It rained off and on all night. We decided that we would not cook corn today because the house is falling apart and Timothy came back to paint. In order for him to paint in one of the bedrooms we had to clean all the paint off the floor in the living/ dining room and get the bookcases and furniture back where they belong so we could empty the bedroom. Mr. Iddrisu and Zorash worked in the Child Center; Amama worked in the main house and did the ironing; Meri, Amina, Nazo, Timothy, Steve and I worked in the apartment. Meri and Amina cleaned the bookcases, washed floors and windows. These rooms have not been cleaned since we had the roof off in March so everything is filthy. By the end of the morning things were looking better but we could hardly walk around after we brought the furniture out of the bedroom. We will try and cook corn in the morning.
While we were hauling stuff in and out of the apartment I smelled sewer gas. I was more than a little upset. I told Steve that I thought the septic tank was over filled. He was not too concerned but when I am concerned it is not long before everyone is concerned. Ha! We opened the lid on 2 of the clean outs and sure enough the septic water had backed up. The septic tank is made of cement blocks. Dad made it in 3 sections with a lid on each section. The system has been very good; it was built 20 years ago and has never had to be pumped out. Steve thinks part of the problem is that we have had so much rain this year that the ground around the septic tank is saturated and there is nowhere for the water to go. We heard that Yendi had a water tanker that would pump out septic tanks but we did not know who to get in contact with but Zorash did. After we closed the Child Center we went to the sanitation department. They said they had a team that did that type work. They said that if they had money to fuel the truck they would come out and do the work. We laughed and gave the man fuel money. We will take it off the cost of pumping out the tank. They will come either today or tomorrow. The man told us that we could just keep using water and flushing toilets that it would not be a problem. No, it won’t be a problem until it backs up in the house! No Thank You! After Dad finished the septic tank he had the mason cement the cement lids down on the septic tank. He then built a tool shed on top of the septic tank. This afternoon we sat with a hammer and chisel and knocked the cement off the lids so it will be ready to open when they come to clean it out.
This evening we made more diaper rash and ringworm ointment. Steve is the official counter. I was so happy when he said that we finally had enough made!
Keep us and the work in your prayers.
In His Service,
Steve and Kandie
