“Thursday we only worked a half day. The brother of one of the younger men we work with passed away and his burial was that afternoon. He was about thirty years old and had apparently been in good health. On Friday we gave another one of our workers and his family a ride to Shirati. They had a very fat lamb and seemed festive. They were coming to receive a family member of theirs who had been sent to Bugando hospital in Mwanza and had recovered well from some type of cancer. Both cases, the loss and the survival, were a reminder of how greatly needed this health center is, both in terms of quick responses to medical emergencies and treating longer term illnesses without having to separate a family for the duration.”
“After multiple weeks now of working with many of the same people, individuals have begun to settle into roles. Jennifer is devoted to curing the concrete at regular intervals during the day. She never misses a column, even if someone is standing on the other side getting a shower. Johnny, the storekeeper, is somehow always around though rarely visible, so when we need things from storage someone shouts, “Storekeeper! Storekeeper!” until he appears with his usual grin. And on Fridays the Seventh Day Adventists begin literally warming up for a day of worship on Saturday, regaling us with hymns, both solo and unison. It all makes for a really enjoyable work environment.”
“It will be so bittersweet to leave now. I have been here so long and so short; enough time to have built walls, columns, and so many relationships, but not enough time to have built the roof or to be ready to say good-bye to all these new and never expected friends. But it feels right to be passing the torch to Richard. They love to joke with him yet really respect him on the job-site, trying hard and looking for his approval before moving from one step to the next.”
