Hello, how de day?
The time just flies by here... I can't believe two weeks from today we'll be in Michigan. Anxious to see our kids, grandkids and all our friends:)
We have both been so busy... The pineapple farmers are in full swing, after a few hiccups, and we are planting every day. Did you know when a pineapple plant matures and grows for the first time, it also gives "birth" to additional shoots, which are called suckers. A single plant can produce anywhere from one to five suckers, which means that plant has multiplied by that number. Instead of planting the crowns, the tops of the pineapples, we plant the shoots/suckers. When the suckers mature, in about 8-12 months, we will then have 2-5 times more pineapple plants than we started with. So... we are planting 550,000 suckers and in a years' time we will have about three million suckers to replant. This is great news as we now have to travel to Guinea to purchase suckers. It's quite the process. If all goes well, in a few years people will be coming to Newton to purchase suckers and it will mean such a boost to the local economy here.
Each morning we load up 2,000 to 4,000 suckers in whatever vehicles are "running" and travel to the farms to deliver them. Most of the farms are remote so we can't just take a dump truck full and leave them as they may sprout legs and "walk". It's funny because in the mornings I usually meet the farmers walking to their fields and they jump on the truck. Riding in or outside of a vehicle is a very big deal here, not many have opportunities to even ride in "taxies", they wave (the Princess Di type) and yell at everyone we pass like we are part of a parade:) I then drive to each farm at least once a day to monitor their progress. I am so thankful for the Jeep (strong one, it's been named by the locals) we have, it gets me through to all the farms which isn't an easy feat. The roads are no more than foot paths that have been increased by traffic. Some of the holes, or should I say craters, are huge and when it rains really hard it's tough to tell where the holes are.... My first couple of times driving out to the farms was nerve wracking:) It was a challenge finding them and remembering where they are, no such thing as road signs here. So I make notes to self, second turn at two large palm trees, turn right in front of red falling down house or take a left at the HUGE hole/crevice in the road. It works... The paths are barely one lane so meeting oncoming traffic is very difficult, especially now with rainy season every inch of open ground is planted with some type of crop so driving off the path would result in destroying someones' food:(
On site Davids' crew is putting the finishing touches on the second floor of the admin/security building. They are whitewashing it now and will paint as soon as we get a few days without major rain. Many of his workers are also planting pineapples within the site. The first group we planted are beginning to come up and they are beautiful! They've been in the ground for about six months now. You can plant them any time of year, but irrigation can be such a problem, it's wise to plant before rainy season and take advantage of Gods' irrigation system.
The party for the workers was a huge success. We were able to feed over 200 people chicken, rice and vegetables. We had a big pray walk in the morning, games for the kids and I baked for a week ahead of time so everyone got a treat. There was even a DJ booming out Sierra Leonean rap music and imagine my joy at watching guys fast dancing together. Not at all shy, they were having a great time! We really enjoyed meeting many of the workers' wives and children. It was a opportunity for the women to get dressed up and they looked stunning. Many men brought their children and fathers and sons had shirts on made from the same material. Beautiful! Many learned how to play volleyball and then.... the big football match. All of the sudden there were at least 300-400 people here. We played against the juice factory workers and it was a great game. We won 2-1!!! In the evening we held a drawing and gave away prizes to over 25 workers. Great day... and no rain!
Last week, out of nowhere, George had a baby monkey in his arms. No one knows where the baby monkey came from but it looked like a newborn. George bonded instantly and would not let go of the baby. David had to pry the baby out of his arms so we could syringe feed it. Unfortunately, the baby died on Sunday morning. We walked outside and George was holding it tightly. He screamed the whole time David pried the babys' body from him and he never took his eyes off the baby while the guard buried it. All day he stared at that spot and just cried and yelled. It was heartbreaking. I walked outside later to find David talking to George about grief. So sweet... The dogs have rallied around George and he's bouncing back. I wish you could see these two "ferocious" dogs playing hide and seek with a monkey. It's so funny, people around come to watch. The minute we untie the dogs at night, Walter and Diesel become very scary guard dogs. It's strange, we've never had dogs quite like this before. I hired a man to help me clean the yard and the dogs were tied up but as the man began walking to me, I thought Diesel would hang himself trying to get to the man. Rocky, the oldest cat, must be hitting his teen years early, he wants to be out all night, come home and eat and then sleep all day:) Bullwinkle is still a frisky kitten and he loves to torment Rocky.
This past month has been tough but we have learned so much. First, we remembered to humble ourselves and ask for prayers and your response to our request just blew us away! Second, we were reassured that we must be doing something right because the devil never bothers us if we aren't:) and once again we were made aware that only God can provide people, prayers and strength for us to conquer any situation. Our God is HUGE!
So excited that the container has been released with the barrels containing the new DVD/Projector and generator that was donated for our Jesus Film Project. We should have it in our hands by early next week!!! It's been limiting trying to crowd numerous people around a small portable DVD player and this new projector will enable us to reach so many more people! Thank you again Hillside and East Michigan District!
We hope to see many of you while we are home on furlough, we have fallen short on our funding needs, please join us in praying that God will speak to people and the funds will be available to allow us to continue our work here. Follow the link to help.. https://giving.wesupport.org/gift2/designation.php?GUID=0A797C5B-2B8A-4686-AB22-A52383315A6B&id=29156
Blessings,
David and Mam:)
P.S. Thank you to those who have donated towards our "boot" fund. We have $200 so far... please consider helping to supply our workers with boots to save their poor feet:) Pineapples are not pleasant to deal with and rebar and mortar along with tools and nails are not kind to bare feet. Please pray with us that the funds will be made available!
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