The Ides of March are upon us. Half of the month is already over. I will be glad when the roofing of the two round houses are over, that’s for sure. Last night a storm blew through the area but only dropped enough rain to cool everything down to a tolerable level. The drop in temperature felt good this morning when we went for our walk. I would have thought the carpenters/roofers would have taken advantage of the cool temperature and come at sunrise but they came dragging in around 7am. They got the metal roofing on one of the roofs today. They will not work tomorrow because we will be visiting one of the village churches. Maybe they will finish the other house on Monday.
Our neighbor Mr. Oldman came for a visit this morning. He said he heard a lot of hammering so he wanted to come see what was going on. He brought his 4-5 year old daughter along. She has been begging to come see us. She usually gets a treat when she comes to visit. Kandie gave her out a little doll baby and some chewing gum and toffees (hard candy) to share with her brothers and sisters. I asked Mr. Oldman to order 40 bicycle tires and inner tubes for the evangelists and church leaders. They came very quickly; we got them late this afternoon.
Abochi, the carpenter, also came this morning. He brought his little boy who is about 3-4 years old. This is the first time for him to visit us; he was afraid of us. Kandie went into the house and brought him out a plastic bag with 4 die cast cars and trucks for him to take home. All of a sudden we did not seem so strange! He even managed to whisper, “Thank You!”
Later in the afternoon when it wasn’t so hot I went outside and changed the vehicle VELD (road worthy) stickers on several of the vehicles. The government requires the vehicle owner to stick these VELD and Insurance stickers on the passenger side of the interior windshield. One of the stickers I put on a few days ago was missing. I thought I was losing my mind! I looked at the other vehicles; they were missing too! Well, come to find out the insurance stickers’ clear tape that secures the sticker to the windshield had lost its adhesiveness and was laying on the floor or the seat of the vehicles. Mystery solved! I
re-taped them using stronger tape.
Late this afternoon we went into town to fill up the pickup with diesel and to purchase a box of frozen leg quarters. When I stopped to buy bread on our way back to the house a man stopped to greet me and started rattling on in the Dagboni language. After he slowed down and started speaking in broken English we were able to understand what he was trying to tell us. He was trying to thank us for helping him feed his small child at the Child Center. The boy is now a teenager and he wanted us to know how much he appreciated our help. We enjoy getting this kind of feedback. The man said he will bring the lad to the Center sometime so we can see how he has grown!
That wraps up another day for us. Thanks for your help. May God bless!
In His service,
Stephen & Kandie Taylor
With Skeeter
The Monkeyshines
Have you ever eaten warm toasted wheat bread with butter spread all over it? That is what Dad had for breakfast. I spied the bread sitting beside the computer and I grabbed a whole piece. Dad reached for the bread and I dropped it. After he retrieved the bread he gave me a small piece. It was delicious! So yummy! When I finished my piece Mom asked Dad to give me another little piece but I was out of luck; he had eaten the whole thing! Can you imagine he wolfed down a whole piece of bread before I finished my small piece? But of course it took me a while to eat mine; first I licked off the butter and then I ate the top part of the bread that was soaked with butter; I saved the crust for last! Mom could tell I really wanted another piece of bread; she was busy sewing so she asked Dad to get me another piece. He went to the kitchen and whacked off a piece of bread and brought it back to me! What kind of bread is this? It had no butter on it and it was stone cold! I rejected it flat out! Mom loves me and she could read my mind about that inferior piece of bread. She told Dad that I needed butter on my bread and it needed to be warmed up. Dad rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath. I am sure that he said I was a spoiled monkey! Nonetheless, when he came back the bread had butter and it was nice, warm and delicious!
It tried to rain this evening! The wind and dust were awful! I was so scared and distraught that all I could do was run back and forth in my jail cell crying to get out. Mom rushed out in the midst of the wind /dust and rescued me! I believe she saved my life! I just knew I was going to have a heart attack! The wind blew all the rain away. At least it was cooler!
Did I tell you that I love the shirts that Mom made for me? She makes them out of baby clothes. In the mornings when it is time for me to get dressed she holds up the shirt and calls me. I climb up in her lap and try to help her get the shirt on. She holds the neck hole open wide and I stick my head in the shirt. After I put my head in she is on her own; that is all the help she is getting from me. She has to find the arm holes and thread my long arms through the holes while I squirm around. I really want my shirt on but it is so much fun to wrestle around.
Dad wrote the Yendi Notes tonight while Mom cooked supper and washed a sink full of dishes. I thought for a moment that I was not going to get to put my 2 cents worth into the conversation but Dad saved me a spot to write!
I am not “SPOILED” I just smell that way!
Love, Skeeter
