Dawda, the mason finished the gutter system this afternoon. It looks very nice but Red is going to have a hard time building a ramp to jump over the gutter so that the building continues to be wheelchair accessible. We decided that when Dawda comes back on Monday we are going to have him build up the exit ramp so that there will be a smooth transition from the sidewalk over the gutter and into the Child Center.
Divine, the evangelist and the guy that helps us with the church’s paper work stopped by for a visit this afternoon and to bring us up to speed with what is going on. Long story short nothing has been done since March. Divine is pretty fed up with the whole thing but there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. We will have to wait and see what the next step will be. Divine also wanted to let us know what was going on with the murder case. If you remember a couple years ago one of the men in his village was killed and a couple men were arrested. The case is still going on; one of the men is supposed to get out on bail but there are too many charges against the other guy. The widow of the man is a church member and they have one child. The lady is one of the women who interpreted for us the last time we had VBS in their village.
Steve was excited that a lady came to the Child Center this morning selling Kulikulee. Kulikulee is the solid byproduct of making oil out of the roasted peanuts. It is a treat that is made in ropes and fried. It is the perfect protein rich snack for children; especially malnourished children. Steve bought all the lady had on her head pan and asked for more. This afternoon she brought another batch and Steve bought all that too. She was very happy; of course she wanted to know if we needed to buy peanut oil but we did not because I bought some earlier in the week.
When we started the old van this morning it was making a strange noise and burning a lot of oil which is never a good thing. We were on our way to town to buy a few things at the market so we stopped at the mechanic shop and had Gomda listen to it. He said that it did not sound good. Later this afternoon we stopped to see what he found out; he is going to have to overhaul the engine and put in new pistons, rings and gaskets. That should take care of the problem. Gomda said that we should not drive the van so after we finished shopping we caught a “yellow, yellow” back to the mission house. A “yellow, yellow” is a three wheeled vehicle with a canvas top, they do not have doors or windows; they are used mostly as a taxi although we have seen them carry a variety of things. We knew the driver of the one we hired; he used to run a grinding mill and he was the one that used to grind the weaning mix for the Child Center. Not only did he take us to the mission house nothing would do but he also had to help us carry the groceries to the front door.
Have a great day!
In HIS Service,
Steve and Kandie
P.S. Please pray for our friend Gary; he has had major surgery and is in the process of recovering. We know he would appreciate your prayers.
