Monkey (actually Chimps) and Business

We have had 2 more eventful weeks. Not a lot changes of our actual responsibilities, but it seems that each day there is some new interesting thing--a story. Sometimes we get to the end of the day and wonder what we have accomplished because the list doesn't seem that long. Then we realize that what we do accomplish just takes a longer time than at home. For example, paying the bills requires you to first go pick up the bill (or they might have someone deliver it to you), you write out the check, then you drive back to the business to deliver it. Another story--We needed to copy General Conference so that all the branches could watch it this past Sunday. Elder Jones went in search of DVD's. He went to a shop where the owner said that he had 5 DVDs and he could get him the other 20 that Elder Jones needed--Elder Jones just needed to wait a half hour. After waiting, it was learned that he couldn't get hold of them after all. Elder Jones then had to drive across town to another place where he found the DVDs--and at a cheaper price. It is amazing at times, however, to see what is available through little "shops" on the street. One of the other senior missionaries bought printer cartridges from a shop off the street.



Another story--you can't "fill up" your car. You just have to tell them how many gallons you want. We aren't sure why that is the case, but we think that it is because they can't calculate the price if it is part of a gallon (or they just don't want to). The pump will won't calculate at 12,500 Leones per gallon ($4.17 per gallon). Elder Jones has gotten over his frustration with that one after trying repeatedly to get them to just "fill it up".



We thought you might like to see some of the "shops" that we pass every morning when we jog. It is so fun to see what people will decide to sell or a service to provide. Generally they won't have any kind of name--just maybe a picture to promote what they are selling. Every once in a while, they will come up with a clever name.



The business below is a salon.



This one is a small restaurant. People will gather here to get a quick plate of the local fare before heading off to work or when getting home from work. We just loved the sign. (I should mention that most of the cooking is done with wood (something like charcoal). They have a pan that looks something like a wok that has a little cylinder on the bottom. The pan is placed so that the cylinder is over the wood (charcoal). The main fare generally seems to be rice with cassava leaves. I had some once at an investigator's home. It wasn't too bad.






Everyone works here. Little children even have some responsibilities. Water is generally carried by the children. They will head off down the hill or wherever they can to collect the water for the family to cook with, wash with, etc. They will carry the water in containers--some as big as 5 gallons--on their head. It is amazing to watch them. I don't think my head or neck would have the strength to do that. Last week a big dump truck deposited a load of sand from the beach just outside the building where we live. We watched as the little children were put in charge of scooping the sand into their pans and carrying it down the hill to the house just below us where their father was making bricks. They mix the sand with a little cement and water. They mix it on the ground, then scoop it into a mold, level it off, the mold is removed, and the brick is left to dry. They made 165 blocks or bricks which they will be paid 500 leones or 16 cents. There were 4 men making the bricks so they each made $6.00 that day--that is far more than most people make a day.

The picture below is one of the children who was carrying the sand. There were 2 children with the pans, 1 child scooping the sand into the pans with a shovel, and even a little boy probably about 4 years old came carrying his old paint bucket to be filled with sand for him to carry back on his head to his father.

You have seen pictures of Elder Jones hauling water to the house in our lovely orange tank that sits in the back of our truck. With the rainy season approaching, one of the tanks where the water is stored needed to be repaired because there were some leaks. The tank was tipped on its side. Elder Jones and Elder Peterson then proceeded to make the necessary repairs. The first time didn't work, so they had to do it again. The picture below is the group that was gathered to survey their work. Some of the people gathered around are the brick people as they were given the water that was drained out of the tank, which made them very happy to have the source of water so close instead of having to haul the water up the hill. (Elder Gaxiola in the white shirt had just arrived for a P-Day (preparation day) activity).



The picture below is why the Elders had come to the house. Six of the elders along with Elder Peterson and us went to a local chimp reserve that is just a few miles out of Freetown. They take chimps that people have had as pets and try to get the chimps to be able to return to the wild. They haven't released any yet, but are working towards that. It was fun to see the chimps. The guide would talk to them and they would respond since they had been exposed to words before. One of the chimps had been taught about rocks. He would go off and find a fairly big rock. He would then haul it back and then throw it towards the guide. That chimp would have made a great pitcher on a baseball team.

April 27th is Independence Day for Sierra Leone. There were various things going on around the city. On our side of the city, they had a Sports Day for the children. It is organized by the school and it is like a big field day. The children are divided into four groups which then compete against each other. There were the typical races, but one that was really fun to watch was where the young girls would race to a given spot. They would then put their stuffed animal on their back (like a baby) and then wrap their blanket or scarf around their waist like a mother wraps a baby here to carry it. After she had the "baby" wrapped, she would then run to the finish line. I think they then checked to see how well she had done in wrapping the baby. One of the little girls whose father works as a guard at the house won her race. She was so proud and excited. We had actually gone to the event at her invitation. It is a BIG occasion for all the family. It starts at noon and lasts until 9:00 p.m. People gathered with the families and had lunch/dinner.

We love the people here. It is hard to describe the reaction you get from people when you say "hello" to them. They just light up and get the biggest smiles on their faces. It is great to be able to be with them and learn about their customs and traditions. They find great joy in singing hymns--boy can they ever sing!!! The church is fairly young here; consequently, the members don't have a lot of examples of how things are to be run and organized, but they are learning. They have very hard lives, but seem to have a great sense of peace and contentment about them. It is something we can all learn--to find joy wherever we are.