Friday, October 1  

Right now I am so thankful for generators. After a long while tonight without the electricity, the generators finally kicked in and we have air circulation in our room!  Woohoo! The humidity tonight is around 70% and it’s about 94 degrees. This is the equivalent to 118 degrees! 

After vespers tonight we said goodnight to the kiddos and then got invited into Olie’s room. She is a woman with the biggest heart! (She also is very talented with craft things and cooking.) A small after-vespers chat became a multiple hour story, learning and eating time. That’s the way this culture is. She first told us the story of her family’s situation. Olie has 5 sisters. Her second sister is divorced and her sister’s child lives with her parents. Her oldest is married and her 3 younger sisters are in school. Since they have no brothers, they have to work to help support their parents. Supporting the parents is usually the son’s job. Just recentlyher dad broke is back and had to have surgery but, they think that somehow, in the operation process, they cut his esophagus so now the food and water seeps out into his body instead of all going to his stomach. They don’t have enough money to pay for another operation. So Olie being not married and not in school has the job of caring for her family. She has such an incredible attitude. When she talked about giving her money to her sisters when they need help and to her parents she’s filled with joy! She said, “When I give to other’s, and I see that they are happy, it makes me happy too.” She loves to give to others and told us that she always thinks of what Jesus must have felt on the cross. Nothing we can do compares to what He did for us, she said. And that example is what she truly tries to follow.  She is such an amazing woman and her attitude is so positive! Her story was so so incredible to listen too!