July 23rd

Oy! Today was a long day. It was not a bad day, but it was long. I started the day off right with a call from Jason. This is the best start to any morning. We did not have electricity when we woke up, so I did everything in the dark. I skipped make up for obvious reasons.

Then, I headed to breakfast at 7am. This was when we told the team that breakfast would be served. Apparently, they are adjusting well to “Africa time” where everyone is late. Since everyone was late to breakfast, the morning meeting was delayed, which means our departure was delayed and so on. I didn’t think I was a person that gets stressed out with tardiness, but to some extent it wore on me.

We got to the village and did a walk around. It was break/recess time so kids were everywhere. It was great to see the team immediately jump in to converse with the children and love on them. We have a good team.

During the walk around, I got pulled aside by a little girl that I met yesterday, Resty. She said to me, “Why don’t we sit over here?” and pulled me along. We sat on the side of a house and chatted for about 15 minutes. I am not a very good small talker, and she was a little reserved as well, but somehow, together, we made it through. We took photos together. She loved that. She carried around with her everywhere a little book. She said that she received it from her sponsor. I asked how often she read it, and she said everytime she had nothing else to do, so many times in the morning, at recess, at lunch, and in the evening. I definitely plan on letting her sponsor know, Sharon and Greg, how much that book means to Resty. It just reminded me again how important good sponsor relations are to the children. We will encourage more participation from sponsors when I get home. When the school bell rang and she had to return, she told me that she hoped to see me later that day because she had something for me.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see her again. I was out shopping with Donna P and Donna M for furniture, paint, curtains, etc. to decorate a home that their church built last year. It took a very long time. We negotiated, through Betty, pricing for each piece of furniture. It was painstakingly long, but surprisingly fun as well. The furniture builder, who attends Christian Life Church, wanted to show examples to get an idea of exactly what Donna P wanted, so we walked around a ton to other shops to discuss this piece or that, this color wood or that, this fabric or that. Once all was decided, we headed back to their shop. Their shop was located behind a building in a little wood shack. In an effort to make things more comfortable for their mzungu guests, they literally went and got a sofa and carried it back, patted off the dust, and fluffed the pillows for us to sit. There, we sat and did the business side of shopping… money. Actually, I felt more comfortable in this back area on this plush sofa than if I was in a reputable store because I had a lot of money to count and no audience in this secluded area.

This ate much of our day, so we went to the paint store next. We chose a store that could mix on site so it would only take 20 minutes. The prices were discussed with a salesman previously by Asher and me and we were given the retail price list (This info will come in handy later). The prices were actually higher, but there is convenience in being able to get your paint the same day you order. Donna P and Donna M had a specific idea of what color they wanted. Since we were limited to the swatches on the board, the Donnas had to make some compromises. When they finally chose the swatches, we made the order.

The price that the lady wanted to charge me was very high, higher than the retail price list. I gave her a hard time about charging me a mzungu price and she discounted it down to the listed price for me. Oh gee… thanks. As we were waiting for our paints to get mixed, I get notioned to come and the cashier explained that I wasn’t charged enough. They gave many reasons, and I got them to negotiate down to a more reasonable price. I still had to pay equivalent to $30 more. Fine… I did it. We got quoted for a pint of brown paint that was on clearance… they charged me more… these people… I tell you!! At this point, Betty was gone, so it was hard to translate.

When the paint finally came, which was longer than 20 minutes (back to Africa Time), one of the colors was off. The staff insisted that when it dried it would be okay… however the paint was yellow when we ordered orange. The hues were wrong, not just the darkness. He offered to work on it some more and that it would take 10 minutes longer. 45 minutes later, he brings out a color that is wrong again. They explained that they would work on it and it would be ready tomorrow. They close at 12:30. We may have to pick it up Tuesday, which will be cutting it close, because tomorrow will be nearly impossible to go by 12:30.

We were about 1 hour late returning. Africa Time stresses me out more than I thought it would. I don’t feel like I’m high strung about it, but I do feel more worn out than I think I should. All in all, I just think about my 15 minutes with Resty and I am happy again. She warmed my heart as if she knew I was needing a break from my hard “work,” which it is. I work from about 7am to midnight most days. But, I love it.

We came back to the hotel so that Asher could get ready for the airport run and I could make preparations for the arriving team. For example, I put their welcome packets that we prepared in their room and prepared for their dinner since it will be later than dinner is typically served.

Also, I ate dinner with the team and hosted the team meeting for the night. It was nice to hear everyone’s perspective:

Nancy liked that the children at the village seemed happy. She didn’t notice any fighting. It seems like the children take care of each other.

Bev commented on the daily evening devotional that most of the team got to witness. She said that the older boy that was preaching said to the children, “We used to have only one meal a day, and now we have three. But we still complain!” His message was encouraging the other children to count their blessings and be thankful for what God has given them.

Donna P commented on her feelings when we drove up to the orphan village. She said that it was its own world and that there was a peace about it. She said, “I would never wish for a child to be an orphan, yet this is such a great place for these children.”

Austin, age 12, commented about school because he was able to listen in on some of the classes. He said it was a lot of fun. There are a lot more kids in these classes than at his school. The team added in that one class has 67 and another had 84. In some cases the smaller children sat on the laps of the larger ones so that everyone had a seat.

Wayne also talked about the school. He said he was impressed, but that he realized many needs within the school. He said the teaching, especially the debate club, was very well done.

Andrea said that she was proud of and impressed with her team. She said they exceeded her expectations and that she liked that they immediately started loving on the orphans when they got there, whereas in her experience most teams take a few days. She said to the team, “it was beautiful to see you guys in action.” She said, and I agree, that they did a good job representing The Oaks and Jesus!

I got to more administrative stuff, including typing up this blog after meeting. I probably wont get to my room until well after midnight again tonight since the team is arriving so late. I’m glad we are done with airport arrivals. I’m glad everyone is here, safe and happy.

Anyway, I’m sure I’m not making too much sense because I am tired now as I am writing this at 10:45pm. I may go nap in the lobby while I wait for the team.