Once we got back to Minembwe, Osee (as in Hosea), our goat herder requested for us to come and see our goats, all 31 of them. Our reason for having a herd of goats was for our family and the orphans to be able to occasionally eat some meat. Our goal was having 30 goats before we would begin to make a meal out of any of them.
After seeing the goats, Osee invited my friend Eric and I into his home for some tea, which here means 50% tea and 50% milk. When I add three heaping TABLESPOONS of cane sugar to my “tea,” in my mind it has now become a milkshake… I miss milkshakes.
The homes here are very sparse inside; typically, some wooden chairs and benches and… that’s it. The walls are a mixture of clay and cow poo, but it doesn’t stink at all.
Osee and Eric in front of the goat house, with the beautiful Mt. Katavi in the background.
Keeping the masses feed during these lean times is quite challenging. We are blessed to work with the university as…
… each distribution is very orderly without a trace of chaos.
On this day, corn flour was being distributed. Before that…
… it was powdered milk for the families with small children, and…
… just a couple of days ago, the beans were distributed for planting.
Six of these ladies are refugees; the one on the far-left is living for now in the house of Namajana, the woman who is widow and who manages the volunteer house (our house).
From left to right: The volunteer house, the cook house, Garden #1 (so many pineapples!), and our neighbor’s house.
From right to left: Miles’ shop and Garden #2, which keeps getting bigger and bigger.
It takes a loooong time to grow a pineapple in Minembwe, but it’s worth the wait. We have 140 pineapple plants!
Transplanting cabbage from our nursery to the garden and pulling weeds.
This DRC army officer stopped by to admire our gardens and requested some of our hot peppers.
Uno!!!
These girls, from the orphanage, and all about 13, were reading Hop on Pop to me. This was the third book that they had read to me.
Back in January, the day before Lisa and I traveled from Burundi to Minembwe, Lisa stood in the kitchen and lamented, “Oh, I’m going to miss having a refrigerator.” Here is our “refrigerator” in Minembwe; our leftovers share the cabinet with our dishes. After this many years here, I personally think refrigerators are overrated, but I do wish we had a freezer for ice cream. Is it possible to make ice cream from cabbage and beans?