We woke up Wednesday determined to have a more functional day. And in some cases that happened.
Dave went first thing to a mechanic near Theresa's house to get a second quotation on the car. Jen stayed at home to receive Theresa, Josephine and Martha (one of the other women who works for Living Compassion in Kantolomba), who had volunteered to come over and clean the apartment in preparation for more of our team arriving (we were picking Tracey up later in the day and Cheri and her grandson, Brian, arrive on Thursday). Although we are very unaccustomed to someone doing our chores for us, we decided to accept their generosity. Jen is still not 100%, Dave is racing around filling in the gaps and it is DUSTY in Zambia in the dry season: the apartment needs cleaning.
Josephine ironing.
While Josephine and Martha worked their magic on the apartment, Theresa and Jen went to do errands: grocery shopping and picking up a few household odds and ends. We were thinking we were going to have to hire a taxi to collect Tracey from the airport, but Dave called and said that, though the car is not a done deal (far from it actually and will need a two-day repair), it is in good enough condition to use for now. We all met back at the apartment and left for the airport.
We were a few minutes late and were a bit worried Tracey may have emerged from customs with no one to greet her. Our fears were unfounded: the flight was four hours delayed; it had not yet even left Johannesburg.
We returned to the apartment. Dave went to the Water Department to discuss specifications for the water pump we will install in the Kantolomba well. Jen and Theresa stayed home to assist Josephine and Martha and to put away groceries.
Theresa and Martha on a lunch break.
While looking with Theresa at some pictures that we had printed to give to folks here, we learned of a fascinating aspect of Zambian culture. We were studying a photo of the group of 13 women who work for Living Compassion in Kantolomba. I was getting Theresa to help me learn their names. On several of their names, she had to stop and remember what to call them. I was surprised as these are all women very close to Theresa whom she sees everyday. She explained that the names she was telling me: Martha, Beauty, Brenda, Foster... these are the women's given names, but not the names they call each other. Instead, they refer to each other by their children's names. For example, they call Brenda, Bana Joseph because her first-born child is named Joseph. Anyone who has had twins (which seems to be quite a high percentage) is called Bana Mpundu (mother of twins). This can be sad, as someone like Josephine is called Bana Mpundu even though one of her twins died as an infant. It's the same for men. They are called father of… It seems such a different orientation from the west, where we are so intent on "being our own person."
Around 1:00pm Gaudencia, Steve and Andrew (Steve's assistant) came over for a meeting about the community center construction in Kantolomba. We decided that a good use of time, while we are waiting to find a good cement source, would be to start work on the tank stand for the new well. We are hoping to have the pump installed by the end of this month, and having the tank ready to go would mean that, by the time we leave, the water dispensing system could be up and running. Very exciting!
Steve, Gaudencia, Andrew.
After the meeting, Tom and Troy met us at the apartment, and we all left for the airport. Tracey's flight was an additional 40 minutes late, but she emerged in good spirits and glad to be back in Zambia. By then it was nearly time to meet the next flight bringing Bryn, Tom's third colleague. We were now too large a group to all fit into our car with luggage. Dave, Theresa and Jen took Tracey back to the apartment to get settled, and Tom and Troy waited for Bryn to clear customs and rode back to town in a taxi.
Waiting for Tracey. Left to right: Theresa, Jen, Troy.
Tracey emerging from customs.
We had had a chance to think through our car issues and hatch a plan so we invited Friday (our angel mechanic) over to discuss price and timing for the repair. Though we are not happy about the car trouble, we do feel very lucky to have found Friday. He is a gem. We worked out a deal with him and decided we will deliver the car on Thursday evening and, hopefully, collect it Saturday evening. Fingers crossed.
Later Tom and team came over and cooked a great spaghetti dinner--a very welcome break from cooking for Dave. They even did all the dishes! This is turning out to be a stellar team indeed!
Left to right: Tom, Bryn, Troy.
We had a very easy time getting online with the satellite, and we knew our luck was turning around. Cheri and Brian arrive tomorrow. We will be a complete team. Watch out, there's no stopping us now!