We had more mothers than we normally would on a Monday morning because they thought that we were still distributing clothes. They were disappointed but it is what it is. The mothers bring their children every 2 weeks so when we have a clothing distribution, we do it for 2 weeks so that we can catch most of our regular mothers and any of their friends that want to come. Many women sew shorts and dresses for the children that come to the Child Center; we are blessed to have so many people help us with the things that we need for the people in Ghana.
As soon as we closed the Center we went to Major’s school and passed out book bags. Major caters to disabled children. He has a soft spot in his heart for them because he also is disabled. He has taken on the education of several of the children we have seen in the Child Center. Major’s wife is also disabled which makes him doubly anxious to help these special children. We wanted to distribute the book bags while Charity and the boys were here but we could not because they were putting new roofs on a couple of new buildings and they had dismissed school so there was no danger of any of the children getting hurt during the construction. The children were so excited with the book bags; of course, the teachers and cooks wanted a book bag too. The bags are very nice; they will use them for shopping bags. The children sang us a “Thank You” song as a way of letting us know how much they appreciated the gift. The children are preschool to kindergarten age. One of the older girls came forward and gave a vote of thanks for the whole school. She had obviously been practicing; she spoke in English; we could tell she was a little nervous but she did an excellent job! Our thanks go out to all the ladies that made book bags!
Meri did not come to work today; one of her rivals (sister wives) was in the hospital delivering a new baby. It is the job of the rival to go to the hospital with the expectant mother and help her through the delivery. There is no running water or toilets in the hospital and food is scarce; so, patients have to take someone with them to help them. Meri has 2 rivals and she is not the first wife. I asked Zorash why Meri had to go to the hospital instead of the first wife. She said that once your husband marries several wives the senior (first wife) sets herself up like a Queen and the other wives are under her; that is why it fell to Meri to sit at the hospital. Meri will not be able to come to work next Monday either because that will be the naming ceremony day and Meri will have to be there to cook for the guests that come to the house to participate in the celebration. I have said it before and I will say it again, “Thank you God that I was not born a Ghanaian woman!”
Steve got the lights fixed on the green truck today. Evidently, when the mechanics worked on the air conditioning unit, they messed up the lights. The electrician had to replace a couple bulbs and replace some of the wiring. Everything is working fine now.
In HIS Service,
Steve, Kandie and Skeeter (It makes me sad not to be able to add the names of our family!)
The Monkeyshines
I thought I was going to starve to death today! Where were my servants? I kept looking around for the rest of my family but I could not find them! I have gotten used to having someone feed me a little tidbit of something every hour or so and I was sorely disappointed when none of them were here! It was lonely and very quiet in the compound today! It was only Mom and Dad and me! Well, the workers were here but they don’t count; I don’t care for them all that much anyway!
Mom insulted me! She bought a big fat juicy pineapple while they were in Tamale. Dad usually cleans the pineapple and cuts it into bite sized pieces just perfect for a little monkey’s hand but for whatever reason, known only to mom, she just hacked a slice off the small end of the pineapple and handed it to me to eat! What in the world; she did not even remove the skin! I had to try several different ways to pick it up before I could get a grip on it! It would be like me handing mom a blown-up inner tube! The skin was prickly! No one eats the skin of a pineapple! I finally managed to get a couple bites out of the center without cutting my lips! Finally, I gave up and threw it on the ground. Mom picked it up and said something about how she wanted me to know what to do with a pineapple if I ever found one out in the wild! She wanted me to know how to get to the good stuff in the middle! Is she trying to tell me something? Is there a time coming when I am going to be out in the wild on my own? I should hope not! When she figured out that I was not/could not eat the pineapple she peeled it and we were both happy!
Anyway, I was happy!
Love Skeeter
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