Day 24

Just as an aside, the electric bucket guys suck here. I don’t know what kind of hours they keep, but I do know that they do spend most of them in the dark. That being said, now power again last night and mr computer was tuckered out (low bat)
Oddly enough, and to my surprise, the sun came up at about 6:30 am (which is most of yours 8:30 pm…..odd don’t you think). I sprang out of bed….more like a slinky toy going down stairs, Sandy says….combed over misc. hairs and hit the path running….in my own sort of way. Sandy mentioned the cement mixer and that was my challenge…how to get it to do it’s thing with minimal effort from me. Now the night before, a kid (27yrs) came over from another childrens’ home in Kitale…..stick with me, this has relevance…I think. Anyway, Justin didn’t seem too emotionally disturbed, but he hadn’t been at the home for very long. He made the of hand remark that he liked to do physical labor. Me: “but I thought you said you were from America!”. Future indentured servant: “I have dual citizenship…American and Peruvian”. “Oh“, I said “do they use shovels in Peru?” Daylight came (Thank the Lord, as the bucket guys evidently couldn’t find their way to work that night….too dark) and Physical Labor and I crept up on mixer and with shovel in hand ….P L, not me, and began. I had the forms ready, so there was nothing hold P L back from demonstrating his Peruvian heritage. Along the way, Eliud cam walking by, unaware of the danger he was in. Lucky for us, not for him, we had two shovels. Eliud, being a smart man, said “if we put the gravel, sand and cement in the machine, won’t it get it dirty….can’t we just mix it on the ground like my ancestors did?” “No problem” I said like a true supervisor, “you can just clean the machine after we are done”. “Can I really?” says he. He likes to joke like that. Meanwhile P L had the first batch ready and we were working hard…..you might think that supervising a Peruvian and a Kenyan is easy, but there’s not much shade here and so I broke a sweat as well. Once we were committed, and we had wet cement on the ground, Eliud suddenly remembered that he had to make a dump run with all the used diapers……looking at the pile of cement on the ground, I said “not without supervision!” Fortunately P L was new and didn’t catch all the nuances. It wasn’t until we were driving out that he used some of the Swahili that he had learned from Jeff.
While P L got to enjoy getting the credit for putting the cement in place, we were deftly working our way in and out of potholes that had been freshly dug….we were in the Van, not Toyota. Van is old and has given up hoping for a better life. Now, my deet cologne can be abit much in the morning, but it was no match for the sacks and sacks of used diapers as the African heat began to build…”You could sure use more deet” observes Eliud. “I know that Kenyan have a distinct odor” I say to him, “but it seems abit strong today”. He laughed and said that he would remember that comment. Did I happen to mention that Eliud is on the local police force? The DUMP! You probably have been to a dump….Sandy and I often have a date, going to the dump….I like to surprise her like that, being the romantic that I am…..but you haven’t been to this dump. Even the rats avoid this place. I won’t upset your stomach with the details, but suffice to say the “hospital disposes of all their medical waste, syringes, bandages, blood……had enough yet….. On the good side of the deal, a friend of ours gave us $20.00 (about 1600 shillings) to give to some one we thought had a special need. Now if you can imagine anyone more needy than the keeper of the dump……. He and his wife and kids live in a small house and are supposedly paid by the “city”. He has kept his side of the deal….city has not. With tears he thanked us and said “careful there….syringe sticking up”. He is a good man. If you can meet someone like him and then go back and think you need a bigger tv or newer car, you a tough, man, tough.
Back at the compound, P L was in total awe that he had completed the section of walkway. As he chased us around with a stick, he kept gloating over the fact that HE had done it. Good man, P L.
We sent the dove out yesterday…got alittle anxious, I guess, as it hadn’t rained for almost 24 hrs. Here’s hoping it doesn’t drown.
Got a lot to do today, as it is our last full day at the home. Everyone seems sad but have helped us pack. We found our stuff out by Toyota yesterday, with everyone waving goodbye…….I think that they will miss Sandy.