Ricky's "selfie" as he sits on top of the lumber in the back of the truck. |
It was a busy weekend trying to get our house finished and move-in ready. Every time we thought we were getting close to moving in, something else would come up that needed to be done before that could happen.
Now we are into another week, and the guys are still not finished with the house. But construction is under way at the Guesthouse for our volunteers. Blu is leading the construction team, and they are really enjoying using the new tools donated by Ryobi and Craftsman!
Cason told me he was working on a new bridge to get to New Day! LOL |
Our "normal" shopping day in Choma is Thursdays, and Ricky and I usually go into town with several lists, including the BIG list for the week's worth of groceries for the orphanage kids and staff, plus the items for the New Day store, and any personal groceries we need or others need. So, this week on Wednesday, January 29th, we decided to go into Choma a day early since Blu was also needing more building supplies. Blu headed into town early with the canter (which, by the way, was running a little better) and we followed later with one of our volunteers in tow. Jenna was needing to get her visa renewed, so we had to take her by immigration offices. Everything was going very smoothly this day, from very good news at immigration to an almost flawless shopping day. We even had a very relaxing lunch at Choma Museum.
Shortly after lunch it began to rain (again!), so Blu decided to head back to New Day ahead of us. We were finishing up our shopping when we got the dreaded call. It was Blu telling us the bridge was flooded, and we would possibly need to stay overnight in Choma. With a truck full of groceries for the week, we were debating on whether to stay in Choma or take our chances that the river would be down by the time we drove the 60km to get home.
We decided to take our chances. Blu called and said the river might be going down soon, so we were hopeful. About halfway home, we get another call from Blu. He had turned around at the bridge and went to Maxwell's house to pay him a visit while waiting for the water to go down. So the call from Blu was to let us know that as he was leaving Maxwell's hut, he got the canter stuck in the mud. Oh, great! So, onward we move to help pull the canter out.
After successfully pulling the canter out of the mud, we proceed to the bridge to see the status. It was not good news! The river was raging about thigh deep across the bridge. Guys were swimming and having a fun time with the water so high. It did not look promising to us for passing anytime soon. There was lots of discussion with the local people on whether there was another way around the river, but they all agreed that we should wait it out. They said it would go down soon, maybe by 9 or 10pm at least.
So the wait begins...
Passing the time making finger puppets in the dark! |
Watching Blu try to build a fire in the middle of the dirt road! |
I was trying to upload a video we took of driving the bush route. Friends, this why we need 4-wheel drive out here! And this is also why our vehicles take so much wear and tear! Sorry I cannot upload the video :(
The plan was to stay on the best marked path we could follow and hope we chose the right path to get to where we wanted. We passed only 2 people on this "road" and they looked at us Crazy Americans like we were from Mars! When Blu asked them the direction of Mapanza, they both told us we needed to turn around...hahaha. If only they knew the bridge's situation. But we proceeded to follow the path, and Praise Sweet Jesus, we made it home to New Day around 7am, with all the groceries I might add.
That same morning, after trying to work a little on our house, we had to take a nap as we were all exhausted from the night's events. Later on, Ricky was asked to escort our contractor on his motorbike to the river and help him cross. The river was still over the bridge, but it was just knee deep, so the local people were using this situation to make a little extra cash. They were charging to carry your belongings across for you. Ricky watched as the guys carried the motorbike across the river!
Although a frustrating and exhausting day for all of us, it sure was an adventure we will never forget. Please pray with us that the government will soon be doing something to solve this problem of the bridge flooding. You cannot tell in this picture due to the water, but the bridge actually dips down towards the river instead of going over it. It really needs to be rebuilt soon!
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