The Lind Family

IT Annex Build

September 11, 2012

So, it has taken me a while to get back to the keyboard, but if I don’t get this written, the wife will continue to hound me…

This latest build project was necessitated by MAF needing to move out of TASOK (The American School Of Kinshasa). We had maintained an IT presence there for a long time, including providing VSAT to the campus. Not too long ago, they secured a massive grant to put in their own dish, and we became cold product. This year our office was eyeballed as the perfect location for their new full-time guidance counselor and that was the last nail in the proverbial coffin.

On the upside, moving the VSAT to our own property provides us with the highest level of physical control and gets the dish to the same site as our main radio tower (see The Pylon).

Me Tarzan, you Jane

The site started out as a sloped back yard with a 20 year old compost pile and a stand of (non-productive) banana trees. Shortly before Nick headed to Canada, we took the trees out and got the sentenals started on leveling the build site

Nestor and Excellence starting on the foundation trench

We decided to sub out the masonry, the mason, Leopold, has done numerous projects for us before, and works full time as a sentenal at the Burton’s. He does good work, and gets the job done quick and right.

Leopold setting the foundation

The soil on site is very sandy, so we had to go pretty deep to get a good foundation. My initial thought was to put in a floating slab with an apron to support the walls, but we ended up going local style with a block foundation and a poured floor.

Prior to setting the foundation, I put in the lower half of the VSAT mast, as well as the service conduit for data and power. This all got poured into a roughly cubic meter of reinforced concrete, poured to the height of the foundation – enabling the mast to ascend close to the exterior wall, yet sit in the middle of the block.

That concrete was all mixed by hand in a wheelbarrow – uff da

Trench for power/data conduit

Once the foundation was in, the blocks went up pretty fast. We built up to the level of the door lintel, then poured in a concrete bond beam to tie everything together. It helped having no window openings! I was/am pretty appalled at the quality of the block here, it has very little cement, no aggregate, and will break if handled roughly. It really has little structural value and if we were building any larger, we would have had to pour concrete corner columns (instead of stack-wall) and just used the block for infill.

First row in place

Starting to look intentional

Walls ready for the bond beam

Forms in place

After the lintel, we only had a couple rows of block to finish, so I had Leopold set angle iron brackets into the wall. These I would use later to attach the ceiling supports. Once the wall was at full height, I set the roof beams on the supporting walls, and used expansion bolts with angle iron brackets to tie them in place. The local method is to spike them in with rebar, or tie them down with rebar tie wire – I found the bolts far more simple and quite a bit stronger. The beams are treated with creosote (slathered on by hand) and the rest of the wood got a healthy rubbing of used motor oil.

First row on top of the lintel/bond beam

Good shot of the walls, with the bond beam and ceiling brackets

Close up of ceiling and roof beam brackets

Working with the wood was a real challenge – it is rain forest fresh and crazily warped. Even so, I was able to get a ceiling grid in and stepped it up a notch by tying the middle of the grid to the roof beams with more angle iron. I am hoping this keeps the ceiling from sagging over the years.

Ceiling grid with hangars

The entire building was coated with a layer of mortar, locally called “cripsage”. This helps protect the weak blocks from damage, and provides a paintable surface. I wanted to keep out as much dirt as possible, so the only ventilation blocks went above the ceiling line.

The cripsage layer

I got the roof on and Nick was nice enough to go over it later and finish the nailing as well as to cut the rafter tails. With a good coat of paint, everything was looking pretty smart.

Hiding in the banana trees…

I decided to do a scratch built door and frame. I could have subbed this out as well, but the price starts at $200, and I figured I could do it better for cheaper.

I first built an angle iron frame that I expansion bolted to building – the bolts shooting through anchor straps over the mortar joints. I also put two bolts straight down into the floor and two into the concrete lintel (not shown here). The way I designed the frame created a low threshold and allowed the lower angle section to be almost completely covered by the tile floor. This done, I built the door frame and door to fit. The door is built out of formed sheet metal called “bottle profile” that allows sheet metal to slip inside the hollow frame. The stuff is a pain to weld because I don’t have mig or tig here, and the lowest arc settings just want to blow holes. I ended up stick welding it with a piece of scrap metal in one hand to use as a filler. Crude, but effective. I chose rivets to secure the metal panel as an alternative to tack welds – not just for strength but also to achieve the bank vault/dungeon look. Once the door hinges were welded in the frame, I (with help from Nestor), got the whole shebang level and plumb, and stitched it into the iron frame on the doorway. I am pretty sure you could pull the trailer hitch off of a truck with this thing.

Framed door opening

Threshold, anchors, and tile floor

Door ready for rivets

After some tweaking to get the door to function smoothly, I was once again blessed by the precision craftsmanship of David Francis (along with his arsenal of tools) – who did a smashing job of getting the handle/latch/lockset installed. With the cripsage over the top of the bolts and straps, the finish looks good and you can’t even see the massive amount of reinforcement and welding.

Door finished and painted

With the ceiling in and the interior paint finished, as well the tile floor down (side note, local method for tile floors is to float it on a mortar bed…weird) we were able to start on interior finish work.

Having previously run a hefty power cable over to the main house panel (all three phases), I started the interior wiring and installed the interior and exterior AC units, relying on David to service and charge the system. Nick came out and helped get the interior wiring completed, with some help from Pierre as well.

Boring picture, but this is one of the sweet 12v led lights we can get here in town. Equivalent to a 60W incandescent and only consumes around 1 amp!

On move day things started running roughly. The cables did not pull well and we got behind schedule finishing up little details. We did however manage to get the cables down from the TASOK tower and move over the vast majority of the equipment. Saturday morning, as scheduled, the TASOK truck showed up to move the dish. It was very nice to be able to move it in one piece – saving a lot of time and effort.

Back on site, David Francis (with some help from Rod) cleaned and waxed the dish (it seriously had fungi growing on it) while I welded the upper pole section into place (once again, with some help from Rod). The mount bracket in place, it was all-hands to lift the dish into place (thanks Manny!). Two and half hours from dish-on-site to dish-in-place! Not bad! I spent the next couple hours pulling cable with Pierre, while Avuta got the dish connected and Nick started the physical set up of the servers. By shortly after three, the VSAT was live, and we simply needed to plug in. I think I left around 5pm as Pierre and Avuta were finishing up… and we had internet back on line by 5:30!

Not too shabby

The install looks pretty sweet coming around the corner into David’s back yard…

Oh that? That is just for my satellite TV…

Lind Family Farm

September 10, 2012

Warning: This post contains a few graphic pictures, but you should still take a look…just warnin’ ya!

The family farm, thus far, has only three types of animals, certainly not a large farm. Not even as large as our chicken farm in Alaska, with, at one time, 43 chickens. First, there is a cat. Sunshine is a Congolese version of an orange tabby. He is very sweet, patient with the kiddos, and came with the house. He was treated like royalty, as far as we can tell. He was well-loved and it has been an adjustment (for him far more than for us) to not have quite the standing in the house he is used to. He’s has done a commendable job of adjusting, though. And he’s Levi’s best friend, despite the well-deserved scratches on Levi’s arms.

Sunshine the Cat; Levi calls him Sunny Shiny

In June we acquired some bunnies. To eat. Bunnies, as I call them, rabbit, which is the preferred term for bunnies meant for eating, or les lapin, French for bunnies. (If I ever spell my French incorrectly, it is because I didn’t look it up first. Thus, you know I knew it from learning it in action, versus looking it up to look cool.) We bought two pair. We meant to buy a male and three females, but that’s how it goes. Anyway, we quickly had our first batch of baby bunnies in early July. The mother wasn’t very good and it was fairly cold (you know, for Congo), so out of the seven that were born, only three survived. However, those three did a great job and are now nearing full grown status. We did trade one of them to a friend for a ready-to-eat bunny, because he was looking for a female. Anyway, the mom and babies were put in a former dog kennel out back, with lots of room to run around. And we’re trying to breed our second batch, but the way we (Matthew) wants it done and the Congolese way are quite different, so we’re trying to work with Mosengo, who does most of the bunny care, but we’d like more baby bunnies. I saw some for sale at Shoprite lately. 15000FC (about $15) for a whole bunny. They even still have their eyes (but no skin or insides). Right next to the ground beef and pork chops.

Day-old bunnies!

Wednesday we got two new pets. Guineas are native to Congo and are awesome birds. First of all, they primarily, if not exclusively, eat bugs. And thus their purpose is fulfilled in our yard, which is teaming with delicious bugs. They are also great watch-guineas. They make noises whenever someone or something enters their territory. Of course, they do make a lot of noise. They started at 4:30 the first morning. But, once you get used to it, it’s more like background squawks. This yard already has a lot of bird-noise, so a little more is hardly noticeable. The greatest benefit to a pet you don’t have to feed or clean up after? If you don’t like it, guineas taste great! I’ve been told they taste like pheasant or some other red-meat birds. We’ve had quail and grouse (both from our own property in Alaska), so I imagine that if we get annoyed by the happy conversations between our birds, that we’ll just enjoy their company for dinner. Since they act like such an adorable old couple, we’ve named them Walt and Irma.

Circa 2010 in Alaska, two grouse wandered down our driveway. We ate them.

Walt & Irma

Thursday the family farm was readjusted to help everyone adjust. The bunnies on cement in the dog kennel were not working out. They had chiggers. Remember the picture of the boy’s toes with chiggers? That was not as gross as watching Mosengo extract the fully-grown chigger-grubs from the bunny toes. EEEWWWWWW. Matthew nearly puked. They went back into their cages with wire bottoms. We hope to have something else put together for them soon, as we get more baby bunnies, especially.

Meanwhile, despite all of the literature, the guineas do like one plant in our garden, a locally grown food, metembula. They trampled it a bit overnight and ate bites out of the leaves. So, we must put up a little garden deterrent for them. But, we also should train them to sleep in the same place every night. So, after a bit of amusement that I sadly missed, the bunnies are in cages and the guineas are in the dog kennel. They do not look amused either.

Friday morning as I opened Amelia’s curtain (which overlooks the guinea-containing dog kennel), I saw an egg! Go Irma! We are hoping to grow more guineas. But, sadly, it was cracked and would not likely grow a new guinea, so I ate it. Actually, I offered it to Matthew and he cooked it for Saturday morning breakfast for me. The egg-to-yolk ratio is half and half, instead of the one to three in chicken eggs, making for a yummy, rich flavor. I did not take a picture of the egg, shelled or cooked. It looks like a brown chicken egg. It was a fantastic treat, but all intact eggs will be saved to be hatched. By a chicken, because guineas are known for being terrible mothers.

Fun fact: Guineas can mate with chickens. They will produce sterile offspring, but, still…a guinea-chicken! Someday…

Saturday was decided to eat one of the bunnies. Actually, the first male we purchased. He is obviously old and probably best eaten. Papa Mosengo, as wonderful as he is, cannot kill an animal. He might be a rare Congolese in this way. So, it was up to Matthew to prepare it. Mosengo even left the gate, something he rarely does, to avoid the screaming. (Yes, bunnies scream while dying, and it’s actually quite horrible.) I couldn’t watch, but Matthew, who didn’t like doing it either, was very brave and got the job done.

Papa Bunny, saying good bye

Draining is important

After beheading (which is after the death), he skinned and gutted Papa Bunny, as I called him. He brought him inside, washed him, and split him up to let Mosengo take some home in the morning for his family.

Beginning the skinning process

Bunny feet!

Cutting up the meat

Leg – looks like chicken!

Braised, then roasted in cast iron with onions, apples, and sweet potatoes.

So what does bunny taste like? It tastes good. It has the texture of chicken, but more mammalian in flavor. It’s not the best in the world, but it’s good.

Photo 9 Sept

September 9, 2012

This morning, Matthew was jumping one large vehicle with another large vehicle when the e-brake popped off suddenly and he was squished between them. Most of the bruises are still up-and-coming…blessed that no bones were broken and he shall make a full recovery. Meanwhile, the power is good enough for a proper rotation of frozen veggie ice packs.

Amelia Turns One

September 8, 2012

Amelia turned one on September 6th. Can you believe it has already been a whole year? Many moms recount the birth on that first birthday. Amelia’s birth was an intense five hour labor followed by a completely natural delivery. It was uneventful, completely unlike her older brother’s, and there’s not much to say about it. Amelia has done more in her first year of life than so many do in their entirety. We can’t wait to see what this coming year brings for our sweet girl.

Amelia commemorated her own birthday by walking with purpose. Each day since she has spent more time walking and we imagine that only another week or so will go by before crawling is a thing of the past.

Enjoy these pictures from Amelia’s birthday and her party, celebrated with her MK friend, Ruth.

: On her birthday, she got a cookie. She is obsessed with cookies.

: Birthday swing with Daddy

: She has an adventurous spirit

: Hanging on by herself

: Weeeeeeee!

: Amelia celebrated one and Ruth celebrated her entrance into the DR Congo

: Made by Ruth’s Mama…mmmm, red velvet

: The fun begins!

: She was super tired and not smiling much, so Daddy is actually tickling her legs

: Ruth admiring her cakes…she is two months old

: Levi and his lady friends, Lydia, Emily, and Anna

: Amelia offering to share…she did not get that trait from us

: Ruth’s Dad, Nick, an MAF pilot and our IT guru, hanging out with Rue and Millie

Photo 5 Sept

September 5, 2012

Our new pets, Walt & Irma. Name that species.

Photo 4 Sept

September 4, 2012

A big thank you to the primary Sunday School class of University Park Bible Church in Fairbanks, Alaska. This church was our home for the last year and a half while we lived there and we miss them very much! They are also one of our sending churches. It was so fun to get mail from them! Remember, you can send us mail, too! Only paper, though. Matthew & Lisa Lind c/o Mission Aviation Fellowship PO Box 47, Nampa, ID 83653. And if you’re curious about the dangling switch, it’s out solar light’s switch. Screwing into concrete didn’t seem like it was worth the effort.

August Photo Blog

August 31, 2012

The internet outage (see previous post) starts in about five hours…so here are some pictures from August to keep you company over the weekend.

: Mommy and Levi

: Amelia’s Power Stance

: I went fabric shopping and two of these have already been turned into something awesome. I know, I need to post pictures of the last fabrics’ creations too…someday.

: Eggs. Lots of eggs. On our porch.

: Matthew and I made bagels. They were epic (especially because you can’t buy bagels here). Then I taught Papa Willy how to make them, and I was fairly proud of myself, because I taught him in French.

: Levi was interrupting Papa Alex’s nap. Tee hee hee.

: One of the beautiful flowers Papa Mosengo has planted for our enjoyment

: Blackened wood is used to cook foods by most Congolese, using a babula (see in the back of the SUV). I was simply amused at the bags. They love Obama here.

: Two fufu paddles!

: We needed our coconuts picked. Once again, who needs OSHA?

: Never mind the filthy hands…aren’t they cute?

: Amelia, the TOYS go on the shelf, not the baby…(she did this herself, no posed picture, of course)

: Only missionaries get so excited about being brought parmesan cheese (from TARGET) that they take pictures of their bounty

: Just our resident praying mantis

: A bird was hungry enough to get into our bunny cage

: Levi helped every single day for two weeks while the leaves poured off the tree. He loved it.

: Amelia learning to use a spoon

: Laughs

: Levi also loves to open the gate for people…sentinel petit.

: Since I am letting Matthew display his own pictures in his own blog post about his construction project, I can’t show you the rest of the beautiful new IT shack (seen as white in the background), but here is an adorable of his landscaping helper. Flip flops and Carhartts are how it’s done in Congo, by the way.

: Lychee/lichi fruit…tasty. And odd-looking.

Offline

August 30, 2012

Matthew has spent the past several weeks building a building. It is the new IT shack, as we affectionately call it. It will house MAF’s servers and VSAT. Matthew, will, of course write a fantastic post on his biggest build to date, but what you need to know right now is that starting tomorrow, Friday, at 3pm local (7am West Coast), we will be offline as they get the satellite, antennas, and servers moved. They hope to up again by Saturday afternoon, but…we pray for an easy, successful transition. Also fun to note: there is a good chance that our internet speed will improve. Here’s hoping a YouTube video won’t be such a foreign notion! And an entire Skype conversation WITH video? Perhaps!