24 Hours - Life is Full

6:00 a.m. Up early on a Saturday. Today it is traveling out into the mountains, taking 10 of Wendy’ students on a hike. Mine is the back-up role, help route find and just another adult along in the event something unexpected comes up. Though on this trip we have the two nurses from Beautiful Gate also along, so any medical emergencies should be well covered.

7:30 a.m. Sort out with Wendy some final traveling logistics. Have breakfast and get lunches packed. Then sort out some details to see our friend from next door off to a medical appointment.

8:00 a.m. We make a quick trip over to the school. Wendy also has two of her students over for the weekend—a couple of days away from the boarding school to focus on some of their school projects. This morning it is off to the school to pick up some additional resources for them.

9:00 a.m. The school van is in less than ready to go, so the departure is delayed, but finally at 9:30 we are off. Wendy, driving the school van with her students, and me following in our car. The weather is threatening. Will it rain?

10:45 a.m. We arrive at the starting point of the trail. Oooh, it is cold in the mountains. By 11:00 we are on the trail. The weather was still threatening and we leave in some light showers.

11:30 The first part of the trail is a sustained steep climb up to a ridge. We have all made it to the top where we find ourselves on the edge of a SNOW squall. Down in the valley we had recently driven through and on a nearby ridge there was a light dusting of snow. To the east the peaks are also dusted in snow.

Snow dusting on the valley below and ridge opposite.

The peaks to the east.

11:40 The sun came out as we walked along the ridge and we had a beautiful hike, with mist rising from and warming earth.

Meandering in the mist.

The string of hikers approaching the summit ridge.

12:00 noon: For the first hike Wendy prudently chose a short one, and by noon the first guys made the summit and we were all up within 10 minutes of them. We spent an hour there, had some snacks, the students visited, and we took pictures. It was a perfect first hike; everyone made it comfortably. About 1:00 the weather started to close in, and a cool wind came up so we headed back down.

2:10 Back at the vehicles. Visiting between the students and local children who showed up to see who it was that was hiking on the mountain. Then load up and on the road. We were back in Maseru before 4:00.

4:30 We are back home. The students at home have been working. It is a cool day. Wendy asks for a fire, so get that started and soon the living room is toasty warm.

7:00 I had a planned trip out to Beautiful Gate to visit with the night shift bo-‘m’e, so off I went. I always find it rewarding to once a month visit the night shift staff. The children are most always sleeping, and it is a time for visiting with staff I have not seen for a while. They are on night shift for a full month before reverting back to day shift for a month.

8:15 Back home. And spend some time chatting via Internet before heading off to bed shortly after 9:00

10:20 The phone rings. It is a friend. Her sister, expecting her first child, is in labour and needs a ride to the hospital. Off I go.

11:00 Sitting at the hospital. The sister is in the examination room. Wendy and Sarah, one of the Beautiful Gate nurses who is also a mid-wife, are on their way. I watch the mice running about, under beds, down the halls, and slipping in and out under doors.

11:45 Wendy and Sarah arrive. The examination results indicate that the sister is dilated 6 cms. Sarah, who volunteers one day a week at the hospital as a mid-wife, had previously obtained permission for Wendy to be present for the birth

12:05 a.m. Family cannot be present for the birth, so I drive our friend back to her home. Wendy ramains with Sarah at the hospital.

12:25 I arrive back home. One of Wendy’s students is still up, working on her extended essay. She had asked Wendy to be her supervisor for the extended essay, and Wendy had given her an ultimatum to have her first draft ready by the end of the weekend or Wendy would ‘dump her’. Most students had completed most of their work on this project during their winter vacation, but this student was just starting.

12:55 I receive a text message from Wendy. At 12:30, a healthy little girl was born. The delivery was almost perfect, except for Wendy. But that is her story to tell.

1:35 Wendy arrives back home.

6:00 a.m. Is it morning already??

Sunday turned out to be just about as hectic a day. We had invited Thabiso's family over. But after church we decided to visit the hospital. We arrived just as our friend's sister and her baby were about to be discharged. It was 1:00 p.m. By about 1:45 all the paper work was done. Less than 13 1/2 hours after delivering her baby, we were driving mom and baby to their home.

Baby Bohlokoa - aged 13 1/2 hrs.

That was time not anticipated in our planning for the day so the rest of the day was pretty hectic, but at the end of it all we both said, "Life is full. But it is also rich. We are so blessed."

~ Benno ~