Post elections

Photos; Portable sawmill Africa style (notice the steel toed work boots) and Ce'kona and his family on their porch.

It's the day after elections here in Guinea, and things are finally calming down around here. There was a lot of tension right up to the last because it was so close and both guys were claiming they had won and blaming the other guy for cheating. There were riots in several of the bigger towns, with many injuries and a few deaths. We made sure we didn't leave the compound all day yesterday. Finally, about 7:00 PM last night, we heard a great shout go up from the village. To those that understood the culture, it could only mean that Mr. Conde' won. That is a good thing for us, because all of the area around us is pro-Conde', which means it should be pretty peaceful since most towns and villages around us are happy with the outcome. So, as long as something new doesn't from either tribe, we're hoping that the tension will die down and life will return to normal. That was close enough!
The Mercy Ship team, with Jon Ericson taking care of them, managed to get out of Conakry yesterday before the worst of the violence hit. We prayed quite seriously for them and it seemed like God provided a little window to get them out of the capital and through any towns that would have been too serious. We are expecting them to pull through the gate here any minute if the journey went well for them again today.
We were able to get part of the new duplex done today, at least enough for one of the couples to live in. I also finished up the outdoor kitchen that will be needed for the families of the patients that come to cook in. They will only cook on outdoor fires, so this provides a roof over 4 small cooking areas. It's been a fun project.
After church Sunday, we went for a drive to Ce'kona's (One of the maintenance guys here) village to see the new house he is building. A very pretty drive through the bush for about 7 miles, saw his house, his church, and visited with his wife and children for a while; well, if you can call sitting on a porch with another family that you can't speak the same language. Over 30, litterally, kids from the village came to witness the big event. They are quite enthralled with white skin and the wierd things that white people do. It's fun to entertain them.
It seems like there is always something quite unusual here at the clinic. There is a man in one of the patient rooms, he's been here for a couple weeks now, that originally got a badly infected tooth. Since there is no help anywhere around here except for Hope Clinic, he did what most people do and toughed it out. The problem is, the infection spread down into his jaw, out into his skin, and gangrene set in. The gangrene began to move down his neck and chest and they finally got the spreading stopped just below his waist. He goes in for surgery every day to remove more diseased flesh and to treat all of the areas that are open and neading to heal. Dr. Hube is quite surprised that he has survived, and he thinks that he is looking like he might be on the road to recovery. Hopefully the gospel message that is being shared with him and his family each day will begin to make sense to him and the whole family can start over with a new chance at life!