An Uninvited Guest

from Katherine
Elliott and I were at home having lunch when an adult vervit monkey jumped on top of the lower section of our dutch door and ‘invited himself to lunch.’

Our neighbor Phil had brought a bunch of bananas to us just the other day. I was saving some to make banana bread so they were sitting on the counter about 3 meters from the door and out of sight. We have had lots of people tell us about their monkey encounters. Even though I think they are adorable, I don’t want them in my kitchen. Having been warned we were being careful, or so I thought. He leapt from the door to the sink then to the counter where he grabbed the bunch of bananas anf then made a run for it!

Cason and I have seen monkeys in the yard, but just passing through. Not this fellow, I guess he could smell the bananas and wanted them ALL! So glad he did not come after the bread was made then I would have been upset. Now I am just amused.

Walky Talky

from Elliott
I guess I have been somewhat of a 'chicken snob.' I think I found where all those chicken parts that Chik-fil-a doesn't use - my market in South Africa! It has been quite an education...

Most people buy their chicken either live (they actually fit nicely in a shoulder bag for the walk home) and whole or frozen in bulk.with a variety of parts included. I was looking at a 5kg bag today trying to determine what the parts were and the only thing that looked familiar was the drumsticks.

Then there was a different bag that upon close inspection was something that I recognized. The bag had the name of the farm and then in big letters - 'WALKY TALKY."  No it was not referring to the radios we used as children to mimic soldiers or police. It was a bag of chicken feet and heads. Just in case you are not following, the WALKY refers to chicken feet and the TALKY refers to the head. YUMMM!!!! Unfortunately, the bag did not offer any handy serving suggestions!

How did lunch measure up?

from Katherine
I arrived a little early to Sirhashini last week for our enrichment time. The children were still having their lunch. Two neighbor ladies prepare the rice and broth and deliver lunch to the school in the biggest pots you can imagine; on their heads of course!

The school does have plastic plates for the children but no forks or spoons. No water either so no hand washing. A few of the children bring a spoon, most eat with their fingers. One boy used his ruler! I was surprised that he had a ruler that kind of school supply is a luxury in this part of the world. It worked great as a shovel for rice. He got every bite and then cleaned his ruler very well!

Entrepreneurs: Africa Style

from Elliott
I read a brief article in the local paper the other day. At first my reaction was one of frustration over the rampant vandalism and theft we have in this country.  But on second pass, I found myself excited about the evidence of the entrepreneurial spirit I see in many folks around here. Here is the article –

”The Municipality is taking immediate steps to rectify the situation at the Port Shepstone taxi rank where the toilets have been closed due because of vandalism. As reported last week, this resulted in commuters relieving themselves in buckets provided by an entrepreneur at R1 a time."

 -from The South Coast Fever

Not Quite 100%

I have written about a colloquialism here where someone might say as a matter of agreeing with a request you might make - "100%" Well, the corollary to that here ought to be "Not quite 100%" Many times, a significant effort is made but it just doesn't quite get to 100%. Not bad, but often it is the remaining 1% or so that makes all the difference in the world.

In this case, we visited a school that had a classroom block that had been completed about 3 months ago. Since most schools do not have piped water they will collect rainwater off the roof and store it in these 5000 liter tanks which have a tap on the bottom to draw water to drink or cook with. Great idea!

Only problem is that they are missing one section of pipe (about a meter)  that connects the gutter/downspot to the intake on the tank. Opportunity lost!

Unfortunately, this school is quite remote and will certainly wait a long time before the government contractor returns with the 'missing link'.

 

Are You a Pastor?

from Elliott

We have planted tomatoes in the garden this season so we needed to find staking material. We went to a Garden Center and asked for a variety of materials that would suffice but were unsuccessful finding what we needed. The person helping us apologized and then said as we were walking away, "Are You a Pastor?"

Well, realizing the word 'Pastor' has a variety of meanings in this culture, I clarified that we were missionaries. He said that he thought so. Strange! But it made me wonder what gave it away to this person and why he thought to mention it. What had we said or done that would have given it away? More concerning was what might we have done or said that would have created an impression - good or bad - about missionaries or the work of missionaries in that individual.

As Christ followers we must always be aware that the world is watching! And as a corollary to what St. Francis pointed out we must be aware even when we are not using words we are preaching the Gospel by our actions.

What's for Lunch

from Katherine

Recently I was at Sirhashini School and one of the teachers told me that sometimes the children will come to school when it is closed for a holiday just hoping that someone might be there with something to eat for lunch. Sadly, this is not uncommon around the world.

Last Friday was a school holiday and we had visitors from America. Our friend Carol Robinson and her daughter Linley were with us for a week. As we told them some of the stories we have heard like that one, we thought that maybe we could offer some activities and lunch on the holiday. I called the lead teacher and she was pleased and surprised and told us she would tell the children we were coming.

Linley Reads the 'Very Hungry Caterpillar

We had a great time with the 27 kids and 3 of the teachers that showed up. I have wanted a copy of the ‘Very Hungry Caterpillar’ and to my surprise Carol and Linley had brought one from America!! We read our new story to the children and they made ‘stained glass’ butterflies with tissue paper. Then we played American football with the UNC Tarheel football they brought. The boys caught on fast! And then everyone had lunch! Even Cason and his friend Kaylene got to join us because their school was on holiday too!!

Carol passes out oranges

Thank you Carol and Linley for a super special day for the children and teachers at Sirhashini School! And thanks to Cason and Kaylene for helping too!!