time with the Merrills when we were in South Africa so we were looking forward to seeing them again. They were so good to us when Brent had his medical problems and we just love them. It was so fun to see these dear friends again.
These two are amazing and wonderful people. They are serving their 5th mission, all of which have been as medical advisors in third world countries. They have divested themselves of all their material possessions and now just go on missions. They have raised eight children (some natural and some adopted) and been foster parents to 9 other children. They are delightful people. Between having a lot of fun, laughing and enjoying their company and wisdom the men visited and evaluated hospitals and clinics and found places to take our elders when they need medical care.
The New Hospital is the only place in town with a scanner and is the clinic of choice.
Rwagasore is just plain scarey and we won't go there.
University Hospital is not a good choice either, although it has one of the only labs in town.
Poly Clinic is a definite NO.
The road to the best hospital is a little difficult, but it's right by our house, which is good.
Bomerik is brand new and is the hospital we will use for most things, both in and out patient.
It was a big relief for us to have Dr. Merrill's expert evaluation and teachings to help us with the Burundi missionary health issues. Dr. Merrill also spent an evening with our missionaries talking about sanitation and hygiene.
The Merrills stayed with us so we had lots of time to enjoy their company and visit.
Dr. Merrill set up the run-and-shoot picture of the six of us.
We also tried a local Indian Restaurant, Kazana Kahana. We had a wonderful lunch together in a very interesting place, but the rich, spicy food wasn't our favorite, except for the Frogleys, who really enjoy spicy foods.
We love the wonderful Merrills and felt like they were family by the time their trip ended.
Spending time with our old friends from L'ishi and South Africa this week was a real treat!
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