Running in high gear, Major leaves and some relaxing time!

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We arrived home in Santa Rosa at 11:30 p.m. on Monday the 26th.  We had a wonderful time visiting friends from Southern CA to New Mexico to Colorado and Indiana.  What a great time and boy we were on the move constantly!

We were up early on the 27th as Larry Gail and his son Ethan had driven down from Seattle with equipment and supplies to put in the container.  They brought 150 soccer balls and a lot of medical equipment donated by Province Hospital in Seattle and Uniforms donated by ASB school in Seattle.  They also sent toothpaste, toothbrushes and pencils for our primary school kids after we talked to them about the need.  We helped Larry and Ethan unload the truck and poor Sue and Gene tried to find room in their very crowded garage.  The container is full and ready to send when we have the money to send it.

Larry and Ethan flew back to Seattle on Wednesday and we enjoyed lunch with our Chidamoyo board members and dinner with Victoria--a Chidamoyo alumni who collects supplies for us from her clinic she works in.

Thursday we drove to Sacramento for lunch (2 hours each way!) with Vicki Barber and Cathy Holdener whom I started work with in 1977 at Sutter Memorial Hospital.  We have stayed friends over the years.  My one friend Cathy who came to Zimbabwe last year with her husband Bart and daughter Jen, went to Nursing School with me at UCSF from 1975-1977!  Whenever we get together it seems like we have never been away from each other.  How great to have such great girlfriends!  Vicki always saves a lot of supplies from their O.R. department for me!

We got home in time to go to my brother and sister-in-law's (Dennis and Kathy Rose) house for dinner.  Major has stayed with them the whole time we have been home.  My nephew and his wife (Marc and Derekca)  and 2 sons (Alec and Maximo) and my youngest sister Kim joined us for a farewell to Major.  He ate what he called his Last Supper before going back to his sadza diet!

Major left for home on Friday afternoon from San Francisco.  We received word tonight he got home safe and sound and was so happy to be met at the airport by his wife!  He was getting very homesick and I think he was happy to go home for a rest after all the traveling we did!  It was hard for him to keep up with me!

On Friday night I collapsed and slept for 10 hours straight!  I was totally exhausted!  I am sure Major slept a lot on the airplane.

Saturday we went to see my great nephews, Alec and Maximo in their Halloween costumes before they went out Trick or Treating.  We had dinner together before they left on their candy adventure.

Today I spoke in Cloverdale, CA a few miles north of Santa Rosa.  The minister and some members of the church grew up in my home church in Santa Rosa many years ago.  I had last seen the minister when I was 15 years old!  A lot had happened in those years.  How fun it was to visit with them.

Tomorrow I am going away for 3 days to eastern CA with my brother and sister-in-law to relax at their time share for a few days.  This time with my family is very special, especially as we all get older!

Larry unloading the soccer balls


Gene and Ethan and Larry unloading donated equipment


Jen and Bart with Major



Cathy, Kathy and Vicki with Major




 McCarty family send off for Major

Major ready to go at San Francisco airport


 Maximo and Alec as super heros!

Happy Halloween cut by the young McCarty's





Kathy with Marsha Berry and Mr. and Mrs. Bob Gleason from Cloverdale church


Comments

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