The above photo is of our pet chicken. She literally was washed into our yard by a thunderstorm one night and we couldn't find the owners so we feed her and she stays. She follows us around like a puppy. I asked our guard the other day if she ever lays any eggs and he said no. He said chickens only lay eggs if you feed them "people food." We already were feeding her people food: vegetables and grains. Unless he meant "people food," as in food made of people.
I often hear people say something funny or absurd and think I’d better write that down or I’ll forget it. That led to a small collection of quotes. These are all statements I have overheard here in Congo. Some were spoken by missionaries and some by nationals. Names of original speakers have been withheld to protect the guilty and/or clueless.
Most of these are just funny, especially if you don’t know the context from which they were spoken and just overhear them from another room:
“I have to speak slowly when I talk to myself.” (my favorite)
“Don’t lick those wires.”
“I wet myself every time I do dishes.”
“Do you want your trash bag back?” (used, that is)
Other statements were made in the context of Congo and the life and climate here:
“Wow! That gift is wrapped in REAL wrapping paper.”
“He painted it a couple months ago. We don’t know why it’s sticky.”
“You can have these cinnamon rolls if you give me back my ziplock bag.” (ziplock bags are like gold here)
“Hey, does this smell bad to you, or just nasty?”
Some, though, are serious and reflective rather than funny. Often life here is challenging and exhausting on all levels: physical, spiritual, mental and emotional. We try to make our home a safe place to “vent” and be honest about how we all feel and at the same time hold each other accountable for bad attitudes and encourage each other to press on. These next two quotes came from some of those types of conversations and pretty well sum up why our family is here right now.
“We live in a dung heap!” “I know we do, that’s why we moved here.”
“Of course, if you aren’t going to heaven, Kinshasa is a beautiful place to live. Consider the alternative.”
