Another Moment of Modern Medicine InterConnecting with the Internet

I was seeing a two year old boy yesterday, when the Mom mentioned that he was eating Paint Chips.

For me, the immediate concern was whether or not their was Lead in those paint chips. And the most immediate information I needed was... "when was the house built?"

I tried getting that information in several questions about the house and its neighborhood or architecture, but the very sweet Hispanic Mom clearly had no idea about such things.

So with the computer in front of me, I typed in her address to Google Street View, and in seconds a picture of her house was on the computer screen.

"Is that where you live?" I asked, and she helpfully pointed out which apartment they lived in. It was clearly a late 80's apartment building, and thus unlikely to have lead based paint.

Of course, I still checked a level. But fascinating to see how the internet can help in clinic.

Books I am Reading to my Girls...

Through the wonders of Amazon, I can find almost any book I can remember from my own gradeschool days, and buy them for a dollar.

Taking advantage of this, I am currently reading through the following books with Nora Grace and Miriam.

1. Snow Treasure, by Marie McSwigan. Norwegian children in World War II help their country by sneaking the gold from the local bank to safety from the Nazis. To do this, they take it bit by bit on their sleds right past the Nazi barracks. Mid Grade School range.

2. Twenty and Ten, by Claire Huchet Bishop. Twenty French children are moved to the countryside for safety during World War II. They take in ten Jewish orphans, sharing their already meager rations, and helping them find hiding places when the Nazis come. Kindergartners can handle this one.

3. The Trumpeter of Krakow, by Eric Kelly. A young Polish boy of the 15th century escapes problems in the Ukraine and arrives penniless in Krakow with his family. But his father has a secret for the king which leads to many adventures. For an upper grade school kid. Incredibly rich vocabulary.

4. Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, by Jean Lee Latham. A young man gifted with mathmetical abilities in the late 1700's Massachusetts. Too poor for Harvard, he is apprenticed out but does good and faithful work and eventually begins to find errors in the main navigational texts of the period. Becoming a sailor himself, he does the unthinkable, and teaches every man on board to navigate, meanwhile re-writing the navagational books to eliminate errors. Teaches perseverence against the odds. Upper Grace School kids.

5. I Am David, by Anne Holm, translated from the Danish by LW Kingsland. Definetely the most intense of these books... this is the story of a boy raised in an Eastern European Concentration camp, who escapes and heads toward Denmark to find his mother. Traveling with almost nothing except a vague idea of direction, he crosses Europe. Intense in that it unpacks many of his emotions... seeing beauty for the first time, seeing colors for the first time, seeing people who trust each other, seeing kindness practiced openly, how people survive emotionally in a Camp. Worth while reading to kids even if they don't understand everything.

6. Tullus comic books, from David C Cook publishing. Couldn't find an author, several books were published based on previous serials in young peoples magazines. Sortof a Christian version of Prince Valient. First Century Christian boy who travels all over the world on many adventures. I am not reading these to my kids, they do just fine on their own.

So what should I read to an Eight year old, and a Five year old and a Three year old? Would love to hear specific titles.

Not Returning to Varanasi Long Term

In praying and fasting in recent weeks, we have come to the conclusion that we are not at peace with returning to Varanasi long term.

We had ten good years there, and I am amazed when I think back to how God has taken care of us in these past ten years. Wow. But it seems clear that living there long term is not what is supposed to happen.

So now comes lots of new questions...where to be employed? How much to stay in touch with India? Where to live?

We have almost nothing...I have never purchased a house before... I have never paid more than 1000 dollars for a car...all my previous jobs I announced I was only staying for awhile and then heading abroad...

now all that is different. Kind of weird.

I do hope to stay in touch more on the blog in the coming times.

Thanks for staying in touch.