June 21, 2015 - Shelley

June 21, 2015

Today is the shortest day of the year here – and the longest where most of you are!  I wouldn’t say that it feels like winter exactly, but it’s definitely chilly in the mornings and evenings!

Our projects have been on a bit of a roller coaster this week.  We’re stalled on some, and we’re trying to get others submitted before we get too close to going home.

One new project came about two weeks ago when we were visiting hospitals with President Thomas’s son, Zack.  The Kisanga General Hospital is the largest hospital in one of the local health zones.  All 200 others send their most difficult cases there.   The facility receives water only in the morning from

this Regideso tap.  The rest of the day, the hospital basically only has access to water from a hand-dug well that is often contaminated.  It’s a hospital with 95 beds and a new wing for TB patients.  Anyway, our idea is to bring in three 5000 liter storage tanks that can be filled when the water is available and then used throughout the afternoon and night.  The tanks have to sit on an elevated platform to avoid vandals and in order to use gravity for water flow.  It would be such a blessing, so hopefully we can get it approved in time.  It feels promising.

Now for the downhill part of the roller coaster ride.  Grapphe is a handicapped organization that sells water to earn money.  They have a nice manual well, but recently they have been losing customers to some wells with electric pumps in their area.  The

photo shows the front of their building with the people lined up for water.  We have wanted to help the handicapped community for a long time, but couldn’t settle on an appropriate way to do so.  Anyway, the plan was for us to provide $10,000 and Grapphe to give $5,000 to convert their manual well to a well with an electric pump.  It took more than a month for us to get approval to do this project – and in the meantime, Grapphe spent their money on a big party coming in August to celebrate their 12-year anniversary!!!  ARG!!!!  The more we think we understand, the more we realize we don’t understand anything!!!!

On a lighter note, we took our last trip to buy lumber for the new roof at the Kamweneja School.  These are some of

the gals in charge of the local lumber yard.  I love how they sit around with their big purses while the men do all the work!!!!  Well, this week happened to be beauty shop week, I guess.  A beautician was there doing hair.  Below

is Lydee who stopped while getting her new “do” to sign an invoice.  I’ve tried before to get a picture of ladies getting their hair done, but usually they are about like I would be in the same situation – not too wild about the idea! Haha  Well, Lydee was a real character and didn’t seem to mind.  I’ve wondered about how the gals get their braids to stay so stiff when they stick out from their heads.  The answer:  black thread!  So, for example, this cute girl in

Luputa used thread to get her ponytails to stand up. Anyway, Lydee was having her hair done in a similar way, except that the beautician was adding a piece of a hair extension with black thread and then cutting the extension off.

She was very gracious to let us watch!

The lady on the right had hers done in the same way yesterday – so this is how it turns out.  It’s about a two-hour process, costs $30, and will last for about three months.  What we women won’t do for beauty!!!

And another positive thing this week was our involvement in the immunization campaign against polio.  There are 420,000 babies under the age

of one year in the Katanga Province where we live.  Our participation in this vaccination project has been to pay for the transportation of the vaccine and advertising in two areas of the province.  The photo shows the delivery truck being loaded behind the Ministry of Health Building.  This is injectable vaccine rather than drops because they feel it is more effective in this area.

We attended a stake music show in the Lubumbashi Stake yesterday.  We really

enjoyed the enthusiastic hoots and hollers!   A jazzed-up “Joy to the World” was my all-time favorite!  Yes, it is June.  ☺  This little guy looks like he’s had enough, though!

And last night we ate dinner with the other senior missionaries at the Hotel Lubumbashi.  Someone recommended

it to Sister Cook, who was looking for good Indian food.  Just a side note to those of you who have lived here:  The Indian Spice Restaurant went out of business and the mission home bought their generator.  Everyone seemed to enjoy it (I had pizza ☺).

Well, even though it isn’t celebrated here, I must wish Happy Father’s Day to the wonderful fathers in my life!  I have truly been blessed by your kindnesses to me!  My companion, of course, is at the top of my list!  I love him more each day!  --Mom/G-ma/Souer Davis