The masons had to tarp the walls on bath house #4 twice today. Once again we gave them permission to stop the work and go home; we will pay them if they have to go home because of rain but they did not want to go home. Today they ran out of cement blocks and Red has no more molded. Tomorrow we will have to send Mr. Iddrisu and Donkey into town to buy some. There are several places that sell premade blocks but they will be more costly than the ones Red makes for us. Dawda said he was going to count to see how many blocks they will need to complete the bath house they are presently working on. This bath house is larger than the other ones because we are having it made so that it can accommodate a wheelchair. It will also have a ramp. We put it close to the pavilion so if we have a function that a wheelchair bound person is attending it will not only be wheelchair friendly but it will also be close to where the meeting is being held.
The road leading to the back of the property was pretty muddy today; we were surprised that Mr. Iddrisu and the motor king had not gotten stuck. The church leader from Salinkuka had to come to the mission house to sign some paperwork. He has already done this once but the auditor seems to have lost their information. Divine is getting clever with this paper work. Instead of physically making the trip back and forth to Tamale he has sent the last couple of documents on the Tamale bus. It sure is cheaper than paying for a bus ticket not to mention a wasted day! It seems to be a reliable way to send something; at least nothing has gotten lost so far.
The drought is on everyone’s mind; it has caused the price of the food items to go sky-high! The elders have approved a one time monetary gift for the evangelists and church leaders that we work with. The employees will also receive the gift. They are going to use the money to buy corn and pack it down. The corn is the cheapest right now as it is ever going to be. A time may come when corn cannot be bought no matter how much money you have. Corn is the Ghanaian’s staple food.
I have been trying to find a screw for my “new” used sewing machine. We looked in Tamale and could not find one. We checked with several people here in Yendi. One guy sent 5 screws back to the mission house with me so I could try them. One of them worked pretty well. I told Steve that we should just take the machine to the guy so we could try them in his shop. Steve said that was a bad idea because if he forced one it would mess up the threads. We went back to his shop this afternoon but he was not open; I guess the rain scared him away! He does not actually work in his shop; it is more for storage; he works on the machine under a shade tree beside his shop.
Have a great weekend!
In HIS Service,
Steve, Kandie and Skeeter
The Monkeyshines
I had a very good morning! Mom decided that she would sew outside today which means I can run wild! It took her and Dad a little while to get the machine, transformer, iron, ironing board, fabric scraps and cutting mat set up outside. She also did some serious spraying for mosquitoes! She brought a bunch of treats and fruit outside for me. I would climb around in the tree for a while; jump down, grab a bite to eat and then return to my exploring! I was pooped by lunchtime and ready to go back to my prison cell for a little rest!
This afternoon we walked to the back of the property to pay the workers. Mom wanted me to walk so she would not carry me but Dad is a push over; he knows my legs are little so he let me ride! They caught a couple grasshoppers for me; they were tiny so they were more of a snack than a meal but yummy nonetheless. At one point I tried to jump in the grass after something I thought might be a grasshopper but it got away; all I got were some cock-a-burrs. I was so upset with those things! When I tried to pull them out of my fur they stuck my fingers! I was throwing myself around doing all sorts of contortions! It took the parents a few minutes to figure out why I was in so much distress! Dad held me while Mom picked them out of my fur; the ones around my tummy were the worst! Some people don’t call them cock-a-burrs; they call them “Friends”. They say, “Oh! Look, I picked up some “Friends” on my walk this morning.” Well, let me tell you there is nothing friendly about those things! They would be better off calling them “Enemies”!
When I am scared I like to roll up in a piece of plastic and hide from the world. When it was thundering this afternoon while Mom and Dad went to town I rolled up in the plastic that was in my cage. I did not know that when I pooped earlier today the poop fell on the plastic! When Mom took me out of the cage she almost put me back in because I smelled so bad! She marched me straight to the bathroom and gave me a bath! I smell sweet now!
No more Cock-a-burrs!
Love, Skeeter
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