This and That

Jambo;
Isaac’s vegging on the couch with an IPOD, and Colton’s kicking his soccer ball around outside with our worker. Colton and Stany really enjoy each other’s company, and if one of the 3 soccer balls that we brought out from Canada holds air long enough, they’ll go at it for quite some time.
For the past few weeks Isaac’s been busy renovating and painting at Chrissie’s in the ‘baby unit.’ No, she’s not taking in new orphan babies; there are a few of the older CRIB boys that are living  in them. Chrissie wants to paint the entire CRIB house in the next little while, so that will keep Isaac busy for some time. It’s a large 2 storey building with many bedrooms, washrooms, common areas, etc. I just hope that won’t be oil paint as well; Isaac hasn’t felt that good, nor has his appetite been what it should be the last few weeks from the awful fumes.
At the same time though, the school also has a ‘to do’ list that needs attention, so he tries his best to keep everybody happy. Between Chrissie’s, CRIB and both schools, there’s never a lack of things to do. There’s this one “hardware” store where Isaac gets a lot of the supplies from, and a few weeks ago, this guy who Isaac thinks is the owner, had said that we’re neighbours. The previous day Isaac had needed a doorknob, and this neighbour was not working, so the price for the doorknob was $55,000, roughly $55.00 CND. So Isaac asked this neighbour for the price, he said $35,000. Isaac said “how about $30,000” and the deal was made. So needless to say, Isaac now deals with this guy as it’s saving A.R.M. money.
Since I’m on the bartering subject…
There are many, many people selling their wares on the street, and if they see a mzungu, the car is beset with up to 10 people, all wanting to make a sale. There may be 4 or 5 selling cheese; one sells cheese that comes from Rwanda, one from the Congo, one from Uganda, one that is local. They’re all shoving their cheese into the car for us to smell, all insisting theirs is the best. One time we must have had at least 8 rounds in the car at the same time!! We had no clue which round belonged to whom. At the same time, there are 3 or 4 people showing us their fruit and vegetable selection, also pushing it into the car; after all, if it’s in the car, chances of you taking the product are higher. This is quite a loud ordeal, as the merchants are all very eager to make a sale. Isaac finds this stressful; I find it  intriguing.
We know the prices of most things that we buy regularly, and many of these items we buy on the street. If you are mzungu the price is automatically increased. So when they realize that we know the prices, they are very quick to go down in price. The comment has been made “either they think the mzungu is very rich or very stupid!” In fact, a mzungu pastor at Jabe a few weeks ago said: “ I’m mzungu but I’m not stupid” in reference to having the wool pulled over his eyes. 
Tomorrow is the third Sunday in a row that we will have an English speaker at church - hooray!! Tomorrow’s speaker is from Vancouver.
I’ll take you on a typical ride to church/up-town with us. Buckle up, it can be a wild ride!!
On the way to church are a number of groups, ranging in size from about 20 - 200 people that are walking. These are organized clubs, often with the walking club name on the shirt, which is always white. As far as we know, these clubs walk only on Sunday mornings. There are moms with tiny babies tied on their backs (no helmets),perched on the back of the ever present motorbike taxi (mototaxi)as it careens  through traffic. There are boys that are pushing huge carts of beer and Fanta. For the male gender the washroom is where ever you need it to be. In one short stretch there are 2 buses (basically what we would call a ‘hippy’ van in Canada- there must be a thousand!!) with a flat tire that are affecting traffic flow. There are many bikes loaded down with massive bunches of bananas, huge sacks of charcoal, a tall rack of bread, a bed, 20 or more foot long pieces of lumber or steel bars (no joke); just to name a few “bicycle  transportable goods.”
You need to keep your eye on other vehicles almost more than on your own driving because you get cut off very much and very often. A 2- way highway is a three lane road when ever the need arises, (which is almost more often than not,) not counting pedestrians and bikes. And let me tell you about bikes and pedestrians; they are everywhere!! 
Coming up to our church street are the “regulars” - the women with their children sitting on the side of the street in the dirt, close to the smelly gutter. With their hand out-stretched, they hope and wait for generous church - goers to bless them.
This street is almost insanely busy on Sundays; imagine, 7,000 people flooding into 2 narrow gates, wide enough for only one car at a time. These gates are shared by pedestrians and vehicles; by far the majority of church goers walk. Getting on to the church yard is relatively easy; it’s altogether an entirely different matter getting off. You see, being from the west, we believe that if church starts at 9:00 A.M. you should be there by then. For Africans, this is definitely not the case. In fact, some leadership sometimes only arrives after 10:00. But this is fine because we’re still in worship. So coming to church is spread out over a period of over an hour, but after church everyone leaves at the same time. You need much, much patience as you inch forward. The police are always present, armed with their AK - 47‘s.
Some more fun facts:
1.  Colton has a girl in his class by the name of Satellite… and Happiness. I like Happiness for a name. Yes, these are given names, not nicknames.
2.  Other names that are heard here:  ‘Perfect‘, ‘Innocent‘, ‘Blessing’ is fairly common.
3.  I teach two boys by the name of ‘Prince‘, and one girl named ‘Princess.’
There’s a wonderfully cool, gentle breeze coming in through the window; I’m so grateful that the Lord sends these, especially at night time. It makes for a good nights’ sleep.
Good night.
Isaac, Rosel and Colton