“5am alarm. But my eyes have been open for at least 20
minutes – planning, thinking, praying, preparing.
6am kids are out the door and I’m close behind. After a
quick cup of coffee, running shoes and my water, it’s time to get going.
7am My run is winding down and the real work begins. Quick
shower and grab something on the go – banana, hard boiled egg, or more often
than not, just a 2nd cup of coffee.
8am and I’m out the door again. Walking to the closest spot
to grab a bus into town. After waiting way too long, cuz I’m really not as
patient as I look, I just start walking.
8:30am and I’m already on round 2 of errands. The bank opens
at 9:30am so instead of wasting that precious hour, I head out to the mechanic
to find out what parts I need to get the car back up & running.
9am and the mechanic has me worried about parts…again. Now
I’m walking, talking on the phone, and trying to catch a bus all at the same
time. It’s taking too long so I end up taking a motor bike and heading back to
the bank.
9:15am and the bank is getting ready to open and I’m calling
& chatting with friends in the capital city and in South Africa to find out
WHERE I can find these parts for the car.
9:45am and the bank manager calls me over and tells me not
to wait in line – “Just come see me!” She takes my deposits and my check and
takes care of everything. I’m in and out in about 15 minutes.
10:15am and the kids’ school is calling me saying Milenea
isn’t feeling well, and I need to come get her. I’m lucky to see a bus coming
right at me so I jump in and make it to the school in a record 20 minutes.
10:40am and I’ve got Milenea in my arms and she’s hot.
Definitely not malaria but she’s coughing and saying her head hurts. We’ve been
passing this nasty junk around for at least a month, so I’m almost positive
that’s all it is.
 |
| Throw back to when the car was a beast & Jo was a teeny little thing! |
11:30am and I’ve now got all the kids and we’re piling into
a taxi to ride close to home so Milenea doesn’t have to walk.
12pm and we’re home, helping Tia Amina finish up lunch.
Milenea goes to lay down and I bring her some water. The kids change out of
their uniforms and the house is full of noise once again – laughing, playing,
arguing – the best kind of noise!
By now, I have 2 options: the lunch hour closures are
winding down so should I head back to town and try to get a few more things finished, or should
I take a quick power nap and do some office work and try again tomorrow?
It’s already Thursday by this time…I better get back to town
so I can talk to a few people at different offices about paperwork, car parts, get a second or third opinion on the car, etc. It’s almost impossible to do it on a Friday so I better get it
done today.
3pm and I’ve finished my few office-type of errands I needed
to do and I grab some bread, eggs, and jump in a taxi so I can pass by the open
market on the way home & buy some veggies for the house.
4pm and I’m finally done for the day. I carry everything
down the back entrance to the house as taxis will charge an outrageous amount
if I ask them to take me all the way home. With arms full, I make it in the
back gate just in time. I almost drop the eggs but pin them up against the gate
so I can drop everything else and catch them.
5:30pm Now homework, bath time, dinnertime, and evening cleanup
& prayers takes over the rest of the day. By 8pm, I happily jump into bed
until I remember I’m on day 10 of a grumpy JoJo who is cutting a billion teeth at once and she has a hard time if I put
her to sleep.
I pass her off to Auntie Beth or Uncle Gildo and they get her to
sleep. I am grateful for their help or she cries and carries on for so long
that almost the whole neighbor can hear her! I feel for that sweet girl – being a baby is not easy.
I take Jo into bed with me and finally settle in for the
night. The dogs bark through out the night and I get up at least once to see
what they’re making noise about. When I climb back into bed it’s almost time to
get up and do it all again.”
This is a basic idea of what many days have been like for me
in the last few months. Our awesome car took a dive and has been giving me
problems. The turbo went out again, the engine has some compression issues and
needs an overhaul, and working & living where these parts just aren’t
available has been a stressful, pain staking process of running around and not
doing what I SHOULD be doing – being a mom to my kids, a director of an
organization, and a leader to my team.
Having a car is NOT a necessity here. But with 10 kids
relying on me every day, 3 communities where we work that haven’t seen us in
months, and daily challenges that effect the well being of my kids, it has
become a necessity.
We’ve been hoping and praying for God to give us the
patience to fix the car, figure out another vehicle that won’t break the bank,
and help us find parts that are readily available. We’re thinking we’ve found a
solution and we’re hoping it all works out! I know I’m ready to get back to the
things that matter…
 |
| We said see ya later to Auntie Amanda & Uncle Matthew on Wednesday |
Please keep us in your prayers over the next few weeks as we
get this stuff taken care of…AND – did I mention we had 3 AH-mazing visitors for almost a month?! Yeah – we can’t WAIT to share more about our time with with them! They truly refreshed me and our kids. We said a sad "see ya later" on Wednesday and I'm still trying to recover from how many tears I cried when they left. It ain't easy, y'all! More on that next week.
With lots of love & hope that things will change,
Laura & the munchkins
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