Dentophobia

April 18-23
Our week remained in the steady routine of visits of neighbors, of kindergarten, heaps of laundry & finding final homes for our things. You'd think by now I'd have it all settled. But, friends, this is Ghana. :) As Jon sees shelves, baskets or pantry items along the street, he stops for them. It different having my things picking things out & delivered! Choices are few here, & he's making all the right ones.:)

It makes me miss all the bargain places I used to haunt. And, of course, all the yard sale finds & laughter of sister-friends that went so well with the cool mornings & hot coffee cups. As my control over just what is filling my home decreases, I'm finding my lack of choice matters less. At moments I feel wistful for my old house, my old (literally !) things, but I'm finding contentment in having needs met. Unlike making a home in Pennsylvania, there just isn't so many ways to meet those needs. ;)

Goals this week include artwork hung, family photos unearthed & creativity brought forth! I've got the glue gun in sight & I'm about to google making decoupage glue. Results will be posted soon..:)

Dear Dr. Richards of Lititz Pa, kindly patched a tiny cavity on Max's left first molar in January. Max struggled to survive the ordeal. ;0 Jon shared the chair and the procedure was completed. That equally tiny filling managed to fall out recently. We took the recomendation of friends & left for Osu, Accra & Spaes Dental Clinic. We thought we were home free when we found the clinic and it had a parking lot...er, well, a large driveway. It even had air conditioning in the waiting room & tp in the bathroom. All signs of a respectable business, folks! :)

We were 20m late and ended up waiting another hour to be seen. Sure enough, for GHc 65 that filling would be replaced. We were happy it was not worse. Happy ended just about then. I heard a few squeals from the back room, but was confident Jon was handling it. The assistant came out & ushered me back into the room. While I had been waiting, the power went out, leaving the dental work area steaming hot. Max was sweating, gagging, wiggling & crying while 2 hygienists & one female dentist tried to calm him so she could finish the filling.

Now, let's be clear. I did feel compassion for my dentaphobic son. But as they were almost finished I was certain he could tough it out. It wasn't pain, but panic in his tears, heightened by instuments being poked into his mouth. "Hey,Max, " They called & coaxed. "Hey, you stop. Oh. Oh, you stop, little boy!"There was tongue clicking & head shaking at him and now at me (not at Jon :) ). Elle was backed against the wall shrieking & hollering "NO, I don't want a shot! Mommy!" She was sure those ladies in white dresses were nurses. She didn't relax til we were in the car! Rory, thankfully, stood by watching. I heard him say, "Max, are you okay?" I hope he forgets what he saw when it's his turn for the chair!

In Ghana, too often,obedient children result from switching or beating. ( "Hey,I will beat you" is a commonly heard threat.)It is accepted and doled out by the nearest adult, not just the parents. They were tisk-tisking at me because American children are thought to be spoiled & American mothers to be pushovers. I would give this defense on their behalf. The children, for their own safety, need to be obedient. Unsafe conditions and lack of access to emergency medical care mean their little lives depend on being obedient. Their obedience is also needed around the house & caring for siblings. The young girls are expected to clean, & prepare food. The boys & girls sell food or kerosene along the highway after school, steps away from mad tro tro drivers.

Anyway, thoughts of the mall & some motherly comfort got Max through the rest. That filling is one rough lump of cement! We are praying it holds. ;0

It had been a successful day in Accra. We left the house at 8am, visited the dentist, Shoprite, the mall food court, Melcom (Ghana Walmart), & Sarlinesta (Ghana discount grocery) & were home by 5pm. That is why the list is never done in one day. I miss being Pennsylvania effcient.

Below is Max enjoying Pringles from Shoprite. Real Pringles. He even shared them and saved a few for the next day.

This is Akus & Obed. They have enjoyed playing on our porch a few times this week with their big brothers Daniel & Oliver. Akus and Elle love to giggle together and look at books. Daniel (in picture background) is 4 & loves to kick ball with Max. Oliver is 10 years old & in charge of all of them. He takes good care of the little ones as they come & go. They often giggle to each other in Twi, laughing at the obruni Mommy. Although this week, it feels a little more as if they are laughing with us, not at us. I like the way it feels. :)

Rain clouds are easily spotted in the bright, hot African sky. Max loves to announce the coming rain & when the first rain drop comes, the children begin to beg to go out. They cannot resist the cool feeling of being soaked in the rain. I am usually not far behind them. It makes me feel young & silly, to be out in the rain. But trading sweat for comfortable coolness makes it well worth it.

A voice is calling me away, back to reality. Young Oliver is at my door again. He comes craving attention & our football. More than once I have found him listening at the porch door while we are eating or doing school. Boys here have so few men of God as role models. Our prayer is that Jesus will put a thirst in him, not just to haunt the obruni house, but to seek the Jesus we serve.