What Do You Do?

I woke from my sleep to silence. No fan, no A/C... no energy. I look at my watch 3:48. This is normal, not a big deal... I just throw off the sheet knowing it will start warming up. Silence is so unusual here, it sounds odd to my ears. But then I hear it. Tiny noises. Unsure if he is awake, I quietly say to Nunu “did you hear the mouse chewing the pencil?” He responses, “Yes I heard it.” 

We lay for a few minutes. Nothing. For this very reason we sleep in what I like to call a bug hut. It’s a two man tent that is made of a tight mesh to keep the bugs out when you camp. I ask him if he will grab our fan from out side of the tent. The fan is just outside, near my head... same place as I heard the noises from. But it runs on battery and so the noise will be nice, as well as the breeze it provides. I turn my tablet on and begin to read. A few more sounds than I get pulled in by the book.

Nunu wakes before me, as usual. I fall back to sleep and wake again cold, and I think to myself “Wow that little fan is powerful.” Nope the power is back on and the A/C kicked in.

Once I’m up and running. I ask Nunu if we caught any mice in the Kitchen traps... nope. Once I know the coast is clear, I go investigate. I had set out 2 sticky traps and in between them I had put some peanut shells and a cookie. Traps are there. Cookie is gone. I think the traps are a bit old and no longer sticky.

I asked Nunu if we (by we, I mean he) could look for the mouse again. We empty all of our cabinets and pull things out of our room one at a time. He says let me go get my "Assistants". He come back with Adjuante and Engracado. They go into the room armed with flip flops and brooms. I sit and watch the door to make sure nothing gets out in the space below. But they find nothing.

Ugh. Where is that little guy?

With our lack of water, our dishes have piled up. The ants have piled up and I need help. Mainly I need help because I don’t want to be in the house alone. I go outside and find Teclado and ask him if he is busy and does he want to help me. The kids generally love to help, I think once has someone told me “No” and it was because they had just walked a very long distance.

Teclado is a very hard worker. I wash dishes and he rinses. We talk a little about the words for silver ware and some other things we are washing. We wipe down the counters and I notice there are so many ants! I spray them with Bygone (bug spray) and can’t figure out where they are coming from. As normal as ants are, it was strange that I couldn’t track them back to a starting point.

We finish. I’m looking around in frustration. Our house is a mess and we still have not found the mouse! Something grabs my eye. As I look up toward out roof, I notice a strange color. After a closer look, I realize that there are thousands of ants carrying food out toward the bathroom. I realize the ants just found that cookie I set out last night!

Normal Wood Beam.

Strange Wood Beam (see the black clusters? One in the middle,
one toward the right)

I show Nunu, as this is just crazy. I get the Bygone and stand on a chair and just douse them in the mist. They drop to the ground and create a black line along the edge of our wall. While I’m spraying, the power goes out. It’s a good time to go outside to let the bug spray clear out.

Floor, post spray.

I turn our porch light on so that I can tell when we get power back. I sit on the porch across from ours. Nunu and some other staff are outside talking to a guy who is cementing a door frame in place. This was done a few weeks back, but the guy who installed the door placed it over a foot off the ground.

I’m sitting trying to think of what I can do now. My laptop battery is near dead, and I’m not really ready to do anything else. I’m tired and more than anything would love to just lay in bed and do computer work.

I go to check on our well. It’s full but we have no running water still. Two days ago someone went to turn the pump on (after weeks with no water to pump) and they dropped this little screw into the well. I was told this screw was why we had no running water. So I start looking for screws to see if I can find one that fits. I find one that is close but it’s to long to fit. So we send Calmo into town to see what he can find. Calmo loves to run errands that have to do with projects. Anytime we need a tool, he is our guy.

I go back to the porch and the light is on! It’s been at least an hour, maybe two. 

I get this strange idea. Another missionary told me that when they have a mouse, she sprays them with Bygone. It slows down their reaction and she said they act drunk, which makes them easier to wack. So my idea was get a full bottle of Bygone and just spray the area where we think the mouse is hiding. My hope is he can’t handle the smell and goes looking for fresh air.

Nunu humors me and is like okay. I go get Tipo and ask him to be the sprayer, because he is tall. I arm him with a wash cloth to cover his nose and mouth. I also get Teclado back and arm him with a flip flop and broom. The kids think I’m funny, but I think they love being part of my strange missions. I always wonder if they tell their friends the weird things I have them do in the name of mice and bugs!

This is our bedroom, the opposite side of the wall where
the ants where. Notice the big gap above the board.
Tipo spraying Bygone in the gap trying to get the mouse out!

Our plan was in place and we all took our positions... and nothing. Well not nothing, another few hundred ants fell to the ground, so at least we had that victory.

Again we leave the house to let it air out. I sit on the porch but I can’t just sit. I remember that we need to put up new mosquito net and chicken wire on some windows. I decide I would rather do that than just sit here.

I start my project and Calmo comes back with some screws. They aren’t the exact size but we will try to make them work. It’s now that I really look at the pump and notice that something looks funny. There is this 3” x 3” square that sits level toward the front top but now it look sort of like a square of butter falling off a pancake. Well it’s not that dramatic but its something along those line. Sure enough they open the square and realize that something got hot and caused this square to melt.

Electrical problems are so common here. It’s hard to say just what happened. The power isn’t consistent, not just in that it turns on and off but it spikes often. When I’m sitting in my room, it’s like we have one of those adjustable light switches and for 15 minutes it’s on dim and then someone puts the power to full. Because of this it’s common to blow out electronics. The other thing that is possible is that when the water level in our well got low, no one realized it and the pump was trying to pump water when there wasn’t any.

To make a long story short. I was told the pump is broken. Sigh. More than likely that means we have to haul buckets for awhile, but that is what all our neighbors do everyday... we’ll survive.

Back to my project. I pull the little boards off (boards that help hold mosquito net in place) and remove the old net. I get the new net up. You know you don’t live in the States when you have an opinion about mosquito net. I love this stuff. Some of the other nets we used have been so cheap, I can pull it apart with my finger. It doesn’t nail to the frame well. It’s just annoying. This stuff amazing. It’s a metal mesh and while it’s much pokier (meaning I have a few holes in my hand), it went up so easy and I think it will last so much longer than any other net we have up.

So I get to the “mouse net’ aka Chicken wire and that goes up pretty easy. The things you never expect to become an expert at... I really do need to make a list.

I just start attaching the boards again when Nunu comes to me and the conversation goes like this:

N: We just saw Dexter and we need to follow him.

A: What?

N: We just saw him get on a schapa (bus) we need to go.

A: Okay, go.

N: No you need to drive.

A: Why?

N: Because he just got on the bus.

A: (Confused look)

N: He stole the guitar this morning; we need to go get it. You need to drive so we can catch him.

A: What he stole the guitar. What? Why? How? Okay let's go!

Dexter used to be our music teacher. I’m not sure I was here when he was let go and I can’t remember exactly the reason why. I know he has struggled with drinking. Now that he doesn’t work for us, he comes to visit sometimes. If he has been drinking we ask him to leave but other wise, he is welcome. So today he came and Tipo asked him for help tuning the guitar. I don’t really have the whole story, but the short version is that the then left with the guitar.

So off we go to get it back as one of our kids just saw him get on a schapa with it. Nunu, Tipo, Calmo and I jump in the truck and off we go! Most schapa’s are just plain white, but this one had some yellow and blue writing and so we saw the schapa and they decided it was best to get in front of it. We do and when it stops they ask the cashier where the man with the guitar got off. A few stops back. We head back and they jump out and are off and running.

At this moment, I realize I didn’t have my phone. I’m not sure how much time passes, but I sit in the car waiting. I wonder what I would do if Dexter were to come by me, but feel like that is only what happens in the movies. It’s not likely.

Except that a few minutes later, I see a man with a guitar and sure enough it’s Dexter!

I have to pause for a minute to tell you that I’m running low on clean clothes. Since I wasn’t leaving our yard today, I wore a pair of Nunu’s basketball short. They are long and they cover my knees, but I just feel so funny sitting here wearing them.

I open the door and stand on the running board. I yell Dexter’s name three times. He knows me and he speaks English. Finally he looks at me. I say “Hey Dexter!” as nice as possible, just waiting for him to bolt at any moment. But he doesn’t, he just starts talking. He starts talking weird:

D: aldflasldfj ladfjldsj Type.

A: Cue cofused look... what?

D: sldfljsdfls lkjflakjflj Type.

A: (in my head, yep he’s drunk) WHAT?

D: TIPO (he was saying Tipo’s name in English)

A: Oh, yeah. I think he is looking for you.

A: Hey is that our guitar you have there?

D: No! Tipo ahdlaflkfjaodsfjaflsdflkjasdlfkj. (his face turns angry, he turns and walks away)

I honestly have no clue what he said besides Tipo’s name. It was strange conversation.

I sit in the truck. Thinking, now what? Nunu, Tipo and Calmo are going the other direction. I don’t have my phone. I’m sitting in this truck in basketball shorts!! AHHH

I look and see that I have 50mzn in my purse and decide I will try to communicate with someone that I need to use their phone. I try a few times with nothing. Then girl stops and I try to explain but the words I need, I’ve never needed before. I can talk about food, I can talk about kids, I can’t explain it’s an emergency and I need to borrow your phone! Finally this guy comes over and he sort of gets what I’m saying. I just keep saying “No cellphone” in Portuguese, while trying to give the guy this money. He finally understand and uses my money to go buy phone credit so that I can make the call.

And I’m amazed that Nunu answers!! I tell him Dexter was just here, he went the other way. Nunu says they are coming! I then proceed to thank the guy and try to explain that someone stole our guitar... because I know the word for guitar, so why not!

I get back in the truck and put my hand in my purse to make sure I have the keys. What do I find... my cell phone! Go figure!

It feel like an eternity but eventually I see Tipo’s head in the crowd. I point in the direction that Dexter went and he went off running. Nunu and Calmo were a minute or so behind and then off they went. As soon as they left, I decided to drive down the road. I mean how many people are walking with guitars. If not I can pick up the guys. I go as far as I think someone could have walked and then turn around. As I see Nunu and Calmo go running down a dirt road. I don’t follow, but I look for a good parking spot, so I can let Nunu know I’m close.

Just as I’m dialing, Nunu knocks on the door. I open and I’m about to go into 20 questions... did they find him? Did they get it? When Tipo and the guitar show up at the back window!!! Thank you JESUS!!

I can’t even believe it. I mean I can, but it’s just so crazy. I’m so thankful as guitars aren’t easy to come by here and everyone loves playing the guitar. It would have been missed. 

We drive home and as we pull around the corner, I can see some of the kids watching. Wondering. I give them a big smile and two thumbs up. Their concerned faces crack and each one wears a smile. Even kids who don’t ever play the guitar.

I got out of the truck and had a few minutes of day light left, to finish putting up the boards around my window. While I work, some of the Itty-Bittys as well as Abracos chant my name until I turn to give them a thumbs up. Then they do the same with Nunu.

While some of my blogs I type up days or even weeks after the event, I just had to come in and capture this day. It was so abnormally normal. You honestly never know what you are going to get when you wake up. And it’s things you don’t even think of. This is why when people say, “What do you do?” The most honest answer is “What don’t I do?”