Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Zanzibari's, are you ready? Here I come!

I know, I know, it hasn't been a month since I last posted, but I'm going to again anyway!

Ever since I was a midwife student, one of the things I longed to do was to serve missionaries. I'm a missionary kid, and my parents had four children on the mission field. I was one of those children. So I know the desires of some missionaries to just stay put for the big happening. And I also know that some missionaries just don't have access to good care during labor and delivery. So, one of the goals I have had is to deliver babies for missionaries.

I have that chance this year. Bob and Rachael Gwassa, for whom I delivered their first baby on January 1, 2007, are now missionaries on the island of Zanzibar, off the east coast of Africa. They left to go there in December of 2007. Now they are expecting a second child, and we would all like it if I could be there again for this birth.


I will be leaving for Zanzibar on December 1 or 2 of this year, as Rachael's due date is December 12. I plan to be back home for Christmas!!


I will not be receiving a fee for this service, and I am asking for donations to cover the cost of supplies and the trip to Zanzibar. This will take approximately $2000. If you would like to help with this mission of love, you may send money to: Betsy Robinett, 509 S. Bell St., De Leon, TX 76444. If you would like for your gift to be tax-deductible, you may make your check out to Teach the Children International. If you would like more information, you may contact me at mrsnett@cctc.net.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

The Whirlwind

Wow! Time does get away.


Let me catch you up. There has been a lot going on...


The baby we were waiting for did come. And he was worth the wait. His was a very nice birth that had a surprise ending as far as where he was actually born -- not the bedroom but the bathroom. When he was ready to descend, he didn't fool around any at all. There were only three minutes from going to the toilet to the birth. Whew!


Then, Jackie and I went to see the kids. First we went to Lake City, Colorado. Shari and Emily reserved a cabin for us there. Lake City is so nice. It's small; you can walk anywhere in town. The elevation is approximately 8,600 feet. There are legends of cannibal guides, and there are old mines, and there are 5 "14er's" close by. "14er's" are mountains that are above 14,000 feet in elevation. We opted to climb Crystal Mountain, just behind Lake City, with an elevation of 12, 990-something feet. We didn't make it to the crest, or to Crystal Lake, but we had a very strenuous walk. We wobbled back down to our car and went to the local bakery for some much-needed lunch!



We went to the Hard Tack Mine and were led around by the guide. It was very cold and dark, informative and enjoyable.


We also took in a play while we were there. The theater is really small, and the chairs are folding chairs. The play was pretty good; we were definitely entertained. The actors were local, and the playwright for the play ("Anchor Baby") is from Colorado Springs. And the main actor reminded me of my webhost, Fred!! He both looked and acted like him.




We stayed in Lake City for two days, made sure Timothy and Emily are doing well, and then we headed toward Natalie in North Carolina.





Um. That was a long trip. We left at 6 a.m. It took us until 2:30 p.m. to get to the Colorado-Kansas border. Then, oh, Kansas is flat! And the same for hundreds of miles. Every 15 miles or so, you see a town in the distance with a white grain elevator, one or two church spires, some trees, and a water tower. But the state is very neat and clean, I'll give those farmers that. We crossed into Missouri at about 10 p.m., and went halfway through that state before we quit for the night in Columbia.


The next day we went through the rest of Missouri, then cornered through Illinois and Kentucky into Tennessee, stayed there for a while, and finally reached the Smokies. Ah, the Smokies! They hug you to their bosom! They are such welcoming mountains. I love them! With fog curling around every hollow, and trees covering all available space. We crossed over into North Carolina, and went to Natalie's camp, just south of Morganton. There we spent the night.

The next morning we took Natalie and journeyed all the way to the East Coast of North Carolina, a little spot called Swanquarter, where the ferry for Ocracoke Island leaves four times daily during the summer. It's a two-and-a-half hour ferry ride, and we sailed into Silver Lake Harbor on Ocracoke at about 6:30 p.m.



We made camp at the National Park and went out on the sand for a while. Oh that's a lovely island! The crabs scuttled around in the dark, scaring Natalie. We saw the lighthouse from our beach, a neat thing in the dark. We ate lobster and fish, and the next day we jumped the waves and scoured the sand for seashells. Jackie found a big sand dollar! He got the prize. It was a lovely sand dollar, a great memento of our day there.


During the hot part of the day, we went to the village and looked through the biggest part of their shops, got wonderful coffee confections at the coffee shop, and had a picnic where we could see some guys cleaning the catch they had made that day. Then back to the beach, to lay out on the sand after jumping some more waves.


We had to leave really early the next day, as all the ferries but that one were booked. Yes, you have to make reservations for the ferry. So we left at 6 a.m. and we took Natalie back to camp, and then continued on our way home. I felt that we needed to get back by July 14, as I was on call for another midwife who was leaving that day. So we bedded down around Commerce, Georgia.


Late that night/early the next morning, we got the phone call. It was 2:45 eastern time. Jackie's mother, our dear, dear Elsie, had just passed away. Saddened, we continued on our journey early the next morning. I know our server at the Cracker Barrel restaurant where we were having breakfast was really worried about me. I was crying all over my pancakes, and trying not to. She just said, and repeated it, "Just pray about it." Well, it was a good hard thing, and you just have to cry when you need to.


Natalie flew to Dallas that day, and got there before us. We picked her up on our way back to De Leon, arriving here at midnight. Emily and Timothy drove in from Lake City the next day. So we were all together. The funeral was Wednesday, July 16, and we all said good-bye to a grand lady. She is in no pain now, and with Jesus. We're glad, but we miss you, Elsie.


The kids all drove back to their respective states on Saturday. So that brings me up to date. Waiting for the next babies...