 |
| Tom's view from behind groom at wedding event |
“There’s no flour….I don’t know when it will come because the whole city doesn’t have flour.”
“Taxi drivers are charging extra to go up the hill.”
“We don’t know when there will be power again.”
“No bread anywhere. None of the bakeries have any flour left.”
No flour. No fuel. No electricity for over 42 hours. No, there hasn’t been a natural disaster. There is no major world crisis effecting the islands. It is just one of the realities of living on this island--- shortages. There is no warning, but if boats don’t come on time with the goods that islanders use, then there will be a shortage or mini-crisis until the boat arrives. So as the winds pick up during this time of year, the seas get rougher and boats are late and we have shortages.
Part of us wants to ask…”isn’t this just a problem of not planning ahead enough?” Can’t business people anticipate that certain times of year the boats will have more delays and order accordingly. Why does this have to happen every year?
But we also learned from living in Africa that hoarding and storing goods is not how most African cultures work. Islanders usually only buy food and supplies for that day. The idea of buying in bulk is something usually only shop-owners do. We have containers of rice, flour and sugar (more than one days supply). But every time I restock, the assumption is that I’m baking a bunch of cakes that day--- why else would I buy multiple kilos of flour and sugar?
Many island business people will not even give discounts for buying in bulk. We’ve tried to bargain like this-- suggesting we pay less because we are buying a lot, but many times the business owner has looked puzzled and merely quoted the same per unit price that he gives to someone buying one unit.
 |
| Our boys being tickled |
When we first came to Africa, we didn’t necessarily understand this mentality. There is no one-stop shopping here, so our desire to store up and avoid daily shopping trips was only increased. But then there are other African realities… weevils, mold, mildew, leaky roofs, rodents, no power (leading to no refrigeration). Things happen and stuff goes bad or gets ruined. Plus if neighbors see your stocking up, they will not understand your planning and may start asking for handouts of whatever you have stored away.
We brought some goodies back from South Africa and in my past I would have wanted to parcel it out, eating it slowly so that it will last a long time. But Africa has changed me and I can’t help the feeling that we should eat it up as soon as we can, while we can, and share it with whoever might be visiting. We lost a good amount of food with this past power crisis. “If only I hadn’t bought extra meat yesterday!” was my thought.
This is part of life here, no matter how much it may frustrate us. And we’re in it together with our island friends and neighbors. So we rejoiced and shouted along with our neighbors when our power finally came back on. We were excited to see the taxis back on the street. And until the boat comes with flour, we’ll figure out meals and treats that don’t use any.
Rejoice always. Pray without stopping. Give thanks in all circumstances…
 |
| Teammate w/ boulder that hit house |
David’s burn is doing great-- the wound is no longer open. The healing process continues as we try to keep it moisturized and covered to minimize scarring. Peter and David were sick early this week, but thankfully it was a short-lived virus. Thanks for praying. Our single ladies have found a possible house after just a couple days of looking!
PRAYERS REQUESTED
There is a group of islanders starting to gather on a weekly basis-- please pray that they would continue and grow into a group that would support and encourage each other. We have been praying that there would be a healthy island group we could direct new people to. A huge boulder fell from a hillside and crashed into our teammate couple’s house. Thankfully no one was hurt but the whole hillside appears unstable. They are considering moving to a safer area- pray for them in this process. Pray for the ladies as we talk to the landlord of this possible new house. Pray for us as we discuss together how to best help and reach out to islanders. Continue to pray for the healing of Megan’s back (it is improving!). Pray for Grace and Peter as they return to island school this week!
