This summer has been a whirlwind of activity as we've been 10-11 people at all times in our home. Mostly it's been a blast and I've thoroughly enjoyed it all. In fact, last night as I was falling asleep (which comes very easy these days), my last thoughts were "I love the sound of young people talking and laughing in my living room". I can't wait for Christmas when it'll be my OWN children here!!
These days here in this country have been consumed with everything politics as they've geared up for the elections. Banners & posters are plastered everywhere, every conversation seems to center around what might or might not happen. There is tension in the air as people await the results of today's election. Thus far, we have not seen or heard of any trouble and we pray it stays that way.
Right now we have 3 men from Salem Church in Oregon who have come for 2 weeks to help finish up the work in our new LIFE Center. They are truly a gift from God and we don't know what we would have done without them! Darrell has seen true miracles happen as he's gone from office to office trying to get more electricity for the building & numerous other things that people said were impossible. (especially the speed with which he obtained important documents) Yesterday, with the help of some of our guys, our sign went up on our building and it was exciting. All the neighbors were on their balconies watching and passing cars slowed down to see what this building was going to be. From the main highway that circles the city, our sign can be seen clearly. What a location God gave us. We are overwhelmed and amazed at his goodness.

Happy 4th of July

Last night we had some friends over and had a fun night making homemade pizza & playing games. I'm so thankful for my big living room that can seat so many people.
Today is the 4th of July and just another dusty day in this part of the world. No grassy parks or backyard decks, no flags flying or patriotic songs sung, but we did have a party and made the most of our humble circumstances. We had grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, potato salad, baked beans, jello salad and apple pie. Can't get anymore American than that! (I did have to go to the butcher this morning and order the meat for the burgers. It was freshly killed and still hanging on the hoof)
The men took care of the grilling. I felt so bad for them out in that awful heat and dust. We're experiencing one of the worst dust storms since we've been here; our friends down south say they can hardly see their hand in front of their face. Our big generator also broke down today and Darrell spent half the afternoon working with the repairman trying to get it fixed. Then it was off to our Int'l Ch Fellowship and a pot luck dinner afterward. Another great evening with a large attendance and wonderful spirit. Made us forget all about our electricity woes & the thick dust covering everything (until we walked back outside!) God is good, all the time.

Day at the LIFE Center

Our summer course is off to a great start with about 125 students registered, including adults and children. Yesterday our day began at 8:30 when we arrived at the center to get ready for kids' club. There were already 6-8 children there waiting in a little patch of shade, trying to avoid the intense sun. Within minutes, the children began pouring in, so excited about their English lessons. All went as planned and the kids were well-behaved for the most part. They all come with money to buy snacks at break time even though we provide snacks for free. They just love to spend their money. When the parents arrive to pick them up, they are eager to tell them what they've learned. After lunch, an afternoon nap & lesson prep, it's back again to the LIFE Center for two back-to-back classes in the evening. Last night, halfway through the first class, we heard a huge BOOM that shook the building. And we were plunged into darkness. We discovered it was our government electric box that had overloaded and blown up. We had been having electrical problems for a couple days which culminated in this! We lit every candle we could find and the students had fun sitting around talking with our short-termers by candlelight. The second class of students arrived while the first was still there so there was quite a crowd at one time. It was getting stifling hot by this time and we wondered if we'd make it until the neighborhood generator was turned on. There were electricians and all kinds of people coming up and down the stairs, trying to figure out the problem. We made it through until the motor came on and continued our classes until 10PM. Today Darrell has spent hours running from office to office in beastly hot temps, trying to get a new meter box assigned to us. It is a process that normally would take 2 weeks but because he knows someone, will hopefully get done today. Oh the joys of life in these parts...never a dull moment.
Here are some pictures of our kids' club.