Thursday, 25 March 2010

Hope this post finds you and your family doing well no matter where you are.
 
We are fine.  Just been taking things day by day and proving that in Chad, there is no such thing as your normal, every day, run-of-the-mill day.  And, today was no exception to that.
 
Morning for the family started at about 7 AM.  I slept in the living room with most of the children as Liddy got to spend the night with Janice.  Lucky her!  Was able to eat the 4 eggs Janice made me (thanks, Honey!) and almost immediately upon finishing them I had 2 people who wanted to see me.  One was the electrician.  The other was a guest.  After a few minutes with each of them I was able to get into the office, check email, and get the solar power going.  At about 9:30 AM Janice, Liddy, and I left for town to do some shopping and pick up Gracey and Libby who had spent the last 5 days helping another mission with their kids during their annual retreat.
 
There's a bunch of dignitaries in town so the main streets downtown were blocked off which forced us, and everyone else, to detour on mostly dirt roads.  A typical trip to town takes about 20 minutes.  This trip took closer to 45.  We eventually made it to where the girls were.  We picked them up and then went shopping.  We stopped at the cash machine, the post office (where we picked up 3 boxes), and 2 different grocery stores, and finally ended at the vegetable stand.  We arrived home at about 1 PM.  After unpacking our stuff, and going through the boxes, I started to make some lunch for me and a couple of the kids.  (Lunch today was Cream of Wheat.... Thanks Marcia!)  I was just about to add the Cream of Wheat to the boiling water when the electrician comes to the door to inform me that he had broken our water pipe to the Welcome Center.  (It's a long story!)  So I drop what I'm doing and go outside to see what the problem is.  Sure enough, the pipe was broken clean in two.  So, I called the plumber and proceeded to make a temporary fix with an old inner tube.  I then went back inside to prepare my lunch again.  Just as I'm ready to mix in the Cream of Wheat again, the plumber shows up.  So, I stop the cooking and go outside with him.  I show him the pipe and tell him that I'd prefer he fix it today.  He says he can (which I doubt since Chadians say they can fix anything) and then I tell him "OK, I'm gonna go eat my lunch now.  If you need me I'll be in my house."  So, I go back inside and actually do complete making my lunch.  As an added bonus I was able to eat it without interruption.  After eating I went back outside and bounced b/t the plumber and the electrician.
 
As I type this I can report that the electrician is done with his work and the plumber is done with his work and everything works!  We have power and we have water.
 
It has been a good day but I'm tired, have a headache, and haven't been able to spend as much time with Janice and the kids as I had wanted.  Ah, there's always the rest of the evening and tomorrow.  Thankfully, they are all very understanding.
 
Here's hoping you have a "normal" day.
 
Until next time.
 
sf

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