The high temperature today was 112 degrees with a heat index of 119 degrees. Late this afternoon the storm clouds started forming and we were hopeful that we would get rain but it moved around us. Maybe it will come back around.
Sayibu, the electrician, came today to start rewiring the round houses that we had the new roofs put on. He is starting from scratch and pulling all new wires from the fuse box. He is also rewiring the outlets and putting up new light fixtures. He cannot install the ceiling fans until the roofers put in the ceiling. The ceiling will be plywood. The round houses are made of cement blocks. He worked until about 3:00 this afternoon; he will be back tomorrow.
Red came to the mission house several times today. He built a new motor king gate to replace the one the mason hung upside down. He had to hire a welder that is powered by a gas engine so he could weld new hinges on the gate. He drilled holes at the bottom of the gate so that the rain water can get away and hopefully curtail part of the rusting. On his second visit he got the measurements for the big gate for the wall at Kulkpeni and the measurements for the doors and windows in the new sleeping quarters / classrooms. We have lots of irons in the fire at the moment.
We needed to buy electric units for the mission house; this is the second time we have been to the office to buy them but the place is choked with people. The electric company is carrying out a “disconnection exercise”. They send a team around from house to house and disconnect those that are behind in their payments. When they disconnect a house the people rush to the office to pay their bill so they can be re-connected. They are not required to pay off the whole bill; they just make a token payment and give a gift to the man to reconnect for them.
The baby that we sent to Yendi Hospital last week that had such a limp body came back to the Center this morning with a referral letter to go to Tamale. The mother did not have the money to take the child to Tamale; the child is 2 years old and cannot sit, stand, roll over or speak; he has a very hard time holding up his head. Thanks to your generous donations we were able to give her the money she needed for the transportation. The doctor at Yendi has made a preliminary diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy. Hopefully the doctors in Tamale can shed some light on the problem. The mother is visibly upset by the child’s condition; we reassured her that even if the child was unable to walk we would do what we could to help him; we told her that we could get a baby walker and a stroller for the child. As the child grows he will become more and more difficult for her to carry on her back. The mother is going to go to Tamale by herself. She said that this child was a twin; his sibling passed away. She had another set of twins before he was born.
Thank you for the love, prayers and support!
In HIS Service,
Steve, Kandie and Skeeter
The Monkeyshines
I wish someone one would explain this ice cube thing! Where do they come from? How can I get more of them? I need more! They are always swimming around in the parents’ ice tea glasses! Whenever I get a chance I go fishing for one which throws Dad into a panic! He does not like anyone to mess with his food, much less put their “grubby little hands” in his tea glass! Mom sometimes takes pity on me and takes ice from her glass and cracks it for me. Mom is a beast! She cracks the ice with her teeth; can you imagine? I like the ice but it is so cold that I don’t want to pick it up with my hands. I pick it up off the table with my mouth then I hope that it turns to water quickly before it freezes my tongue. It is great fun to eat the ice but I have to say it is not very filling! I am always hungry after I eat it!
My juice bottle has been missing for a couple days; I found it today! It was full of juice; I had knocked it down under the edge of the bed. Well, when I found it today the juice was full of bubbles and it was trying to come out of the nipple by itself! I tried to drink it but it was too AWFUL! Mom said that it had fermented and that I could not drink it! She quickly poured it out! I was not happy about that turn of events! I squealed at Mom when she snatched the bottle from me! It did not take long for Mom to wash the bottle and fill it with fresh juice and then my world was right again!
Please pass the ice cubes!
Love, Skeeter
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