the stuff of life

View looking  toward Choma

Figured you might be interested in hearing about a typical day here at Nahumba… but part of what makes each day typical are the unpredictable knocks at the door and the interesting phone calls.

Last Friday I decided to keep a little record of some of the day’s events (sorry, I didn't take pictures):

6:30 (a.m.)- Call from a pastor regarding a last-minute booking for that night

6:37- Knock at the door, one of the church overseers (staying at the guesthouse) asking for keys for the mini-bus which he had arranged to borrow for the day

• While walking out to the garage with the reverend, I met up with Bright, our groundskeeper (he usually arrives about 6:45), so I gave him the keys and let him finish up helping the reverend with the mini-bus

7:00- Heather and I had Bright come inside to sprinkle rat poison in our attic (preventative maintenance)

7:30- Another knock at the door, this time the fellow asked if my dad was home (uh, yes… in bed sleeping, I believe). Guess he didn't think I was old enough to be in charge.

7:40- Knock- same fellow, asking this time to write a letter for me to email to a former missionary

• I set him up on the porch with a table, chair, paper, clipboard, pen, and tea.
• After a while, he knocked again to give me the letter and announce his departure

Our popular porch

8:00- Heather left for work

8:40- Phone call from a pastor (same as 6:30) confirming evening booking [he never did come...]

8:45- Knock, a teacher requesting three copies (which I made) as well as a connection to the States for someone to bring back a part for his broken camera (I made no guarantees)

8:50- Emma came in for work

10:10- Emma came to the office requesting to go to the clinic for her cough

10:20- Knock, Bright, ready for his morning tea/breakfast (each morning, I serve him two peanut butter and honey sandwiches, a piece of fruit, a drink, and sometimes a muffin, cookie, or cake)

• Emma stopped back in after her visit to the clinic

12:05- Knock, Bright, returning the keys after finishing for the day

12:30- Knock, same teacher as 8:45, this time with a student, asking me to make a copy of one of her report papers

1:10- Knock, Mwaka (one of Heather’s colleagues) asking for two 2 liter milk jugs (empty). 

• Heather was home for lunch, so she took care of that knock

13:45- Call from a pastor asking if I was available to meet

14:13- Knock, pastor who called. We discussed building committee items.

• I messaged the building committee chair with a question
• The chair later called me back with a response

15:34- Knock, a friend who is doing some maintenance work for us. 

• I brought him a drink of Mazoe and we walked around the exterior of the house and out to the garage, discussing the proposed work.
• Also stopped to talk with a fellow who rode up on his bicycle; he was looking for one of the Compassionate Ministries workers.

view of our house from near the church building

16:20- Skype call for work, cut short at 5 minutes when the internet kicked off

16:40- Visit with Stebbin (water and sanitation specialist for Compassionate Ministries) and Heather on the porch

• Discussed financial reporting items with Stebbin (for work)

17:15- Greet Conrad and Mwaka as they leave the office for the day

Our popular backyard (the only swingset around)

17:30- Walk with Heather to the neighbor’s to see if she’d like some extra strawberry plants from our garden

• Walk back together with our neighbor to pick up the strawberry plants from the garage
• Greet our pastor and a visitor who were waiting in our driveway. 
• Once the visitor (also a pastor) realized Heather and I stay here, he asked if I happen to have a BIC logo on my computer that I could put on a CD and give to a reverend staying at the guesthouse…
• Walk back to the neighbor’s with the strawberry plants

• One of the reverends stopped by in the evening to make arrangements for Saturday, ask me to make some copies for him (before 6:30 the next morning), and to pick up the CD with the BIC logo.

• Evidently, we missed out on a bit of excitement around 21 hours when a pastor drove out to see about accommodation but discovered our gate was locked. He wound up lodging elsewhere for the night and coming on business Saturday morning.

Another shot looking down toward Choma

It can also be noted that Wednesday night I stayed half-awake until 23 hours waiting for a guest to arrive (he never did). Thursday evening, I had just tucked my mosquito net around my mattress for the night when I received a call asking for two sets of towels and some soap at the guesthouse.

...And, Saturday morning started bright and early with making copies in the office and the reverend’s knock at the door around 6:15 to settle accounts and pick up the copies. Thus began another day at Nahumba…