Happy Family HomeEvening! (ha)

We were having dinner tonight when Ken noticed that there was water on the kitchen floor. Oh
great. We traced it to the refridgerator and found that something is dreadfully wrong. The fridge was defrosting and the overflow drain pan was full and flooding over on the floor. Wouldn't you know it, we had just gone shopping and the fridge was full. Why do we have to be copy cats? The Kenyon's fridge was on the fritz last week. Anything that goes wrong, we have to fix or replace. In less than a month, we have already bought a new lawn mower. How do we find a repairman to fix the fridge? Then we had a great idea. (lightbulb) In our garage they are storing all of the furniture from the old CES house. Well, there just happened to be a fridge in there and no one to use it. So, we hauled it onto the porch and I went out and cleaned it up. Dad took all the shelves and drawers inside and washed them. We were sweating bullets, so decided to come into the airconditioned office to cool off for a minute. The fridge is plugged in, and it started working, so we will see if it starts to cool off before we move all of the contents from the other fridge. Wish us luck.

Maid and Gardener

You say, oh how lucky you are to have a maid and a gardener. Well, I am not so sure about that, especially this week, and I will explain why. Actually, we kinda inherited them because the Cowley's were using them and we didn't have the guts to let them go.

Anna is our maid, she is a little lady with a baby about 6 months old. She comes 2 days a week and mostly just keeps our floors scrubbed. It is a pain, because we have to leave so often when she is here and I don't love doing that, but so far she has been very honest. We had a picture taken with her which I will include.

Our gardener, Melquiori, is a very hard worker and he does a good job with the yard. This week, he came up to us and said that he needed some extra money so he could get fertilizer for the lawn and plants. We thought that was a good idea and paid up, well we have been paying for it ever since. Little did we know that the fertilizer would be coming in a wheelbarrow from the chicken farm across the way. Man was it ripe, and in the heat the stench has been nearly unbearable. Fixing food has been hard, eating it has been worse, since everything inside and outside of our house smells like chicken poop!!! We have had lots of rain, but not since the fertilizer has been spread. We don't like rain because it causes the traffic to become terriffic, but we need to pray for rain to wash the smell into the soil. I was shocked to watch him spreading the fertilizer with his bare hands. I hope he washed before he had his lunch.

He is a great helper, and keeps our cars washed once or twice a week. We pay him the equivilent of 80 cents an hour.

Silly Traffic!!

Total GRIDLOCK!!

Tonight I had another great big WOW!!! We were on our way to the church for the equivalent of High Council Meeting. Ken had some things that he needed to talk to the council about for President Taylor. The traffic was slow but moving when we realized that we had left the check for Brother Onditi at our flat. The Kenyons had been at our flat and were following us to the church. I called them on the phone and asked them if they would pull over and let me ride with them back to the flat to get the check so Ken could make it to the meeting on time. So that is what happened. The church is about 6 miles from our flat, but usually takes 15 to 30 minutes to drive. We got the check and were on our way back, and were nearly to the spot where we had turned around. The traffic was very heavy. Well things went from bad to worse. In Tanzania when things don't go the way you want, you make up your own rules for driving. We were nearly at an intersection, not a huge one, but one without stop lights. (Most don't have stop lights). The traffic came to a complete stop. No big deal, but it stayed that for over an hour.
Cars didn't like being stopped, so they tried to make their way by doing something else. This intensified the problems and before long the road in every direction was full of cars and dola dolas. People filled the streets after a while, and all there was to do is sit and laugh. It was the most amazing thing that I have ever seen. Cars up to 8 wide heading towards each other with no where to go. We have had lots of rain the last several days, and they say that traffic problems are much worse during the rainy season. The most amazing thing is that no one seemed to get upset about the whole affair. Imagine this happening in America!!! There is a lesson to be learned here: We have and obey laws for a reason. This is what happens when there are none. If I can get a picture or two to upload, I will include them. Wow, is all I can say!

The Indian Ocean

The CES couple that we serve with in Tanzania live close to the Indian Ocean and we go there with them on date nights as there is a nice area with Americanized eating and shopping choices. This is a photo with us on the banks of the ocean. The elders from South Africa are amazed that the ocean is so calm. It is really beautiful.

Relief Society Birthday Party African Style

Every day is a new experience. Saturday morning started off calm until the phone rang. No one ever wants to talk to me, but this morning, it was for me.

Brother Matee was on the line and he invited me to come to the RS Birthday Party and to bring the games. Sure, no problem, I've been planning parties for years. It was to start at 11:00AM. I could make it. We got there in time---me with games and Ken with his Ensign to read while he waited. And wait he did!!!

It was noon when they were finally ready to start. They begin every gathering,

(meeting, class, activity, party) with a song (all verses, and no accompaniment) and then a prayer. We then had a lesson about the formation of the Relief Society. Then, they gave me the time to make them laugh with games. I wasn't told that I was supposed to make them laugh, but we got it done. We played what's in your purse or pocket. Many of the things I asked for they didn't have, but when I asked for a cell phone, everyone quickly produced one. Isn't that interesting. The other games worked well too. Then they sang again and had a prayer and a blessing on the food. They got out a store made cake that was decorated with Happy Birthday Relief Society and the dates and we all sang Happy Birthday. Then everyone got their picture taken with the cake. Then it was time for lunch. They really save on the budget, cause they eat with their fingers. No plastic ware necessary. I did pretty well with the food except for the tomatoes and the cucumbers. Sorry, but that is just how it is. We finished the activity at about 2:30, and I was the first to leave. They are a very welcoming people, it was a good experience. Here is a picture of the RS ladies.

An African Monkey

We live in a compound, with a wall, a gate and guards. The wall has glass shards and barbed wire on the top of it. There are 18 houses in the compound. This morning as I was in the back yard hanging out my sheets, Ken said "look".
When I looked, there on the top of the wall was a cute little monkey. I ran in to get my camera, but I heard Ken calling that he had gone.

I took it out anyhow, and it wasn't long before he returned. So, I took his photo. This is another first for me in Tanzania.

Song for Grandma and Grandpa Petie