Pangolin

One evening, this little tree pangolin was spotted in our yard.

Everyone who wanted to hold it got a chance.

Hello there!

He decided he had enough, and curled up into a little ball to defend himself.

We let him be, and hope that we may see him around our yard another evening.

At the market- Deli Meat

These men cook meat over an open grill.

You can get it to go or eat at the stand.
This day we got some free samples:
Bon appétit!

At the market- Bus Stop

One of my favorite things to watch at the market is the "bus stop."  There are no signs or benches.  The bus stop is only an intersection at the market where the buses are loaded and unloaded with passengers and cargo.  There's usually lots of noise and activity involved, and it's pretty entertaining.

Impromptu Consultations

Not all consultations happen in the office.

Sarah Speer found Stephen after the work day had ended.
One of her friends needed a doctor's care.
They sat in front of the administration building- no privacy, but lots of entertainment watching people come and go.

Sometimes the consultations happen in your own living room.  For example, when Ian decided to climb a tree with wet shoes...

Ian had to use crutches for about a week, but not much can slow him down!

Blue Lightning- Pt 2

I shared some pictures last week of Blue Lightning.  Cristy Presler tells in more detail about the experience!

So this is blue lightning! Mama Sara introduced me to John who showed us his broken down trike. John had polio as a child and is now unable to walk. He is also mute so even beyond the language barier, communication was interesting to say the least. He was getting around by wearing flip flops on his hands and on his knees.

Before

When his trike worked, he could get around easier and he even sold fuel from the back. So without the trike, he was limited...God placed on my heart to help him out. So we took it back and blue became a fixture in the house! I worked on it, braved the market to buy supplies, scrubbed rust and put a top knoch paint job! When we gave blue to John, he was so excited!

After- with some of his family and neighbors

Afterwards, I thought, I have the best role model ever. Jesus. Although I did not make the lame walk again, I helped the lame become mobile! Everything was done to honor Him! Something as simple as a trike painted, new tires and chain made such an impact!

And best of all, you all had a part in it. Either through prayer, contributions or both, YOU had a part in spreading the light of Jesus to a community! He was told that this was not from me, that it was from the help and prayers that YOU gave when you listened to what Jesus put on your heart to give or pray....

Blue Lightning in Lingala

*Thanks to Cristy for letting me share her story and pictures!

ATM

We have an ATM in Impfondo- a working ATM!

This is the street where the bank is located

The Parking Area

My transportation to the bank

Sometimes, you get this message

There are are always people around, sometimes just hanging out

And there are always bugs and chickens to eat the bugs

There is no privacy in getting money out- people look over each other's shoulders and offer tips on how to use the ATM and other helpful comments.

Daily Life

One part of our "household" is our family's workers.  With few modern conveniences available, even the simplest tasks take lots of time.

Preparing a simple meal means an early morning trip to the market, followed by hours spent in the kitchen.  And once the meal is prepared, there's still the clean-up!

Mama Lydie cooks for us, and her daughter, Mama Sindi cooks for the visitors and other missionaries who choose to eat their main meal together.

No washing machine or dryer means that all clothes, sheets, towels, and anything else needs to be washed by hand and hung on the line to dry.

We have laundry done four or five days a week.

It's interesting to try to explain life in the US to some of the women here.  I told one of my friends that I didn't have anyone to help me in the house when I was in the States.  She was surprised, so I tried to explain that I do less work cooking and keeping house by myself in the States than I do here with a whole team of people.  It was hard for her to believe.

We're glad to have a chance to build relationships with some special women, while finding ways to make our daily life possible!

If you are interested in reading more on the subject, Debunking 5 Myths about Expat Life talks about some of the realities of household help, along with some misunderstandings people can have about living in another country.

Laundry

With no washing machines available, all our wash has to be done by hand. Fortunately, I don't have to do this all myself!
The clothes are washed, rinsed and hung on the laundry lines to dry.

Consultation?

One day as I looked out the kitchen window this is the scene that caught my eye. I had to chuckle at that. What exactly was going on?
It turned out that Stephen was bringing a wheelchair home to write the hospital name on it before placing it in maternity. A few people stopped him to ask a question before he made it. Fortunately, he had a ready made seat while he listened.

Monkeys

One of the challenges we have for school is focusing (or refocusing) despite the constant interruptions. Many people come to our door during the course of the day. Two men came with some monkeys to sell. I politely declined in spite of their insistence that they would be great pets.

Mashed Potatoes

There is a potato here that is similar to a cross between a white potato and a sweet potato. It is slightly darker than a white potato, very hard, and sweet, but not as sweet as the sweet potatoes in the US.
We use it in stews, soups, for french fries, chips, and at Thanksgiving for mashed potatoes.

The children really enjoyed the mashed potatoes that we had on Thanksgiving. I thought it would be a good idea to ask our cook to make some. I explained that I wanted her to peel the potatoes, cube them, cook them, and then mash them. My explanation didn't go far enough.
The photo above is our mashed potatoes. After mashing, she formed them into balls and cut them into pieces. With a little margarine, they still tasted (sort of) like mashed potatoes.

What's for lunch?

We've had many different types of meat since living here: beef, chicken, turtle, various fish, crocodile, antelope, goat, and sheep. We've also had the opportunity to try bats, monkey, and caterpillars, but I've chosen to refrain from each of those.

I've had a few moments of confusion when our cook is trying to tell us what she bought for the day. She knows the words for many foods only in Lingala. Once she told me that she bought horse. I knew that horse is not sold here, and we (fortunately) knew the Lingala word for goat. I was glad to realize that it was not horse, but goat meat that we were having for lunch.


Today she bought another meat for the first time. She didn't know the name, and the only description that she could give is that it is similar to an antelope. I was stumped,so she suggested that I pull out our animal encyclopedia.

I waited somewhat nervously while she flipped through the book, breathing a sigh of relief when she passed the section with monkeys! It turns out that she bought pig, and I was able to reassure her that yes, we eat pork. :)

Roosters, Gift Giving, and Communication

Have you ever received an unexpected bonus at work? Or maybe a thank you gift for a job well done?
When that happens here, it looks a little bit different.
We've been given various gifts by patients or their family members. Sometimes it's a pineapple, or another fruit of vegetable.
Once we were given a rooster. At the time Stephen was in surgery, and I really wasn't sure what to do. Fortunately, our cook was here and helped me to deal with the situation more gracefully than I would have on my own.
The kids named him "Peter Pan." I thought they would be upset if we ever ate him. It turned out that he was really annoying, and eventually became lunch.

One of our visiting doctors receiving a rooster as a present.

We had some other visitors who asked one of the merchants for a coke. He told them he would have it for them the next day. You can imagine their surprise and amusement when he had a rooster for them the next day. When they said "coke" he heard it as "coq" or (rooster in French.)
We all had a good laugh over that mistranslation, and someone was happy to receive a rooster as a present.

Heavy Load

The women here carry heavy loads on their heads. Some of the things they carry, I can't even lift!

Until the Cows Come Home

During the rainy season, we see the cows being herded to the fields each morning, and then home again in the afternoon.

Community Health

While our parents were here (Stephen's parents and Anna's mom), they had a chance to do some health care in the community.

At the Market

These are some shots of the market from December. The lady pictured here is at the market seven days a week selling onions and garlic. Sometimes she will have eggs or dried beans to offer as well.

I couldn't resist adding this cute face! To the side of him are some DVD's for sale.

This is a shot down one of the main aisles of the market.

I'm not sure what I'm doing in this picture, but I'm probably arguing about math in French. It seems to happen at least once every time I'm at the market.