Ok, so maybe that title is a little misleading, perhaps a little disturbing. : ) Don't worry. We are talking about the house, and not ourselves.
Yes, it is true! After nearly a week (6 days) without gas to heat our water and cook our food on the stove and in the oven, we have a new cylinder of gas! I got up and called the gas company AGAIN this morning. Too early. I had to call back again in 20 minutes. I did so and almost dropped the phone when they told me that DID have a tank of gas available for us today! I had gotten so used to hearing them say that "they were really sorry but they did not have any tanks available and to call back the following day," that I was just sort of going through the motions and did not actually expect them to have one. How fun it can be at times to be startled and shocked. ha.
Anyways, I waited around all morning for them to deliver it. Our little house we are renting is newly built and has a strange address. Many people can not find it. At times we are told that something is on the way, but it never shows up. So, I waited and prayed...and waited and prayed some more. Then, suddenly Heather heard something - it was the sound of clapping.
Why would the sound of clapping get our attention? Well, here is a little known Argentine factoid for you - when someone comes to your house and wants to get your attention, they do not knock on the door or ring the door bell (although our house has them both) - they clap their hands together very loudly, usually 3 times. CLAP, CLAP, CLAP! - Different, huh? : )
Anyways, Heather heard the clapping, yelled out, and ran for the front door. We did NOT want to miss them by accident. As it turns out, it was the delivery guys. They brought in the new tank and took out the old tank - right through the middle of the house. Our tank housing area is in the back yard and the only access is through the house. I keep praying that our ceramic tile floor does not get cracked or broken as they roll that heavy tank in and out! They got it hooked up and we chatted about the need for a second tank so as not to be stuck in this situation, waiting for more gas tanks to become available after you run out, again. - To my surprise, they told me that the company does not sell tanks. They only exchange them. We have to find another tank on our own from an independent dealer. : ) Oh the fun discoveries while living in another part of the world!
We were so elated to be able to cook again! We had been living on cold sandwiches, cold cereal, and the few leftovers we could microwave for nearly a week. We were ready to eat something hot and fresh. So, this afternoon I walked about 15 minutes down the road to our favorite little hole-in-the-wall market to buy 2 of our favorite pizzas in all of Argentina. They are take-and-bake style and we couldn't wait to throw one in the oven. I have teased the shop owners about putting drugs in the crust because they are totally addicting. I literally can not get enough! Additionally, they are very cheap - about 3.75 each. : )
We were also very excited about having hot water. We had done a couple of baths over the last week, but we had to heat the water 1 liter at a time in a little electric water heater used to make tea. It would take a good hour or more to make a very shallow bath. : ) - But, first I had to figure out how to light the pilot light. Reading the instructions in Spanish was fun but the illustration was very vague. And since it was hard to see into the bottom of the heater, trying to figure out WHERE the pilot light is, was a lot of fun. Lots of looking with a flashlight, looking the the drawing in the instructions again, trying to light it in one spot, realizing it in the not the right spot, and repeating the process.
Added in is the fact that gas makes me nervous. I have heard stories of people blowing themselves across the room trying to light the oven, so every second that went by without success in lighting the pilot light make me more and more nervous. God was good and in a bit He helped me to look in the right spot and we finally got the hot water heater lite! Yea! Victory, and hot a shower, were ours!
I took Jonny to get his first haircut in Argentina today. There is a barber, the only guy barber on our side of the river, not too far from us - about a 15 minute walk. Jonny is such a little Viking. He has such beautiful, fine, yellow-blond hair. As it gets longer, it gets loopy and crests like a giant wave on the top of his head. As the barber cut it, it gently floated to the ground like angel hair. It was a sad moment, but it needed to happen. He was so good. He sat so still and did such a great job. I was very proud of him.
I bought him a bag of M&M type candy called "Rocklets." They are fantastic. While I do think that M&M's taste better, they DO melt in your hand, no matter what the ads say. Rocklets, on the other hand, can sit in the hot sun all day long and still not truly melt. They get soft and "oily" to the touch, but you can still pick them up and eat them without making a mess. Anyways, I thought it would keep him occupied while I got my haircut. I told him to eat them slowly...he finished the entire bag before I was even a 1/4 the way done! I just laughed - the best laid plans of mice and men....
It is winter and today started off wicked cold. Thankfully the sun came out warmed things up. It was so cold this morning I did not want to get out of bed. It was an ugly walk taking Nate to school, but nice picking him up to come home.
We got a ton done on line today, being our second, and most importantly, full day with internet in the house. I plowed through 100's of old e-mails. I still have a ways to go, have lists of people I need to contact regarding different things, etc, but it was a productive day. Now I just need to get feeling better. The whole family still have a runny nose, lingering cough, trouble sleeping well - the whole usual routine. I am tired of feeling drained and having to fight my way through the day. I can't wait to feel fully better and be able to blast through the day and still have energy to spare.
It is now tomorrow, so I had better go to bed. An 1 1/2 long skype call to the Campbells in Bolivia kept me up later than I should, but it was awesome to see them, hear them, catch up with how they are doing and the ministry that is happening there.
Good night all. God bless & see you again tomorrow.
Peace -
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