The Sweltering Heat of Africa

ahhh... yeah... I have NO idea... b/c it is BEAUTIFUL HERE!!!! The wind is blowing and it is just sunny and beautiful. I don't even think it is supposed to be like this b/c October and November is supposed to be the rainy season. And we have seen some rain... but today could not be any more perfect! I came into the office this morning and found a toad on the steps... we think he was sick because no matter how much they prodded him, he barely moved. He did jump up to the next step, but he was either very brave or very sick. He had 5 UK guys looking at them..one of them a frog/toad expert (yes..he was serious... I asked :))... plus 2 dogs sniffing him very excited. But I just went out to see if he was still there and he is gone. So either Shuni or Gizmo ate him (they are the dogs..not the UK guys :)) or he finally hopped away!

Last night we had a wonderful, delicious dinner of some type of shephards pie. You never know WHEN you will have REAL electricity (ie. not the power that Gregg miraciously creates from a battery), so the refrigerator can be off for many hours at a time... so left-overs need to be eaten rather quickly. So Karen took the meat, veggies and potatoes from Monday nights dinner, and created a casserole out of them..it was phenomonal!!! We had steamed squash and carrots which were delicious (is my Mom reading this..b/c I'm being serious... I think veggies here are more tasty... I asked..she put NOTHING else on it!). And then we had fruit and chocolate chip cookies for dessert that Karen had made. Then I just hung out in the living room for a bit and finished up my book. I've been trying to finish it (which is NOT hard) so that I could leave it here for Karen and other ladies to read. I took a picture of the living room this morning so that you could see the finished handiwork... remind you, we were only the labor... Karen was the one who put it all together. I think it looks beautiful... but I may be prejudiced. Gregg will be buying a can of white paint for us to mix with the last can of yellow paint so that Lauren and I can finish up the hallway before we leave... then there will be no pink. I guess we will NOT get a chance to do their bedroom, but Karen didn't seem to really want it, so that's fine :)


Today the three of us are in the office all day, until we leave around 5pm to go pick up Lauren and have dinner at someone's house near there. I spoke with Lauren on the phone last night for a few minutes, and it sounded like she was having a great time... learning and seeing lots, but having fun as well with the other 2 girls that are there with her. So that is good! I think Karen has done an incredible job of making sure Lauren got to see a lot of the ministry that she is praying about doing in the future... it will be a huge help to her as she continues to seek God for His will in her life. Hopefully by the end of today I will have finished up the files for Karen and any other projects that she may think of that could help... Right now Gregg is trying to figure out why when he plugs in the phone our internet connection goes dead. He is truly a jack of all trades, and appears to do it all quite well. I took pictures of them today, MUCH TO THEIR DISMAY, to show you how they look in action. For some reason my camera does NOT want to take a clear picture of Karen... she even turned and smiled for me for one, and it came out blurry... she has some suggested reasons why, but I'm not buying them so :)... so we will just have to get better pictures of her while on the safari for the next 2 days!

I am trying not to think too much of the next few days, b/c then that just means that this time is almost over. For those of you who helped me get here, either through money or prayer or both... I will NEVER be able to repay you. I have loved every minute of it, and I think as a church (Bethel Baptist) we should really look hard at sending over 2-3 people to each of our missionaries that we support... it would take some work and some planning... and people would need to be flexible... but I think that it is an encouragement to our missionaries and I think it is HUGE in helping us understand what it is like to be this far away from home and how much little things mean... every morning when I open my email and see that someone from home has taken the time to write me, it is huge... sure..they have the same thing here that we do..they get all kinds of little emails here and there from those in Uganda that they are working with... you know, "are you free Saturday night" or "what's the best way to get here"... so its not lack of emails, but more just communication with people from home. They have friends here, but I just think they also appreciate being remember by their family and friends at home. Mind you, Karen nor Gregg have really said much of anything... certainly have not complained... but I know how much it has meant to me to get those emails from my family and friends, and I've only been here 10 days! Of course I am sappy, so maybe a little bit should be attributed to that..but none the less..something for our missions committee to consider... really investing in the ministries of our missionaries..not just sending them checks! Of course if any of our missionaries are reading this and thinking, "I don't want 2 crazy americans staying with me..what a mess that would be" please feel free to tell me to zip my trap! I just get crazy ideas sometimes!

ok..sermon over... .sorry. This trip has just been so amazing. Once again, I'm not sure when we will blog again as we leave tomorrow morning for Queen Elizabeth Park. Lauren may get down to the office tonight to check emails and send something out about her last 2 days, as she has much to share... but then Thursday and Friday we will be gone. And it will depend on what time we get back on Saturday. But we'll make every effort, without distressing Gregg and Karen, to make a few more entries before we come home on Monday/Tuesday! Please continue to pray for us over these next few days as we travel to the Safari..and pray for Gregg as he stays home and continues working!

I better get to work... so have a good one :)