June 24-30

Smoke Gets in My Eyes

The first smell that I encountered was smoke. It seemed to be everywhere. And I soon discovered why. Most of the people burn their garbage and there are no restrictions as to when and where. So we see little fires burning by the houses. Hence the reason for the smoke everywhere.

Betel Nut

As we were walking down the street, I noticed a lot of red spatters and wondered why there was so much of it everywhere. Sister Sampson told me that many sidewalk vendors sold a nut that looks similar to a lime and the people chew it, causing them to have red mouths and tongues. It gives them a slight “buzz”. What a mess it causes. There are many signs that say “no spitting betel juice” on their property. Many of the people's teeth are rotten or missing, due to their chewing habit.

Trash

I was pretty dumbfounded that there was so much trash everywhere. People just throw their garbage anywhere. And it seems like the plastic bags are all over. The rivers are filled with plastic bags and trash. There are piles of garbage everywhere. I just don't understand the mentality of the people in not taking care of their garbage.

Solar Water

Our first shower was kind of chilly. There didn't seem to be any hot water. I admit that a cool shower on a hot day is the best but a first thing, get ready for the day shower needs just a little hot water. As we were talking to the Sampson's about it we found out that the water is solar so it won't be like a water heater. Then the men went downstairs, under our flat and found the temperature control and turned it way up. Lynn showered first the next day and was surprised that he had hot water and needed to add some cold. So I get in and feel lukewarm water, then it became pretty hot, and then it was gone. So I had a few minutes of a warm shower.

Chilly nights

Thank goodness for our two little air-conditioners. They and the fans make this flat livable. We have left the air-conditioner on in the bedroom all night but it gets a little chilly about 3 am. And we don't have a blanket. So last night, I turned off the bedroom air-conditioner. It didn't get too hot by the time we got up.  

Washing

We hadn't done any laundry since we left the MTC, so we were pretty desperate to wash. But before we did the wash, we had to figure out how to dry it. We decided to string some line in the extra bedroom. We had to wait for the Sampson's to take us into town and find the wire and screws. By Friday June 24, Lynn strung the line and we started the wash. The machine is in the kitchen and after 5 minutes, the machine stopped and it said error. I opened it up and realized that there was no water coming in. So Lynn went looking under the house and found what he thought was the water for the washer. He opened the faucet and then we went upstairs and started the wash again. It worked this time. YEA!!! A little later Elder Sampson came down and wanted to hunt for the thermostat for the water. He noticed that the washer was leaking and there was water all over. Lynn came back up and tightened the water hose. That seemed to do the trick. We did 2 loads of wash and hung them up to dry in our spare room.  

Wrinkles

I was worried about Lynn's shirts and wrinkles. So I thought I would iron them before they got too dry. But alas, I was too late. Besides the shirt looking so wrinkled, it still felt too damp. But I got out the iron that we had just found, plugged it in and started ironing the damp shirt. After doing two shirts, I gave up. There were still wrinkles in them. I was pretty frustrated. And the ironing board had holes in the cover and the wood underneath was peeling off so there wasn't a good surface. The Sampson's heard my frustrations and today (june 25) we went and got a microwave, iron and ironing board. I just ironed Lynn's shirt and they looked so much better. (I really enjoy ironing don't ask me why...I love the smell and the finished product.)

Transports

Transports are the public transportation system. They are just vans that people ride in. It costs $3 SD to ride it. Sister Sampson and I rode them. She doesn't mind using them to get around. I might do it if it is absolutely necessary. Hopefully, Lynn and I will be able to drive to wherever we need to go.

Bush Broom

One of the sisters that works here on the compound was sweeping the SR center with her broom. I asked her about it and how they make them. Several minutes later, she demonstrated how she takes coconut leaves and strips off the green leaf which leaves the center stem. She does about 50 of them and ties them together for her broom. It requires her to bend over when she sweeps but likes it better than the brooms we use.

 

The People

Every day we meet new people here on the compound. I can't remember too many names yet. All of the people are very anxious to say “Hello” and shake our hands. Most of them are a little shy but very happy to help in any way. Many of the older ones have missing teeth.

YSA

We attended a YSA activity last night (Sat. Jun 25). There were about 15 YSA's there. They had several activities and games that helped them review their seminary/institute lessons. Everything that was said was Pidgin English so we didn't understand much. And at the end, they had sandwiches.

Passwords

Can I say how much I dislike passwords. I call them a necessary evil. So we went to our SR Office to see about information for Daniel and looked at the computers. There were no “towers”. There were 2 monitors, 2 keyboards, a laptop, and two printers but no computers. We finally found one computer in a locked filing cabinet drawer. So I plugged it in and turned on the computer. It was up and running but it needed the password for the Nish's (the couple we replaced). I emailed Renee and she said Sister Nish put a paper in the locked drawer with the passwords. But we never found it. Thank goodness, we had brought our laptop, so we could at least communicate with Renee.  

Driving

We have a Toyota truck to drive but it is a stick shift, on the left, and driving is on the left. So Lynn got his Solomon Driver's license and decided to brave the situation. He drove Elder Sampson around and just had trouble with one thing...the flasher and the wipers. He would turn on the wipers instead of the flashers. Not too bad, I'd say. We went driving the main road today and he did really well.