Adventures in Africa: Part 2

After we reach Kokofu we moved on to our final destination in a small village. Before long, unfortunately our friends had to leave and return to the States. They showed us the necessities of what we needed to know and now we just had to unpack.

Once that was finished we had other things that had to be dealt with. Without realizing it, snakes bred in our yard and, unnoticed at first, started hatching. Every night, my father took his machete and lantern and searched outside, getting rid of every snake he saw. An occasional scorpion was found among the weeds and brush. One even managed to get into the house under the back door! Geckos covered the walls of our house at night and lizards by day.

We get our vegetables from markets and we drink from water bags. The water is not filtered so unlike in the US you can't use the faucet to brush your teeth or drink it because of its impurities. So now let's visit the village where we have church!

It's not odd to have a chicken, goat, or sheep wander through the building during the service because we have no doors, or bathrooms for that matter. But they don't stay long for the women usually will chase them out, hissing and waving their hands.

After church we drive the bumpy winding roads back home through the bush (jungle). Especially in the months of September through about January, the dry season is dusty and fills our car. Along with the people every Sunday!We fit many people in our car every Sunday for the drive up the porous, rut filled road. One day on our way up from church, a woman brought a live chicken in a basket. It clucked disapprovingly with each jolt of the car and every time a hand moved toward it. By the time we reach the main roads it can be quite tricky. Chickens and other animals race in front of the car too, so you have to be quick to avoid them or pay the angry owner because you ran over their dinner.

The main fruits here are coconuts, mangoes, pineapples, papayas, and bananas. But when I refer to coconuts I don't mean the little brown ones you find at the grocery store—on the contrary big, green, fresh ones! Also the people are known for their plantain chips, which are basically plantains cut and fried in oil. Even though they aren't healthy, they are delicious! Other yummy foods are Foo-Foo, rice and stew, and peanut soup with rice balls. For those of you who don't know what Foo-Foo is, it's mashed plantain and cassava root or coco yam (I've had it both ways). The finished product is a roundish blob that is commonly served with peanut soup and light soup. If you were to eat in a village you may also be served whole fish, including the head!

Also a few words that are commonly spoken around me are: "brunei" meaning white man, "etesian" meaning how's your day, and "meda w'asi" meaning thank you. Those are just three of the most common words and they are pronounced as they are spelled.

Now for the temperature. When I first arrived it did feel rather hot to me, but by now my body has adjusted considerably! The average daily temperature runs about 97 degrees and has more of a dry heat than humid. The low temperature is 73-76 degrees. Sometimes now I wake up in the morning quite cold thinking, "why didn't I bring a sweat shirt or something?" But then again who would have thought I would have needed one, right?

Now that Christmas time is rolling around, I was hoping for the Christmas Spirit. We found an artificial Christmas tree and other décor and even a few little lights at the closest city. Still hoping for cooler weather and maybe snow... yep, not going to happen. Anyway, Christmas isn't about all that fuss, but about our Savior's birth, right! Prayers are welcome as we help with the ministry here and continue to adjust, thank you. :)