No Countdown-Yet- But It Is Getting Closer!

 

“Bless Their Little Hearts!!” The older couple is back. They got in early last night - a little before 6 PM after an 11 hour trip by car with no AC and the first two hours on roads with deep holes and high sand.  When I greeted them they both hugged me and thanked me so much for getting them in earlier. Their driver offered to take them out to eat since they had told me they would not be here for supper. She looked at her husband incredulously and said:”You really want to climb back into that car, climb out to eat, climb back in to come home and climb back out again!?” They were beyond worn out. She was almost in tears with a headache and he was just worried about her and exhausted.  They finally just asked me for a cup of hot water for coffee in their room. After our supper I went to their room to check on them- about 45 minutes later. All lights were off and they did not respond to my light knock.  When they came in for breakfast they were still wiped out looking. Loved their first shower in ten days!! I asked them the best part of the trip- “The people.”The worst? …..”Sadly, the trip.” They admitted they should have never gone. Said the heat and humidity and nowhere or way to cool off was all but unbearable. Not even a fan. They stayed in Congolese “homes.” “The water for our tea was already darker than the tea we usually make! Made us both sick!” I asked if they could have flown. She still had some humor and responded, “We were airborne for most of the trip even though we were inside a car!” They still headed out after breakfast for their little morning walk together- hand in hand. Sweet!

From some of your notes to me on Face book and questions on email you know things are “hot” up in Goma still/again/whatever. It’s Congo!! Those folks have been doing this for years and blaming the other. When my MPH phone kept dinging with a message to go to the Embassy website it eventually got a little disconcerting this time! Especially since the other times I only heard from them the one time each day. This time it kept dinging about ever hour with a new message. But all folks here in Kinshasa at MPH are calm though they are considering giving some of their Congolese employees up there the option to leave. But they have family in the area who will hide them if necessary, so they will probably stay there!!  (My feeling- Mortars do not discriminate!) This is a way of life up there. So life goes on. It’s almost “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” for me- it’s always “up there.” I still go and look at the website just to be sure it IS up there! It’s Congo!

This Saturday Inge has asked me to do Mexican Stack for supper. From the back yard we had the gardne pick and will also get the cooks to make a rose apple (a tiny, pear shaped, TART, rhubarb tasting thing) pie-ish/cobbler dish. So once the cooks have all chopped and grated all for me and have the table all set and done etc. I will surprise them and then let them go early. I actually found two bags of Doritos- $7 each!! Then got two packages of Arab Bread (looks like flour pita pockets sort of deals) and will get the cooks to slice and butter them and then turn them into “chips” in the oven. Then layer on at person’s preference Taco seasoned beef, pinto beans, rice, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, guacamole, Picante sauce, pilipili sauce, coconut, raisins, and grated Gouda cheese ( No Mexican cheese mix here!). No sour cream- it’s almost $20! I wanted to make Pink Salad but there are no ingredients other than Condensed milk. Bummer because that sweet with the Stack is so good!

I am busy getting the count of all the stuff from the ship container done. It will take several days. Then will begin to get all mattress pads on all of the beds changed to the new ones. Have to have empty rooms and remember where we still need to change them. Details are a pain!!!  Then old yucky towels out of commission and replaced with the pretty new ones. And BATH MATS!!!  Whee!! It takes so little to get excited over out here!! New dishes, wheel barrows, mops and squeeze mop buckets, fiber glass screening for our screen “walls” and that is all I have seen so far. It is amazing what we can and then again can’t get out here!
I am going to try to take this weekend off- other than helping coordinate Mexican Stack night. That is  probably be another way of saying “ All Heck will Break Loose here at MPH!” So y’all have a great weekend and enjoy football for me!!

Love Ya! Me