First night was restless for some. Though those not sleeping got to hear drum beats, barking dogs, crying babies, braying donkeys, and in the morning, rats scurrying around the tin roof and the roosters. Rick found that grass roofed huts are not good for hay fever, so he’s been moved to a tent, where he’s had to chase away an ant colony that had taken residence underneath.
Today we all split up. Phalice took Rick and Peter into town as she had some sorghum to be ground. Upon arrival, they found that the grinder had not been working for a few days. Peter was able to figure out what the problem was and helped them make the necessary repairs, using adhesive tape from the first aid kit found in the trunk, etc. Seems rats had chewed through the tubing used for chilling the grinder. When the grinder finally fired up, the sound must have been music to the town’s ears, as while the sorghum was being ground, many people started showing up with their own grains to grind. While in town, Rick broke bread with some Arab Muslim locals. What a special experience.
Meanwhile, back at the camp, Val tried to organize some men on a project, and as he puts it, they ended up organizing him. We arrived to find Val, gainfully employed in the sun, mixing concrete for a hut floor. Seems they had taken advantage of his helpful spirit. Some of the men asked Eli how much Val was getting paid, certain, I’m sure, that he was getting higher wages. They seemed disappointed to find out Val was volunteering. They said “no one works for free.” Val sure showed them.
And the ladies were taken by Bethany and Victoria (with their babies strapped to their backs) down the path to a small community where many of the students live. There we experienced an under the tree gathering. The locals all introduced themselves with an outstretched hand, a smile and a greeting. Men, women and children alike. When we arrived the littlest children were naked, but most were dressed in very ragged clothes by the time we left, about three hours later. In the trees overhead, racks of filleted fish from the river were drying in the sun. In front of one of the huts, an older woman squated (it’s hard to tell ages. She may have been in her fifties, but looked very old. Life here is hard). She was pounding on these things that look like dates, but are very hard and bitter. They have quinine qualities and are used for a cure for malaria. This woman was peeling them and getting the nuts ready to process for oil.
We were seated under a shade tree, and others slowly gathered around.
They were all so happy to see Bethany. We shook hands and did our best to visit with all the ones who had brought stools to join us. There were men and women alike. Lots of children, also happy to meet us. After some visiting they wanted their pictures taken. A little girl was very busy holding an infant while the mother was busy with something in her hut. Then this enterprising young girl washed several small juice glasses, while another woman boiled water over a charcoal fire adjacent to where we were sitting. The small glasses were filled halfway with coarse sugar and passed out to us. Then hot tea was added to the glasses and we sat and sipped with the group. Then I looked over and the woman at the fire was sorting through a pan of green coffee beans which then went into a shell of some sort over the fire. Soon we smelled roasting coffee. As we visited, this woman transferred the roasted beans into a container and began pounding them. This time, small coffee cups, half filled with sugar were passed out. Next one of the men came around with a gourd filled with fresh roasted coffee. It was so delicious.
Behind the tree under which we were sitting, were new hut walls. Roofless though. Bethany explained that the home was being built by a woman with four children whose husband had left two years ago. Nobody was sure where he had gone. Apparently this happens quite often. Anyway, no more than fifteen minutes after Bethany told that story, I noticed a man in soldier
uniform coming down the path behind. This caught my eye as we have heard about problems with the army in this area. A few minutes later the man came to join us under the tree, with a child in his arms. Turns out it was the husband of the woman building the hut. He had been in the army and told us he had built a home in a place about two days bike ride away. He was planning to move his family there. The wife had gone to gather grass for the roof and had not seen his return yet. We were all caught up in the romance of the moment, guessing we would see a joyous reunion. The man sat with us a while, with his child (photo at left), but eventually left. Shortly after that the wife returned and came to join us under the tree. Bethany asked if she was excited to see her husband. She was not. Said she didn’t want to see him. She’s probably a little angry about being left to raise the four children with no notice. It’s a bit of a pinch me moment to be there to witness all this. What are the chances of being there when the missing returned? However, it was not a Prodigal son moment! We visited a while later, then asked permission to leave. We were graciously excused and wandered back to the SIM camp. Here, we just had our first camp lunch: rice and a lentil stew, which I understand we will have every day. It was good, though will probably loose its charm after the sixth or seventh day in a row. Now we are in the hottest part of the day where we rest. Hanna is having her hair braided by Victoria. Tonight we will have a fire after dinner and discuss plans for church tomorrow.
Today we all split up. Phalice took Rick and Peter into town as she had some sorghum to be ground. Upon arrival, they found that the grinder had not been working for a few days. Peter was able to figure out what the problem was and helped them make the necessary repairs, using adhesive tape from the first aid kit found in the trunk, etc. Seems rats had chewed through the tubing used for chilling the grinder. When the grinder finally fired up, the sound must have been music to the town’s ears, as while the sorghum was being ground, many people started showing up with their own grains to grind. While in town, Rick broke bread with some Arab Muslim locals. What a special experience.
Meanwhile, back at the camp, Val tried to organize some men on a project, and as he puts it, they ended up organizing him. We arrived to find Val, gainfully employed in the sun, mixing concrete for a hut floor. Seems they had taken advantage of his helpful spirit. Some of the men asked Eli how much Val was getting paid, certain, I’m sure, that he was getting higher wages. They seemed disappointed to find out Val was volunteering. They said “no one works for free.” Val sure showed them.
And the ladies were taken by Bethany and Victoria (with their babies strapped to their backs) down the path to a small community where many of the students live. There we experienced an under the tree gathering. The locals all introduced themselves with an outstretched hand, a smile and a greeting. Men, women and children alike. When we arrived the littlest children were naked, but most were dressed in very ragged clothes by the time we left, about three hours later. In the trees overhead, racks of filleted fish from the river were drying in the sun. In front of one of the huts, an older woman squated (it’s hard to tell ages. She may have been in her fifties, but looked very old. Life here is hard). She was pounding on these things that look like dates, but are very hard and bitter. They have quinine qualities and are used for a cure for malaria. This woman was peeling them and getting the nuts ready to process for oil.
We were seated under a shade tree, and others slowly gathered around.
They were all so happy to see Bethany. We shook hands and did our best to visit with all the ones who had brought stools to join us. There were men and women alike. Lots of children, also happy to meet us. After some visiting they wanted their pictures taken. A little girl was very busy holding an infant while the mother was busy with something in her hut. Then this enterprising young girl washed several small juice glasses, while another woman boiled water over a charcoal fire adjacent to where we were sitting. The small glasses were filled halfway with coarse sugar and passed out to us. Then hot tea was added to the glasses and we sat and sipped with the group. Then I looked over and the woman at the fire was sorting through a pan of green coffee beans which then went into a shell of some sort over the fire. Soon we smelled roasting coffee. As we visited, this woman transferred the roasted beans into a container and began pounding them. This time, small coffee cups, half filled with sugar were passed out. Next one of the men came around with a gourd filled with fresh roasted coffee. It was so delicious.Behind the tree under which we were sitting, were new hut walls. Roofless though. Bethany explained that the home was being built by a woman with four children whose husband had left two years ago. Nobody was sure where he had gone. Apparently this happens quite often. Anyway, no more than fifteen minutes after Bethany told that story, I noticed a man in soldier
uniform coming down the path behind. This caught my eye as we have heard about problems with the army in this area. A few minutes later the man came to join us under the tree, with a child in his arms. Turns out it was the husband of the woman building the hut. He had been in the army and told us he had built a home in a place about two days bike ride away. He was planning to move his family there. The wife had gone to gather grass for the roof and had not seen his return yet. We were all caught up in the romance of the moment, guessing we would see a joyous reunion. The man sat with us a while, with his child (photo at left), but eventually left. Shortly after that the wife returned and came to join us under the tree. Bethany asked if she was excited to see her husband. She was not. Said she didn’t want to see him. She’s probably a little angry about being left to raise the four children with no notice. It’s a bit of a pinch me moment to be there to witness all this. What are the chances of being there when the missing returned? However, it was not a Prodigal son moment! We visited a while later, then asked permission to leave. We were graciously excused and wandered back to the SIM camp. Here, we just had our first camp lunch: rice and a lentil stew, which I understand we will have every day. It was good, though will probably loose its charm after the sixth or seventh day in a row. Now we are in the hottest part of the day where we rest. Hanna is having her hair braided by Victoria. Tonight we will have a fire after dinner and discuss plans for church tomorrow. 
