Everyone was back at work this morning. Amama was a little late because she had to stop and greet the family of someone who had a family member die. This has nothing to do with the 2 people that died last week. Zorash said that too many people in our area are dying. If the chief perceives that too many people are dying he will begin to suspect foul play. He will think that the ancestors are angry and that they either need to be pacified or that a witch is causing the problem. He will consult with the local Juju / soothsayer to determine the problem.
Donkey finally got the yard sprayed to kill the weeds. We have been trying to get it sprayed for the past month but first we were working on the building project and then on Donkey’s free days it rained. It is threatening to rain right now but Steve said that I should not worry about the rain washing away the weed killer; he says that if it stays on for 5 or 6 hours it will kill it. We kill all the grass on the compound because snakes like grass and we hate snakes!
Today was Yendi’s big market day. We decided to walk out to the road and flag down a yellow-yellow (3 wheeled taxi) and pay them to take us to the market instead of trying to fight to find a place to park. The main road in Yendi is impassable because they have it blocked off to do the road construction. The main thing that I needed were onions but we also bought fresh okra, bananas, bell peppers, carrots and pineapples. I am not much of a fruit eater but since Skeeter has come to live with us the house is full of fruit. Now that does not mean that I am eating it but it is here nonetheless.
A new mother and father came to the Center this morning; they had a set of twins. These are not their first babies; they have 6 other children but this is their first set of twins. They were worried that the mother would not have enough breast milk to feed 2 babies. They were 3 months old and one had gained 2 kilos since birth and the other 2.5 kilos. We reassured them that there was no problem with the milk supply. They really hoped that we would give them formula but we did not. I asked the father if his goat had twins or triplets would he be worried and start chasing around trying to find formula for the babies. He laughed and said no. I asked why and he said the mother will be able to feed both goats. I explained that it was the same thing with a mother who has twins. They seemed to be satisfied when they left. Of course we gave the mother multivitamins and lots of encouragement. Please these are babies number 7 and 8; I think she probably has more experience with babies than I do! Ha!
Thank you for the love, prayers and support.
In HIS Service,
Steve, Kandie and Skeeter
The Monkeyshines
This morning while I was helping at the Child Center Meri, one of the interpreters, found a mostly green mango. After she found out it was too hard to eat she gave it to me! What! Do I want your leftovers? If it was too hard for your grown up teeth to eat it is surely too hard for my baby teeth! To make her happy I jumped on the mango, bit it a few times and then pretended it was a football! It was great fun to jump on it and watch it roll to the other side of the veranda! Well, wouldn’t you know that when we left the Center Mom picked up that mango and brought it to the house; she dropped it in my food dish and there it will be until it is time for her to wash my dish! Maybe if I had a hammer and chisel I would be able to knock off a piece but I still could not eat it!
I have figured out that if I see the leash around my parent’s neck when they come to let me out of my jail cell that they are going to catch me quickly and I will have to be on the leash for a while. I love to run free, climb in the trees and chase the birds but it is impossible to do those things if I am on my leash! I am smart and very clever plus I am quick. When I see the leash I don’t jump into their arms or even up on their shoulder because they will catch me; instead I dart past them and down onto the ground. I take off in a dead run and climb up on something high so they can’t catch me! Baby monkeys have to be smarter than their parents!
No more green mangos!
Love, Skeeter
