Friday, April 1, 2011

Bonjour,

Our computer bit the dust on Monday. That is why you haven't heard from
us for a few days. We sent the computer off to be cleaned and found out
that it had other problems. We were able to buy a laptop that another
missionary had left here in hopes of selling it. I will try to give
you a quick rundown on the week.

On Monday, the power went off at 1:00 A.M. and did not come back on
until 4:30 P.M. Praise the Lord for generators!! The Aarons left after
breakfast on Monday. We were sad to see them go; we had a really good
time with them. The boys were not too thrilled to go back to school,
but we did it anyway. Joe went into town with Charlie to run some
errands. Something was draining the battery on the vehicle. They took
our vehicle to an electrician, and he was able to fix the problem. We
got a package in the mail. Gilbert was excited to open it because it
was a birthday package from Grandma. He had requested an OU shirt, much
to his father's chagrin. There was something for everyone in the
package. Gilbert and Danny put on their new OU shirts right away.
Bonnie put her outfit on too.

There was a package of invisible Koolaid in Gilbert's birthday card. I
made it for them for supper. The boys kept asking for more invisible
Koolaid. Bonnie piped up and said, "May I have some more vegetable
Koolaid, please?" She almost got it right.

On Tuesday, we did school. Then, we took a taxi into town. First, we
stopped at a seamstress shop to have some things made for Easter. From
there, we went to Captain Hooks for lunch. It takes about an hour for
the food to be prepared. We were playing "I Spy" while we waited. Each
time that it was Danny's turn, he kept saying "No" to everything that
Gilbert guessed. Joe would finally ask Danny what it was, and it was
one of the first things that Gilbert had guessed. If I guessed, then, I
would get a "Yes" right away. After several rounds of that, when it was
Danny's turn again, Gilbert said, "I'm not playing any more." After we
ate our "beef burgers" (They don't call them hamburgers in Ghana, you
know.), we went to Garden Mart to get groceries. Then, we headed home.

On Wednesday, Joe went into town to get things set up to have some more
work done on the vehicle on Thursday. The radiator and the timing still
had issues. The boys did school. Danny's first question every school
day is, "Mom, do I have any cutting?" He loves to use those scissors!
If one boy has cutting and the other one doesn't, they have to rub it in
a little. After naps, we had supper and then church.

Joe talked to our pastor on Wednesday about what we should do. Since
the door for going to Accra seems to have closed, he came to the same
conclusion that we had – that we should just stay here in Takoradi.
When we lived in Ghana in 2006, Joe studied Fante, the tribal language
in this region, for six months. Anywhere that we go in Ghana, we will
need to know a tribal language. Since Joe has already worked on Fante,
it makes sense to stay here, work on Fante for six months, and then
start a church in this area. I am going to learn Fante as well but not
quite as intensely as Joe for right now.

On Thursday, Joe went into town with the vehicle. First, he took it to
the pump man. That man had found out from another guy who knows about
timing. They took the vehicle there, and within ten minutes, the timing
problem was fixed. Joe said that the thought came to him that we have
struggled with getting the vehicle fixed for the past ten weeks, but
once we had made the decision to stay here, the vehicle was fixed in ten
minutes! From there, he found a different person to work on the
radiator. The last guy had not replaced the rubber seal. The radiator
is almost holding water now! GRRRRRR!

The boys did school, and Bonnie did her coloring. I usually get in on a
little coloring too, but Bonnie turns to another page before I finish my
page.

Bonnie and I took a nap, but the boys didn't go to sleep. Both boys
fell asleep on the floor with their heads together. Joe got a good
picture of them.

This morning, we did school. Both boys had a project today; they were
excited about that. About half way through school, the power went off.
So, we just finished up the pages. The power was off for about four
hours this time.

Kristine and Becky came over for lunch. We had fajitas. They were
heading into town in a taxi to run some errands. Joe let me go along
with them, and he put the kids down for naps. I had a good time. We
went to Melcoms, the closest thing to Walmart in Takoradi. I got a
couple mirrors to hang on the bare walls. I was hoping to find some
pictures too, but I'll have to keep looking. I also got a few things
for the kitchen.

Just as I got home, our new computer was delivered. Joe has been
working on it most of the evening to get everything loaded and running
properly. It is nice to be back online!!

A demain,

Joe, Laura, Gilbert, Danny, and Bonnie