A Visit to Edith's

First of all...my mom has been here for a week now and it has been so fun having her here and being a part of the ministry first hand that I have told her so much about! She started work right away so has not had much time to get off the ship except to walk on the dock. Wed. she was able to finally get out when she went to visit Edith with me.

Edith is the housekeeper/dayworker on the ward that I have written about many times. She is very dear to my heart. She has been wanting me to come out to her house to visit for quite sometime and after she had her surgery that delayed it more. Well, this past Wed. finally worked out for me and a friend to go. It was neat how it worked as this way so my mom could come along. My mom has really enjoyed getting to know Edith and Edith was so excited to have her along as well.

Edith lives about an hour away from the ship with her daughter and husband near the agriculture site that Mercy Ships is helping with. It is a long bumpy dirt road to get there. It had just rained so that always makes that trip a bit more adventurous! Mom enjoyed the long drive and finally getting out to see some of Africa.

They have a typical humble African home out in the bush as Edith says. It is so beautiful out there...nice to be away from the city. Edith cooked some yummy fish and sauce with rice. It was incredibly delicious! We took lessons as we watched her get her grinding board and grind the tomatoes into a paste and cook up the yummy meal. Even Mary, her daughter, helped stir the pot once in a while. In the meantime, Luara, mom, and I enjoyed playing with Mary and the neighbor kids. I had met Mary when they came to the ship and she kept asking her mom when I was going to come out. Apparently she had been really excited that I was coming and told her friends at school that a yovo was coming to visit her.:) One of the neighbors had the multiplication table written on a chalk board and repeated it several times for us. We got our work out as we were human jumgle gyms for the 3 kids to climb up and down on...was great fun!


We only had the car for 4 hours so we did not have time to go see her husband's agriculture site and meet the neighbors this time. I am hoping to get back there though. We enjoyed many laughs, dancing, and a yummy meal together before we had to go back. I am so humbled by the hospitaliy of the people here. I know they do not have much money but Edith had gone to buy a special big fish for us and make a really nice meal. SHE kept thanking US for coming out there...it meant so much to her. I always feel like I need to give something in return to help pay for the meal but I know that would be offensive to them as this is their special gift to us. It was so fun for me to have mom be a part of that and for her to be able to meet the family of Edith who means so much to me. I am looking forward to sharing more great memories and experiences with her in the coming weeks.