11 Houseguests (and the RAT)

It feels so good to be home. We were honored to have friends from our home church group come to visit us on their northern Ethiopia trip.  Their family of six brought along a family of five from the UK for a two-night stopover in Injibara.  I’ll get to the rat(s) part but first some sweet.

Elizabeth is a musician and music teacher and the girls were delighted to get a piano lesson.

Learning how to roast and grind coffee

We did lots of creating, baking and exploring, all were troopers. 

(Our teammates’ Mark and Debbie’s house in the background!  I’ll update on this soon).

Are you ready for the part with the rat yet?  Here is what I had on Facebook posted last night, with a few edits and updates.

The Story of the 11 Houseguests and the RAT: 

(My feelings in parentheses). 

Once upon a time, while hosting 11 guests, we put a family of five from the UK up in our attic to sleep. The adults had just settled when we heard a soft knock on our door, there stood the father of the family. He calmly said, “Umm, there is a large, black rat upstairs, what should we do?” (completely mortified, we have never had a rat). I had previously told this family that we had no mice or rats in the house.

We moved the UK family downstairs into the living room, the other family tucked into their beds, hearing the ruckus, came to see the problem as we moved the attic family to the floor. (Ok, problem solved, We just have to catch a rat in the attic. Yuck.)

Jon sealed the attic door, thus sealing the rat upstairs while we all safely began to slumber downstairs. 

Fast forward to everyone falling fast asleep until Jon woke up with a start because of a large crash and the rat was on his arm in OUR bed. It ran off his arm, across our daughter and out the bedroom door.  (I QUIT LIFE.) 

We can't find it but it is in the house with all fifteen of us (power is out to add to the fun). We wait with baited breath as to who it is going to sleep with tonight.  

Pray for us, people. 

 

 

Now, it’s 24 hours later and the rat still roams.  Jon is suspect we have two and as all the doors had been left open during the day, they moved in.  Sleeping is a bit of a challenge because, well, I am afraid a rat is going to say, LAND ON MY HEAD. The guests have moved on and it’s a relief on the rat front because if anyone gets bitten by a rat, they will need whisked to Addis Ababa to start rabies’ treatment. Since we have the rabies’ vaccines, we would only need booster shots.

 

 

 

This is a rat trap set late at night as Marc, had read about it on the internet.  A bucket is filled 1/3 full of water and then a plate floats on top with some sort of ladder.  When the rat lunges for the food, it’s supposed to drown. 

 

24 hours later, it has yet to prove useful. I am still hoping. 

As I’m unsure of rat’s favorite food, here is my best attempt at tempting it to jump into that bucket.  Watermelon, peanut butter, cheese, roasted barley and peanuts, tomato and egg.  Last night, it didn’t work.  We have also purchased three traps in town (they look like a large mouse trap) and we are praying for the demise of the rodents.

 

 

 

 

 

Life isn’t boring. I also feel relatively certain there has never before been so many prayers offered up on behalf of a rat’s demise. :)