Life is funny. In walk three folks from Delaware – (no this
is not a “Three guys walk into a bar story!!”)
I go out to welcome them at the reception desk. They pick up quite
quickly that I am not from South Jersey! - Go figure! Turns out the lead guy-
James Mosley is originally from Mississippi, his wife from SC- (Anderson and
Cheraw) and from the family names and home town she is probably related to me.
(It’s a Suthun’ thing!!) And Uncle Lamar, you were his professor in Richmond.
He and his wife are both DCE folks. He knew to genuflex when I asked if he had
been to Montreat. (He clogged with the Bannermans in the barn and when they
performed!) And then he knew one had to walk around Lake Susan ten times on
arrival in Montreat!! My kind of Southern Presbyterian boy!!
Had a huge thunder and lightning show and a nice gentle rain
the other morning. Didn’t last terribly long but it finally rained here!! The
trees are so dusty and thirsty! Now they are hopeful and spotted with mud
drops. We have been warned to unplug everything when one of these storms hits
because even a surge protector won’t necessarily protect!! Just ask my curling
iron- I guess! They all tell me that this rain was nothing. The rains in rainy
season will come down in sheets and the building will shake! So more excitement
ahead!
College football starts this week and so I am sort of
excited. Normally I have all the schedules ready and the games on TV all but
memorized!! We can get the scores off
the BBC- at “dark thirty” during the night but that is not the same! (If we could get it here for example the Texas
Tech game starts at 1 AM!!) At least a lot of the exciting part of the last
games of the season will still be going on when I get home the end of October.
Then the Bowl games. The Manzell stuff made French Yahoo news on my French MPH
computer stuff. Amazing! ;)
The ship container cleared customs yesterday so we are having
delivery after delivery coming to MPH. Stuff for MPH and stuff for the Sthreshley’s
house being built out back. So the halls
are full of stuff and then the boxes have to be opened to see what is in each
and which stuff belongs to which place. New mops and buckets, riding lawnmower-
the gardner will freak! - Towels and sheets (of course after the French have left!) new dishes and the list goes on. That’s
all I have seen or heard of so far. It’s like Christmas!! It just arrived!! Fancy, fancy John Deer!!! Grass man- AKA my house guy half a
day during rainy season and all day Dry season is grinning ear to ear!! As is Inge!! How many men does it take to
lift it down!! ;) Larry just called.
Inge is headed back with one of our guys to guard the stuff while other stuff
is brought here. Things have apparently been taken! It’s Congo!
“Funny”- long ago-story at breakfast from a missionary staying here. He got bitten by a rabid cat as a young boy. There was no rabies med up country. So they had to be sure he was not allergic to the vaccine here in Congo before they shipped up the meds for his 21 shots. Otherwise they would have to try to get him to Europe in time. A little plane flew over the station and dropped a tiny parachute of the test med over the station. His Dad and another missionary had already left and driven here to the big city area to search for the medicine. When he got the meds the Dad was flown back with it in the plane to help recognize villages and help the pilot get there. (Pre GPS.) They got all turned around. So they buzzed and buzzed a village till everyone was outside looking up. Then they cut the engine and yelled out the plane the name of the station they where wanted to go. The villagers all pointed and off the pilot went! ;) They radioed ahead and his mom took him to the landing strip and he got his first shot right after the plane landed!! Amazing!
The man -of the little older couple- that went up country
called me and he was so cute. “Lenore, please! You have got to help me! How
much earlier can we return to MPH? “So the 14 days up country are 12 days too
long like your wife was afraid it would be?” I asked. “Yes, maybe 13 days too long!” So they are
headed back and I will get the rest of the story of their trip for you!! It’s
been fun to see which of my ramblings catch your attention! ;)
Another guest is from Norway and works with the Leprosy
organization. I was telling him that I had been to the leprosy village nearish
to Lubondai with my Dad. (I had to stay in the car!!) I always took my kittens
to them because they would not eat my kittens! They kept them to hunt
the mice and rats that nibbled on their extremities (that had no feelings)
during the night as they slept. He told me they still like to have cats around!
Wednesday we tried to go to a “Sam’s type” store but it had
closed. No advertisement. You just go and it’s either still there or closed. So
shopping is always an adventure from week to week! At least our stores have a
“Going out of Business” sale! So went to a much smaller one and it does sell
some in bulk and was very nice, helpful folks, speak some English and clean and
safe feeling. They had cleaning stuff,
meats, some canned stuff that we use a lot and dried staples in bulk- with
prices on a chalk board. Inge was pleased with the prices. So it will probably
be a regular stop. Then tried a new store to see if it was cheaper and it’s
just like in the States- depends on the day- but by the time you drive around
half of Kinshasa we did not save money on the groceries because of the gas for
the van. For lunch we went to our favorite patisserie and I finally got my swan
for dessert. It tasted just like I remember from 50+ years ago in Luluabourg/
Kananga!. ;)
Have a great weekend! Watch some football for me. If you go
to a game have a hotdog with mustard,a package of Pnut M & Ms and a Diet Coke for me!
Love, Ya! Me
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