Bonjour!

Bonjour from Africa! I hope that everyone is enjoying a nice summer!! I think of everyone often and while I know I’m missing a lot of fun back home, I look forward to lots of catching up when I return!! This includes you Jessica & Sean, CONGRATS and I want details!!! When is the big day? (Any girlfriends who wanna catch up, we’ll need to it over pedicures, my feet are nasty!!!! --- I’m sure you’re all happy to know that! I can’t help it; I haven’t had a shower in over a month! Bathing is done thanks to bath wipes and buckets of water… washing my hair usually happens twice a week and consists of me sitting in a chair and using a pitcher to pour water over my head. Although my hair is in braids for the second time so it probably won’t get washed until I take them out. And ladies, let’s just say that I don’t blame the women here for not shaving their legs, it’s no easy task and for that reason I wear my jeans more often than I thought I would!! When I hit the hotel in London on my return, I’ll probably spend the first 12 hours or so just standing in the shower!!!! (ps- I’m not sure if I’m getting tan or its just dirt that I can’t scrub off!!))

So I thought I’d just list some general stuff on this post… maybe you’ll find it interesting, maybe not :)

- Chores are done throughout the day here by most of the girls (some of the youngest ones don’t have many chores just yet.) My favorites are washing dishes (50 people- three meals a day plus all the pots used to prepare the food, you do the math!), watering the garden, helping prepare the greens and doing my laundry. The one I do not help with at all is preparing the fish, no thank you! Other chores the girls have are sweeping and watering the dirt, cooking, “mopping” the living areas and walk-ways, bathing the younger children, serving meals, etc. They all work very hard! While I do miss my Pilates class and walking at Fort Ward, I think I’m staying in decent shape by pumping water from the well and helping with the chores :)

- I feel safe here. The compound is locked up at night and there is always a groundskeeper/guard here keeping an eye on everything. Usually there are a few men here but always at least one. The windows are all protected by bars and we also have four dogs. (I really like having the dogs around, they’re very playful! Their names are: Alex, Zack, (they are best buddies), Fox, and Gin (who I think are “dating”)… those are their English/Rachel names… Alex is actually Obelex and Zack is Zack-a-piece… I know I just butchered those but that’s the best I could do, lol! They call Alex my “raficki” (again, I know I butchered that)… it means “friend” in Swahili. He likes to pull on my skirts and nip at my heals. He can even until one of my skirts! Zack also likes to join him in chewing on me and licking me. They are lots of fun, follow me around and lay at my feet! I do try not to pet them too much though because they are dirty, probably have flees and have sores on their ears that are covered in flies a lot.) I’m never on my own when I leave the compound. The driver is always around when we go to town and if he isn’t then I have at least one of the girls with me. There are also guards and police all over town. They seem to be on every street corner and are allowed to stop anyone for any reason. I’ve also been told that they’ll get in your vehicle too (not sure why though.) Everyone says that they just want you to give them money to let you “pass” but they’ve only stopped our van once or twice and after a chat with the driver we’ve been on our way with no problem. There are military folks walking around with large guns and I’m not sure why but they never seem to be there to cause problems, just to keep an eye on things. There are guards at every building you enter and many times you also have to pass another guard to exit. (You won’t see photos of the police, military or guards b/c I don’t think I want to try and take any! Plus a friend has his camera taken by the police for taking photos of them at the Independence Day parade- and I’d like to hang on to my camera!)

- Everyone is very friendly to me and they smile and say “Bonjour” or “Jambo.” As a guest, you are pretty much not permitted to stand. The girls won’t even let me stand around here, sometimes I have to insist that whoever got up to give me their seat to please sit back down because I’m fine. However, when they have younger ones bring me a chair I gratefully accept :)

- No I’m not married yet but yes I’ve been asked, hahaha! On my second day here a gentlemen already wanted to know if I was married. Sometimes when I’m out I wear a ring that looks like a wedding band, but when I don’t I’ve been told by men that they love me. But just like home, you ignore these comments and keep walking. (Plus they say them in Swahili so I only know what the girls translate for me.)

- Being the minority (when it comes to skin color) has not bothered me here. The more I’m out, the more I see folks of different nationalities, it just depends on where you go. The other day when I was grocery shopping I even ran into an Indian woman and her children whom I had met the week before. I thought it was comforting and also funny :) Another time I ran into some American teenagers I had met the evening before.

- I’ve been watching DVD’s with the girls on my laptop. Their TV is broken and they’ve all been sad about this so I finally brought out the laptop. We watched Shrek in French but I’ve seen it so many times that I still thought it was great and they really seemed to enjoy it. One of my goals before I leave is to try and price TVs and possibly purchase one for them, depending on the price.

- I’m extra in love with a few special kids here and I’m trying my best not to get attached but I already have three or four that I wish I could scoop up and bring home with me. (Yes, I know everyone was wondering about that so I figured I’d letcha know!)

- June 30th was the 50th Independence Day here so lots of people have been celebrating! It was a huge deal! People were fasting in preparation. I was graciously invited to join some folks for a cookout that evening and it was wonderful to meet so many great folks!!

- The weather is nuts… I figured it’d be pretty warm most of the time but I was wrong. In the mornings it’s fairly cool and I usually wear a long sleeve shirt and a sweatshirt. If you’re in the sun or in a vehicle it’s pretty warm and can get hot enough to give you a headache. However, if you’re in the shade or the wind is blowing, it’s fairly chilly. There is no heater or air conditioning unit but because of the weather right now, neither is needed. I’m sure during the warm season it can be unbearable but it’s really very pleasant right now!! I picked the perfect time of year to travel here because I’m guessing the temps this summer at home will be between 80 and 100… ya’ll enjoy and I’ll sit in the shade here! :)

- One Sunday I felt like crap and stayed in my room after church. I always feel bad when I’m in my room for long but when you’re in a country that is new to you, you can’t call your parents to make you feel better, you know that your friends can’t come over and cuddle on the sofa and watch movies with you until you feel better, you can’t sleep in your own bed and you can’t run to the grocery for chicken noodle soup, crackers and orange juice… the last thing you want is to sit around with people you don’t understand and pretend that you’re happy and cheerful! Right now I’m suffering from sinus issues… there is so much dust, ask and exhaust fumes in the air that I’m not sure how anyone breathes!! Prayers that I continue to feel better are very appreciated!!

- One Monday I went to the store and got some more food… I bought a box of frozen, breaded chicken that also has spinach and feta cheese with it (YUM!) The box contained four servings… the Mama who likes to prepare my food took the box and I repeatedly told her “un” (one) and pointed at the box. Bless her little heart if she didn’t give me a plate with all four on it! I was starving (missed lunch) so I ate two of them but I put the other two in a bag and told her (like a game of charades) that they were very good, I was full and I was putting the other two back in the freezer. (Everyone at the orphanage is very worried that I don’t eat enough, it’s kinda cute- most of the time. I got some frozen cheeseburgers to warm up and one of the Mamas has already told me twice that it’s not good that I only eat one of them! One evening I finished all the potatoes that were prepared for me and they cheered, danced and gave me high-fives for finishing all my food, it was hilarious! Also- onions and tomato paste are added to pretty much everything they fix me… very yummy but for someone who went through months of medicine to stop my tummy from being inflamed… well, let’s just say that my gastroenterologist can probably expect to see me early this fall, lol!)

- A donation of fabric was made so the girls have been working on “kekwembes” (I’m sure that’s not spelled correctly- but it’s the fabric they wrap around themselves.) They asked me which material was my favorite and gave me one too, which, of course, I modeled for them and they had a great laugh!

- Before Independence Day we went to town so I could get some water and food. The traffic here is NUTS but was even crazier since the big holiday was approaching. The soldiers were all in the streets practicing for a parade. At one point our vehicle had to stop and wait as dozens of soldiers (with big guns) walked around us. (Not sure how we got in the middle of that, but it was a little unnerving!!)


- I love to hear the kids sing!! They love to sing and dance and its common ground for all of us. They know a few English songs and apparently I knew two songs in French! (When the little ones get rowdy I start singing one of them and they join in and sometimes stop their bickering.) I already have one video of the younger ones dancing and will do my best to get more before I leave!

- They all do each other’s hair, even the little toddler’s! They are very talented and I told them that I’m going to watch and learn so that I can braid hair like they do when I return home :) (Watch out ladies, I’ll need some friends to practice on, lol!)

- I LOVE the sunsets here, they’re gorgeous!! I also love to watch the moon rise and see the stars!! It’s been rising later (longer days?) so instead of watching it rise from the swing out back, I can lie in my bed and see it in the sky. (I have my head out in the middle of the room so that 1) any small creatures that are able to venture in around the windows are less likely to get to my head (not that they could get through the mosquito net… right?!?) and 2) because I like being able to see out the window from my bed.) Right now there are also flowers in my window… I found some and stuck them in bottle and filled it with water. I tried to explain to the girls that I can’t see stars where I live but what they got from that is that we don’t have stars in America… oops!

Stuff to make you laugh :)

- The little kids imitate whatever I say, even when I try to speak French… I guess my French is so poor that they don’t recognize the words!!

- One little girl has a very small English vocabulary… she points at my sunglasses and says “sunglasses.” She can also say “Tomorrow I’m going to church,” which she tells me nearly every time she sees me!

- The other day some little boys climbed the trees out front of the compound so that they could see me and wave at me! (Yes, there are many different races here but most are not in the area where I am, they are on the other side of town and/or don’t come out this way.)

- I have semi-trained one of the dogs, Zack, to give me kisses on the cheek :) The girls love the dogs but are a little afraid of them so they always laugh when he does this!

- Some fun games: “Guess what time we’ll eat” (Lunch is between 12:30 and 4, dinner is between 6 and 8) “Find the matches or flashlight in the dark” (Sometimes I forget to stick my flashlight in my pocket in the evening so when the power goes out and I go into my room I have to feel around to find it… luckily I haven’t accidently picked up a mouse or cockroach just yet!) You’ve heard of “Scare the roaches!” well there’s a second version to that game and it revolves around the toilet seat… (When the power is out I have to use my flashlight or a candle to check around and under the toilet seat to make sure I don’t sit on any!) “Find that mouse!” (This is one I don’t like because it’s usually played in the middle of the night. I have a friend who I named “Mickey” who likes to sneak around my room at night… I don’t care because he’s so small and he can’t get into anything important, but the noises of his playing in plastic bags and scampering across the floor keep me awake so I have to find him and make him leave the room.) Finally, the best of all is plain ol’ Charades! A few of the girls speak some English but it’s always a challenge for them to understand me and for me to understand them. I’m picking up some French and Swahili now so I can tell them certain things but I’m careful about giving them any answer because I’m never 100 percent sure what they’re asking… I’m sure they feel the same about me! :) Between French, Swahili and English we all get by okay. I’m also teaching them a little bit of Spanish (anyone confused yet?!?)



Finally- I don’t get much World News here so just Tuesday I found out about the explosion somewhere in the Congo over the weekend. No- it’s not where I am and Yes- I’m fine :)

Please keep the happy thoughts and wishes, prayers, etc. coming!! Now that I’ve been here over a month I’m just starting to get settled in… Everyday isn’t super, there are ups and downs, but all in all, I’m so happy and blessed to be here!

I’m sure there will be lots to write about in the future since tomorrow is the dedication of the boy’s orphanage, Sunday is the centennial celebration (100 years of the UMC in the Congo!) and this coming week is Annual Conference… (since I got out of going to mine, I guess I’m going to theirs!) Prayers also welcome for safe travel to and from Conference!!

Many prayers are being sent up for all of you and I send you my love and ask God’s peace for all!
Love,
R