But, it's the wrong sort of rain........

We were told some weeks ago that the dry season would start in May – but it still rains heavily almost every other day. Malcolm told a local that he was surprised that it was still raining, and he replied ‘But, it’s the wrong sort of rain for the rainy season’.

Malcolm looked surprised. Memories came back about the statement given by the senior rail manager when challenged about why the trains had broken down in the first snow of the winter in England some years ago: ‘We were prepared, but it’s the wrong sort of snow!’.

Our friend pointed to the large mountain nearby, Muhabura, which was covered in mist and reminded Malcolm that the clouds around the mountain are different in the rainy season, being at the top of the mountain rather than covering it.

So, when we get soaked in another heavy thunderstorm, we remind ourselves that it’s the dry season, with the wrong sort of rain. It makes all the difference.

Not that Malcolm needs a thunderstorm as the excuse for getting a soaking. Last Saturday was Fund raising day for Faith House hotel the Diocese is building with the purpose of generating income. To provide cover to those attending the fund raising canvas shelters were erected in the grounds of the Diocese Offices. Overnight it had rained and the roofs of the shelters had filled with water. This became obvious when a gust of wind billowed the roof and the collected water came down and drenched some of those waiting. Malcolm then tried to empty all the roofs of water but managed to drench himself (and one or two others), in the process.

The Fund Raising day was a mixture of Children in Need and a charity auction. Representatives of each of the Parishes stood to announce how much they had collected and gave their money. This was followed by an auction of a range of produce and products. As an example 2 hens eggs sold for over £25, about 200 times their local market price.

Rather than run the risk of actually spending money Malcolm accepted the request to sit in a back room to do his favourite thing – count the money. Over 15 million Ugandan shillings was raised on the day (about £4,000).

You don’t often get much notice to preach here. On the way to the Friday evening Fund raising dinner mentioned last week Irene was asked to preach at both the English and Rufimbera services at the cathedral on Sunday. Not only was the time-scale challenging, but the subject was The Trinity – a topic which has split the church on several occasions down the centuries To demonstrate how difficult it is for us to understand how one God can be 3, she called a toddler to the front and told him all about the CPU, RAM and graphics card of her laptop computer. He (and most of the congregation) didn’t understand at all.

On this Friday Jenny returned from the UK and reclaimed her 2 children, returning us to our own home. She brought with her our eldest son, David and his wife Sarah who will be helping at Potter’s Village for the next 3 months. When she arrived at Kigali airport Jenny rang to say they would be delayed to change clothes to something more suitable for Africa, as it is the dry season.

They arrived in a chilly Kisoro to a heavy thunderstorm – but as we all know, it was the wrong sort of rain, again!