Hello! It’s been quite a while since we’ve written. We’ve had more limited access to internet in the past week or so. We’re hoping to have that fixed soon.We’ve often joked about Bissau being a place where someone could easily market a successful fad diet, but I think the truth in that is astounding. In the last month, Jason has lost 20 lbs and Erica has lost 15. The increased heat and just daily physical output of living here is much higher and food has to be planned for and thought of in advance. So, the idea for a fad diet here might still be on, you never know. Neither of us has had intestinal sickness or anything that would cause us to lose weight so fast, it’s just environmental factors, I think. Jason eats a TON here (yesterday, his Kriol teacher, Fernando, was here and we fed him lunch also. I gave both men the same amount of food and Fernando was shocked at how much was on his plate. Jason ate seconds) and we’ve also had to double the amount we feed Sheba and she is not gaining weight at all with the increase (she hasn’t lost any, either). Jenny Craig, step aside, there’s a better guarantee in town. It’s like living in a Bikram Yoga room.
I am not sure whether last time I was here I was just the victim of a truly terrible cook or what, but the food here has been actually very good! We’ve found lots of things we enjoy and I am learning to cook well. It’s a slow process and I often make mistakes, but it’s a lot of fun!
We’ve gotten moved into our house and are slowly setting it up. A few nights ago, it rained SO hard and we went to the porch to enjoy the fresh air and danced in the rain on our porch. I talked to the guy who is going to make our furniture—things like shelves and chairs and such—out of bamboo. We’re excited to get the furniture and put things away once we do. Right now, most everything we have in our house was given to us by the Atkins and our church here. We have a bed, lots of dishes and silverware, a shelf, a table and a mirror and some buckets that we bought to hold water and seal up dry food so rats won’t get it at night. Each morning, the rats have left us little poop-presents in the kitchen and on the back porch, so we know they’re coming into the house, but they haven’t eaten anything yet. A few days ago, a whole herd of ants went crazy on Sheba’s food. They filled the bag and were everywhere. We sprayed the outside of the bag with bug killer and sealed the entire bag in its own container for a few days and all of the ants have died. They are biting ants and since Jason has now had several nasty ant bites, he has a certain joy in vengeance towards them.
This is the house from the front. We’d appreciate your continued prayers for our health and safety. I am still trying to figure out what is happening with my health right now and we will let you know as soon as we find out more information. Sheba has been a fantastic guard dog! This morning, there was a guy who came to our door trying to get us to pay him to work. He woke us up early in the morning yelling to us from outside. When we got dressed and got to the door, he wanted to landscape the yard. We told him a number of times that we were going to do that ourselves, but he was very persistent. When he saw Sheba, however, he backed off. Later today, a man came to the house asking for money. Now, we’ve prayed over Sheba that God would give her discernment about when to react and when not to. Our friend, Ruthie was here when the man came asking for money and she told us we should let her deal with him and she was very insistent that we should go inside the house. Sheba was barking and growling and all her hair was up on her back.
She was FIERCE. When the man left, Ruthie explained that he is with a group from Senegal that is well-known for trying to trick people into giving them money for tribal ceremonies. Ruthie was really glad Sheba was acting the way she was and told us it made the man leave. Every Guinean who is our friend tells us they are SO glad we have Sheba. They say she takes the place of many night guards, and I think that’s true. She wakes up a lot in the night and goes and checks the entire house. We feel SO safe knowing she’s always on duty.We love you and hope things are going well!
Jason and Erica
