JWs at last

We heard on the news this morning that if the island doesn’t have a lot of rain this week, they will have to put sprinkler and hosepipe restrictions on some areas (not Jamestown). We are praying that the Lord will send lots of rain.

To give a report back from the doctor’s appointment yesterday, the following: After a 45-minute wait in the waiting area, which consisted of a line of chairs in a passage, we saw Dr Topliss, the South African doctor. He poked Caleb’s belly button a bit, then said that it might still close by itself, but since it hasn’t closed up now already, it’s not very likely to. Unfortunately though, he couldn’t do much more, not being a surgeon, so he phoned the surgeon and made an appointment for us to see her on Wednesday at 11 am. She will decide whether it must be attended to or not. It does need to be repaired if it doesn’t heal itself, because there is a slight danger of the bowel coming through the opening and getting twisted or caught. Just to refresh you on what the problem actually is, the muscle which formed around the umbilical cord when Caleb was a baby never closed properly after the cord had fallen off a week or so after birth, so he has the squelchy bit that pops out as soon as it has been pushed in. If it does need repairing now, it is apparently quite a simple procedure; an incision is made in the skin, then the muscle wall is stitched together like a double-breasted blazer (one side over the other), then put back and the skin stitched closed. I forgot to ask whether they would try to cosmetically modify Caleb’s belly button so that it looks like a belly button and not a scar in the middle of his torso, but I will discuss it with the surgeon on Wednesday. Caleb would probably have to be in hospital overnight. During our 45-minute wait, though, the boys boldly chatted to all and sundry. There was an ancient lady seated next to us who had been waiting to see the optometrist, who seemed a little hard of hearing (the patient, not the optometrist) but had no problems conversing with the boys because they are so loud. Aaron, particularly, is very fond of talking LOUDLY and we have to often remind him to stop shouting! They chatted about homeschooling, dolphins, shoes and anything else they could possibly think of. I’m just relieved that they didn’t ask any embarrassing questions about her moustache.

We had Steve, Maureen, and Priscilla, the optometrist, over to dinner last night. Priscilla (or “Cilla” as she’s called) arrived recently for her 3-month stint. She comes every year for three months, gets all the optometry done, and then is back in the UK for the rest of the year. I made my usual “uh-oh-we’re-having-dinner-guests-what-must-I-cook” lasagna and garlic bread. No salad, but I explained that there would normally be one accompanying the meal but I couldn’t get any ingredients, and they all nodded knowingly.

This morning was the Good News Club. I was quite nervous about it, feeling ill-prepared about the gospel message and still didn’t have any sort of activity when I woke up this morning, but it all came together in the end. The singing part was fine, though there was one boy who refused to sing the right words, and sang his own version VERY loudly. But they are enjoying the new songs we’re teaching them, and all love Nick’s banjo. I did the teaching and they all sat and listened very attentively, for which I was grateful. The other leaders felt that it was a good gospel presentation, with all the correct elements included (heaven, sin, Jesus’ blood, repentance, clean heart, and growth). I thought it went well. I spoke a lot! Somehow it just seemed to all come, I think when I get going with children I can really talk. But also I’m very sure that the Lord was helping me. For the activity, which is usually drawing a picture relevant to the lesson, we made little wordless books, colouring in pieces of plain white paper and stapling them together. One boy (not the singer) said he would keep his in his pocket all the time to have it with him. I will be doing every third lesson, so it’s not a great pressure. I’m excited about the club!

Almost directly after the club, while we were wondering what to do next, two ladies came to the door. After exchanging pleasantries, one lady pulled a “Watchtower” magazine out of her bag, so we very quickly invited them in. We had been wondering if and when the JWs would come knocking on our door! Nick was very gracious in his attempts to show them the inconsistencies of their religion and the errors in their translation, but of course they don’t really listen to the other side, they just wait for an opening to show another scripture which backs them. Nick could have spoken circles around them, which he didn’t, but as it was they couldn’t answer his questions, so they have written them down and will research them. We are praying that the Lord will speak to them while they are looking for their own answers! We hope they come back. It was very brave of them to come to the Baptist Manse – obviously they know our position! They stayed for over an hour.