No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service

One of my favorite pass times here is to read the various signs around the country. Many are printed in English but, the language used is often broken or improper and this can lead to some funny signs. I just saw one that brought a smile to my face. It was posted at a petrol station. Next to the sign saying not to use your cell phone while using the pumps was a sign asking people not to smoke or light a cigarette while filling their tanks. The sign read: “PLEASE, NO NAKED FLAMES WHILE PUMPING”. Doesn’t that just make you giggle?

Hot!

Just a quick note to tell you it has been in the mid to high 40s here since the weekend. That is so hot that with the AC running full blast it gets bearable. Not cool, not real comfortable, but bearable. For my elders that means it has been around 115 for 3 or 4 days now. If I don’t have a fan, which is often now that the power has been going off every 30 minutes today, I am sweating. Just sitting here typing my shirt is soaked. It is HOT!

Pollute to Save the World!

This past weekend I was out shopping with Amanda. After a few hours I was tired and decided to sit in the car while she ran into a store. As I watched the street people as I waited I realized something. Pollution is keeping some of these people alive! Coming from Canada, I have found it hard to get used to the fact that people here just throw garbage into the street or into the river. My reaction is usually one of disgust and anger that the people just don’t seem to know “better”. However, I realized this weekend that the pollution is actually a very important part of life for some people. I watched one man pick through garbage and take an old tire, discarded in the street by some motorist, and he began to cut the tire and make treads for sandals from it. That piece of garbage became a week’s income for this poor man. Had the garbage been properly disposed of, he and his children, may have gone hungry this week. I watched as an elderly lady picked through the trash left on the road and she picked out paper and plastics. These materials are then taken to a recycling depot and she is paid by weight for what she has collected. Again, another family that may starve if the people of this country “knew enough” not to toss their trash on the roads. Certainly I understand there are health risks to having this type of garbage disposal, but my eyes were opened to a new understanding. Instead of considering the environmental and sanitary issues of the pollution, for the first time I considered the livelihood that the pollution gives to the poorest of this nation. In other words, the pollution may be hurting the environment, but it is also saving a few lives along the way. A new perspective from a different way of life.

Mud

Just a fun pic. At home we helped Hope and Dave with some kitchen repairs. Part of the work involved using “mud” to patch up the walls. Well, this is a picture of a construction worker here. He was also making repairs to a wall and he was also using mud. But. as you can see from the picture, he was shoveling dirt from the yard to mix with water, thus, he was literally using mud! 

 

More Pics

Just adding some photographic evidence of the recent monsoon flood. We were just in the flat yesterday and it was very hard to breath. The air is a lovely combination of mold (from the wet wood being in the hot flat) and left over “dirty water” (the stuff that backed up from the sewer line). Not pretty! Anyway, thought you might like to see some of the results. 

The first picture shows the water line (the dark spot on the lower part of the wall was all underwater), the second shows what the floors looked like after the water receded. 

Back To School

Say a special prayer for us today: this is the first day of school. There is always lots of work to do on the first day and we need God’s favor as we embark on a new year. It takes, wisdom, knowledge, and anointing to really do a great job in the classroom. Also, pray for our students, we are new to most of them and this is the first day of a new adventure for many of them. Some of the students are also traveling a great distance and could use the prayer covering to arrive safely.

Evidence!

Over the summer a friend from Bathurst had mentioned that I needed to add some more pictures to the blog. I have been keeping the number of pictures low because I only have a certain amount of free web space and I am trying to be as economical as possible. However, I agree, the blog could use some pictures. So here is some photographic evidence of the monsoon I spoke about a few days ago. 

Also, please keep Pastor Anil and his family in your prayers. Their house was flooded by the monsoon with water up to his waist in their home. They lost a lot of items and could use the extra covering as they re-establish their home. 

 

Rain Rain Go Away

It is monsoon season here, and I really was not prepared. First, the landscape is beautiful! With the sunny weather and abundant rain, the plant life really “takes off” this time of year. There are flowers everywhere, everything is green with life, it’s stunning. However, as you can imagine, a monsoon is more then a little rain! The last few days there has been so much rain that cars are stalling as they drive because the waters are rising so high that the mufflers are full of water. I’ve seen many people stranded and, the majority of transportation is done on bikes or on legs. You can guess how much fun it is to walk in a heavy downpour, with the water levels up to your waist, and every passing car sending waves of more water your way! We’ve got a few leaks in the roof of our house that are causing some issues but for the most part we are able to stay nice and dry in spite of the weather.

Back on the Field

Well, we have arrived back on foreign soil. It is nice to be back although it is VERY hot right now. It makes work difficult. I will be back at the seminary next week and actually have a semi-reliable internet connection to help me keep everyone up to date. Not much to tell at this point, mostly just settling in and trying to get a house in order. Keep praying for us!