Happiness Is My (New) Old Beat Up Land Rover

I’m not entirely sure why buying a car with only one working door, a ridiculously torn interior, a Flinstone-esk floor, a broken backseat and the roar of a tractor has made me so happy. This week, because of all our trips upcountry to work on the coffee washing station, we finalized the purchase of an old Land Rover Defender. She (yes, that’s right, it’s a girl) had me at “hello.” Yesterday was my maiden voyage upcountry with the Land Rover. My three year old sat on the back seat until I realized that not only are there no seat belts, but the back seat isn’t latched to the floor and so it launches it’s passengers into the front whenever we hit a rough bump… which in Burundi happens about every two seconds. Hmmm… that’s not ideal. We’ll get that fixed and put some seat belts in, I promise.

Burundi roads are… unique. The road to the coffee washing station is full of potholes, motorcycles, massive trucks, people, goats, chickens, bike taxis, vegetable sellers… the list goes on. Bikers hang on to the back of semi trucks to get a ride uphill. These hitchhiking bikers are great because they act as “wingmen,” signaling the cars caught behind the truck they are hanging onto when it is safe for to overtake or pass. Do you trust these wingmen or not? That’s always the question! Generally I do, but I kind of squint my eyes and scream “eeeeeeeek” as I hit the gas.

Once I got the three year old safely latched down, he slept and I thought not only about how amazing it is to drive a “tractor” but also about how thankful I am for this coffee washing station project and the good that it is doing not only the coffee farmers, but also me.

Yeah, it’s going to help 2,500 coffee farming families and all… but being on the land and watching it take shape has been like something out of a really great dream. It’s this wanna-be-farm-girl’s dream come true… and now I even have the “tractor” for it.

I took this pic from the top of the coffee washing station land. Beautiful “tractor,” beautiful hills…. what more could a wanna-be-farm-girl ask for? Not much. Hey, and forgive me but these are all iPhone pics. I have had 3 cameras rolling on the building of this washing station, so WATCH OUT more coming your way soon.