A Uniquely, Typical Day

  Life is busy for during camps, conferences and seminars. But what you don't know is how life tends to be in the slower time.  It is a time to rest and to prepare Bible studies, curriculum, themes, teams, staff, etc...  There are no "normal" days around here. There are always interruptions of some sort or another to keep us on our toes.
  Tuesday was a unique and yet normal day.  When I got out of the shower I heard knocking on the door. It was pastor from a neighboring village asking for help with a couple things.  At the same time the maintenance man came over to fix a leaking toilet in my guest house.  Not long later he came to get my help. He'd fixed the problem that we knew about only to discover another small leak.  So we became plumbers for the next couple hours.  Then we discussed how to fix a leaking roof in my storage shed and the building of a new outhouse.  (I must clarify here that I do have indoor plumbing but many people work outside in my yard. They have never seen and wouldn’t know how to use a toilet.  So we have a local “choo” for them to use which . Because that one is getting old, the walls are cracking and may soon fall. it also entails walking through a patch of trees which scares many. The new one will be nearer to my house and have plumbing but more in their style – a squatty-potty.) 
   Then I came inside to check e-mails and send some last minute requests off to Emily, who is coming to live with me for 7 months to help with camps and music programs.  I'm always finding something to add to my list of things for her to bring!  I made reservations for next week to go and pick her up in Dar. 
  Before that was finished, a carpenter friend came to install a new door handle for me.  It ended up in us taking apart the drill and fixing the reverse button, just in time for lunch. 
   It has been a very wet, rainy season.  Almost daily it rains for a few hours, sometimes for the entire day.  That means when you walk around outside you get wet from the grass. That, combined with the water spraying all over in the morning plumbing job gave me a quite a chill. I found myself hanging around the wood cook stove to get warm.  And this is one of our warmer times of year.
   Then there were some more calls to be made about upcoming trips, meetings, and government paperwork.  After which I delivered a message and explained some culture to my neighbors, who are new missionaries.  It ended in my translating some things for them to a pastor they were hoping to work with. 
   In the evening I led a Bible study for a choir, preparing them to share the Gospel with others.
  That gives you a glimpse of a uniquely, normal day here in Mumba.  Never a dull moment, that's for sure.