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A Wild Ride in the US of A

It was an amazing time packing up 6 students from ABC to head on tour to the United States.  Between getting passports for them and VISAs, it was one exciting event after another.  Because of a new system being put in place we were unable to get passports until the last minute and that only after being sent 4 hours away to have them done by the main office.  After a printer broke down (after one week of use in the new system) the students finally got their passports the second day while we were in Blantyre.  There was great rejoicing.

Then we had to wait a bit to get the US VISAs from our Embassy.  It seemed a bit touch and go as they communicated with the State Department to make sure we had applied for the right VISA type.
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March 12, 2010 | 0 Comments | View or add comments
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CONNIE'S LAUNDRY (More exciting than just dirty clothes)


Okay, so I know you want to hear about my exciting time of washing my clothes yesterday!  I am using Lisa's washing machine which is across the street and around her side of the duplex and in an outside porch outside her back door.  Mine has been broken for months and after having 2 Malawian guys look at it and charge big money, and at best say not sure and at worst make it worse, I've decided to keep praying for a Maytag repairman.  (Two guys from one team and an electrician from another have looked at it, but it just needs someone who knows what he/she is doing.)  ANYWAY, I had been doing the weeks' washing and still had a few loads to do last night.  After dinner (so it's dark) I decided to go get another load going.  I took my basket and off i went.  I was going around the house, they have a spot that is dug up (maybe they're working on the sewer) by that side of the house so I was walking right next to the house outside of the flower bed.  I heard a loud rustle that I was sure was the cat.  After I had taken a few steps (thankfully), I looked back to see what it was...a hooded cobra was swaying and it's glowing red eyes were thinking devilish thoughts straight at me!  I gave a little gasp..and ducked into the laundry room where I went on auto pilot taking my wash out of the washer and putting more in thinking "there's a cobra right outside there....." 

I couldn't wait to get out of there and tell everyone and at the same time I was a little frightened to go back out because I wasn't sure where it was now!  It was probably a spitting cobra...yeah for glasses!  They aim for the eyes and if it hits you in the eyes, it's blinding...I grabbed my laundry basket, crept to the door, peeked out, didn't see it, so hugged the outside of the laundry room and skirted the area all the while FREAKING OUT because the area is not well-lit and I had to walk in the grass! 

When I got back over to the house, I told Kelly.  He grabbed a flashlight and a student guard and went back to look for it.  (Can you believe it?  He hates snakes too!)  We did not want it to get away worse than we didn't want to see it again, if you know what I mean.  It was stretched out about a meter from  the laundry room door I had just exited, right in front of Lisa's back door.  They shined a light on it and it swayed at them too, that is sooo freaky!  They tried to decide what to do and the snake went towards a hole that leads toward the sewer. 

Meanwhile, I had gone to our new neighbor's house and asked if they wanted another African experience.  James grew  up in Nigeria, so he was grabbing his machete and putting his shoes on.  His son was as thrilled as Shea when I told him.  (Both boys grabbed BB or pellet guns and came a runnin'!)  We girls stayed in the front and talked.  Emily Ketchum came driving up around then.  (She and her husband, Josh, live in the other side of the duplex.)  I told her, she freaked out and texted her husband who was with Bob Stauffacher (crazy man).  They texted back, "We're comin!"  and they charged up the hill in William's old truck (Stauff's have it now) to the rescue!  They pulled kind of into the back so that their headlights helped light the area a bit. 

Well, we went into Lisa's house and ran water down the drains trying to flush the snake out...but the long and the short of it is that we didn't see it again.  Maybe it's dead.  Maybe it isn't.  Maybe it has some relatives nearby.  Maybe it doesn't.  Maybe I won't be doing my laundry in the dark....Yeah, that's a for sure!!  Also, I will be watching where I walk and next to what bushy things... when I do my wash in the daylight.  ACK!!  I was inches from that cobra...later when we were looking for him, we found a dead "frozen frog" right by where I walked.  So they think the cobra had him...instead of me....thank You, Lord!!
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September 20, 2009 | 2 Comments | View or add comments
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Davidson's Wedding

We enjoyed Davidson' "wedding" Sunday. Davidson is an employee of ours.  He has been married 12 years actually.

We planned on picking him and Kathryn (his wife) up at their home at 9 am to take them to the Catholic church for the wedding.  She is Catholic and he is Presbyterian.  The Catholic Deacon came to say Davidson should get the blessing of the church on their marriage because they were married in a traditional village wedding and for her to be a member of the Catholic Church she must be married in the church. So out of respect for her, they went for it.
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September 14, 2009 | 0 Comments | View or add comments
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US TOUR

2 weeks ago Connie had my Jazz Combo for coffee and announced that ABC is sending us on an outreach tour to the United States in April!  They were rather beside themselves with excitement.  None of them have been to the US, though one has been to Scotland.  
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September 14, 2009 | 0 Comments | View or add comments
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