Friday, October 25, 2013

Independence Day

Yesterday was Zambia's 49th anniversary of their independence from Britain, so we had the day off from school.

To celebrate, we spent the day down at the pool having swim races and our annual cut-throat competition--King of the Plank. There was rain on and off during the afternoon, but it cleared up nicely for the bonfire. On Monday the guys built the wood stack and covered it against the rain we hoped we'd get.

Last night we lit it up, and the kids had a blast running around it, falling down when the bamboo exploded, and playing their different singing games.

This week we have had three good soaking rains--Praise the Lord! Hopefully this will get the wells and rivers filled up to where they need to be. God is good!

Friday, October 18, 2013

Not much to report

This week has been...a week. I've had a cold for most of it; not incapacitating, but the sinus pressure and meds do interesting things to my brain sometimes! My grade 7's were in and out all week with their national exams. Today they have the last one--praise the Lord! It's a little frustrating having kids coming in and out at odd times during the morning. I thought that since my week was so unremarkable that I'd post some pictures of the progress on the hall.

As you can see, the roof is on and the back porch is starting to look really nice.

I sneaked in the back to get a picture of the great job they are doing finishing out the interior. See the skylights and the lovely high roof? We're going to get a vaulted ceiling!

Friday, October 11, 2013

Half-term

This week has been a bit of a challenge because this Friday and Saturday is our first half-term break from school. So, homework had to be juggled, plans adjusted, and the growing excitment of the kids accounted for! This morning I took some of the seniors for an early morning swim in the dam. I didn't get in because I had several duties this morning that would make it impossible for me to take a shower afterwards. Here they are contemplating the leap into the sill frigid water-

And here are some shrieking children in the water!

If you think about it, please pray for rain for us. Many of our rivers and wells are dry, and the lack of water is hurting the local people's crops. It seems like such a small thing, but it makes a huge difference!

Friday, October 4, 2013

Invasion!

Early this morning I was awakened by a loud buzzing that could not be ignored no matter how much I wanted to. When I finally turned on my lamp, I found that I was under siege by a large number of 'longbottoms' or 'dive bombers'--a harmless but very irritating species of bug. These bugs defy all common sense in the fact that they can fly at all--they have a big fat tail that takes up about half of their body, and tiny wings that somehow enable them to zoom around lights, crash into walls, and frequently dive onto the heads of unsuspecting victims. You learn to avoid sitting under lights when they are around, and the droning buzz they make is surprising loud for an insect of that size. So, I woke up and found that there were quite a number crashing around my room, climbing up into my bed, and generally making it impossible to sleep. I had to turn on the light and slaughter large numbers of them three times before I finally had reduced their number to the point were I could go to sleep. This morning when I swept up the carnage, I found that I had about a whole dustpan full of them! I would love to know where they were all coming from, and why they had to start flying about in the pitch dark at 3 in the morning. I also hope I got them all, and that tonight will be quieter and bug free.

We had our Medieval themed birthday party this Wednesday; it went really well all things considered. I helped decorate the dining room before rushing back to change into my gown. The 6th and 7th graders played a piece as the students went in for supper, and then I joined the grade 8 and 9's for "Sumer is Icumen In," a genuine Medieval round. I was very tired by the end of the day, but was thankful that the day had gone so well. Birthday party is often a rather trying day because the kids are so excited that it's hard to get much work out of them, but Beth and I had prayed together that morning specifically for that day, and the Lord sent extra grace our way!

Coming up in the busy third term schedule is our first half-term next weekend, and the grade 7 exams the week after that. This term is just galloping by...