44 days and counting

Oh, to be 44 again.

The magic number changes every day. Today it stands at 44 days, but unlike years accumulating this number will diminish until zero. Then one phase of life ends and hopefully a new phase begins immédiatement somewhere between Africa and The United States. The only thing we know about the U.S. is that gas is cheaper than last summer and it is winter.

Thanksgiving was celebrated by a great group of missionaries and expats from various points of the compass, Papa Norman, our local celeb, Larry Stuver, Granas Family, (Nilza, Edouardo, Martha, Anna) Eric and Chantal (can't even remember their last name let alone spell it), the Delisle Family, (John, Manon, Anne Sophie), Smiths, Sneddons, Johnsons, Cooks, and Hamiltons, and Ted Neilson (here today, gone tomorrow Church employee).

The food was as American as you can get here with many ingredients hand carried from the States by many caring people like Ryan who spent his Thanksgiving with family in Provo. Turkey was close to real but a local "product" from Turkey (seriously) and baked in ovens that resembled stoves from the early 1950s. Sister Sneddon loves Thanksgiving so gave it her all with mashed potatoes, stuffing, canned cranberry sauce, homemade rolls, butter, sweet potatoes, salads and pumpkin pies made with the real Libby's. I made them, and they looked good but the crust didn't stick to the filling or vice versa.

There was enough whipped cream to cover any of the flaws. Other desserts were presented because pumpkin pie is really a "local" (American) dessert.

 

We did the "What I am thankful for over the past year in three minutes or less". Elder Hamilton and his wife spent more than a week with the Saints here in Kinshasa visiting every stake, exhausting.

We are now into December, the 4th already and the tasks seem to be accelerating as time grows short.

I got a puzzle from Janine & Ralph, a good hard one. I don't know when to cry "uncle". I don't want it to be the conditional reason that I have to stay until it is finished, just don't know how long I can see it on the table half finished. I hoped I could finish before Christmas but don't know how it will get done.

Mark is remarkable with all he does in the office and trying to "counsel" with cops who stop us whenever they perceive an infraction of the "law". We usually "relax" as we drive to church because the police don't show up for work on Sunday until well after 9:00 AM but Sunday Mark failed to turn on his blinker to turn left, so who should appear from behind the billboard and park his "bike" in front of the truck and wag his finger - the local enforcer. He demanded the driver's license, then said, "This is a copy, I want the original".

"No, we have been advised not to hand over the original because you take it and won't give it back until you extract money from my wallet." John Delisle passed us and smiled because we witnessed John getting the very same treatment at the same intersection the day before. Our "Only in the Congo" list grows, experience doesn't make you smarter or more savvy that you "learn" how to avoid these stops - I guess white skin is just too tempting, talk about profiling.

Friday Sister Sneddon invited all to Thanksgiving leftover soup, very good.

It was inevitable I guess, something went amiss with some food ingested or some germ from a dark place. Oh, what a night and a day and a night. If I had the means I would have chartered a plane and returned home to avoid dying in Kinshasa. Bad stuff. It hasn't completely stopped and now it appears that Mark may be afflicted with the same "problem".  Remember 44 is the magic number.

Any ideas how to use a lot of cocoa in the next 44 days? I'm out of ideas. Or for that matter, how to use a lot of dry beans?

Hope Christmas has real meaning to all.