Our House as of today...

Pictures of the outside anyway ...

I am waiting for curtains and furniture to show you the inside.

Patience for a few more weeks... :-)

 

Front yard

Side yard

Rock garden left

Rock garden right
THANK YOU Dennis!!!

playground ... mom says they need to wait for the grass
to grow in before the sand goes in and the swing goes up

Our East West palm is growing ... as are the kids!

Backyard ... laundry, garden, compost, rabbits ... etc.

One of the best smelling flowers!
Anyone know what it's called??


 

The start of J.Lynn`s ...

May 1st started the newest adventure of our life...

 

... owning a shop which makes homemade bagels, donuts, pizza, salsa, tortillas, tortilla chips, bagel chips, peanut butter, cinnamon buns, bread, cookies, cakes ... and I'm sure I'm missing something. It's also a training centre for 17 women to give them the tools and skills they need to lift themselves out of poverty. i.e. pay the rent every month, feed their kids every day, pay the school fees for their children each semester, not to mention clothes and other things to make basic life happen.

 

I had written in an earlier blog that I had 8 days to learn this new business before we took ownership on May 1st. Well, on May 1st, I was being discharged from the hospital from my second round with malaria.

 

Up until today, it's been a ride - a great one need, but life has had to be managed like never  before. Instead of taking the week of rest at home... I was the first week into a business / ministry. Crazy! I have managed - mostly by going to bed about 8 pm! Getting stronger by the day though.

 

I finally found our camera charged yesterday! So want to share some pictures with you.

We rent a house with a yard. It is a nice setting for our clients
to come and sit, work, meet up with friends and enjoy some food.

Front yard left

Front yard right

The counter ... Noella is there most every day to greet our customers
Look forward to sharing her story with you sometime

Joel and Liz from our team and new intern, Katrina making use
of one of the seating areas.
(Thanks to Liz for helping with a new look!)

Some of the ladies in the kitchen

More of the ladies boiling the bagels.
We make plain, cheese and onion, herb, everything, sesame,
 and cinnamon raisin to sell

The charcoal stoves where we cook about everything ...

Round Two

Of malaria.

April 3rd I found out I had malaria.

I took treatment, had some really crappy days but got better - or so it seemed.

I was feeling good and moving on with life.

Well... this past Saturday night I knew I wasn't doing so great about something so Serge was like - we're off to the doctor in the morning.

I was very weak but otherwise feeling fine.

Turns out my blood pressure had plummeted and so what was going on?

They took blood and I fainted. Thinking that was the first time in my life.

Well... stage 3 malaria. Last stage before cerebral - which is not the good kind! Like there is a good kind I guess. So admitted to the hospital to be put on Intravenous drugs and voila... 72 hours later I was discharged feeling so much better.

Serge was the ultimate husband during my stay as he was the one to look after me. In most all hospitals here there are not enough nurses so you need someone to be staying with you to look after you - help you in anyway you need it. He made sure I was comfortable, not too bored, got to the bathroom on time and brought me food to eat. Even spent the nights with me. Let's just say Serge earned his gold husband star!

The nurses were all saying that there is an epidemic of malaria happening in Rwanda. Seems the mosquitoes have come back here to roost or something. Sure hoping they move on sooner than later.

Malaria seemed to come at the worse time ever... I'm in the hospital and May 1st is our first day of ownership of J.Lynn's, the new business / ministry we're starting. Just keep being reminded that we always need to trust God's timing even when we might think it's the worst timing ever!