Kpeletayama village

At 6 am Wed. am, we left for Kpeletayama village. This is the village where Michael, Habukkuk and Pastor Peter were born. We drove to Kakata first and stopped to give gifts to the Weir’s sponsored children and took lots of pictures. We stopped to buy more lollipops for the children. Then we were on the road again. Next though Salala and Tatatu. Somewhere in there we stopped at the Ku Ku Nest Coffee Shop. Last potty break before the bush.

The road up to that point was pretty good. After getting off the paved road with pot holes, we went on a road that would be great for four wheel driving. : ) I loved it! Others in the car weren’t so excited. I get to sit in the middle of the front seat. Great view! Peter is an excellent driver.

Oh, on the way, I asked Peter the names of many trees. There was some teasing that maybe Peter should watch the road instead of look at trees. I learned about banana trees, papaya, palm, cotton, and mango trees. Very fun.

So, the last couple of miles was through the rain forest. It was very exciting. We arrived at the end of the road. Some children had been watching for us. They ran back to the village to tell of our arrival. Peter explained that the road was built after his sister died of labor complications and died in the hammock carrying her to the main road where they hoped to catch a ride to Phoebe hospital. He told the people they needed to build a road or no hope could come to the village. Now, you can drive almost all the way there.

We walked the last part. The bridge over the first stream was washed away, so we had to walk through the water. It was a little slippery getting in, but OK. The next stream was bigger and there was still a log over it, but the hand rail was gone from last time. I was carrying my backpack, but got across fine. The village was only a first steps away.

The village women welcomed us with hugs and greetings. Habakkuk’s well was right in front of me. It was very good to see. So far, my emotions were steady. We had a meeting right away. Pastor Peter welcomed us to the village and told us some sad news. Another sister of Peter’s was rushed to the hospital with severe bleeding. I prayed that God would spare Peter’s sister. Please, God, not again. May this road save her life.

The first thing we did was wash our feet with a bucket of water from Habakkuk’s well. It was a beautiful greeting.

Then Donna introduced our team. She introduced me last and asked me to talk about my involvement in the well. I talked, I don’t remember much of what I said, but I do remember saying that Pastor Peter told me that Habakkuk isn’t really dead, because of the well he is alive. And, if Jesus is your Savior than you are my brothers and sisters. Peter had been translating for me, but when I said that, he asked someone else to translate. He was getting dust in his eyes.

After that, we tried as well as we could to organize the medical clinic and clothes & toys area. It was a little difficult. I was trying to give out boy clothes. The clothes I had were 18 mon to 3T, so the older boys got matchbox cars. After seeing me struggle, a man from the village stepped in to help me. He was really helpful. I also gave him the soccer balls and pump, but then I had to ask for it back to pump up three more soccer balls. The teen boys were SO excited. I guess the village has a team and they play against other villages. However, they overinflated one of the balls and then were fighting over it and it popped. The boy who caused the problem looked like he was going to cry. But, he asked me to take of picture of him with the broken ball anyway.)

I asked a couple of young men where Michael and Habakkuk had lived. Grandma's house was gone. (I'll finish this part later)

When the medical supplies were gone and the candy was given out, it was time to go. We packed up our things