Kandie and I were up at 6am so we could be out to Kulkpeni to pick up Timothy and company at 7am. We were going to the village of Mulpido to participate in the burial of the church leader; Elijah. I took the good van because we were told there wasn’t any water on the way. There’s more to this situation coming. There were 11 people in the van. As we passed through Yendi some of the people wanted to stop and get something to eat on the way. It was about 7:30 when we left Yendi.
We took the road north as we normally do to go to this village. Later we found out it was the wrong choice but no one gave us good instructions. This road was a nightmare!!!!! Big pot holes filled with recent rainwater and places that I never would take the good van. It took us 3 hours to get just outside the village. The story doesn’t end there. The bush road to the village had multiple mud holes that I had to gun the van to get through. Finally I came to an area that was 1000-1500 yards from the village when I surveyed the area. I told the people we were going to leave the van and walk to the village. There was some belly aching but I wasn’t going to chance getting van mired down and no means of getting out. The people had been waiting over an hour for us to arrive to start the burial. It is amazing that so many people who have never driven a car can give so much advice in this kind of situation.
When we got to the burial site everyone was happy that we had finally arrived. I had encouraged the men in charge to go ahead and start the funeral when we started walking since we were so late. The purple and gold colored casket was sitting on two stools outside the family’s house. Two women who were family members stood on each side of the casket using fans to drive away the flies. The body was buried just outside Elijah’s house. The grave was lined with concrete blocks painted with iridescent blue paint. The casket was entombed with a layer of wood; roofing sheets followed by rebar to reinforce the concrete that sealed the grave. I knew the people had been waiting long so I promised them I would keep the lesson short; and I did! It is tradition amongst the Konkomba tribe to allow those attending to contribute money in a pan (today it was a plastic bucket) at the end of the burial to help the family with expenses.
After the burial the members of the Church walked over to the church building and met under the tree to have an abbreviated worship service. After worship the attendees were treated to some of the local soft drinks as a way of saying thank you.
Our next move was for Timothy, Kandie , and me to go back to the van and try to get it through the mud holes that would take us to the village and then on to another route back
towards Yendi. We had made arrangements with a tractor driver to pull us out if we got stuck. I haggled for several minutes with one of the church brothers about how to drive through the swampy area until I just gave up and went the way he was so emphatically insisting that I take. As I started the van the clutch was sticking and Kandie and I looked at each other as we both thought we’re going to have to have someone come get us. L (I did get it out of gear and it didn’t stick again.) Well, the brother’s way worked and we made it to the village. After eating a meal that was prepared for us we started moving on this new way that would lead us to Saboba and on to better roads. We were told there wasn’t any water on the way. Guess what! Two areas we crossed were deep enough the water came up on the windshield as I drove through it. I could also hear the tailpipe under the water as I drove through it .No water on the way!!!! Hmmmm!
It was 5pm when we got back to the house. Both of us were bushed. I’m just glad the Lord saw fit for us to get back to Yendi with the van.
Hope you had a good day. Thanks for your support of the work. May God bless!
In His service,
Stephen and Kandie Taylor
