John's Kedesh News

School Holidays

John Wickes — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:05:03 GMT

As Alice Cooper once sang 'Schoooooool's out for Sum-mer!'

Here it is end of Oct to beginning of Feb.

We begin to have a new routine for the boys. One of the biggest changes is that as the days get longer and hotter it is necessary to get up earlier. For instance today by noon it was 100/38 degrees and going. I personally don't want to do anything in that heat. So we get up at about 4 30am when it is a more pleasant mid 80's. We start off by doing a run around our property and obstacle course 1k+ 5/8's mile. Then we water and work in the garden for about an hour then house cleaning. By then everyone is hungry and we have breakfast.

We have made our own slings and have target practice.

David was the sharp shooter for the day, Goliath knew better then show his face.

Left over meat from a party we had last night for the beginning of Summer holidays were the prizes.

We now have several projects we work on for the rest of the bearable day. We are renovating our outside kitchen area

The boys are earning money by making stepping stones that we will use as flooring, and side walk (American English) pavement (British English).

you can see the little houses they built for themselves for Sukkot in the back, they are still sleeping in them.

Because the schools are very strict about hair some of the boys use holidays to primp

some are just happy to be here!

We also plan on having sport competitions football (soccer), Ultimate, volleyball baseball, in the afternoon but as of yet it has been too hot.

Summer in a nutshell!

New Shoes!

John Wickes — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 13:30:42 GMT

A group in Japan sent over a large amount of shoes of which we got some!!

Thanks!

Mataquenha

John Wickes — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 13:26:45 GMT

Matequenha, (Ma-ti-cain-ya) not sure how one spells it but everyone has it

. Tungiasis medical term. Little tiny fleas -yes that is the point of a needleno bigger then a speck of dust.

They burrow under your first layers of skin munch on you and make a nest usually on your toes. But they aren’t fussy, under your toenail or the cracks in your skin of your heal will do just fine. Even just the normal wrinkle in the sole of your foot- if you have good foot hygiene and cracks aren't available. Your sign that this is happening to you is -an itch that you may or may not notice, that turns into a furious itch that you just want to cut your toe off to be done with it. If you bump your toe and the pain shoots up to the razor blades in the back of your eyeballs is a good tale tale sign as well.

After a day or two if you haven't already figured it out they are munching your flesh, your toe may get a bit sore and red and you’ll wonder what the deal is. With untrained eye you probably won’t see anything until they are well ripe. By then you have a red weeping spot with something obviously under your skin. Pull out a needle and pick at it like you would an infected splinter and what you will find is a BB or even pea sized sack full of little eggs. If you caught it at its starting stages the sack is as big as a grain of sand. Don’t break the sack it gets messy, eggs all over everywhere, the ruptured sack is hard to get out. The sign that you took it all out nicely -sack and all- is that you have a nice crater in your skin to heal up. If you did not notice anything or avoided picking it out (which many people don’t) that sack breaks open and the fleas forge new frontiers on your feet, the great toe rush. Among the local population many people don’t bother with them (WHY I don’t know) so it is common to see people walking around very gingerly, toes curled up, in obvious pain their entire foot just one huge sore, literally dislodging the toenails.

I heard a story of a guy that died of Matequenha, he was a person that lived on the streets and had it on his entire body. They overwhelmingly are on your feet but will go anywhere they come in contact with. For instance under your finger nail is common as well (remember you were absentmindedly scratching your feet? Don't bite your finger nails!) We had a plague of these a few years ago and they have come back again. I was picking 10 a day out of my sore feet. They are miserable creatures. Oh an added bonus is that once you have picked them out -the sore/crater is a neon sign yelling 'VANCANCY' to all the others. You know that crater you have now from picking one out? (or any other sore on your foot)-- really saves the work for the mataquenha having to bore into your skin-- quite convenient for him really!! Nothing as smooth as moving into a preburrowed home. The only thing I have found that gets rid of them is putting your feet in dog dip. The locals will soak their feet in gasoline, or buy insecticide (powder or spray) put it on their feet then put their feet in plastic bags for a few hours.

So a past time just as you tuck yourself into bed or really anytime -looks like yoga- a person in all sorts of positions closely trying to see or pick, at the bottom of their feet, or between their toes or the back of their heel.

Like monkeys grooming each other picking out mataquenha works as well

WOW

John Wickes — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 06:33:13 GMT

We were asked to make a wish list of everything we would like to have (realistically therefore we didn't ask for the plane). We just got word it was all approved. So here shortly Kedesh will have a small herd of cows, farm equipment (corral, plows for the cows...), irrigation system for the farm (water tower, pump, subterranean pipes...) all new kitchen equipment (industrial fridge stove/oven deep fryer) and a couple computers, and sewing machines.

Thank you Kim and The Foundation!

A donor gave us about 175 USD and wanted us all to have steak! A big thank you. John the cook drooling, all that meat made my head a littl fuzzy

John Wickes — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:47:01 GMT

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What no rice or cabbage? Becareful you might get a bit on your shirt-- Raposo

John Wickes — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:14:07 GMT

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Ya that's right I'm gonna eat the whole thing-Fernando

John Wickes — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:11:32 GMT

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Stan, uhh, I think you got a little piece stuck between your teeth, ya right there!

John Wickes — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:09:52 GMT

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Pedu seems content, Shakira is going to keep is eye on his steak, if not his whole face.

John Wickes — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:08:29 GMT

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We had Gango's family over with us. Julia, Tonica, Moses, Flora, and their niece Mami

John Wickes — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:06:02 GMT

Juli wants to know if this is it.

John Wickes — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:03:28 GMT

Baily the dog wants part of the action but I don't think Manuel is ready

John Wickes — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:01:07 GMT

I don't think you should try and take Albertos steak

John Wickes — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 13:59:54 GMT

The goats like our new tables.

John Wickes — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 17:18:17 GMT

School holidays have started here and we now have 4 months to keep the boys busy. We have divided the boys up into 4 groups, carpentry, welding steel work, cement, and the little guys. The carpenters have started making picnic tables

John Wickes — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 07:30:42 GMT

they also made a chair, each one for himself, out of the old tables that were falling apart

John Wickes — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 07:29:00 GMT

Thesteel workers are making a merry go round that will be a water pump to our water tower.

John Wickes — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 07:27:13 GMT

The welding steel workers are making charcoal stoves for our 'widows'.

John Wickes — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 07:23:29 GMT

The cement workers are making park like tables and benches that will be scattered around Kedesh to give it a more home feel.

John Wickes — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 07:21:56 GMT

The little guys are digging up mud putting them in miniature brick molds, firing them and making thatched chicken huts for around the property. Our chickens are doing well, but being bantam, they tend to put there eggs in their own chosen place. We are

John Wickes — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 07:20:33 GMT