When we were in the states we got a message from Timothy Niligrini to let us know that Elijah, one of the church leaders, was seriously sick and in the hospital in Tamale. He had Hepatitis B and was being treated with the drugs that should have helped him improve but instead of improving he continued to go downhill. On Wednesday Steve called to see if he was still in Tamale hospital because we were in Tamale and wanted to stop by and visit him. We found out that he had been discharged from the hospital and had gone home. We were hopeful that he was getting better but later on Wednesday we found out that he had taken a turn for the worse and that he was in the hospital at Saboba. He was admitted to the hospital because he was vomiting blood. We knew that was not a good sign. The doctors continued to give him blood and he continued to lose it. At the evangelists/Church leader class on Friday the men that attended the class decided to make a contribution to help Elijah with his medical expenses. Elijah’s condition was grave. Steve and Timothy made the 1 ½ hour trip to Saboba to visit Elijah this morning, give him and the family the money, let him know the other brothers were thinking about him and to have a prayer for him. Elijah knew who they were and he said that he was surprised that he was still alive when he woke up this morning. How sad is that? Steve said that he did not expect him to live much longer. Steve and Timothy left Soboba at 11:00 am this morning and Timothy called at 2:30 pm to let us know that he had passed away. They were happy that they had gone to see him. The family did not have enough time to bury him today so they are going to have the burial in the morning. They usually bury the body immediately and then in 3 or 4 days they will have the first funeral. Within a year or so they will have the final funeral. Timothy is trying to find out if the family is going to have a Christian burial or a pagan burial. It will depend upon which way they are going to bury as to whether or not we will participate in the burial.
Last night just before dark Red called and said that he was on his way back from Tamale with the Green truck; he had to spend the night to get the air conditioning fixed. He said that he was in Sambu which is about 10 miles from Yendi. The truck just stopped; he thought that perhaps it had run out of diesel. We jumped in the red truck with 5 gallons of diesel and headed to Sambu. The fuel gauge has not worked on that truck for years. Even after they added fuel it still would not start. The truck has a fuel pump that you can actually pump manually. Red sucked diesel out of one hose and blew it into another. He did this over and over. I don’t know if diesel fuel is poison or not but I know it can’t be good for you! Still he could not get it to start so we called Gomda the mechanic. We told him to bring a towing bar. He came on his motorcycle with a helper. He did not have a towing bar, he had something that looked like a hose from a fire truck. By the time they got there to help it was totally dark; there were no street lights where we were parked. Both cars had on their flashers; we had a couple flashlights and a head lamp. The men tied the hose thing on with some a coil of rope that Steve had in the green truck. Steve was pulling; Red was being pulled and Gomda was on his motorcycle following to try to keep traffic off of us. We were doing pretty well until an ambulance decided to overtake us; he passed us three abreast on a 2 lane road. He over took us on one of the big speed ramps which forced us to hit the ramp at an odd angle; when the green truck hit the speed ramp the rope popped and we lost him. Steve turned around in the middle of the road and they cut and retied new ropes; then off we went again. It took a while but we got the truck safely towed to Gomda’s house. Gomda called today and said that it needed a new fuel pump; there are none in Yendi or Tamale so he is checking with Kumasi.
Take care and stay safe!
In HIS Service,
Steve and Kandie
The Monkeyshines
Mom and I went for a walk this afternoon to try to find some grasshoppers; now mind you that was all her idea; not mine! We saw lots of grasshoppers but Mom was pretty slow today; she said it was because I would not get down off of her shoulder! I really think it is because she is old; but don’t tell her I said that; it would hurt her feelings. Mom caught 2 grasshoppers and we found 3 mangos. I was more excited about the mangoes than I was about the grasshoppers! Mom also caught lots of cockle-burs in her dress! I let her know in no uncertain terms that I did not appreciate being stuck by them when I used her dress to climb up on her shoulder! Those things hurt! I was happy when she took the time to pick them off her dress. If I had walked through that tall grass I would have had them in my fur but I was smarter than that!
I noticed some white mushrooms growing near the tree roots just outside my prison cell. I decided to take a bite to see how it tasted! That was a mistake! It was awful! I rubbed my mouth and rubbed my mouth trying to get rid of the bad taste. Mom said I had better be careful or I might have hallucinations or worse die!
There are doves on the property; I figured out that if I run at them they will fly away. Mom is always happy when I chase them but in turn I get scared when they take flight! I am still not sure that they can’t grab me and haul me off!
Dad was gone all morning! I was so happy to see him when he got back home! I jumped all over him and gave him a few much needed nips for which I was rewarded with a yelp! I can’t figure out why these parents have to keep going away!
I am a hippy monkey!
Love, Skeeter
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