the third rat.

My favorite journeyman partner, Mindy, has now had three rats in her tukel on her bed smack dab in the middle of the night.  One more of those "nails" (see post below) that we don't like but are learning to welcome them as they cause us to turn and rely on God.

Last night she heard one on her roof again.  This afternoon, it was WAR.

I stuffed washcloths and steel wool in many holes in her roof (since I am nyekoyen or tall!).  We were discussing more things we could to do to deter the rats in their determination to come into Mindy's room in the night for no reason when, suddenly, I spotted a rat on a beam right above my head.  No, not kidding.  I got an arrow, and Carrie and I stabbed and poked and pulled it to no avail.  It entered a hole, which we plugged with steel wool later, and escaped somehow.

Shannon came and with a ladder scoped out more possible entering and exiting sites in the roof.  More filling in of holes.

Then, it was onto the bathroom/shower area.  Yesterday, Shannon destroyed some nests with his leaf blower.  He attacked again and got three running all around the beams and ledges.  Carrie with a broom, me with a big stick, Shannon with the leaf blower, Mindy with her quick eyes.

One we cornered...but it escaped into the fence.

The second one we got it to come down and after several miss hits...dead rat.

And the third one?  We kept chasing it back and forth from one side of the shower area to the other side. Twice Shannon poked it with a stick, with the rest of us all ready and alert around him for any possible escape route for rat #3, but then it made a narrow escape up a nearby tree!  Shannon whacked the tree with the stick, but the rat reached heights too high for us.

But not too high for an incoming bird!!!  As the rat climbed still higher, a bird swooped in and dove in for the kill!  We all cheered for the bird as rat #3 tumbled from the limb to the fence below.  Shannon and Davis, who had joined the fight with a weapon of his own, hit the fence multiple times.  Not sure if it died, but it sure was injured and terrified.  Hope that scares it off the compound!!!

This adventure with rats preceded a wonderful women's gathering on the compound.  Carrie told the story of Jacob and his family, and Mindy shared about Jacob wrestling with God.  The women loved the stories and helped to retell the previous stories we've told.  They asked about why Jacob married two wives who were sisters and were relatives of his.  Not allowed in Toposa culture.  We said it doesn't fit with ours either, but at the time it was culturally acceptable.  And we reminded them that there were less people around then.

Please pray for us to remain victorious in the little things the enemy uses to try and bring us down.  And that, no matter what discouraging happenings come, we will press on in His strength and His victory sharing His Story for His glory.