Birthday Bash

It was my birthday a few days ago and my wonderful teammates went all out to make it a special day for me. I don't often talk about them on my blog, but I'm taking this opportunity to say how much I appreciate them and thank God that he has placed us here together.

This is what I saw when I looked out my front door early on my birthday morning: a balloon bouquet creatively arranged on a unique "stem"--a Dinka hoe!! Hmm, now I think I understand why I heard peals of laughter coming from the girls' house last night!

Here they are, the culprits:  my teammates Kathleen and Laurie, on the left and the right, and our visitor Esther, in the middle.

A little later, my young teammate Samuel F. came over with a card he'd made, which was actually a booklet full of pictures he'd drawn.

And when I went out my door mid-morning, I almost tripped over Amina, who said she was making me a cake and some tea.

We all ate supper together and the meal was a collective effort. James went to the market early in the day to buy some beef. Then Julie cut it all up and prepared a delicious marinade. (We buy meat early because there's no refrigeration, the butcher just kills and cuts up a cow and hangs up the pieces at his outdoor stall to, shall we say, mellow in the heat and attract gazillions of flies.)

Here's Daniel grilling the meat. The older boys enjoyed watching the process.

Meanwhile, James, our salad expert, was inside meticulously cutting up a ton of cucumber, lettuce and tomatoes. This is a season of plenty in our local market and we sure enjoy the fresh produce. This veggies were added to some bulgur wheat which Julie prepared, and she also made a very tasty salad dressing.

Samuel W., the oldest child on our team, took a break inside to hold our newest and youngest team member, two-month-old Isaiah.

It was a beautiful evening so we ate outside, surrounded by all the lovely rainy-season vegetation.

Here's my plate: grilled meat and marinade, bulgur salad and juicy, sweet watermelon. All ingredients local, except the bulgur (brought in from Nairobi).

 

A few candid shots of folks enjoying the feast

At dusk we all went inside to escape from the mosquitoes and continue the celebration. I was thoroughly spoiled with cards and a present, and the kids watched me open everything with great interest.

The grand finale of the evening was the cakes--yes, not just one but two delicious desserts, courtesy of Julie and Natalie. These gals are amazing bakers, given that they don't have ovens. They work wonders with baking tins placed high above the flame of a kerosene camping stove. Julie baked a Queen Elizabeth cake, one of my favourites, with dates in it and a cooked coconut topping. Natalie's cake was chocolate mint with mint icing.

For those who know how old I am, you'll see that the candles don't show my age. No, but it's very appropriate: the year I was born. Julie didn't have an 8, but she did have two 5's!

I'll close with a collage of the cards my teammates made for me. Aren't they great! Such creative folks! We don't have card stores nearby so card making is a team tradition.

Village Scenes

Here are some pix I took this week of life in the village.

Girls carrying water from the handpump to home

Typical Dinka village--cows everywhere. They're feasting these days!

Cutting up pumpkin leaves to put in a sauce

The sorghum at this friend's house is the tallest I've seen so far this year

Ripe sorghum at a friend's house made of grass mats with tarps to keep the rain out

A friend's son enjoying some of the first ripe sorghum

Shacks covered with a climbing vine

Vine growing on the home of returnees from Sudan with a UNHCR tarp

Okra stalks--beautiful Christmas colours in August

Found a few okra plants with pink flowers instead of the usual pale yellow

Seasonal Flowers

The various crops here are thriving and it's a joy to see them grow and develop.  One thing I delight in is the flowers they produce. Here is a selection of some that are currently in bloom.

Peanuts.  Seeing a whole field of these plants with their cheerful little yellow flowers makes me smile.

 

 

Pumpkin. When I look out my kitchen window I see these plants that my friend Agau planted behind my house. Their big yellow flowers are fully open in the morning, then as the sun gets higher, they close up.

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Sesame. The sesame plants produce white, bell-shaped flowers.

 Watermelon. Some of my neighbours have planted a whole field of watermelon this year, and they seem to be doing well. Their flowers are small, cute and yellow (which seems to be a popular colour for flowers--perhaps it attracts the bees?).

Notice the tiny baby watermelon

My neighbour tending to his watermelon plants

Okra. I kind of went overboard taking photos of these today. They have such a delicate colour, and I love the contrast between the pale yellow petals and the burgundy at the base of them (there's surely a name for this part of the flower but it escapes me).

Field of okra plants

 

Okra has formed on some of the plants already