Zorash was back at work this morning; she said that by the time she got to Zabzugu her aunt had already been taken to the hospital and discharged. She said that she was doing much better.
The naming ceremony for Meri’s new baby was Friday and we forgot to go. We did not remember it until a couple days after the event. We will have to stop by and take her a gift. Zorash said that she was too busy to go but Amama went.
The masons have all the walls up on the new storage building; today they cast the beams and the pillars. Tomorrow they will make the beams between the pillars and finish making the gables that will hold the roof. It should not be long before it is ready for the carpenters to start working on the roof.
Steve and I have been holed up in the office almost all afternoon. We are trying to get the receipts entered and the withholding tax figured. I must complain one more time about this withholding tax. It is ridiculous that the buyer has to withhold the tax money from the seller. That is the exact opposite of the way we do things in the states. The tax is added onto our bill and the seller is responsible for collecting the tax. What! Are we agents for the government and our job is to collect taxes? It is what it is and we are getting better at figuring the tax.
Today we ordered another 3,000 – ½ liter bags of water. The masons can drink lots of water. On the last project we noticed that the workers were using the purified bagged water to do their ablution (the ritual washing before they can pray). Steve told them this time that we were not buying purified water for them to wash with because the water was too expensive and it was a waste of pure water. They seemed to understand; we are now giving them a 5 gallon plastic container of water every day to use for their washing. They are required to pray and wash 5 times each day. Can you imagine how much pure water that would take, especially when there are between 10 and 15 people on the jobsite every day. They only go for prayers twice during the time they are working.
Red and a couple of his men were here again today. They were finishing the rebar forms for the beams. Red is new to making the forms but the other guy that we were using started charging us too much for his labor so we asked Red if he wanted the job. He is learning as he goes but they seem to be working out well.
Thank you for the love, prayers and support.
In His Service,
Steve and Kandie
P.S. Please keep Zack Taylor and his family in your prayers. Zack lost his father. Zack is married to our daughter-in-law Melissa’s sister. No, we are not related to Zack but we claim him anyway!
