February 8, 2007
Letter from Lynda
"What Happened to Me"

My dear friends:

Hi there! Yes, it’s me, FINALLY! Some of you may be wondering whether I fell off the end of the earth or not! The answer is yes. For those of you who may not have ventured onto our website in the past three months; here is what happened to me.

On November 22, 2006, I stepped into an uncovered sewer hole while navigating away from a daladala (a local bus). My left ankle was badly broken: the big bone where it holds the ankle joint broke in two places, and the small bone shattered. The joint was severely dislocated, and I screamed shamelessly for the better part of four hours, until the surgeon administered strong enough painkillers.

Thirty hours later, I went under the surgeon’s knife. No one told me that they now replace plaster casts with surgically implanted metal braces! But, in this heat, I suppose it’s a blessing.

For me, my recovery has been slow because I’ve had to be away from Vijaliwa Vingi. I’ve been staying in the city (Dar es Salaam) at a small hotel (guesthouse), since I was discharged from the hospital on Nov. 28th. In Canada, the idea that a broken leg could keep you away from home for so long is a foreign one. But, staying at our place in the country (Vijaliwa Vingi) was just not a safe option. Unfortunately, VV has no electricity yet, for fans to chase away the summer heat, no level ground for hobbling around on using my crutches, no privacy (in a house with 9 kids!), and particularly, no car to get to physiotherapy or to see the surgeon for follow-up exams of my leg.

Although I think that my recovery is slow, my surgeon says no, that I’ve made excellent progress. In two weeks I’ll have a third set of x-rays, and then I’ll probably be able to put away one of my crutches. But, for me, having to stay put in this guesthouse has been kind of a prison sentence. Oh, they treat me nicely here, and Stephen has done a wonderful job of managing the VV house. But, I’ve been miserable. Struggling with depression, malaria and bronchitis have been the major battles! The malaria caused the ankle to be infected, which was awful.

But, God is good. Clearly, I was forced to spend the time in bed so that I could readjust my thinking on several issues, one being where I should be living. We’ve known for the past two years that I should have a place of my own, instead of living at the house at Vijaliwa Vingi, but the financing was not in place for me to move. Given my present situation, we have now rented a house in the village of Mlandizi (4 km from the home), and I will stay there. We will move my tiny office into the house as well, which is large enough to hold small group meetings, and also set up our sewing centre for training beneficiaries.

Hopefully, this will happen next week. I can hardly wait!!! Remember that I’ve been on my bike for over a year, riding back and forth from Vijaliwa Vingi to my office in Mlandizi each day. (Thank heavens for that, though, because I’ve been grateful for the strength in my right leg as I deal with these crutches.)

Our Vijaliwa Vingi home in Msongola will continue to grow and serve the community. Our program continues: Stephen and Lucas have initiated a thriving football (soccer) game with our kids at the house and the kids from the village. They play every day.

And, our drum and dance program is also underway. We’ve found a teacher who will come on Saturdays, and the drums are being re-skinned, actually, as I write! We’ve also got funds for starting a herd of goats and increasing our poultry production.

Many Thanks to those of you who contributed to these and other projects through our Christmas Wishlist Campaign.

The main reason I haven’t been in touch with you all is that I’ve been unable to go to the Internet. But, thanks to the generosity of a couple of our special angels, I’m now writing to you on my new laptop, which I am able to plug into the guesthouse owner’s modem! Oh, the joys of modern technology! Thanks, Angels!

Well, I think that’s all for now. I’ll go bug the boss now – the owner of the guesthouse, that is, to see if I can plug in. Take care, all of you. Your continued interest and generous support is greatly appreciated.

And thanks for your prayers. Lynda.