Bonjour mes freres et soeurs (my brothers and sisters)--I can picture you all in my mind today, and I hope everything is "ca va" (going well) in each of your lives.
We are having some good things going for us to push out the bad. The family Soumahoro, from Africa, are the hard luck folks here. They've been members for a few years and were once active, but now are not. We visit them occasionally to keep in touch, and try to connect with Abdel, their 16 year old son. He plays soccer all his waking hours, and has some natural talent for the game (we watched him one Sat.), and his family seems to think he will become a famous professional someday and they will all be millionaires. The mother, Assa, is a business woman, and has her fingers in a lot of pies, trying to keep things afloat. The dad was a strong, vibrant man, until hit by a terrible illness that has left him crippled and so weak he can hardly walk. The last time we stopped by to see them, I could hardly watch as he made his torturous way down a flight of stairs just to shake our hands, smiling all the way.
Abdel, the nicest, and most polite boy I've met here, wasn't home. His other sibling, his 9 yr.old sister, has an affliction that just makes you want to cry. She has a facial tumor that covers much of her head and neck, and seems bigger to me this time. She's been seen by doctors in Paris, but I think they are stumped by its massiveness, and have given up on her. Assa sat us down and served us orange juice and Pringles, and introduced us to her older, married daughter, who has moved here from Paris to start a Coiffure shop for African women with her mother. She was very nice, and Jack asked her if she'd like to hear about the church, and she said yes, but after they got the business up and running in Oct. Then, when Jack informed them that there was a new branch president, and it was him, they applauded! Their faces just beamed, and they congratulated him, and as we departed Assa called out, "Bless you President, and we will be coming to church this Sunday!" (I thought for sure we could take that declaration to the bank, but they didn't come.)
Anyway, my undaunted husband went by the shop to see if he could help, they were in the painting stage then, but they had all the help they needed. Then last Sat., opening day, we dropped by again, and it was fun to see the women in full, bright native dress walking between the '2' shops they have there! The other is just across the street, kitty corner, and sells food mostly; this was the first we'd heard of it. Jack just ran in to ask how everything was, and there was a big problem with the plumbing--the toilet there has not been working, so now they needed a plumber. They hated the expense of that, but now that the shop was up and going, this must be fixed. Jack told them he knew a plumber in our branch, and promised to see about it. "Thank you, President!"
On our way home, he said, "I think I need to try plunging it; maybe that's all it needs." So, we stopped at Brico Depot and bought a wimpy looking plunger for the job (cross your fingers), and today was the day. We dressed in our grubbies (apparently I may have to hold his legs, or something!), and armed with a bucket and the plunger we headed out. Assa's daughter took us back to the toilet, a dingy old thing with the tank so high up on the side wall that Jack had to climb a ladder to get to it. What he found there was amazing--someone had put a plastic device with blue dye into the tank, and it had slipped out of place and gotten tightly trapped in the working parts, and gummed things up. He removed it, and turned the water back on, and VOILA!, flush, flush, & more flush, they have a working toilet again.
She was so happy, and wondered if he could look at the toilet in the other store, because it wasn't working either. So, escorted by a family member, we entered the little market, and were taken back to the problem area. The toilet here was in a sort of cupboard, with a cylinder style tank, on the wall also. The dapper man who brought us there was bemoaning the time he had spent pumping away with the little plunger he had. Then, Jack stepped up to bat, (so to speak), and began plunging away for all he was worth. He turned on the water, and to our friend's amazement, the water went down the hole like it should! The man beamed from ear to ear, and shook both our hands, and it was great to see the respectful look in his eyes and gratitude he had for that simple act of service. Can toilet plunging lead to bigger and better things?
I think I've written a book! Sorry I got carried away, but time to go :) !
Love, Sister Mom Joanne, Mam
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