A ride into Town... Will the Lights Go Out?

Wow! What a day yesterday was! John and I biked into town because we had some errands we needed to run. Fist we went to the District and Provincial Fisheries offices to arrange for them to show us the fish ponds/hatcheries in Mansa next week. Then it was off to the bank to transfer money. On the way to the bank John's bike chain snapped off! John's bike is always breaking down. I think we take it to a repair man every time we ride them! So frustrating, but I have to admit that I did laugh. After getting the bike repaired we went to a new local eatery called Uncle B's Pub and Grill. I had nshima and chicken with relish and John had t-bone, fries and Cole-slaw. It was good and not very expensive. John nearly chocked on a piece of gristle though and that was pretty scary.

After lunch we went to the Hospital to check about obtaining some distilled water from them. They make their own and offered us some for free- very kind! Then we went to ZESCO, the power company. We are having major issues with them because the tenet before us did not pay his bill since 2006. So, there is a huge bill that should be paid and they told us they were going to cut off our electricity. But, I think that things are going to get worked out- ZARI drafted a letter to transfer the bill to the place the man is staying at now and I think we will pay the rest (some maintenance fees and what we owe for the past 3 months). It is a huge mess and such a head ache. I think the research station is a big pain for ZESCO because people transfer in and out of homes. John went into town again today to sort things out.

We stopped by the market and the grocery store and then biked back home. The bike ride home seems so much harder since it is uphill and you are carrying many things back. But then you see people biking with huge loads of charcoal or carrying another person so I think, wow, I should not be having so much trouble biking up this hill! My load is so light! When we got home the electricity was out and we feared that it would not come back on for us (we had not settled the bill yet), but they were just doing some repairs to the transformer and we did have electricity! HOORAY! We do not have charcoal or a brazer so a hot plate is how we cook our food. No electricity= bread and water for us.

This holiday weekend we have plans to go to a small, local, game park called Kasanka. It should be a fun adventure; we are taking the bus from Mansa and they are dropping us at the park gate. I am feeling much better these days, thanks for everyone's prayers! Much love!