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 September 8, 2010 |
Update for November 29, 2002Arriving back in town around 4:00 PM, tired and feeling dirty after three days in the bush, the biggest question to myself was, "Do I take the time now to drive past the Post Office to see if there is any mail or do I go straight home and have that nice long shower and hair wash that I have been yearning for?" The Post Office won out and that changed all my plans for the evening and next morning. As I was walking back to the vehicle after getting my mail, I heard someone calling my name. "Who could be calling my name (and even pronouncing it correctly...for the past three days I had been called Annie because the people couldn't get their tongues around the Cheryl)? Finally I discovered the source of the call. It was George Phiri, the director of the Alpha Schools in Lundazi District where we have 10 Seedlings programs operating. He, his wife, and their young son had been waiting all day for the bus to Chipata which had not yet come. Tired, "bushed", or not, I asked them to come to my place to relax and spend the night. The worst news was that they wanted to be back at the bus stop by 5:00 AM the next morning! Or was that the worst news? We got home and the worker on duty told me that since I had been gone there had not been enough water pressure to get water into the new water tower that was being installed the day I left. That meant no running water in the house! That wasn't a big problem for George and his family. They are quite used to heating water and enjoying a nice refreshing "bucket bath". It was a problem though for this gal who had been looking forward to a nice long shower and getting her hair washed for the first time in three days! Back to bush-life she went. Then of course, finding food to put on the table was the next challenge. I had to send Mutemwa off to the store to get some bread for breakfast and said a little prayer of thanks for a working freezer which had some meat in it and a few things from the cupboard which made an edible supper. Early to bed for all of us because we were all tired and the morning was going to come soon. Seems I didn't trust my alarm to wake me up at 4:00 AM as I kept waking up throughout the night to look at the time. When at 3:30 AM I heard the light in the next room click on, I thought I may as well get up and get that breakfast on the go. (Who can eat breakfast at that hour of the morning???) By shortly after 5:00 AM George's family was back at the bus stop, once again waiting for the bus to Chipata. God appointments...don't always come at convenient times. However, they are times that one doesn't really want to miss.
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