Gomda, the mechanic, ordered shocks for the green truck a few days ago. They came in yesterday so first thing this morning we took the truck to him. Today was market day so we took advantage of our trip to town to visit the market. We did not really need much; I was hunting for a pair of flip flops because mine broke yesterday when we were in the back field. I looked like I was “special” as I limped to the house trying to keep a flip flop on that had nothing between the toes. I did not have much luck finding a decent pair. I finally settled on a pair that appeared to have been worn. We found some very nice cabbage that had just been unloaded; we picked out the largest ones we could find. We also bought frozen chicken legs and thighs. We ran out of chicken last week but we could not buy any because all of our extra freezer space was tied up with frozen water for the masons.
This morning as we were leaving town we passed a man that appeared to be not so normal mentally. We were impressed that he was not begging, rather he was trying to sell plastic bags and large pieces of plastic sheeting. First we bought all of his plastic bags; he was very careful with the money. Then we decided that we wanted to buy the plastic sheets; we wanted him to have a good day so we bought everything that he had. I gave him the money we owed him in bulk but we could tell he was confused and not used to the big money so we begged a man that was passing by to help interpret for us. He was still confused so we took back the big money and paid him for each of the items we bought separately. He counted and recounted the money until he was satisfied that he had the right amount. It made our day to be able to help him!
We have not seen the man that owns the sewing store just outside of the market since we have been back this time. He came to the van to greet us today. He said that he had a stroke but he was doing better. Steve asked him if the doctor told him to take aspirin. He said he told him to but he had not been taking it. Steve explained the importance of taking the aspirin. Steve wanted to make sure that he had the aspirin to take so he went to the drug store to buy some but could not find any. Finally Steve came back to the mission house and took some from his “stash” and gave it to the man; he was so happy that we cared enough to help him with the aspirin.
While we were in town we ran into Mr. Oldman, our neighbor. We told him that the lower poly tank was empty and that we needed to hire someone to put in a new clean out plug because the original one was leaking. He brought a couple of men to the mission house this evening to put in the new plug. While the man was inside the poly tank he cleaned it for us. There is always dirt in the bottom of the poly tank because the city water lines are filled with dirt. Every time that they open the city water line to connect someone or to fix a leak the dirt flows inside the water line. The mission house is at the end of the city water line so if we ever turn on the city water we get muddy water. The dirt is clean dirt because we treat both the city water and the rain water with chlorine. We try not to use the city water because why should we pay for something that God gives us for free? The men were amazed that the big poly tank was still filled with water that we harvested during last year’s rainy season.
Thanks for your constant support. We appreciate it!
In His service,
Steve and Kandie
