Adam and Jon left to get to Bethel Bible College at 6am again today, and the rest of us continued our 7am pattern. Larry was able to work today, and he jumped into digging the trench...not exactly taking it easy after being sick several days. Andy, Jason, Larry, Rachel, Ewien and I worked on the trench. Once we finish digging something, Anco adds another path that needs to be dug. Steve continued to work on taking down the ceiling in one of the classrooms. Jon, Adam, Bill and Chris continued work on the water tower.
Doug brought us a mid-morning snack, sheep kabobs on bicycle spokes. I didn't want to eat the snack because it was sheep, but I did try it, and it was very good (they use a good seasoning). Doug said he found a great person who makes the kabobs. He butchers the sheep every morning so his food is always fresh. Andy joked that the live sheep is his refrigeration. Doug also said that many people will inject the animal with antibiotics a few days before they are going to butcher it in order to make sure there is nothing wrong with the meat. Their livelihood depends on their reputation for the quality of their meat. I thought this was all too much information! I'm not sure what lunch was, but it was pretty good. It was a pancake type bread. We put a gravy (with meat) on it, wrapped it up and ate it. Tonight Moussa (Anco and Ewien's cook/housekeeper) made us pizza. His food has been delicious all week, and he's tried to make a lot of American stuff.
Good news! The second water tank has been added to the tower! Anco said he expected it to be added next week, so I think we might be a little ahead of schedule. When the crane arrived, Ewien and I climbed on top of a truck and watched/recorded video/took pictures of the entire process. At this point, we nicknamed Jon "Daredevil"; however, I think Anco probably deserves that name even more. The only major mistake during this major task was that the operator of the crane (Malian man) backed into the scaffolding while the crane was fully extended with the water tank on it! Many people were on top of the water tower at this point and Olivier (a 19 year old Malian man that works with Anco a lot, and Anco is actually training/helping him to have his own shop) was actually on the side of the scaffolding that got hit. However, if it would have fell, I think more than just Olivier would have been in trouble. God was definitely working with us because none of us are sure how the scaffolding didn't fall.
Two of the ladies that live at Bethel Bible College set out some of the items they make to sell. Steve told me I have a black belt in shopping. The woman who was selling jewelry was pregnant, and Ewien told me later that most people do not talk about being pregnant because they consider it a bad omen. She said some people even call pregnancy a sickness. The mom only talks about it after the baby is born.
Rachel and I left at 4:30 (instead of 5) with Ewien because she wanted us to go with her to visit one of her friends, Pama. Pama makes items such as bags, bottle holders, book covers, etc, and many of her items are left in the guest house for mission teams to view and purchase. It was really interesting to see where the people live and the inside of a person's home. She had all concrete floors. Someone jokingly asked me if I got any decorating ideas, and my answer was "simplify." There was nothing on the walls. She did have a small tv. The door and all the windows were open. Air conditioning is extremely rare. Eight people are living in her house.
Ewien has used Pama in some of her videos that she makes to teach people about proper health/wellness procedures and prevention techniques. Pama works at a health clinic and is getting ready to teach some hygiene classes. She showed us some pictures that she uses to teach. The pictures showed very simple concepts to us, and Rachel even asked if she teaches kids. Ewien said she teaches grown women. Ewien said many of the women are stubborn and will not listen to Pama. She said if something bad happens, they say it is because it was God's will. Some of the pictures were of washing hands, cleaning under fingernails, covering food, filtering water, keeping animals out of drinking water, etc.
Tomorrow is another full work day. Since the second tank has been added, we will all be back to the 7am schedule, much to Jon and Adam's delight.
Doug told Steve today that one of his workers approached him. This worker has worked for him for three years and has always done great work. He has never asked Doug for anything, but he told Doug today that since harvest wasn't good last year, he only has one more sack of grain until next year. Doug asked him how much money he would need to have grain to last for the rest of they year, and he said 30,000 Francs (only $60!!), so we all pitched in to buy him grain to get him until the end of the year.
Please pray that no one else gets sick, that it rains tonight to cool the temperatures so we can all get a good rest (because we all need it), that everyone continues to stay safe, and that we minister through our actions.
 |
Eating sheep kabobs     Steve    |
 |
Daredevil -- I think this looks worse than it actually was |
 |
| Yay! |
 |
| digging -- pretty sure I've never even picked up a shovel before this trip. You might know women who can shovel, but how many women do you know who can shovel in dresses/skirts?? |
 |
| Exhaustion (lunch break - Andy, Jason, Larry) |
 |
| Nightly game of cards (and me writing the blog) |
No comments:
Post a Comment