How Not to Speak Tonga, Chihuahua Invasion, Martha the Cow is Down

July 4^th

               Happy Fourth of July!!  This day always brings to mind the time I spent it with my Dad in Stuart, Nebraska.  They had a parade and a rodeo.  I entered the greased-pig-catching contest.  There were fireworks and everybody dressed like cowboys.  I think it may be the best 4^th of July I have experienced so far in my life.  The Tidewells are holding a 4^th of July bash at their house.  All of the Americans at NDO are invited, and some American friends Choma are coming.  No fireworks in the bush, since it is too dry.  However, we may celebrate by killing the pack of wild dogs that have been harassing Martha (the milk cow) and keeping all of us at NDO awake at night!!  WoooHooo!!!

               I was on deck for the devotion this morning.  My references were Isaiah 49:1 and

Jeremiah 1:5-7.  My thesis was that God know us personally and calls us by name.  He does so because He seeks fellowship with us and a personal relationship with us such as He HAD in the Garden with Adam and Eve before they sinned.  As you may well know, Lynne and I have worked diligently to learn Tonga.  We have learned most of the basic greetings, animal names, etc.   There are three praise songs that we sing her at NDO in Tonga.  Lynne and I have learned to sing them after much practice.  However, we are still learning the language.  With background we return to the story of my devotion this morning.  Our normal translators were elsewhere, so Blu stood up to translate for me.  Everything was going well until the end.

               The  Tonga word for thank you is “Twalumba.”    The word for you are welcome is “boobo”, pronounced just like it is spelled.  When I came to the last sentence of my devotion I decided to say it in Tonga.  Here is a direct quote of what I said, “On the tower, when I am there watching the sunset and I thank Him for painting it for me, God whispers through the wind across the tall grass, “Mbobo Sikutanta!”  I meant to say “boobo”, but I didn’t.  Blu looked at me and said, “What is that?  I don’t think that is even a word in Tonga!”  All of the people in the ciikuta laughed out loud as did Lynne and me.  I learned two things from this encounter.  First, practice what you are going to say in another language before you do it in public.  Second, I have built a relationship with the people who come to NDO to work every day.  They felt comfortable laughing with me and at me.  It touched my heart.

               Wait!! You are wondering what “mbobo” actually means.  Loosely translated it means “therefore”  or “there it is.”  You could equate it to voila in French.  It made no sense where I used it.  What a rich time with the Mweenzumas (my friends) in Zambia.  The children were sharing with us the Tonga word for cat one day.  The correct word is “kaaze” pronounced kah-zay.    If you pronounce the “e” at the end as a long “e” you are using the verb for the act of pooping.  Nobody said learning a new language is easy.  When they call the children for meals to say it is time to eat, they shout a word that is pronounced shay-eht.  You can see where a tangled tongue could get you into shupa (trouble).  Not sure about the spelling of shupa in Tonga, so forgive me if I spelled it incorrectly.

               Sitting here enjoying a glass of Martha’s fresh (last night) unpasteurized milk made me think of the pack of wild dogs with whom we have had trouble over the last week.  Blue and Wes are working to put up a good fence around the property to keep out the marauding hoards of stray cattle (read the July 1^st blog post for further information).   It will serve a secondary purpose in keeping out most stray dogs; except stray Chihuahuas which are very rare.  The Chihuahuas don’t last long in the wild because the monitor lizards eat them whole.  Just kidding!!  I had an image in my mind of a pack of stray Chihuahuas harassing . . .who could they harass who would be afraid of them.  You could swat them with a broom, or just pick them up and throw them off the property.  Sorry, I am digressing.  The dogs have been hanging around the cow corral and under the rabbit cages.  Blu has promised to take them down with extreme prejudice ( I added that part for dramatic effect.)

               (Later)  We had a great 4^th of July meal: rollers (hot dogs) and sliders (hamburgers), potato salad, baked beans, and Carolyn’s Apple Crisp (yummy!!).  I had to leave early to get ready for the computer class for the NDO staff.  We missed days when I was in Livingstone and because of the Zambian holiday.  So we are meeting Thursday and Friday to make up the days.  I am proud of how well they are doing.  We have focused mostly on keyboarding and mouse skills.  Having games for them to use to practice is a big help.

               Martha the dairy cow is down.   She grazed all day in the bush and is probably has colic.  I managed to get her to drink a lot of water in her.  She had a bowel movement, and we heard the gastric sound, but she still would not get up.   Please pray she is up and better in the morning.  We think she is pregnant, so it would be a big loss to NDO.