I am not sure that I have ever been able to say this before but “We got everything checked off our “To Do List” while we were in Tamale this time!” You cannot imagine how exciting it is not to have to “go and come”!
We got the truck serviced and it took longer than it has ever taken. Our appointment was for 7:30 this morning. We were at Japan Motors shortly before 7:30. What they were doing all that time is always the question. To help speed things up we told them that we did not want them to wash the truck. Around 11:00 they called and said that one of the tires was wearing unevenly and they wanted permission to align it. Steve asked how everything was going and they said that they were very close to getting it finished.
Doing our errands today was annoying because we had no vehicle and had to rely on public transport in the form of “Yellow-yellows” small three wheeled motorcycle type things that are designed to only carry passengers. We spent more time in the sun today than is good for anyone; fortunately we remembered to bring our hats. The high temperature today was 104 degrees with a heat index of 108 degrees.
Shortly before 12:00 we went back to Japan Motors fully expecting them to be finished. We asked if they were finished and were told that they were almost done but the problem was that it was almost time for them to go on their lunch break. Please! A few minutes later the guy in the office said, “Good-bye I am going for my lunch break.” He got up from his desk and headed to the front door. We asked him if everyone was going for break and he said yes. We left the building, hailed another yellow-yellow and headed to a near-by restaurant to get some lunch.
After lunch we caught another yellow-yellow to go back to Japan Motors when we remembered that we needed to try and find a new scale to weigh the babies in the Child Center. We asked the driver if he could understand our English and if he knew where we could buy a scale. He said that he would call someone and ask them. When he got off the phone he had a lead on a scale. He agreed to take us to hunt for the scale. He took us to a hardware store that had tons of stuff. The first scale they showed us was the small scale that the butchers use to weigh meat; it has a bowl attached to the top to hold stuff. It is not suitable for weighing a child. We talked to the owner and told his workers they had the scales somewhere in the building. A deaf young man worked in the shop; once he figured out what we were looking for he knew exactly where it was. Steve knows a little bit of sign language; he was so happy when Steve greeted him in sign language. We were happy to get the scale.
We went back to Japan Motors and by now it was 3:00 pm. The truck was finished but it took another 30 minutes to get the final inspection; stickers applied and pay.
We barely got back to Yendi before it got dark.
Have a great day!
In HIS Service,
Steve and Kandie
