The other day, my husband said this to me over the phone:

“Don’t worry about that one. I’m in some back alley somewhere. I don’t know where I am or how I am going to get out of here, but I am making a purchase.”

Now, what would you think if you heard that in the U.S? Something shady going down, I would bet. Here is what was really going down.

I was shopping downtown with a couple of MAF wives/friends, enjoying a day out of the house, and saw a refrigerator. We are still using a loaner and I knew David was out shopping for one so I called him to tell him I found one and ask him if the price was good.

David had gone to a store, found a refrigerator, and attempted to purchase it. They were willing to sell him one, but they only had the floor model and they said it would take a couple of hours to get one from “the warehouse.” In Congo time, that could possibly mean sometime the same day, or not. So David asked if he could drive to the warehouse and pick it up. That is how he ended up where he was when I happened to call him.

But you need to fully understand the kind of morning he had in order to appreciate shopping in Kinshasa. We had decided that with our family being smaller now, and the power issues being what they are and freezers keeping cold better than refrigerators, that it would cost the same amount to buy a very small refrigerator and a separate small freezer as it would to buy one full-sized refrigerator. So that is what he was attempting to do. They also only had the floor model of the freezer. After David drove to the warehouse to get the refrigerator and freezer, they only had the refrigerator. He had to drive to another place to pick up the freezer. See how much he loves me?

I arrived home from my morning with the ladies to find a new refrigerator in my kitchen.

We plugged it in. Then the power went out. Within five minutes. Really? At least I was able to laugh.

So if you’ve never been here, shopping is an inconceivable experience. It is also inconceivable to me that we have been here less than four years and this is our third refrigerator. I am really grateful to have this one and I hope it lasts a good long time!