It is What It is.

Jan. 22, 2014

Well, when we went to our rooms last night Nancy turned on her air conditioning and her fan and then we chatted for a few minutes.  I looked at the head of her bed and asked “What is that by your pillow?”  Four black bugs.  And, I’ll ask again, what do you think we did?  It’s a good thing we had just finished a Star beer, Nancy tossed the bottle cap in the middle of them.  They didn’t move.  Then we looked up at the walls, there was “a few” more of them hanging out.  We looked at eachother and Nancy just said, “You’ve been preaching that it’s like camping…..it is what it is.” And with that we said our goodnights.  Nancy slept with her head at the foot of the bed so she could leave room for her new friends.

Prayer call, dawn again.  Getting used to this.  We met our first credit union manager today.  Daniel spent the day with us, answering our questions, furiously writing things down when we mentioned something.  The Board Chairperson, Joseph spent some time with us as well as Vice Chair (Madame Mary) and Secretary (Madame Mercy).  The credit union is small, has many challenges ahead, but the people we met today are a determined group and we hope, with some of our recommendations, they will turn Kete Krachi Credit Union into a viable part of their community. 

At about 10:30 AM Daniel turned to us and said, “When would you like to take beer?”  Nancy and I were shocked.  “Not during a work day!”  Daniel made a disapproving noise and we continued on.  Not long after Leticia came in with four bottles of Guiness.  “No!  No!” Nancy said.  Joseph told her “Don’t worry, it’s soft,” and Nancy explained we do not drink while we work.  He repeated that it was soft, and we started laughing.  They have malt Guiness non alcoholic here, it’s their pop.  It’s our nemesis, so thick you almost have to chew it.  We choked it back (we are already looking unthankful with all of the food we leave on our plates here.)

At 3 PM it was a day.  No more work.  Now we relax.  I thought of Graeson when we sat down at the plastic table, in plastic lawn chairs with Joseph and Daniel.  Grae didn’t particularly care for those in Puerto Vallarta, I’m sure this would have startled him with the poor village on the other side of the chain link from where we were.  We talked for hours, found out that Joseph had one wife and two kids, Daniel had two wives and five kids.  We discussed plural marriage and how it is frowned upon in Canada, discussed politics in Ghana and then Joseph asked us how we felt about the treatment of homosexuality in Canada.  The discussion was close to my heart, and very interesting to see where another culture is at with acceptance.  Uganda, where some of our fellow coaches are, just stopped meting out a punishment of death for this.  We moved on to another subject some time later, but not before I asked each of them, “If one of your children came to you, holding their heart in their hand, and said ‘Father, I am gay,’ what would you say?”  In the end I’m not so sure they are that different than us.  Your children are your children, one word cannot change our love.

This is getting long again, sorry L but speaking of children…Leticia brings her 16 month old son, Nhyria (when I get strong internet there will be a photo of them here).  Nhyria is breast feeding and this is a little difference I thought was intriguing…when he is hungry someone just brings him to Leticia and she feeds him.  In front of the manager, guests, Board members, it is treated as nothing here. 

Sandy spoiled my last two memorable moments for the 22^rd.  So I will just recap them by asking you, “What’s on your bucket list?”  It may take a long time, if at all, that I may forget the look on Jude’s face when he gave us his.  That his children grow up and be better off.  That he may someday have his own place to lay his head.  What more could a man ask for? 

I’ll post some pics of the guest house here soon, but imagine if you will rooms that are indoors but access to them isn’t.  Kind of.  Hard to explain, check back in a few days.  Nancy and I were heading to bed and we got to the topof the outdoor stairs and a big moth was flying around.  The bugs here are big.  Well, some of them at least.  The cockroaches are.  I digress.  So this moth hits a wall, then another wall, then beelines for my skirt and lands on it.  Pre Africa Deb isn’t here.  I shake my skirt to dislodge said moth, thinking about how heavy it is.  It doesn’t come out.  I shake harder.  It doesn’t come out.  So I grab a good chunk and whip the material.  Plop.  That’s the sound a bat makes when it lands on the floor (take note just in case at some point you require this piece of trivia…”plop”)  We looked down.  Yes, it’s a bat.  Nancy says I did a little Newfie jig as we walked down the hall to our rooms.  We looked back before saying goodnight and it was still where it plopped.  Sorry everyone, I didn’t have my camera.  But our mantra is and has been….

“It is what it is.”