Day 866. Last night I headed to bed at midnight. Somehow they just know. Tammy got up and climbed into bed with us. Before I could fall asleep Emmy came as well. And I didn't sleep well, as they were not in good positions on the bed. I was up at 5:30 and never fell back asleep. They got up at 6:15, and by 6:30 I got up as well.
I made their breakfast, and we sat down to eat. We had plain white bread, as no shops have had any camembert for a week already, plus watermelon and pineapple, and oatmeal with milk. The baby cereal was out too, and so Sammy also had oatmeal with milk. After breakfast I cleaned them up and dressed them, and we read a Bible story together. Then I cleaned up and started doing some physical office work that needs to be done before our departure. Our internet stopped working last night, because we always have to pay for the next year in January, and in the midst of all that's been going on, we hadn't thought about it. Now we have to wait until Monday before Paul can pay for the year. Thankfully I was able to buy some internet credit for my phone to at least have some basic internet for the most important stuff.
When Margit came over at 9:30, they went outside to see the animals. Then Paul came to tell me that the village distribution tomorrow is canceled, because the government is coming to Sebela to hand out money to everyone as a Covid restitution. Now Paul is hoping the school director there will give the kids a half-day off to do the distribution.
Then two of our Malian kids came over to show me the state of their mattress so they could get a new one. A year ago they all had new mattresses and a few weeks ago new sheets, but without any Westerneres here to supervise the kids, they couldn't care less about actually sleeping on the sheets or putting pj's on, since both are things I introduced from the West and is not in their culture. It just frustrates me, as it gives the impression to Westerners that we're not taking good care of our kids. It's been my greatest frustration in ministry these past few years that we have not had any volunteers to supervise our Malian kids, and so there's nothing I can do but accept that this is the way it is, and that this is a Malian center, and not a European or American one.
All that stuff was still going through my mind, as I returned to work. At 11:30 I went to the kitchen to start cooking, and just before noon we sat down to eat. Tammy hardly touched her spagetti with meat sauce, while the boys ate some. They all had some yogurt, watermelon and pineapple. Then I took them to the bathtub to clean them up, dress them and put them to bed. It was just after 12:30, when they went to bed. Thankfully they were more tired today, and Tammy and Emmy fell asleep around 1:10. As tired as I was, I allowed myself to fall asleep as well.
Half an hour later Randy came in because Paul needed to see me. It was about the doctor coming to do all our PCR tests. After he left, I returned to the computer to work. At 2 pm Sammy was up; his eyes had opened up, when Randy came to get me. I took him to the living room, where Randy was. I continued working until just after 3 pm, when I lay down next to Tammy and Emmy. I closed my eyes and expected them to raise up but they never did. At 3:30 I got up as it was time. A few minutes later they woke up, and all they could talk about was going to the service. We dressed them, and they wanted to go right away, but it wasn't time yet, and so Emmy threw a fit. We put their shoes on, which took another minute or two, and then we slowly made our way to the building, where our service is being held at 3 pm every Saturday.
As we were approaching the building, we could hear Paul sing, so that meant that he was actually done preaching and waiting for us. I greeted everyone, said a few words, and asked Margit to come forward to thank her for the blessing she's been, and so we could pray for her. Everyone extended their hands towards her, and we and the children put our hands on her. First Paul prayed for her in Bambara, and then I did in French. Then everyone prayed for our trip back to Austria.
With that the service ended. A few weeks ago Emmy had been too fearful to hit the drums, but today he cautiously hit it, and so did his siblings. Tammy hit it hard with much delight.
Paul still had to sit down with the church members to talk to them and see how they were doing and what was new. But first we wanted to take a new family picture to use in the newsletters. They put a bench in the courtyard, and then everyone took their place, while André took the pictures, one after another, as there's always someone who is not looking at the camera. After a few more minutes talking to people we slowly made our way back to our house.
Some of the kids were in front of our house as well, as there is a tree that they really like the fruit of, and so do our kids. However, they only know the Bambara name, not the French, and so I can't look up what it is called. They were all playing around for a while - including chasing after a chicken - before we went back inside. I took their church clothes off, and they started playing, and a few minutes later Fanta came to do the dishes. They spilled some water on the mattress in the living room that they play on, and so Randy took the sheet off and put it upright against the couch. It wasn't long before they started climbing up on it, and it ended up being great fun for them all. They were laughing constantly going up and down.
When Amadou came with the fresh bread just after 5 pm, they immediately wanted to have some, and I gave it to them. I made an omelet and got everything ready, and at 5:45 we sat down to eat. Since there was no cheese, I put butter on their bread, and they liked it just as much. They also had the omelet, watermelon, pineapple and yogurt. Then I took them to the bathtub, where they were having fun for a while, until I got them out to get them ready for bed. By 6:45 they were already in bed. Sammy fell asleep fast, while Tammy and Emmy did their usual dance, sitting up and playing around. Around 7:30 I got up, before they were all the way asleep. I sat down next to Emmy, and then it wasn't long until he fell asleep and I could go get myself something to eat before continuing working. Now it's not even midnight, and I've been constantly falling asleep while writing. Bedtime!
