It's a quiet Friday afternoon. I love Friday afternoons here...traffic is lighter on Fridays and our day is more relaxing overall. Enjoyed church today. It's always fun to see who will be leading music. Today our friend Peter Heath(married to my fun friend Krista, who bascially runs our homeschooling group) from Canada was joined by two other singers...a South African gal and I believe the other from Nigeria..and 3 amazing Filipino musicians... Terrific music. I think it was the first time that someone did not stand up as new to the church...and say...I'm from Malaysia, or Kenya, or Lebanon, or Myanmar...( Now, we must be adjusting... when it's ABNORMAL to us that someone isn't standing up and introducing themselves in a wonderful accent... ).
Had another first this week. .Our friend from Austrailia..Tess was in the hospital with pneumonia. First of all they kept her 5 days. That struck us as odd as in the US we get drugs and bam! head on home ASAP. Anyway, Mike and I went to see her. ( I didn't want to go alone as I'd never been to the hospital and it was kind of daunting to think about parking, and finding the room and all.) So we set out....We spent about 30 minutes with Tess. The hospital, although new, actually reminded us of the 60's in the US. Lots of drab, vinyl tiles. marked walls, chipped doors and so on. She didn't have a TV in her room...newspapers were piled beside her. She related to us that during the day two workers came in and were sanding the walls to paint...leaving the debris on the floor when they left...All of this happening while she and her roommate are convalescing...right there!!! Hmmm.. Of course the real oddity of all of this is better understood if you compare the outside of this new building to what we saw inside. The building is beautiful. It is covered in carved stone Islamic latticework. I was really kind of shocked at the disparity between the inside and outside...(ok, so obviously, in some things I'm a slow learner...I believe I've mentioned before about Hollywood and studio movie lots around here ....)
By the way, we also visited another friend who is in for a week...She shares her room with 2 others not just 1. They had a TV...on one wall, not sure how all 3 could see it as their beds were at strange angles. Her adventure included several Arab women showing up at about 11pm to chat for three hours.They came in after the security guard left...She didn't sleep well. :)
Before we left Tess...I asked her, "How's the food in here?" Tess, always polite..in her soft Austrailian accent..."Ohhh, the foooddd....well, Not too stunning actually." Mike and I just laughed out loud....I bet it isn't too stunning. I just bet.
Tess is home now. Doing much better. My friend Jill should get out early next week. Sure am praying we stay healthy. :)
ps. if i get by the hospital and have the camera with me..i'll get a picture for you all. that will require remembering..but i'll try.
Mattie
