Raise the Roof

What a GLORIOUS sight to see the roof finally going on our house!

In other news...

Niki made it home safely after 32 loooong hours of traveling.

BUT...

Ricky & Wes didn't make it back to New Day on their intended schedule.

Yep, that's the BUS, broken down on the side of the road.  They left Lusaka on Monday, but it was too late to make the entire trip, so they stayed the night at Munali Farms again.  Departing early Tuesday morning around 5am, they are stopped on side of road for about an hour while the bus cools down.  They finally make it to Choma where they find the mechanic has finished working on the minivan.  However, the bus is loaded down with Diana's belongings, so they cannot leave the bus with the mechanic overnight.  He fixes it enough to get them to New Day only 60kms down the road.  They finally arrive at NDO about 6:30pm!

Your prayers are needed as we experience more vehicle problems!

Week 2 - catch up

Monday, September 16, 2013 – It has definitely been a MONDAY!  Our first task was to fill out a bank form that Wes received by email.  He thought he would have to drive into Choma to take care of this, but I was able to print out the form, talk with bank manager, and email the signed form back to the bank which saved us some time.  Although it wasn’t easy getting all the information they needed or emailing due to our internet being so stinkin’ SLOW!  During all of this, Wes rushes to the house with one of the workers from the grinding mill who had cut his hand in the grinder.  I guess he had his hand inside and another worker turned it on and it cut him.  So now Wes has to drive into Macha to the clinic with this guy to get stitches in his hand.

In addition to this craziness and Wes leaving, Ricky was put in charge of paying the brickmakers.  There was some confusion as to who was to get paid, and so they decided to wait until Wes returned.  In the meantime, some of the workers just left the job site!  Wes returns and they pay the guys, and the guys leave without working today.  The bricks are not complete and the rainy season is coming, and if the bricks do not get made in time before the rains, then those bricks will turn to dirt again.  Ricky was very frustrated with the workers who left, and he told the remaining 2 guys that he would just hire other guys to finish the job!  Amazingly, they started speaking and understanding English, and said they would help get some other guys to work tomorrow.

Niki continued working on sorting and organizing the donations of clothes & shoes.  Ben was taken back to the clinic to check on his foot, and they gave him some medicine for the infection. They also took Gertrude into the clinic as well because she was breaking out in the measles.  There’s never a dull moment here at New Day, especially when you have 16 kids plus 2 staff children that are living here.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013 – This morning’s devotion for the staff was about trusting one another.  The guys were asked to do a “trust fall” and some of them didn’t want to for fear of being dropped.  But they were able to set aside their fears, and trust each other.  It was a very appropriate time to talk about trusting one another, since we had experienced the problems yesterday with the brickmakers.  So this morning after devotion, we asked for volunteers of those who wanted to work, and we got 8 guys to volunteer.  They worked really hard today and dug until they had several heaping piles of dirt.

Our house construction continues to move along, although not as fast as we would like.  Debbie asked us if we would help her decide where to build the new goat barn house.  She had some guys working today that were going to start digging the holes for the “chaguta” (which is basically trees holding up a grass roof for the animals to gather underneath for shade). Today, Ricky and I worked on organizing the kitchen with Kalenga.  He was very appreciative of our help, and we took inventory on the food so we could keep better account of what’s being purchased each week.

Going to visit the chickens

I'm not sure who was more scared? me or the cow!

This is the current "chaguta" for the donkey and goats

Our goal is to separate the male goats from the females (if you know what I mean!)

Wednesday, September 18 – Shopping day in Choma!  Mulenga and Potashow went in the Cantor, and Ricky and I rode with Wes on the bus.  We dropped the Cantor off at the mechanic, and then we had several stops.  First, we have to go by the "Happy Investment" shop and leave our list for what we need at the store.  Then we go to Wonderbake and order 13 loaves of bread.  Then we go fill up on diesel and petrol for the cans.  Potashow left to go get his physical at the hospital so he could get his license renewed.  Ricky and I went to ask about renewing our licenses as well, and we were told we would need a physical too.  So then we head to the post office and the bank.  Then we go to Farmarama and pick up things for Debbie and the farm.  After loading all of this, we go to the doctor’s office to get our physicals.  Surprisingly, we were taken back pretty quickly, and they did an eye test, blood pressure check, hearing, and then the doctor signed our forms.  We then had to drop off our list in the market to Jessica, who goes around and buys everything for us and we come back later to collect.  We go back to the license place to get in line for our renewal, and the entire time Ricky and I are trying to memorize the "10 commandments" of driving in Zambia.  Wes had told us the officer may ask us to recite them, so we were studying very fast.  Once it was our turn to see the officer, he didn’t ask us to take a test or recite anything, and he renewed our previous licenses which had expired November 2012.  Yah!  However, when Potashow came to get his license renewed, they told him he would need to come back on Monday to take a test L  Then, we went by immigration to check on our booklet for our work permit, and we had a nice chat with the 2 officers there.  Ricky will need to return next week with our paperwork in order, and they said they would work on getting our permits from Lusaka.  Finally, it was time to head for lunch, and we’re all starving!  After lunch, we have to stop at a few other stores, and then get groceries at Spar.  I have one cart, Wes has a cart for himself and the orphanage, and Ricky has a cart to help as well.  We split up the list and went shopping.  At the check-out register, we run into Michael, our contractor, and chat with him about the work on our house.  Then we load our groceries into the bus, and go back to the market to pick up our veggies.  It was an all day job, but we finally make it home by 4:30pm-5pm.

at the market in Choma

Saw this during our shopping adventure. Can you see the cow in the back of the truck? LOL

A few minutes rest before Wednesday evening prayer & praise service at 7pm, and then to bed.

Thursday, September 19 – As you may recall, one of our vehicles (the Ford Everest) has been in the shop in Lusaka for 2 weeks now.  We are still getting quotes as to how much it will cost to fix.  In the meantime, the van has stopped working altogether.  And the Cantor that we took into the shop yesterday to Choma, it needs parts from Lusaka in order to be fixed.  So the only vehicle we have running at the moment is the bus.  PRAY for our vehicles!

Niki continued to work on sorting the donations, and the job is almost complete J  This afternoon, we went with Wes and Hildah to Kabanga village to join their bible study.  Wes has been teaching T4T, starting in Genesis, with these people, and they are excited to learn.  The old man, who is 93 years old, and 2 of his wives, plus a few others usually come for bible study.  Today there were 8 people.  It is encouraging to see how hungry they are for God’s Word.  They cling to every word as we tell the stories.  Today was a special day in which they wanted to talk about how to start a church there in their village.  Wes and Blu usually just teach, and they let the Holy Spirit convict the people when it’s time to start a church.  The reason is we want it to be their idea (not ours), and they have to take responsibility for how they go about choosing a place and putting the word out.  We encouraged them to pray about their decision and make sure that it is what God wants them to do.  Their first step will be going to the headman and asking about land to build a shelter (chaguta).

Bible study group

This kind of experience is what we needed to take our minds off the troubles of the vehicles, and focus more on what God has called each of us to do.  It’s all about HIM!

So, after returning home, we talked about our plan for getting me to Lusaka, but also to get some work done on the bus.  Although it is the only vehicle running, it’s still having oil leakage and we don’t want it to breakdown as well.  It was decided that we will leave tomorrow (Friday) and go halfway to Lusaka.  So now we are packing my bags for my return to America.

Friday, September 20 – We finish packing and saying our goodbyes to the children, and we were on the road by 11:30am.  Our first stop was Choma to pick up some things we needed and to eat lunch at the museum.  Then, we travel further to Mazabuka to get gas, refill the oil, and pickup Wes’ phone.  Now we are headed on to Munali Coffee Farm where we are staying the night with some friends.  We arrived around 6pm and the family was waiting on us to have dinner.  We enjoyed talking with this couple and their granddaughter, Lillianna, who is 11 years old and reminded us of Kelsey.  They live in this huge house on the farm, and they are so hospitable.  They say they always have guests staying.  After dinner we retreat to our rooms for the night.  It was THE BEST shower we have had in 2 weeks (no offense to NDO) – the Water Pressure was OUTSTANDING!!!  I think our feet are looking a little cleaner.

The wheat fields at Munali

Saturday, September 21 – Bright and early @ 6AM we leave the farm and head to Lusaka.  I got to see the sunrise (rare for me), and the ride was nice until we crossed the Kafue River, and that’s when the detour began.  They have been working on the roads, repaving, for over 4 months now and still not done.  But we made it through the rough roads and into Lusaka traffic by 8:30am, and drop the bus at Baldy’s.  His words were, “You need to go to breakfast and maybe lunch as well before it’s fixed!”  Well, that didn’t sound good, but we know it needs to be fixed.  So now we are heading to get breakfast and then retreat to the GH.

After a bottomless coffee at Manda Hill, we did a little shopping for groceries and then walked to the GH.  We got settled in for a rest, and then the mechanic called to say the bus was fixed (Woohoo!), so Ricky & Wes headed to town to pickup.  Once we got the bus back to the GH, we had to unload Diana’s crate which just came in.  We were able to get everything stuffed on the bus.  Then, we ran into Aunt Betty and visited with her a little while before we had dinner. She gave us a tour of our old apartment we used to live in when we served at the GH back in 2007-2009.  We considered just ordering pizza for dinner - our thoughts were Quick and Easy! Hahaha! Not in Africa!  Oh, about an hour and a half later, our pizza arrives.  We were too tired to play cards tonight, so we just went to bed.

Sunday, September 22 - We decided to attend church at the Guesthouse where the Chinese Church Fellowship is meeting.  We met some new friends there, and it was a neat service to be a part of worship in another language.  Wes' words were, "This is what heaven will be like one day. Except we will all be able to understand each other."  Exactly!

After church we went to Arcades Mall and had lunch at Rhapsody's (chicken espatada - YUM!), and of course I did some shopping at the Sunday market (duh!) :)  After buying a few gifts for my friends back home, we met up with Ethel again.  Now, Ethel works as a clearing agent, and we have hired her to clear our container when it arrives in Africa.  She also did the clearing for Diana's crate that just came in.  A couple of weeks ago when we met with her, Wes began talking with her about salvation.  She grew up Jehovah Witness with a strong "head" knowledge of the Bible, but she still had questions.  So, we continued our discussions today, and the Holy Spirit began to work in her life, and she accepted Jesus into her heart today.  Ricky, Wes, and I had the privilege of being a part of her decision and praising God for her salvation!!!

I could not have asked for a better ending to my time in Zambia!

Well, I am boarding the plane, which will take me from Lusaka to Dubai to New York to Charlotte, and there I will meet Kelsey and Tracy!  Can't wait to see my family!

Birthday Parties, Kids Club, Church & American Night

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! WE LOVE YOU!

Saturday, September 14 – This morning Laurie and Niki baked birthday cakes for Gertrude and Misheck.  The sponsors send gifts for their birthdays so we packaged them in gift bags.  We then headed to the dining room to setup for the party and decorate the tables.  The kids came in around 10am to start the party.  I like the song, “Happy Birthday to you, We love you!”  After singing to them and blowing out candles, they opened their gifts.  Then it was cake time!  And after that, Debbie had a surprise for the kids.  They all lined up and walked over to the cow farm, where they saw the surprise.  Daisy (the momma cow) had a baby GIRL around 5:15am.  Because it was Gertrude’s birthday, she got to name it.  The name she gave the calf was Gertrude, so we will call her Gertie!

Then it was time for the traditional watering of the birthday persons.  Everyone fills a cup or bucket with water and they pour water on the birthday person.  It was fun getting to experience this first hand after seeing pictures of this for so long.  Abby dumped water in Caedmon, Cambree, and Cason’s absence!

After the party was finished, Niki had to look at Ben’s foot again, and clean it again and re-bandage.  There was time for a quick nap until Kids Club.  There were about 127 kids that came.  Kids Club usually begins around 3pm and ends around 6pm.  First, we let the kids have free play time, which is usually kickball game, football (soccer), Frisbee, jump rope, parachute game, and just hanging out with the kids.  Then, we gather them together around 4:00 for the Bible lesson.  Today Debbie led the lesson time, and she did a little game as an icebreaker, and then she did reviewing with them over what they have been learning the last few weeks.  They talked about the Gospel story, and then several children recited the books of the New Testament.  Once Bible lesson time was finished, Ricky and I helped get the kids to line up for washing hands.  The New Day kids really help out with this ministry!  So the kids wash their hands and then proceed to fix their plate with food that our church ladies have prepared – nshima, beans, cabbage.  Then they all sit on tarps which have been spread out on the ground, and they eat their meal.  After they have finished eating, each child must bring their plate to the washing station, and once they have washed their plate they can receive a cup of water.  Most of them want lots of water so they continue waiting in line (sort of) for a refill (or more).  Once everyone has finished, the New Day kids help us with clean-up and washing the dishes and putting everything away.

It has been a long day, and the temperature was over 100 degrees (maybe 104?) today, and so we are exhausted from the heat.  Tonight’s dinner was made-up from leftovers – dough for rolls, lunch meat, cheese, onions, broccoli, mushrooms – so I sautéed all the veggies with garlic, and then rolled out the dough and made a calzone of sorts minus the tomato sauce (cause I didn’t have any), and then baked them – more like a hot-pocket snack.  After dinner, Niki went back to check on Ben’s foot once he was finished with his bath.  He wanted to remove the stitch, but it was hurting too much, so we left it open to heal during the night. 

Tonight we picked out a DVD movie to watch – Nights in Rodanthe – one of our favorites that we saw in South Africa when it came out in the theater.

Sunday, September 15 – At 7:30am our power went off.  Luckily we had already made the coffee, so we just made our breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast (using a gas stove has its advantages).  There was still hot water so we were able to take baths before church.  Mulenga led the Bible study time, and Ricky preached on the story of Nicodemus (John 3:1-5).

After church, Niki checked on Ben‘s foot, and the stitch was gone!  He told that Muchoni had pulled it out late last night.  So, the swelling was still there, so we are sending him to the clinic for them to check for infection.

At 2pm, we went over to the Wilcoxes for team prayer time.  The 5 of us were on our knees praying for several requests:

* vehicles - it seems we always have at least one broken vehicle. Currently the Ford Everest is in the shop in Lusaka for transmission and rear end problems. The van that we use at new day is having issues as well with starting / acceleration. We are thankful that our large bus is working. And the cantor truck has some oil leak issues but its running. New Day has the funds to purchase a brand new Toyota hilux 4-door truck, however, the government is wanting us to pay taxes and duty. We are asking Gods help in showing mercy upon those in higher government positions that will grant us duty free tax.

*fires - it is the time of year when the villages begin burning the fields in order to kill the tall dead grass before the rainy season. There are fires being burned all around our homes, and the wind is very dangerous. We ask The Lord to protect us and our homes from the fires around us.

*sickness & injury - the measles are making their way through our children. We ask a special prayer for those infected. We've also had several children injured in the last couple of weeks: Ben had stitches in his foot where he stepped on a stick, and it looks to be infected; Mweene fell off top bunk and hurt his forehead and jaw. He seems to be doing a little better but still swollen; and our son, Coby, broke his wrist at school playing basketball.

About 4:30pm the power finally came back on, just in time for me to bake the enchiladas for our “Mexican” themed American night.  Each Sunday night, the Americans get together for a meal and fellowship.  Laurie brought taco salad, Debbie brought salsa and jalapenos, and Diana brought beans.  Oh, and Ricky and I made homemade tortilla chips!  Once everyone got to the house at 6:30pm, the power went off again.  We gathered all the candles so we could see to fix our plates, and then the power came back on – and then went back off – and then came back on.  It finally stayed on so we could finish our meal, and then we played cards – Baptist Poker!  Ricky won the first round (again!) and Diana won the 2^nd round.

Week One in Review

Monday, September 9 – We arose around 6:00am; had a light breakfast; went to meet our contractor, Mike, and discuss the house plans thus far.  There were some minor adjustments we asked him to do, but otherwise things were moving (slowly but surely).  We also tried to call Coby for his birthday, but he didn’t answer, so we called Todd (his dorm dad) and got the scoop on his basketball injury to his wrist.  Todd said that if it wasn’t for the sling Coby was wearing, then you wouldn’t even know he was hurt.  He was still continuing to play ping pong and do other activities.  We unpacked our things so we wouldn’t be living out of suitcases forever.  The Tidwells are graciously allowing us to live in their home while they are stateside, and so their house helper, Lois, is still coming at 8:00am to clean.  She only works part-time until 12:00pm.  Niki joined the other 2 missionary ladies, Debbie and Diana, to Choma for some grocery shopping.  Ricky stayed at New Day with Wes and they rebuilt Mweene’s bed.  Niki returned from Choma around 6:00pm, and we ate dinner with the Wilcoxes.  We were almost finished dinner when the power went off (which is typical for them).  We fellowshipped with Wes and Laurie until the power returned, and then we had to clean up from dinner.  We were also able to talk with Coby tonight and wish him a happy birthday.  He says he is still able to dribble and shoot with the right arm, so I guess the broken wrist is not slowing him down!  We stayed up putting away our groceries, and it seemed we had a little visitor in the pantry (a RAT)!  So we put out a trap of tomato and poison overnight.

Our house under construction still

The Master Bedroom

The Living Room/Dining Combo

One of the boys showing his car he made

Can you tell what this car is made out of? a plastic juice bottle, sticks, and bottle caps for wheels

Such awesome little HELPERS

Tuesday, September 10 – We awoke this morning to find the tomato gone, but no dead rat…hmm!?  Each morning at 7:30am the staff has devotion before starting work for the day.  Ricky was asked to lead this morning.  After the devotion time, 2 men came forward asking Jesus to be their Savior!  PTL!  Niki began working on a project to organize donations that have been sent to New Day.  They were all stacked in about 3 rooms so she had to sort and box and organize them into 2 rooms.  By 10:30am most of the workers were heading to the home of the late headman to begin the funeral for the wife.  It has been about a week or so when the headman (age 93) passed away, and just this past week, his wife died also.  They had 11 children and 52 grandchildren!!!  So, after lunch Wes, Ricky and Niki and the staff of New Day went to join the others at the home for the funeral.  We have never attended a funeral in Zambia, even when we served in Lusaka several years ago.  So, we all load into the NDO bus and down the dirt road just about 2 km.  Everyone was gathered at the home and in the yard.  Ricky went with Wes to greet the men and family in the home.  Niki stayed with the women and learned that she would be singing in the choir (luckily they gave me a book to read the words to songs!), and so they brought the body outside the house and laid the coffin in the yard for everyone to pass by and see.  The choir sang and there was a prayer.  Then, the whole gathering followed the men carrying the coffin to the graveside area just behind the house, right beside the headman’s grave.  There was more singing, and then Wes did the preaching.  It was a long (and HOT) funeral with similarities to funeral’s in America.  There were some obvious differences as well.  One of the things that struck me as being the best part of the service was how the people worked together in community.  In Zambia, and maybe in other countries or cultures, community is HUGE.  So after the coffin was put into the grave, the men began taking turns mixing the sand and concrete – working together the entire time.  The shovel was passed many times around the crowd for everyone to have the opportunity to help.  Then, it was time to pass the buckets of mixed concrete to the grave, so they all formed 2 lines and began passing the buckets until it was filled.  After that, the dirt was shoveled onto the concrete mix, and some people came up and picked a handful of dirt to put inside the grave or just to touch it – ashes to ashes and dust to dust.  This whole time the women continued singing!  There were no chairs – people just sat on the ground, which had been cleared and burned for this event.  There was a man in the family who had prayed to receive Christ just a few weeks ago, and he told Wes that he needed someone to talk with his wife because she was ready to ask Jesus into her heart.  Hildah began talking with her during the ceremony, and continued talking after the funeral, and we rejoice in the good news that she accepted Jesus as her Savior! Amen!

After the funeral, we all returned to our homes and I began cooking my first meal for me & Ricky.  During my cooking, Mulenga, Abby and Liz brought Mweene to my house because his face was swelling on the left side where he fell out of bed.  When I looked inside his mouth, the gums were bleeding and he said it hurt to touch his jaw.  Laurie, Ricky and I all agreed he needed to go back to the clinic.  So they left.  After dinner we waited for them to return, and the doctor said Mweene needed an xray to see if the jaw was broken.  They will go tomorrow to Macha to get xray.

Wes helping shovel dirt at the funeral

getting ready to pour the "ream beam" (not sure of spelling)

Sticks are used to help support the windows

The 1st truss was made

 Wednesday, September 11 – Ricky and Wes had to go into Choma today for groceries for the orphanage as well as repairs on the truck.  They took the big bus and the truck, and another worker drove the truck.  I (Niki) decided to go for a little run, accompanied by both of Blu’s dogs.  I made it to the gate and back to the school when I saw the kids going into school.  They were all wanting me to come over, so I sat with them during their morning devotion.  After this I had several projects to work on during the morning.  I worked on some paperwork (monthly financial reports) and also went back to sorting donations.  Laurie came over after school and we finished the paperwork together.  Then it was time for the kids to be out of school, so I rode Blu’s bike down to the play area where the kids were enjoying outside time.  First, Christina taught me how to play the “throwy rock game” which I was horrible at.  Precious and I decided we would just pretend to throw the rock and it was easier to grab the rocks J  Then, the boys and girls began a game of kickball, so I asked them if I could pitch for both teams that way I could learn their names as they came up to kick.  They can play FOREVER!  I think we played for like 2 hours, during which the girls team was behind so I went to play on their team to help gain some points.  They couldn’t believe this OLD lady was kicking ball and running bases.  I will pay for this tomorrow J #sore muscles

Finally, we got a call from Wes that the worker driving the truck got stopped by the police and his driver’s license had expired.  So they had to pay a fine, and then it took longer to get home because of this delay.  I had spaghetti in the crockpot, so Wes & Laurie just came over to eat with us since Ricky and Wes got in so late.  The groceries were unloaded (with the help of all the kids – they LOVE to WORK).  Due to Wes and Ricky being gone so late, we postponed Wed. night prayer & worship service to Thursday.  Just after dinner Mulenga and Liz returned from Macha with Mweene and his jaw was NOT broken, so that is a praise!  They just gave him some more medicine for pain.

My view as I type this blog!

Subway T-shirt in Choma - this guy probably has no idea what Subway even is!!!

View of our house

More trusses were made

This is a dust tornado. They appear very frequently here!

This one was so loud, Wes & Laurie came out of their house to see it.

 Thursday, September 12 – This morning I pulled more boxes out of the storage container and began sorting them.  I’m making progress – I think!  Ricky helped look over the plans for the new GH, and the guys determined they were off about 3” on the square of the building.  So, now Ricky is trying to help them figure out how to compensate for the loss.  On our house the guys were pouring the cement for the rim beam and building the trusses.  I also helped with entering receipts for the monthly report.

Wes left to do bible study, and Ricky and I stayed around to help with the unloading of the cement bags that were being delivered this afternoon.  Mulenga was the only worker we could find, and he insisted on carrying every single heavy bag himself.  Then, after dinner we joined everyone for the prayer and worship service.  One of our prayer requests was the Everest which is the shop – it was not good news.  The rear-end and the transmission are finished!  So now we need to make a decision once the quote comes in as to whether we will get the car fixed or just use that money to buy a new vehicle.  New Day has purchased a vehicle already, but the government is giving us grief about some paperwork that needs to be taken care of (in the way of paying more money), and so we don’t have the funds to get the vehicle here, although we desperately need it. 

Walking back home, the Wilcoxes asked if we wanted to play cards, so we went to their house and learned a new game called “Baptist Poker.”  Ricky won the first round, and I won the 2^nd round.  Beginner’s luck!

More construction going on

Making cement for the ream beam

My homemade dinner rolls - I was trying to mimic the Subway Party breads! LOL!

Ricky is SOOO excited to have Green Peas!

Sunset

Friday, September 13 – Another vehicle problem!  Now the van is acting up with the acceleration or carborator or something??  Wes and Ricky took the bus into Monze to retrieve Wes’ license which was ready for pickup.  They dropped Mulenga off so he could catch a bus to Mazabuka to get his license.  Ricky was able to talk with someone about getting his old Zambian license renewed, and they think it can happen, but we must go to Choma next week and see the person who does that job.  Wes & Ricky shopped for things needed at NDO. 

This afternoon Wes and Ricky went to Bible study about 10km away.  Ricky met a 17 year old named Patrick and his 16 year old brother named Paul.  Both attend Catholic school and both were full of questions about the Word.  Ricky was able to share that he has a son, Austin, who is also 17 years old, and Ricky used examples of Austin’s life to share with them.  They want to meet again and continue to get answers.  While Wes taught Bible study, Ricky held King ( a 2 year old son of the household), and he fell asleep in Ricky’s arms (or either fell asleep from Wes’ teaching! LOL)  The man of the household, Felix, has many wives, but he is studying his Bible a lot.

While Ricky was away, Niki worked on organizing the donations some more.  Laurie asked Niki to look at Ben’s foot which was still hurting him.  About a week or so ago, he stepped on a stick, and they put in about 3 stitches.  There was still one stitch remaining, but the wound looked infected.  Niki cleaned it and reapplied some ointment and bandage, plus gave him some Tylenol for pain. 

In the evening we were exhausted from the work and the heat, so we rested by watching a movie on DVD.

Wes and King

Wes and another baby from the village