SUBJECT: Thanksgiving - Missing Home

AUTHOR: Betsy Burgdorff, her husband Ted, and three girls - Heidi, Kristen, and Kara, work with her sister Becky Gates and family in Guyana.

DATE: December 3, 1996

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, because we surely did! It took us hours, but we fixed a delicious meal. It was the first meal we have eaten in Kaikan where everybody ate all they wanted, and there was still food left over!

Our Thanksgiving Table

We had real mashed potatoes, "turkey" and dressing (David had brought some dried vegemeat from Trinidad before he left, and Becky made some delicious dressing), cranberry sauce (brought from Trinidad), carrot salad, "apple" pie (made from green papaya), pudding, and Koolaid. We all feasted till we were stuffed.

There have been 20-30 or more men every day working on the new house, but I guess they decided to take the day off, because no one was here. The downstairs kitchen area was basically done, and they had built a nice big table and bench the day before, so we decided to have Thanksgiving dinner in the new house. The girls decorated the table beautifully, and it was wonderful to all be able to sit down together at the table to eat, something we hadn't done since we left the States. Afterwards we were all relaxing, enjoying all the space, when suddenly we heard the boat coming with a load of lumber. We all went into a panic mode

Putting up the Kitchen

and grabbed dishes, pots and pans, decorations, candles, tablecloths, extra chairs we'd brought over, etc., and made a mad dash over to the other house. By the time they finished unloading the lumber, there was no trace that we had been there. But then the men left and never did come into the house that day. We decided to sleep upstairs in the new house that night. They haven't put up any inside walls yet, so it's just one big room upstairs. We've been so claustrophobic in the little house. You can't even open the windows in the little house. You can only look out through little slits. Se we enjoyed spreading out to sleep.

Something else happened that day. I decided to adopt "Smiley." (No, not a baby, a dog!) Smiley is about the most pathetic looking dog I've ever seen. He's been hanging around the house almost since the first day we arrived. He looks like a living skeleton, hair very sparse and dirty, sores all over him, knock kneed. One side of his mouth is missing, so you always see his teeth (hence the name Smiley), pathetically ugly! (A little smaller than Cheyanne.) All the neighbors tried to help us by chasing him away, throwing rocks at him. Once we even saw him in a canoe with some people, heading down river, but the next day he was back, looking on hungrily as we fed the other pets. Finally I could stand it no longer. I figured we either had to kill him or adopt him. In asking around, we found out that no one owned the dog. It seems his owner, who lived 2 hours downstream in San Juan, had abandoned him here in Kaikan when he flew out to Georgetown. We also found out the story of his mouth a couple days ago. I guess he used to steal eggs, and his owner decided to teach him a lesson. He boiled an egg, then put it in the dog's mouth and tied his mouth shut. I cringe every time I think about it! It must have burned his mouth so bad that it got gangrenous, and he ended up with a big hole. Poor little Smiley!

Anyway, I made my announcement on Thanksgiving morning that I was officially adopting Smiley and gave him a big bowl of food. He was so happy! Lina thought I had lost my marbles! So did all the neighbors, who continued to throw rocks and try to chase him away for several days. I think they thought I was joking when I said I wanted to keep the dog. I figured that I came to Kaikan to try and help whoever came to my door asking for help, and Smiley certainly was one of God's creatures who needed help. So we gave him a bath the next day, but his fur has stuff in it that wouldn't wash out. I think it will take several baths and weeks of fattening up before he's presentable. I tenderly pat his head, and he joyfully follows me around.

Well, what I hoped wouldn't happen is happening. Patients are starting to flock to us. Yesterday was the worst so far, with 10 people coming for help. We treated 6 of them for malaria. A bunch of them came from San Juan 2 hours away.

Canoe on the River

A neighbor, a 6-year-old girl, was the sickest, with a temp of 105.2. We had all the girls sponging her off to lower the temp. We're fairly sure hers is malaria, since she and her family were in the hospital a month ago with malaria. They said she didn't take the pills well, since she can't swallow pills, and they are terribly bitter when crushed. We crushed it up yesterday and mixed it with banana, peanut butter, and sugar, and it was still awful! It took me an hour to get it down her, but I wouldn't let her go home till she finished it.

We had a black man a few days ago complaining of cramps in his legs. Ted gave him some advice on what to do and mentioned that low magnesium or potassium could cause cramping. He said he had seen multivitamins for sale at the store, and maybe that would help him. A few hours later he returned and said he had bought some magnesium, and he proudly held up a bottle of Milk of Magnesia. Ted tried to keep a straight face as he told the guy to take only a small amount, or it would cause diarrhea. We all had a good laugh over that one!

A lady came yesterday who said she had seen our first patient, the lady with the snake bite, and that she was doing well. She said word was spreading about our wonderful medicine. I'm happy to hear our patient is doing well, as I have thought of her often. She doesn't live in Kaikan. Unfortunately, the only "wonderful medicine" we've dispensed has been some charcoal, Ibuprofen, and malaria pills. We've been here just 2 weeks, and our bottle of Ibuprofen is half gone already! We feel very inadequate, but are doing the best we can with our few resources and God's help. The book "Where There Is No Doctor" has proven a tremendous help. And now I have a big favor to ask, if someone would like a specific need to help us with. In the back of the book "Where There Is No Doctor" is a list of some other books that I am very intersted in. One is "Where There Is No Dentist," and the other is "Disabled Village Children" which I am especially interested in. The reason for my special interest in the second book is that we have at least 3 children in Kaikan who need special help. There are 2 children, an 8-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy, who can't speak, at least not very well. From what I can tell, they are both very hard of hearing, but not completely deaf. The boy talks all the time, but apparently you can't understand what he says. They attempt to communicate with signs, but I don't think their communication is totally effective all the time. There is also an adult, the brother of the storekeeper's wife, who is deaf and dumb. I would love to teach a class on sign language to those who are interested. Somewhere in my house is a book on sign language. Whoever comes to visit, please bring it. Also with my Pathfinder stuff I had a packet, wrapped in plastic, on the Sign Language Honor, which I would like.

Children in Sabbath School

The other disabled child is a 4-year-old boy, who has been disabled since birth, probably something like cerebral palsy. His mother says he eats only liquids, and he can't walk or talk. I haven't seen him yet, but Becky saw him last Sabbath. She said he's very stiff, and his head looks smaller than normal, but his family has obviously taken good care of him. A few days ago Kara said, "I don't have anyone to play with!" I said, "There are lots of little girls your age here to play with." She said, "Yes, but they don't know how to play the way I do," and 2 big tears rolled down her cheeks. Poor little Kara! I never thought she would experience culture shock this way!

Christmas Tree in Kaikan

Becky and I have been helping in the children's Sabbath Schools. The cradle roll, kindergarten, and primary all meet together to start, then split up for lesson study. There were 40 kids last Sabbath, and not one picture, felt, or prop of any kind. No wonder they have a hard time getting the kids to pay attention! I brought my set of felts, but they are in a duffle bag in Georgetown. We requested that they be sent, so we'll see if anything comes on the plane today.

Two days ago we decorated the Christmas trees. I brought 2 tiny 6" trees, and Bonnie and I bought some tiny decorations, little balls, candy canes, garland, star to go on top, and a small set of battery-operated lights for each tree. I had kept it all hidden, so everyone was surprised and had fun decorating the trees. We've been practicing songs with all the kids for a Christmas program.

I am missing e-mail greatly! We've had no news from home since we left Georgetown. I hope everything is well there. We miss you all very, very much. We haven't even had much radio contact with anyone. Every morning at 7:00 Ted gets on the radio, but I think we've only made contact about 3 times.

Becky sends her greetings. Since we're very busy and she writes to David, it's hard to write again to you all. So since I write to you, she'll just send greetings in my letter.

Love to all,

Betsy

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Last Updated: March 10, 1997

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