Getting adjusted

Things here are still pretty difficult. Some ways that is to be expected. It usually takes a couple of weeks for things to settle in.

We have still been having trouble with our solar system.  I was beginning to believe that we were going to have to replace the batteries. We have at least one that I didn’t think was holding a charge.  Earlier this week my friend Elwood brought over his battery charger and we got the system partially going. Then his charger quit. After he left I found another charger in the depot and tried it, but it didn’t work.  Elwood suggested we disconnect them and take them to town; there is someone there that can charge and check them.  The next day I decided that before we went to that much work, I would go to Gros Morne to buy a battery charger, and can you believe in a town of over 20,000 there was none to be found?

As I was returning from town Elwood called and volunteered to come and help me. Since I was in town at the time I picked him up so that he would not have to drive.  The battery charger I had found in the depot was in our truck and Elwood asked about it.  I told him it had buzzed for a minute, and then stopped altogether. He said the switches looked corroded, so we shot a little WD40 in them and worked them back and forth.  We got it working enough to bring the batteries up to where the charging side of the inverter was working and we finished charging them all the way up with the generator. As of know the system seems to be working. Keep your fingers crossed.

We are without water part of the time. John Louie is in charge of the water system here. He took me to look at the spring which is our water source. It is leaking around the spring capture and we do not have enough water pressure to reach the second story where our apartment is. We have a tank on our roof, but it has sprung a leak and our reserve water has all drained out.

John Louie came to me later with a list of material to repair the spring capture; he listed 35 bags of cement!  That’s how much we used to build the new spring capture in Kamatan. He was disappointed when we told him we would give the list to Fr. Gracia. He then told Denise it might only take 10 bags. How about that?

It is amazing how much we take for granted back home.

We have unpacked the shipping container crates. The difficult journey damaged several crates. It looks like we lost some school supplies and soccer balls as well as the inside bucket to an ice cream maker. This is the first time I can remember loosing anything besides when we lost our shipment during the double hurricanes around seven years ago.

Now that I have started unpacking, people know that we have shoes, and everyone is asking for a pair. I cannot blame them; most people wear worn out shoes.  However, it is not my place to distribute them.

We plan to build a roof shelter to replace the tarps we use for shade on the school roof where Denise does our laundry and cooking. We asked Fr. Gracia to find us a “Boss” man and a helper. When they showed up there were three men. When we asked them what their daily fee was, they told us it was 1,000 goudes apiece and that it would take them five days. I know that it should take less time build it. I also know that I can hire a boss man for 500 goudes and a helper for 250. I sent them on their way. We came to Kalabat today and I talked to Fr. Gracia about this. He was disappointed in the men. He plans to talk to them

We did not know if we would be able to take the truck to Kalabat. We heard that the “road” is too rough right now. Therefore, when we left our apartment we only took what we could carry in case we had to walk part of the way. We left our apartment around 10:45 and when we were about half way to town we were flagged down by Johnny. He was bleeding from his forehead, standing next to a man with his leg bleeding. They had just had a motto accident. Johnny had been driving on his way to see us when another motto came towards him and forced him to drive over a large rock, dumping their motto on the ground.  They were not seriously hurt, but pretty shaken up. The man with the injured leg found an aloe plant and tore off a leaf. He then opened the leaf and spread the gel on his wound.

We suggested that we all go back to our apartment where Denise could clean the wounds on both of them and apply anti-biotic cream and bandages. On the way back to our apartment, Johnny told us that people had been working on the road and it was not drivable all the way to Kalabat. Therefore, when we returned to our apartment, while Denise treated the injured, Bremond and I loaded up the back of our truck with supplies from the shipping container.

We strapped down the load with ratchet straps and ropes and when Denise was finished with the patients, headed back down to town. As we reached the top of the first hill, a motto came up beside us and pointed to our load. One of the straps had come loose and we had lost a tote box. The location could not be worse, bluff on one side of the road and a steep drop on the other and no place to turn around. Therefore, I backed down about a 100 yards to a “wide” space. , then made about a six- point turn. This all made Denise very nervous.

When we reached the bottom of the hill, someone flagged us down, this time because some people had picked up the tote box and had taken it inside their house. They brought it back out and we reloaded the tote and re-strapped the load down. We turned around again and headed back to town, stopping a few times to make sure that the load stayed secure.

We had not planned on stopping for lunch in town, but we also thought we would be in Kalabat by now. We stopped for lunch for egg sandwiches. Johnny then told us that one of things he was supposed to do was pick up some things from the market for the funeral.  We headed down to the market. The market is on the other end of town, vendors are so close that sometimes they move their wares to allow us to pass. Driving through the market reminds Denise of playing car driving video games were you have to maneuver around obstacles. It is, but my goal is to get through, not how fast.

While waiting for Johnny, a large crowd gathered around the truck to watch Sadie, our little dog. She is an anomaly. All of the dogs here are village dogs, all the same shape and size, only sometimes does the color vary. They usually live on the fringes. The only pets we know of our owned by Americans.

Leaving the market Johnny then informed us he had to stop at the print shop to pick up the programs for the funeral. He had stopped on his way to see us, but the owner said he had to pay up front so that he could buy gas for his generator. Now when we arrived, he had not started yet. We waited for about twenty minutes and realized he had not started the generator yet. Johnny arranged for a friend to deliver the programs next day.

This is where Denise took over driving. She has driven to Atrwel before, but this time she drove all the way to Kalabat. The road is passable; until the next time we have a big rain. We arrived in Kalabat after 4:00.

We plan to return to Garcin; Lord willing and the creek does not rise, Sunday afternoon. Johnny’s Aunt died and her funeral is right after church.