7/14/2014 Quiet but Productive Weeks

The past 10 days or so have been pretty quiet. We are getting settled in the new apartment, but lots of thing need to be fixed. The washing machine still empties up a drain in the bathroom and floods, we have 6 receptacles that don't work, the front door is warped and needs repair. But who's counting. We are just glad to be next door to the mission office so we don't have to drive for a 1/2 hour each way. Sister Barney is keeping busy with some sort of cold that is plaguing the missionaries right now. She is going to have some pretty interesting conversations to share when we get home. The other morning one of the Elders called and asked...
Elder... " Sister Barney, what should we do if a missionary gets bitten by a snake?"
Sister Barney..."WHAT?" ... What are you asking Elder... Did someone get bitten by a snake?
Elder...."No, but our investigator killed a Cobra by our apartment and we took some pictures of it. But if someone did get bitten, what would we do?"
Sister Barney..."calm them down, apply a restrictive band, ice if you can find it :), and call me so I can come and watch them die"
Elder..."could we have brownies at the funeral?"

And so the conversations keep us smiling and take the dull out of nursing.

 Hauling "Rubbers" (water jugs) full of water to their home.

Neighbors of the Kossohtown Chapel.

                                                     (Sister B) I have missed  so many great pictures.:(   Not this time!                                         As we travel, Elder B is so intent on driving and avoiding crashes that he has no time to see all the great sites. I am constantly yelling "Stop!  Pull over!" and oft times he is unable to oblige. 

This time I had to run back quite a ways and asked permission of the mama to take this "snap". 

                                   Then the mama went into the house and came out with stuff on her head
                                        and wanted me to take a snap of her. Too cute. I always take a moment                                                                  and show them their picture. They are totally amazed.

                                                   First and only  potty I have ever seen

 A passing shot of some people making small rocks out of 

big rocks.

 This is how it starts. Build a fire on the rock.

Cover with "Zinc" (tin) and wait for the cracking to begin.

 More of the same rock.

 Dogs on the side of the road snooooozzzzing.

They stay up all night fighting and howling then sleep all day.

 We were waiting on the side of the road for two Elders 

and these kids decided to get a closer look at the pale-face drivers.

We gave them some money to take their picture. 

 Sister Kanzler, Sister Ostler, and Sister Barney

were invited to one of the Sister Missionary Apartments

for Family-Home-Evening and dinner.

The missionaries are in the front row.

 The plumber worked on this sink for 3 hours. He even built a small

fire (on the tile) with paper to heat something up???

 We received Elder Sison from the Philippines. He was all alone

but really happy to be here. He was on hold for Visa problems.

He has a really cool story about coming to Africa.

 Have you ever heard of a "Champion Bug"...

Elder Maughan had never heard of one either.

Google it. They are the size of an ant, and look like one, BUT,

                                          they are not even related.  Another name is "blister beetle"                                                                 Makes sense because...they have an acid (pederin) that reacts violently to skin.causing redness, blisters and usually leaves a scar.

 We hosted a Zone Party at the apartment and watched the movie "Ephriam's Rescue".

We had just mopped the floor, so no shoes allowed. The boxes are full of Hamburgers.

 Intermission

 Yum Yum Eat Em Up

 You may recognize some of the little darlings.

 We had 40 in the group

 What a great bunch of missionaries.

 Check out the posing

 Pictures by Sister Ostlers statue

 Not to be outdone by my chamelion, Sister Barney has captured

an intruder in our apartment.

 Normally they are very fast, but on the tile they are a 

very slow blur

                                Primary in Waterloo.  I taught them a Action Rhyme about Heavenly Father's love for                                                   all of us.  It gave them a chance to stand up and wiggle.                                                                          They loved it and so we probably repeated it 10 times!

                                Primary counselor beginning the 2 hour Primary. They never leave their seats.  Never go to class. Almost never see a picture and only occasionally sing a song.    I am working on that!                                              

 Getting the back lawn mowed

The Kanzlers after their morning walk. Cool down, chat and watch the sites of Africa from our front yard.

7/3/2014 A Getaway and Change

I know, I know, it's been a couple of weeks of silence. We have moved from the old Mission Home (apartment) to the NEW  Mission Home (Permanent). The move was one like none I have ever witnessed in my life, and with any luck, I'll never have to do it like that again. What can I say??
The move was on and off several times a day over a period of four days. Then we were told that it would happen on a Thursday...oh good we can get ready and stop living out of boxes for a day or so. THEN on Wednesday AM the movers show up with dump trucks...literally dump trucks. They resembled a swarm of black ants in the forest. All furniture went out windows, doors, vents (I think) and any opening they could find. We were so overwhelmed that I got no pictures. It was amazing. A pile of furniture in the truck with washers and dryers on top, and a fridge or two... We are waiting now for the furniture repair crew to come and repair broken and nicked stuff. The new Mission Home looks really nice and should function well as soon as the kinks are ironed out. We ran a batch of laundry and noticed water coming down the hall from the master bath. The laundry drain comes out from a drain under the bathroom sink???? There is no power in the bathrooms for curling iron or blow-dryer. There is one outlet in the kitchen. Lets see... toaster or microwave???? Oh well, I guess they were not building for Westerners. Really, other than a few small things, it really is a nice place.
The stress of moving was a good excuse for us to get away to one of the only resorts in Sierra Leone. It's called "The Place" and is located on the Western shore just south of Freetown in a small fishing village called TOKEH. The drive there was probably as close to a real Safari as it gets. One lane roads, 1/2 lane bridges, very large and deep puddles, and lots of smiling natives wondering why we were out in the bush.

Check out these pics.

 Let the adventure begin!

 What a beautiful country when away from the big city.

Yes there is a road, and I think a lane for us.

 Huge termite mound

 Homestead

 These young men were digging a trench to drain a huge puddle.

So we stopped and talked a bit. They couldn't believe we gave them candy.

 A very narrow and high bridge

 The water came up on the doors about 6 inches or so.

 I think he is passing us.

 The foliage is simply beautiful. They say the Elephant Grass 

gets over 10' high by the end of rainy season(October)

 Another termite mound...

 Great...We had to guess where the lane is.

 Finally the thriving metropolis of Tokeh.

 There are two signs in town... this was no. 2

 Ok...there are three.

This is the resort reception area. It is another world.

 No doors or walls. Pretty nice.

 The pool with the Atlantic in the background. 

We never used the pool...only the ocean.

 The restaurant at The Place

 The front of our 2 room cottage

 Inside was immaculate.

 Great show, with solar heated water....and all you wanted.

 View from the front door of our room... pretty sweet

 Shelter on the beach

 Shade for swimmers

 Sister Barney negotiating prices for shells

 Gathering in anticipation for the arrival of the fishing boats

 And here it comes.

 Most of the fish (a sardine of somesort) will make their way to Freetown

and be sold on the street.

 The little girl in the red and yellow top is the chief negotiator.

 Within minutes everyone is trying to sale their stuff

 This is the owner of another "Resort and Cafe" just down the beach, and he really

wanted us to consider his place the next time we visited the area.

 The club area.

 The well used beach front bungalow including hammock 

 These nice units include a mattress in the ground

 The Kanzlers relaxing on the beach chairs

 A final stroll on the beach.

 This is James, one of the guards at the old Mission Home compound.

 After most of our furniture was scooped up by the movers, we 

all threw our food together for one last meal at the old apartment.

Pancakes, eggs, and bacon

 Oh how comfy

 Left to right - Elder Barney, Sister Barney, Sister Ostler, President Ostler,

Elder Kanzler (standing), and Sister Kanzler.

 The new Mission Home and some of our Sister Missionaries.

They love to pose for "Snaps"

 Sister Barney giving a tour.

 Did I mention FLOOD...

I know we have the cleanest floor in Sierra Leone

 This is Samuel the gardener... he is quite the fashion bug

 I really think this is the only horse in the country.