10:00 we picked Kobid up at Zero Point and went to visit our brother Harun and Joyanti in our outpost, Tala. The last time we’d been it was very dry but this time it was a very moist rainforest, and Very muddy at Harun’s ! Which made it a bit tricky for the girls as the only place to stretch their legs after the 2 hr drive was the S.S. room where the men were visiting, the porch where the ailing grandmother lay with a fan blowing on her, or the path up to the levee rd that was not inches of goopy mud but a bit treacherous still..
Joyanti and her teenage dau. were busy in the cookhouse preparing lunch, I sat on the front porch on woven leaf mat and watched them thru the doorway. Everything is done on the floor, no table or counter, the stove is just mud built up with a hollowed out dip and the fire is underneath fed by manure cakes. This rainy season just makes daily life more difficult with getting to and from the cook house, house, and water pump navigating thru the mud… I told Lonnie later, “ I’m afraid I would have a hard time being cheerful/thankful if that’s what I had to live with every day/if my daily tasks had to be done navigating that kind of mud😬🫣”.
The pastor of a 7th Day Adventist church showed up for the afternoon also.
They served us up a feast of rice, match stick potatoes, curried chicken, and then Kobid told us they have a surprise for us at the end! They brought out jack fruit! It is not as special to most? Americans as it is to them😕 I was thankful Maddie came to my rescue and took the chunk off my plate! I have had it when it was not too bad, although the texture is something to get used to, but today, just didn’t think I could stomach it😳 Surprisingly, Maddie loves it!
After lunch they offered we could go for a walk thru the village. Sounded good to me! We were told the men would go separately from the ladies..?.. so after a bit we followed the men. An enjoyable walk thru the village stopping to chat every so often with groups of people sitting by the path. And we tried to let the men stay ahead but we ended up catching up with them and walking the last stretch with them. Got back just as it began raining. We all gathered on the front porch of the house this time, where the grandmother lay on her woven leaf mat. A few more folks joined us. Lonnie was asked to have a prayer, praying especially also for the ailing grandmother. Then we were asked if we’d take one of the couples, that had arrived at the last there, to their village which is on our way back home. We agreed. Joyanti had them come to her cook shack and eat a plate of leftovers from our meal before they left with us.
As we entered their village they wanted us to stop so they could show us a historical sight. A low brick walled area with a monument? This place was where 14,000 low caste Hindus were killed by a Pakistani army💔
We drove a little further, to their destination, they asked us to come in to their house for a bit. Kobid encouraged us that this would be a good thing to do. So we followed. They have a nicer concrete house and served us “coffee” (strong tea, not unlike tea brew🙃) and “biscuits” So we visited and held their daughter’s sweetest, chubby baby girl.. Angel Jessica… 4 mo. old, that was such a happy baby, cooing and smiling. Just a pair of thin, loose cotton shorts that made this momma a bit nervous, never knowing when we might get wet🫣. As we made our departure, they gifted us with a jackfruit🙃 Maddie can’t wait till it’s ripe! And I’m wondering who we can share it with!? By the way, these fruits are massive! This particular one is 15” tall and pear shaped.. they grow from trees, amazingly enough! How they stay up there with their size is something God designed, for sure!
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