Pedro

So, I must introduce Pedro, a new "member" of our team. We purchased him
from some friends-of-friends living in Mbale who are packing up for
retirement to return to the UK. We don't often purchase team members and
this is NOT a foray into indentured servitude. And, though Pedro's
"services" will be offered to the local community for a price, we're also
NOT starting micro-finance programs in prostitution. Pedro is a goat - a
male goat - a male goat almost as large as a Shetland pony - and he's the
only goat around here that, when the Karamojong men see him, their eyes
don't light up with hunger for a roast but with an entirely different sort
of "desire". The Karamojong typically care less for the quality of their
animals than for their number (thus, their penchant for raiding and not for
breeding). But Pedro REALLY brings out the "hope" and "plan for progress"
genes mostly laying dormant in them. Though we'll charge for his services to
the general community, he is intended to ... aaaaaahhhh ... (how do you say
it ...) "assist" the female goats that KACHEP distributed to vulnerable
women in the community.
   As goats go, and they almost always go WAAAAAY EVIL, Pedro is a prince
among them, and not solely for his stature. He's pretty placid and even
tempered, almost like a pet (he really likes to be scratched on the sides of
his neck and just between his very large horns, though the rat fink did try
to butt me). If left alone, he'll just stand, or sit, quietly where tied and
chew (and drop amazingly stinky ... aaaahh ... droppings - we moved out of
there Just In Time!). This is contrary to most goats (of standard size and
evil nature) who constantly seek ways to annoy and make a LOT of noise. As
I've been heard to say many times, goats are ... what? EVIL (and that's why
God made them tasty! so, eat all you can, He'll just make more!)!
Apparently, Pedro's natural evilness has been curtailed or diverted somehow
(did I mention that the rascal tried to butt me while I was scratching
behind his ears?! *#$@% goat); so, I suspect he won't be as tasty when his
life of "service" comes to its natural end. Updates will be posted when
appropriate.
   So, there you have it. A project to improve (drastically!) the goat
breeding stock in southern Karamoja. And I don't want to hear any snide
comments about "goat prostitution" or "goat pimp" or "goats of the evening"
(apparently, he's available both morning and evening), or "corrupting the
character of a goat" (remember, 1: goats are evil; 2: Pedro is a goat; 3:
therefore, he ain't no victim); and all movie references should be kept to a
minimum ("Pretty Goat" and "The Story of gOat" stretch the bounds of both
propriety, even for goats, and credulity).

Visitors

Yes, we're a little pumped up after the pastoralist meeting in Ethiopia.
And the unbelievably (often, impassibly) bad roads this rainy season can't dampen our enthusiasm. Ahead lies more language study, another trip north to Kaabong to push forward plans for the next phase of the work, more team-recruiting, and then Christmas. As for recruiting, please pray for
Summer Root. She's a Californio who's been with Pioneers in Ethiopia for three years and is visiting us for several months to see if God will lead her to join our team. We sure hope so. We also hosted Marissa Silva, another Californio who came for a month to help Jean with the chick project. She's
looking forward to veterinary school, and we hope also, eventually, to mission work in . oooh . what say . Uganda! Why not. Ok, so that's a little downstream time-wise but we really enjoyed her and she claims also to have enjoyed her stay with us. Please continue to pray for God to add to our number.

Pig roast

So, now we're back. Much against Jean's wishes, we put the pig-roast off until after Ramadan (no kidding), although her arguments were compelling. That is, if they're going to install a power-source and loud-speaker and use them almost continuously for a month, surely they won't mind a little roast next door. . . Hey! It's not like we were going to invite them, or anything! Joking! Even if they have lost their sense of humor, we still have ours, right? The celebration marking the completion of our stone house is slated for 17 Sept - of course, it isn't actually 100%. But it should be by the
following week and then we'll move in. We've lived in tents for 13 months, which, considering the patriarchs of Israel, isn't all that much. But we'd planned for only 2 or 3. The date was set so Miriam could attend before jetting off to Germany for fund-raising. Sadly, we couldn't time it for Ryan, who's left us for greener pastures, but what to do . CHOW! That's what! I've always thought that one of the greatest guilty pleasures in being a Christian was bacon, and roast pork is the next best thing. Yee-haaa!