great developments over a Fanta...or not
Well honestly, not much has been going on. The building project is at a temporary stand-still until all parties involved come to a common consensus: Seems like everyone else involved has their own plans and ideas while the architect has already established the plans. I made the singular mistake of suggesting that the plans drawn out by the architect should indeed be followed, and I was ostracized for it. I have not been up at the site for nearly three weeks now. It's a waiting game.
In other news, we went to visit Chief Sourie again today. We did not want to go empty handed so we brought half a crate of bottled soft drinks. I did not realize that I had to leave a deposit of Le12500 for the crate and the bottles. I was assured that the deposit will be returned when the bottles and the crate will be returned. I was also charged extra because I asked for the drinks to be cold. When we arrived, we found him to be in good health and able to walk about. He began quoting scriptures, and thanking God for healing him. "By their fruits, you will know them" he said, speaking of his children who have all come to know God and are serving God in some capacity. Then there, over an ice cold bottle of Pineapple Fanta, among other requests to God, he prayed that God would allow a church to be opened up in Kono. It looked a bit silly - him sitting with a bottle opener over the cap of the Fanta, blessing the drink and making such serious requests. He had the heart of a child, bless him.
So aside from interacting with folks, reading, cleaning, and observing exotic species of birds and insects, not much else is happening. I am often reminded by everyone that this is Africa.
There are a few things that I overlooked and failed to make accounts of: Of them, the water here at Waterloo. We have to bring our drinking water from the taps at Freetown as the water that comes out the taps here in Waterloo cannot be used for drinking. It really cannot even be used for bathing but we manage. In the kitchen, in order to strain the water, we wrap a piece of cloth folded four times over the faucet. Still, the water is brown in colour. Every day, we have to clean the piece of cloth, and when unwrapped, there is a thick coating of dark brown clay to be washed off.
The people here in Sierra Leone just do not like to answer questions. They would much rather reply with another question, or take the opportunity to make themselves feel smarter. Everyone's smarter than the next person at any random time. Here are a few examples:
"Matthew, kam na ya" ("Matthew, come here").
"Le a kam?" ("Let me come?")
"Yes, kam wantem" ("Yes, come at once")
I was in the process of brushing (clearing the weeds, thickets, and bushes), and had already brushed about 14 feet or so all around me. Lahai approaches me,
"Yu no sabi fo brosh eh?" ("You don't know how to brush, do you?")
I stood by watching the band of men trying to capture the snake last week. I didn't know any of them. I recognized some as neighbours. I had not said a word to anyone, yet one of the young men came up to me and said:
"[sucking teeth], yu no sabi natin" ("You don't know anything")
I wonder what gave that away. I thought I was pretty good at hiding the fact that I am a dumbass. Nothing gets by these people!
"Lahai, what does kongosa mean?"
"[sucking teeth], yu dont no?"
Nope, not a thing. I know nothing. I cannot convince "men of God" that littering is not a good habit. Just about any place outside of their house is a litter bin. Those at the top set the example for others. Of course there is no such thing as street cleaning or garbage pickup; so all the trash that is left on the street, stays on the street. At homes, those who can and have the land to do so, will dig a wide hole in the back of the house and deposit their trash there. When the hole gets filled, the trash is burned. Those who can't do this, collect their trash in bins, and carry it to a common location - usually on the side of a main street, and dump all their trash there. This trash collects, rots, and reeks, and once in two months or so, someone who had seen enough of the trash, will set fire to the trash. It is not uncommon to see entire streets strewn with trash - especially in Freetown - the capital city.
I have tried on many occasions to gently remind people I am with, to hold on to their trash and deposit it at least in a common place and not on every street, but on each of those occasions, it is I who is chided in return by the words: "Dis na Africa, Oh!"
This is indeed Africa. God bless this land.
the primitive hunt
"The people which sat in darkness..." This has been the third day of darkness. The generator has been giving us problems and we've had no power for three days. The battery on my phone has died. One laptop battery died, and I am using the second one. Hopefully, tonight we can get it to work. We found a guy to come over, take a look at it and service it. Dry season is not here yet and it is already terribly hot. At night, the darkness makes it all the more agitating.
Yesterday afternoon, my reading was interrupted by loud noise and stone throwing by some of the neighbours. I thought it had been another neighbourly scrimmage. I had witnessed two of these in the past two days. One of them involved some flying fists among women. The other, between and woman and a man was handled a bit more decently. The woman screamed and cursed the mans mother and family while the man kept his cool and retorted in a low voice. I rushed to the back to see what was going on and saw a crowd gathering around a tree, looking up screaming and yelling. Amid the barrage of stones raining down, I quickly walked over and asked what was going on. "Snake Sah!" one woman screamed out as she ran away from the site. There was a man atop the tree chopping down branches, and setting fire to some. The crowd gathered around yielding sticks and stones. Some called out to him to chop off this branch, another group asked to chop the other branch. One young practical joker yelled that the snake had jumped over to the adjacent coconut tree. The others rebuked him and a fight almost broke out. The man nearly felled the whole tree branch by branch and was getting to some of the last thick branches when a few members of the crowd sighted the snake once again on that thick branch. The man atop was encouraged to chop that branch while the men below stood ready and determined to kill this snake. He had to step on the burning branch in order to get to this thick branch. Soon enough the branch was chopped and hung from the tree, but there was no movement in the leaves. The man came down slowly and began chopping the surrounding branches that held up the thick hanging branch. The branch soon fell to the ground and the cluster of man ran towards the branch, just a few feet away from me, and began violently beating the snake which nearly escaped. It was what the locals called a Kare; a yellow-green venomous snake that springs from tree to tree. This particular one was about 3ft long and was according the man who finally claimed the carcass, 44 years of age. He calculated this by counting the rings along the body of the snake. After the men had beaten the snake to death, one of them ran with it hanging off the end off his stick, waving the carcass in the air, as if in some sort of ritual. He then ran back with it and flung it over my shoulder towards the group of women who stood behind me watching. They all ran screaming. One slender, young woman began to cry and scream. They then placed the neck of the snake against the root of another tree and beat the neck still it fell off. He then ran with it and placed it straight on the floor. As I got ready to take a picture, he grabbed it and began to head off with it but the crowd stopped him and asked him to pose the snake for me to snap a picture of it. After about two pictures, the man who climbed the tree came by and grabbed the snake. He stretched the snake out along his outstretched arms and posed for me to take a picture. He then went off happy for his dinner that night.
It has been a long time since I listened to BBC. Here in the house, I cannot pick up any radio stations on my cd player, and I get no reception on my mobile either. I invested in a small radio that can tune into Short Wave frequencies. It cost Le15000. I can pick up BBC on it.
of comfort and mango pickles
I took the poda-poda into town, alone for the first time. Thankfully, this time around, I was not mashed next to a fish woman. It was a comfortable ride in both directions and cost Le1300 in each direction.
At Choithrams supermarket, I was able to purchase a bottle of mango pickle for Le5000. It's not quite as good as the Grandmas brand of pickles you can purchase in the Indian stores in New York, but it's enough to add an Indian flavor to the food here. This Choithram character has established himself pretty well out here. He owns several supermarkets, hardware stores, and many other businesses, all named after him.
Digging work has begun at the site, and so far, I am not involved in much out there. I've been reading, brooking (laundering - probably because laundry was done at a brook?), and cleaning.
these are a few of my favorite things
There was a decent amount of people in church today. There were bout 25 or so in attendance, not including children. The girl I fasted and prayed for - the one with the bad leg, Bismalie, came to church as well. She promised to continue coming to church. She looked very happy.
I was offered some ice cream and a piece of cake. Though I don't "miss" ice cream (as I don't have it much when I am home anyway), it was good treat. Some of the things I do miss are: Thai food and Fried Ice Cream from Bangkok House, Starbucks Vanilla Coffee Frappachino, Shawarma from 50th and 6th, Orange juice, Grapefruit juice, sausage and egg whites on a roll, IHOP, warm, fudge brownie sundae from Applebee's, Bryant Park, Central Park, the Brooklyn Bridge, running along Pelham Parkway, the lights of Times Square, Times Square Church. I am sure my devious cousin Joanne will go enjoy all of this and then write to me about it just to spite me.
I had the opportunity to go back and visit Pastor Augustine in Tombo. I handed over the cassettes I purchased for him, and he was very thankful. I also got to meet his children this time around; the oldest being Miracle, then Emmanuel, and Paul. Miracle was given her name because her birth was a miracle. She was born amidst gunfire, in hiding. The rebels were just outside their compound when her mother gave birth to her. Pastor Augustine and his wife were heading to bed one night when something urged him not to sleep on the bed in that room. He shared this thought with his wife, and they picked up a few sheets and headed to another building that was part of their church. There, they had given refuge to other church members who had lost everything during the war. They squeezed into a back room and slept on the floor that night. All night there were gun shots heard just outside the window. Then sometime during the night, he heard two of the rebels arguing. "Let's leave this place alone" said one, "this is a church and it belongs to the pastor who comes to the barracks to preach." "Yes, but we destroyed other churches, looted them and took their women" said the other. "Yes but let's leave this one alone" said the first. Halfway convinced, the both decided to leave, but not before spraying a few bullets. Several of the bullets went through the wall of the pastor's bedroom, and pierced through the mattress. Some others made holes through the bedroom door. The holes still remain. Had the pastor and his wife slept on that bed that night, they would both have been caught in the spray. Not long after, Miracle was born.
Though blind, he has no regrets, and no disappointments. He is completely at peace, and after spending time with him, you come away feeling better yourself.
healing in a mud hut hospital room
Chief Sourie of Kono has received salvation! The answer to prayers.
I had occasion to visit one of the local hospitals close to Lumpa which is the next town after Waterloo. It's a Korean hospital about 7 minutes away by "Honda." It's what they call motorbikes out here. That's because Honda has stolen the market for motorbikes and almost every motorbike out here is a Honda dirt bike. These things are much more expensive to ride on compared to the poda-podas and taxies. The one way fare was Le1500. We bargained down to Le1000. Only one adult passenger can ride on a bike. These bikes are essential when you have to go into the interior parts of the land. These bikes travel the small dirt roads that other modes of transportation cannot take. It's a scary ride. We arrived safely at the hospital and asked for the patient. We were directed to a section of small mud shacks. When the hospital runs out of rooms, patients are required to rent a room in these shacks. There is one open shack in the middle and this is the shared kitchen. Relatives of the patient will buy their food from the market and cook in this kitchen. From the logs that held up the tin roof of the shack I visited, there hung an IV. The other end was injected into the patients wrist. The tall patient was laid on a slightly raised dirt floor, over a few blankets, his legs almost reaching the opposite wall. All around him was his luggage and clothes. There is barely enough room for four more people to come into the room to visit with the patient. The only light comes from a tiny window on the clay wall. Empty IV bottles were strewn around in the room along with the wrappers of bandages. The patient I visited had Typhoid and four worms in his body. The doctors told him that they had to flush out the Typhoid first and then take care of the worms.
In the words of the locals, "Oh Salone!"
lost in translation
As of Monday, work has begun at the site. Being involved in a construction project from ground up is rather interesting and a bit confusing being that I know nothing about the subject. Looking at the architectural drawings, we have begun measuring out the profile of the buildings, and putting up profile boards. We then ran into a bit of trouble with the orientation of the structures. According to the drawings, which were done by an architect in Australia, the orientation of the structure, viewed from the "Project Center Line" creates a scenario where much digging and filling must take place before the building can be leveled (as the structures are to be built on a hill). The local engineer we employed, feels that by shifting the center line, and rotating the entire structural plan a few degrees, there will be a significant reduction in digging and filling.
This morning, Nancy came by almost in tears. The baby is sick; they took the baby to the doctor, and paid for the visit with the money I had given Thomas. The doctor prescribed a list of medications for the child, and the family cannot afford these medications. Nancy cannot speak to me in English so I directed her to Bro. Paul. In Krio, she explained the situation and said she had come to us for help because "Uncle Benjamin" had been helping them. Bro. Paul explained to her that I am a stranger and that I don't have much money and that I had helped with whatever little I had and that there was no way that we could help pay for the medication.
I would love to help, but I feel that my helping will not make their lives any better, and that if I continue, then they will continue to come to me for any financial help they need. I still felt bad and wanted to explain to her how faith works, and encourage her not to feel bad or offended that we could not help. I visited the family this evening with Bro. Samuel and we read to her from Acts 3:1-10, and explained that God is able to take care of her family and that she should turn to God for help and not run to the doctors. We wanted to instill some level of faith in her, and encouraged her to cook a good meal for the child and pray for his healing. "Take no thought for tomorrow" we explained. Bro. Samuel also shared to her in Krio my personal testimonies of healing, and how God raised me up from my death bed several times, and that for 28 years, I had not depended on doctors or medicine for healing. We hope that she will be encouraged and are sure that our prayers will heal the child.
We ran into another girl who had been in an accident several years ago in which a truck ran over her left leg. From knee down, the bones had been crushed, and they literally had to pick up the pieces. She said she had tried going to church, she tried prayer, for years she has not seen an improvement in her leg, and has finally given up on church and God. She explained that she has not set foot in a church for years though she used to be a choir leader at one time. Upon seeing us, she promised that she will come to church this Sunday (we did not ask her to come. She decided on her own). She said she is ready to give Him another try. Keep her in your prayers.
Here is an interesting translation: In referring to the touch-me-not shrub, the Krio name for the plant is "Lok yu lapa, yu man de kam". A lapa is a wrap or a loose cloth worn by women around the waist like a skirt. The literal translation is "Close up your wrap, your husband has come home."
I am also told there is a tiny animal here whose name I did not quite get as it is in Temne. The literal translation in English is "I will never die alone." When this animal is caught in a trap, it lays quietly in wait until another animal walks by (be it a monkey, snake, dog, or chicken). It then grabs a hold of the animal. Once in its hold, the animal locked in and shares the same fate as that of the animal caught in the trap. The passing animal will die if it struggles too much, or they will both be caught by the person who set the trap.
The folks living on the hill at the construction site have sighted three large black snakes and have set traps to capture them. They leave several hard boiled eggs outside for the snake to swallow. The snake will not be able to break these eggs as it can with normal eggs when it stretches after swallowing its meal. Too full, it becomes slothful and will fall asleep right where the trap was set. It can then be captured and killed. Makes a good meal I am told. We'll see.
changes for Ramadan
Here at Waterloo, there has been a change in cabin crew. Both Bros. Emmanuel and Kelvin have been transferred elsewhere, and they have been replaced by Bros. Paul and Samuel. The thing which I greatly feared has come upon me. Two sisters have been moved here permanently. That wasn't enough. I was asked to go out with them yesterday on our visits. Our visits yesterday took us up the mountain. After visiting with one family, at around quarter to seven, as we were leaving, right there in front of me, to the West was an absolutely clear sky. The moon was a crescent (incidentally, it is Ramadan, the Muslim month of fast. Jimmy, Abdul, don't forget me.), and there was a lone star Northwest of it. Behind me, to the East, there was a spectacular lightning show. Mother Nature shows off all her grandeur out here.
This morning, at 7AM, I was asked to go out and buy half a dozen eggs. It came out to Le4400. On my way back, I ran into Thomas who has begun coming to church lately. I used to visit his family when I was here in Waterloo for the first time. Thomas who is 22, his slim, shy, wife Nancy aged 15, their 10 month old son Thomas Jr., and Thomas' younger brother all live in a very tiny clay shack. The entire shack must be about 14ft x 9ft. The little munchkin boy is absolutely adorable. Nancy was proud of him when I took a picture of the mother and son. "Ma boy fine Oh!" she said, when I showed her the picture.
Well Thomas ran up to me this morning and said: "Benjahmin, you came the right time. I have a problhem. Please you most help me. You see, I don't have a good shoe and I wont to get shoes. Can you help me please?" I didn't know how much shoes cost and I didn't have enough money with me anyway, so I told him that I will go back home, talk to the others and see what I can do to help him. I asked Bro. Samuel about it and he said that a decent pair of used shoes would cost about Le15000. I was a bit turned off about buying used shoes but he said he buys them himself, and it's just the way things are done here. Not many people can buy brand new shoes. So tomorrow, I'll give Thomas the money for shoes. My mom had send me one of my nieces discarded toys - a balled cat with a heart shaped button on it's stomach which when pressed, meows and moves as it vibrates. I'll give that away to the little boy. I have not a clue as to what I should get Nancy.
Bro. Samuel and I went out to get two gallons of fuel for the generator this evening. On our way back, the clouds gathered around like a bad omen declaring imminent doom. No sooner did we reach home, the flood gates were opened. That was at 7PM. It's past 9PM now and it does not look like it will let up any time soon.
There is a new peril upon us. Just out in the back, right where we wash our clothes, a swarm of bees have begun building a hive under a papaya leaf. I am afraid one of these days, the leaf will break from the weight just as we're washing clothes.
The work on the site should begin next week. As of Thursday, my jaw has been healed. Thank you for your prayers.
bedtime stories
This jaw situation is a bit strange. It gets better and then worse. Sometimes I can't chew or turn my neck, and then at other times, it feels like it's getting back to normal. There is definitely much improvement since Monday. A few hours ago, it almost felt like it was all over with, but now I feel it swelling again. My bones feel much better, and the temperature is back to normal.
Bro. Samuel has been moved to my room so it's a bit tight now as the room is smaller in comparison to my previous room.
Today I met Aunty Jenny. Aunty Jenny had personal experiences with the underworld and the Mermaid spirits and she shared her story with me. It was just a few years ago on Thanksgiving Day (not the same as in the States), she went to join a march past (parade) going along the main road. There was a throng of people parading by and she was among them. One man reached out and grabbed her and pulled her aside and asked her if she remembered him. She responded that she did not, and the man said that he knew her for a long time and that he used to give her a lift home when she was in school and knew where she lived, the school she attended etc. The woman still perplexed said that she could not recall him, and that many men have given her a lift back home during her schooling days. He said that she lived in Wellington and that he knew her parents. Jenny was getting impatient now and wanted to join the parade and so she agreed with him and went off.
That evening, when she returned home, she found the man sitting outside her house. She had made plans to go out with her uncle and did not have much time to chat and told the man that he would have to come back another time. When she returned home that night, she ran into the man again and he wanted her to take a walk with him. It was 10:30 at night and the man wanted to walk towards the sea. Jenny told him that there would not be any vendors around the sea at this time selling clams or lobsters and tried to persuade him out of taking this walk. Somehow, she found herself following the man to the water, and she had no control of herself. Near the sea, there is a field that is being watched over by a man. When the man saw her wandering towards the sea he asked who it was and why she was here alone at this time. She could not answer though she was puzzled that she was alone, but continued on as the man was guiding her by her arm. Somehow she recalls, by the mercy of God, she came to herself and ran back home.
The next morning, she was very tired and could not wake up at 5AM as she normally does. She wakes up early prepare a meal, bathe, get her child ready for school, and get to work. Her neighbour came to her and asked her what was wrong and she explained that she was absolutely tired and asked if the neighbour could cook something for the child and get him ready for school. At 9AM, as she was still fast asleep, she felt someone tapping her arm asking her to wake up and go with him to Bo to meet his parents. Though she wanted to know how he got into her house, she just could not ask that question. She woke up, did not shower, threw on the same clothes she woke the previous day and followed him to the main road to catch a cab to Bo. The man had taken her clothes off the shelf and had folded them for her and asked her to pack. She did not have a small suitcase, and had to borrow one from her neighbour. When the neighbours asked her what was going on, she said that she had to go visit her sick father in Bo. She does not have any family in Bo, and she has never been there before. She gave the neighbour some money and asked her if she could take care of her child for a few days till she returns.
Along with him, she boarded a cab full of men. Somewhere in between the four hour ride to Bo, the man pulled out a large envelop and handed it to her and said that he will meet her in front of the Bo Medical Center, and that he had to get off and take care of other things. He had given her an envelop of money in Le5000 denomination for cab fare. When she arrived at Bo, she found him sitting in front of the hospital. She had a change of heart and turned back around narrowly missing a UN jeep driving by. She boarded another cab heading back to Waterloo. En route, she checked her purse and the money was no longer there. Something told her to get off and she asked the driver to let her off. She was let off but was never asked to pay. As she got off, she saw the man standing at the side of the road and he was very upset at her and reminded her that she had promised him that she would go with him to Bo. She said that she could not go and he asked her to return his money. When she explained to him that she did not have the money anymore, he laughed an evil laugh. She asked him how much money was owed, and asked that he give her some time to get the money together to repay him. He continued to laugh and said she had no choice and that she should go to Bo with him.
She persuaded him that she would go with him another day and that she had to go home to check up on her child. When she arrived home, she told her neighbours that if anyone were to ask for her, tell them that she is not home. When she opened the door to enter in, she found him sitting on the table. Again she just could not ask how he got there. This time he did not look the same. He had a demonic semblance. She ran out and went to her neighbour for help. One minute she was talking to her neighbour, the next minute, it wasn't her neighbour anymore. The face had changed to that of the man. She ran to the next house. The same thing happened. She ran from house to house only to go through the same experience. All of her neighbours thought that she had lost it. They summoned her mother who immediately recognized that it was a demonic attack. She took her to the local juju men to seek deliverance. They covered her face with all sorts of paints and powders but their mystic powers could not help her.
Someone suggested that she visit one of the local pastors. They took her to see a pastor Joe and two other pastors with him. Pastor Joe along with the other two pastors decided to pray continuously for three days. While the prayers began, Jenny went into a coma and had no idea what was going on with her physical body for those three days. Spiritually however, she was traveling with this man that has constantly been seeking her company. She followed him to a beautiful land underwater. She saw beautiful trees, wonderfully paved and clean roads, and glorious looking houses. The beings that inhabited this city however, were odd looking. Some were short, some tall, and some giants. For two days, she had been traveling around this city in the spiritual realm, while physically, her body lay motionless and without breath. On the third day, at one exquisite looking house, on the porch, there stood a beautiful woman who was of the same complexion as her. She did not have long flowing hair as you would expect on a mermaid. She had bobbed, kinky black hair. She stood there calling for Jenny to come to her. She then heard a soft, gentle voice of a man behind her calling out her name and asking her to go towards him. She looked behind and saw a man dressed in a robe. As she turned around to run towards him, her physical body began to breathe. The body was levitated and then slammed to the ground; levitated, then drawn towards and slammed against the window. While she continued to run towards the man, her body began to writhe on the floor. When she reached the man, she finally came to herself. The pastor later explained to her all what had happened since she had gone into coma. Since then, she explained to me, she has never had such an attack.
Still in disbelief, I told her that I could not honestly believe that all of this could be true. She was emphatic in convincing me that this underworld is real. "I'am hard to convenience," she said. "I used to be a skeptic myself. I did not believe any of it until I went through the experience myself. Now when I hear stories about the underworld, witchcraft, secret societies, etc., I hear it, and then walk away. I don't discredit what I hear. I am not in fear. I just walk away. It's terrible, and it's real." She then suggested that I listen to the very popular testimony of a Nigerian woman who had come out of such evils.
Oh Africa! Her stories almost always leave you feeling disconsolate.
something's got to give
Attempting to play the Harmonica to Gary Moore - The Loner (Live). Precisely. The Postal Service - The District Sleeps Alone Tonight. Wilco's advice seems hard many times but I should try. ARGHH!
There have been a few changes. Lahai has been moved to the temporary dwelling at the construction site. I am moved to a room alone for now. The room that Lahai and I stayed have been vacated for arriving Sisters. I am begging Bro. John to return to work on the site so I can have something to occupy me.
My bones feel weak, slight temperature, right jaw swollen. Seems like another good day to stay up and pray.
I shall tell you more about the people here later. Thanks to my brother-in-law, I have a cold compress pack to use for my jaw.
Continue to keep me in your prayers. Something's got to give and I am hoping that if it's a change in me, that it be expedited. Righteousness is a word that has been coming up over and over again in all of my reading and listening.
A few friends asked me if I was an evangelizing Christian. I'd lead anyone straight to hell if I tried. I feel I need salvation myself!
