One Week in Africa

Hey there! I have now lived in Africa for 1 week... And mercifully the time is not dragging or flying. The work on the houses is going great. We have put up the roofing frame for the kitchen, completed the wall-mudding in one house, finished the window sills, and installed window bars and doors on both houses. Initially I felt that our team was a little small, but we have found that less actually means more, which is good. We are working along side some native Ugandans, who prove to be steady and faithful workers. They have mastered the leisurely level of exertion which is necessary to survive the African sun. We are coping too, but slip-slop and water are essential. It is not massively hot (about 30C), but the sun pours down consistently and can be quite intense, especially with humidity. Amazingly, God is giving me good rest at night, despite it only dropping to 25C. Other members of the team are not do lucky, worsened by some bouts of diareha(?).

My souvenir shopping has commenced and is good fun, although I have resolved to do minimal bartering. After all, I would only save about 50 cents, yet that money is so important to them. My speaking engagement had been confirmed for Tuesday night at the school. It is not clear whether I will be speaking only to the 50-odd Christian students, or the whole school. I am not too fazed, but your prayers would be appreciated, that God would use my words to encourage them and inspire them.

Tonight we went to the village after dinner and gave each child a bottle of blowing bubbles. This was VERY well received, as you can imaginr. Then we joined everyone for "devotions". We started with everyone singing together, accompanied by drums and clapping. Then everyone prays to God at the same time, and the kids take turns to give a testimony. This means they stand up and give a reason to praise God. For example, "Praise God..." Everyone says "Amen!"... "I praise God for the gift of knowledge." Everyone claps. Then Glenn and his son Rubin did a cute puppet show, followed by a reading of Psalm 23. Then I played the guitar, and we all taught them how to sing "My God is so big" with actions. Our night was concluded by everyone getting glow sticks and dancing around in the dark. They are incredible fun to play with, and very sincere in their love for God.

I think I'll call it a night... More photos are coming as soon as I get on a laptop. (this is typed on an Ipad). God bless!