Yesterday was an interesting day. It started off with a
scorpion in our house. It was the first time Karen had seen one, so she wasn’t
quite sure what it was. Thankfully, it was just a little one, easily taken care
of with a flip-flop. (Later, I learned that a hard-back book works quite well
in such situations. Good to know.)
Just before the kids came home from school, Karen and I
noticed that our pastor’s cow was no longer tied to its tree. The kids are
pretty afraid of the cow, so to move her, they usually throw things at it. That
method is not a very effective one. To prevent any issues later in the night,
Karen and I decided to move the cow ourselves. I’m not a huge fan of animals,
but I figured that since the cow is a big animal, I could handle it. I
attempted to sneak around the cow to grab her rope. Although the cow eyed me,
she left me alone. I grabbed the rope and began a game of tug-of-war with the
cow. Karen helped me by giving the cow nudges every once in a while to
encourage her on. By this time, a few of the kids were home. They definitely
enjoyed the spectacle that we were making. Wini, in particular, enjoyed my
calling the cow Mr. Cow. (Of course, then I realized the cow was actually
female. In my defense, she has horns!) Thankfully, Ferdinand came along and was able to pull the cow to her final destination.
The kids arrived home in two different groups. The school
bus had broken down, so the school sent them home on buses they hired for the
evening. The first group of 18 kids arrived around 5:30. Homework seemed less
frantic than normal with so few kids! Then, we waited and waited for the second
group to arrive. Finally, they did right before 7:00. Typically, devos start
around 7:30. Since we weren’t able to finish homework before devos, Beth,
Karen, and I went to the kids’ houses to help them finish homework. It ended up
being a late night with us getting back home at 9:00. I’m very thankful that
the school bus usually runs well, and that last night’s schedule was an
exception.
Mama Nestory, our manager’s wife, rode into town with us
this morning. I was encouraged that I was able to understand the main gist of
the Swahili conversation. Please pray for me as I continue to persevere on
Swahili. I have quite a ways to go!
