Five girls and two men in a Land cruiser, to say nothing of three dogs.

Five girls and two men in a Land cruiser, to say nothing of three dogs.

Last weekend was my weekend off, so a bunch of us headed to the cottage on Saturday afternoon. Beth, Bethany, Mr. and Mrs. Ronald, Jill, Mr. Wideman and I all piled in the Ronald’s bright green land cruiser with the Ronald’s puppy Sasha, Bethany’s dog Teddy, and my puppy Ceili and headed out at about 2 in the afternoon. One of the missionaries who was out here for most of her life, Miss Hoyte, was given a piece of land on the Zambezi river where she built a cottage for use as a get-away for missionaries, family visiting their kids at Sakeji, a place to take the kids for half term, and for weekend trips. Right in front of the cottage there is a small waterfall (about 2 feet tall), a nice shallow spot with smooth rock and sand, and a nice wide bend of the river to swim in. I had been out there a few times when I was here before—I celebrated my 20th birthday at the cottage as well as half term.
Upon arrival, we found that Ceili had thrown up on the seat in the back of Ronald’s car. I rinsed the quilt off in the river, and tied her to a tree while we got the chairs out of the cottage, changed into swimming gear, and jumped in the river. It was so cool and refreshing! I know a lot of you are thinking, Crocodiles! Germs! However, this part of the river is safe and as the water is swift flowing, its quite safe. We had a lot of fun swimming and sitting under the waterfall (back massage!) before heading out dripping and hungry for tea. We had all brought something to share, and after enjoying the treats, we settled down to read, knit, and chat. The puppies rough-housed when they weren’t tied up—Ceili managed to knock Sasha into the river at one point!
After packing up, closing up the cottage and loading everyone back up, we headed back to Sakeji. This time Ceili threw up about 5-10 minutes before we arrived back at the station—apparently she had found something to eat out there. I was not amused! Mr. Ronald was gracious and helped me clean it up. I think Ceili will stay behind next time unless I bike over!
Today we went to a tinny little assembly out down the Mwunilunga road. I had been there once before with Poidevins, and it looked much the same. The roof was so low that I had to duck to avoid the rafters. There is now a big ant hill on the men’s side—we were a little surprised that they had allowed it to get so big! The seats were really low so my knees were sore by the end, but it was a nice service and I enjoyed hearing Mr. Ronald’s message and meeting the people. I love the singing—though we were only a few, the little church was filled with the sound of praises to the Lord. We enjoyed Sunday lunch when we got back (complete with ice cream and fudge!) and now I’m relaxing and catching up on marking and correspondence. These down times are so needed and enjoyed—as much as I love the kids, being on call essentially all week takes it out of you!
Its hard to believe a third of the term has gong by already, and hard to believe that I don’t have to go home at the end of term! I’m looking forward to dry season—its been quite hot these last few days. I was amazed to hear that it snowed back home—Beth laughed at the ‘snow’ in Texas! Ah well, I wouldn’t trade my sunny skies, tawny-green grass, and cold river water for anything.