My Birthday

I took this picture at about 8:30 on the night of my birthday.  These 4 elders jumped out of the back of the truck in the pouring rain and sang Happy Birthday to me on our way to their apartments,  It was quite a day.  We had 3 missionaries transferring here from Cameroon.  Their plane was delayed, so Elder Wheatley came home from the airport alone the first time.  The 2nd time, the plane was still late arriving and then one of the elders couldn't get through customs until he provided a bribe, because they said his yellow card (immunizations) stamp did not have an expiration date.  So, when they finally got through customs and got their luggage, it was getting late.  We had invited all the missionaries over for dinner to celebrate the new arrivals and my birthday, so when we connected with the rest of the missionaries and everyone got into the truck, there were 4 in the backseat and 4 more in the back with all the luggage.  Then we hit the worst traffic jam we have yet experienced in Pointe Noire, and we were going nowhere..........after about an hour, we all decided it would be best to retreat and take the elders to their apartments.  They had a few snacks with them, and Elder Lamb had made birthday cake (wonderful banana cake) which he generously shared with all of us, and some of them jumped out of the truck and went into a store as we sat stuck in traffic.  Of course, that is when it started to move again as we headed in the direction of their apartments and so we had to start shouting at them to get back in the truck!  In the meantime, it started to rain, then it started to pour, and we handed them out two umbrellas and they played a game in the rain all the way to the first apartment, where they said they would make hot chocolate to warm up.  We finally got home about 10:30 at night and now we are still eating the loaves of french bread we had for the elders and their spaghetti dinner that didn't happen.  They were all so good about the experience and what a welcome to Pointe Noire for the transferring elders!

I tried to get a picture of the rain, but this doesn't tell the whole story very well.  It really is an experience for us to remember.

Moving day!  All 8 of the elders helped, but my camera battery died and so I didn't get more pictures.  They are such a blessing to us - every day we thank Heavenly Father for them.  They work so hard doing their missionary work - in the heat, the torrential rain, the humidity and the long walks.  We were blessed that the day we moved it didn't rain.  Since then, it has poured several times and it is unbelievable how much water can come down in just a short time! 

This man is right outside our home.  The power went out one afternoon (it goes out almost every day) and here he came, climbing poles as he came down the little road we live on, saying the power would be back on in about 10 minutes.  If you look closely at his feet, you can see the metal 'claws' he has on them, that enable him to climb the poles.

Here he is at the top.

And here he is, with his tools, cutting wires and working with them with his bare hands and scaring me to death - I wonder how he keeps from getting electrocuted!  The power did come back on in just a few minutes......I wish he would come down our lane every day when the power goes off!  This is the only time we have ever seen anyone working on one of the power lines close to where we have lived.

Women taking their food to sell in their booths along the steet.

There are tons of these kinds of trucks carrying cement all around the city - every building appears to be made of cement and cement bricks.  The men who work in the cement usually wear covering over their faces to protect themselves from inhaling all the cement dust.  They are usually covered in the dust from head to toe and are white like ghosts.

There are as many men as women who carry their work on their heads.  This man has eggs and often they are hard boiled and there is a knife on top so he can cut them open for the people who buy them.  He walked behind a pole just as I took the picture.

Sometimes they are just plain eggs and that is scarey - but we have never seen anyone lose a load!  No one refrigerates their eggs here, except me!

The longer we are here, the more gardens we get to see.  This one is out of town a few miles.  Usually there are tomatoes, onions, peppers, potatoes, peanuts, and I am not sure what else.  Yesterday we met a man and his wife when we were out for a walk, who have a farm.  As we walked by his home, the man was outside his wall, and when we greeted each other, he asked if we were Americans.  He looks like he is about our age, and he said during the war in Republic of Congo in 1997, he took his family to America, to Lincoln, Nebraska, where they lived for 10 years.  He and his wife have now moved back here and have a very lovely, large walled parcel with several buildings, some of which are still just bricks, like the one in the background here.  He introduced us to his wife and 2 nephews.  He appears to be financially well established because there was also a nice SUV outside his gate.  He and his wife are going to Lincoln in May to the marriage of one of their 7 children, all of whom live in Nebraska.  He said he is an American citizen now, so maybe we has dual citizenship.  They had a lot of papaya trees in their yard and they gave us two.  We haven't ever eaten one.  They told us how to eat them and when they ripen in another day or so, we will try them.  They are sold at almost every booth along the streets and seem to be one of the staples of diet here.  They asked us to stop and visit them again and we told them we would like to do that, and that after we are settled into our new place, we would like them to come and visit us, also.  It was really wonderful to meet them and we hope we can become friends.

Elder Wheatley is in the well reservoir again!  When the electricity doesn't work or the pump is broken, there is no water for the baptismal font.  So after hauling water in garbage cans and 'beetles' the first time, an elder showed us the well reservoir in the corner of the church yard.  The more water taken from the reservoir, the further down into it he goes....at least he gets nice and wet and cooled off!

A quick 'help' call to the missionaries brings them to the rescue, and in this picture, a branche member is also helping.  In fact, although I didn't get a good picture of it, we have had a whole line of people from the well to the church, including young children who all want to help.  It takes a lot of buckets of water to fill the font......especially for tall people!