Chores, chores, chores!

Housework in Congo?!? For sure! 

Chores are a bit different though than they are here in the States... let's take a look friends :-)

The first chores in the morning were sweeping and mopping. Here's a photo of one of the girls mopping the patio outside- something that was also done again in the afternoon...

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Laundry- There's no throwing in the detergent and pressing "wash" in Congo! That's right, it's ALL done by hand... I eventually had to start wearing gloves because I was scrubbing until my knuckles bled. The girls were great, the always helped me - while teasing me of course ;-)

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Preparing the food- Yes- the girls got many laughs this summer and watching me try to grind food was just another reason to laugh. Let me just say that this is a GREAT upper body workout and also a great way to get out frustrations! (Thinking of ex-boyfriends while doing this really gets the job done!) Here's the before and after of what we were doing:  

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Nothing like making dinner over a campfire, right?!? Try every meal, every day, cooked outside on coal. While I was there the director did purchase a microwave... I tried to explain to the Mamas and girls how to use it- wonder how they did after I left... They did enjoy watching me use it!! 

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After cooking and eating there are many, many, many dishes to wash!! Here we find the girls having fun in the lean-to where the dishes were washed. Dishes are washed like clothing in some regards- start in one bucket with soap and keep rubbing, scrubbing and putting the items into the next bucket of clean water until everything is clean! Yes- I was usually a mess after helping with dishes and yes, often dropped clean dishes in the dirt and had to start over... 

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But wait- where does the water come from for cleaning, cooking and doing dishes if there isn't running water? Well... yup, that's where it comes from, the well! There's also a cistern and in the photo about you can see girls and some neighbors gathered at the cistern to get water. But wait- I know you're wondering- Rachel, what do you when the cistern is dry and the pump to the well breaks?!? Check out the photos below...

There were a few days in a row when the pump on our well broke so we walked to a local school and had to wait our turn to have our containers filled... It was so cold that day!!

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Now what was missing in these photos... oh yeah, babies!! Babies have to be taken care of while all the chores are being done- but "how?" you ask...

 

That's right! You strap those kiddos on your back and get to work!!

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Guess I should get a few things done around my place... I could vacuum after I toss my clothing in the washer and while my dinner warms in the microwave...

Love & Peace 

Drum Roll Please ----->

I'm going to Honduras with a team for two weeks at the end of February!!!!! YEAH! I can't wait :-D The group we're going with is Mercy Ships. I'm still waiting to hear the details but after talking to the coordinator today it looks like this will be our program (subject to change...):

"Children, children and more children … 95 plus and still counting! That is what you’ll find at the World Wide Heart to Heart Children’s Home in rural northwest Honduras. Since 2004, Mercy Ships has partnered with this ministry by bringing Work and Witness teams to the home and Medical Teams to the surrounding villages. Our teams also offer support and encouragement for the directors as they reach out to the community in evangelism and discipleship efforts. Heart to Heart directors, Oscar and Amy Serrano, provide a safe home, education, and health care for these beautiful children in a godly, loving environment. Facilities include a boys’ dorm, girls’ dorm, nursery, and vocational school. The school’s purpose is to prepare the children with practical life skills so they can support themselves when they grow up and leave the home. The Children’s Home offers many unique service opportunities in woodworking, building projects, cabinetry, assisting with homework, cleaning, cooking, laundry, maintenance, plumbing, or electrical work. But you or your team can provide so much more than physical labor! The smiles and laughter, the hands held, and the hugs given will last in your hearts and theirs for a lifetime." (Info is straight from Mercy Teams 2011 short term mission sheet)

I'm still here!!

Hi All,

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for all your support, love and prayers this summer!! I've been back almost a month now and still have to finish unpacking, lol! :) I wanted to let you know that I do plan to start putting up some photos on here and stories to go with them... here's the first photo.

It was taken the morning I left... the story to go with it: I showed my parents this photo on my camera and my mom said "that looks like a white girl"- my reply "Mom, that's me!"

 

I miss every single person in that photo so very much!! Please pray for them!!

Love & Peace,

Rachel

 

ps- You know me, I can't sit around w/o making future plans so keep checking back b/c I plan to have an announcement soon!! (And fyi- NO, I'm not adopting, although if I could afford it, I would in a heartbeat!)