"Nou ka konpe la? (We can stand here?) " ...Lounise and I just walked down the hill from the house, and are now at the side of the main street. Lounise nods her head, flashes me a smile, and looks down the road to see if there are any tap-tap's in sight. As we stand in the sun waiting, the sweat begins to pool on my arm, the dust from the passing taxi stings my eyes, and my ears are filled with the blaring of the horn on the quickly approaching motorbike. (We are 'quickly' going to the orphanage to get Cheron's otoscope, so we can check an infected ear.)
We begin walking down the main road toward the orphanage, but before getting too far, a tap-tap roars up behind us, and comes to a screeching halt. It looks full to me, and I'm waiting for Lounise to tell me we need to wait for the next one... when she steps in, and pushes her way forward. I climb in, not wanting to be left behind, and realize that I was right- it was full, but now it is a little more full! The boy balancing on the bumper pounds on the top of the truck, and we start moving. I hold tight, and pray with all my might that I won't fall or get hurt...and suddenly I realize just how ridiculous this is! I am standing, bent over, in the back of a small, covered pick up, between two rows of people, hanging on to the knees of people I have never seen before. I switch one hand to the roof...hoping that I can brace myself a little better, and not pull all the muscles in my neck, and trying my best to pretend that I do this everyday, and that I don't stick out in the crowd.
We screech to a halt ...and I use every muscle I have to keep in a semi-upright position, and pray that no one else gets on, but instead that someone gets off so I can sit! (Lounise had been standing as well, but someone let her sit on their lap.) A women does get off, and Lounise is told to let me sit, so she can sit on my lap. I settle on to the hard bench, trying to act as though I don't notice the 13 pairs of eyes on me. We take off again, the horn blaring- warning anyone in the street that we are coming, and not really stopping for anything, except maybe the huge potholes...
We arrive at the bottom of the road to the orphanage, and Lounise tells the boy on the back we want to get down. He pounds on the top of the truck, and we again come to an abrupt stop. I climb out through the sea of knees, and jump out into the sunlight ... as Lounise hands the boy on the back 10 goudes to pay for our ride.
As we head up the street, -carefully stepping over the water thats running out from under one gate, avoiding the smoldering trash pile by another door, and being careful not to twist our ankles on the washed out part of the road- I realize that I just paid about $0.15 US to experiance a very memorable moment. I continue up the road...my thoughts wandering...until I hear the voices of the kids in the yard, and the gate comes into veiw. Even before we knock, I hear the kids yelling to each other, "It's Miss Katie! Miss Katie is here with Lounise!"
Lounise turns and flashes me another smile as we wait for the guard to unlock the door, and I am once again overwhelmed with the blessings God has bestowed on my life! I realize again that I am one of the most blessed people on earth... experiancing the joy of following the call on my life, and the peace of knowing I am where I belong. I hear the guard approaching, and I smile inspite of myself as I think.... not everyone gets to have a ride like that!
(Yes...those pictures are of tap-taps! It's not the same one I was on...but there is a certain similarity! These pictures were taken downtown, and I was quite a ways out of town, where the potholes are really bad!)
