Dear

When we went to pick up Pawn's grandmother from the village, we found out her little cousin, Dear, would be going with us as well. We were concerned because she was crying. She was scared that she wouldn't get to return to the village that night and that she would have to stay in the city. Lesson learned from watching the situation--always be careful what you promise your children. Sometimes we say things that we can't control in order to console.

When we got to the hospital it didn't take the doctors long to decide to admit her to the hospital which meant Dear would be coming to spend the night with us. She warmed up after a while, but it was difficult at first. She was really disappointed that she wasn't going to be going back to the village, but we took her to the market and tried to show her a good time.

They ended up keeping Pawn's grandmother in the hospital two nights. Pawn had the opportunity to share the Gospel with Dear. Please pray that she will choose to repent and believe!
When we took Pawn's grandmother home, we spent the afternoon in the village visiting with Pawn's aunts. Rusty took off on a hike through the village. He disappears on us and finds the fun. :) He always finds interesting things and meets interesting people. He found these old tools hanging on the side of this house. He would love to have some of these to have at our house too.
He hiked back and found this waterfall.
Pawn's aunt fixed us some lunch on the fire you see behind Pawn. I'm always amazed at how they can squat and cook beside a fire like that. I've been incredibly spoiled with my kitchen counters. We had a couple of eggplant dishes...I don't think I've met an eggplant dish yet that I didn't like.
It seems that I always have to check out the facilities when we go to a village. I mean it's usually an all-day trip so it's probably inevitable. One wall on this one was not complete. It had been partially covered with blankets. I just walked in and made sure no one lived behind the room. I just saw mountains and open fields so it was safe.
As we were leaving these kids showed up and started posing for pictures. They were all saluting me and acting silly. :) The boy on the left started pulling his shirt up, and I didn't know what he was about to do. This was the last picture because after this one he pulled down his shorts to use the bathroom. Of course standing on the edge probably seemed like as good a place as any to this little boy.

Pawn's grandmother has been able to stay in her village; we have not heard any updates lately. They found some test results that let them know what is causing some of her issues. They're continuing to monitor her water retention. Thank you for your prayers!