From March 15

Today was the first day I have been able to walk around Marulaon in almost three weeks. Limping slowly down the path with Katherine towards Chairman Hensi and Nancy's house felt SO good! When Eta, Julet and I made play dough, I gave them our alphabet cookie cutters for the Kindy to use along with the cookie cutters. This afternoon, I found the letter S inside the bag with the shape cookie cutters, so I took the missing letter over to Eta. She laughed and told me they had been substituting the the number two for the S. She also said that the kids love the play dough! I'm always hesitant to introduce things from our American culture, so I'm thankful that the play dough seems to be a good fit for Marulaon.

Skita's house is right next to Nancy and Hensi's house, so I got to story with her, too. She told me that as soon as she saw me coming down the path, she hopped up to meet me. Her sister, Ngaham, and their mom also came over. They all asked about my leg and told me I had “cut down” (lost weight) since I saw them last. Ngaham even patted my hips! I don't think I've lost weight, especially since I've just been sitting around the house for the last three weeks, but it was fun to laugh with my friends again. (I don't recommend malaria as a weight loss program.) 

I asked Skita if she had heard anything from Duke, the man who we asked to draw pictures for the story of Jesus' birth. She said he needed more paper, so I headed back to the house to get some paper. Skita has another sister, Sugan, who is going to Fly Harbor school tomorrow where Duke teaches. As I turned to go, Skita's mom asked if I had any aspirin, so I told her I would grab some along with the paper. Katherine was happily banging on ru (a kind of nut) shells and asked to stay with her friends and Aunties. So, I hobbled back to the house and returned as quickly as I could with the paper and the meds. Oh, I've missed visiting with my friends, and I know I've lost some vocabulary and comprehension of Lavukaleve while I've been cooped up in the house. Hoping I can walk around a little bit more tomorrow.