There are some things that you can do without, and some you can’t!

Easter Sunday is always a special day in the Christian calendar. And this year we had a really special outdoor service we didn't want to miss at a nearby farm with the Iringa Christian Fellowship.

  

Irene offered to sing a song……..

 

….. and some puppets told, and sang the Easter story.

  

Compared with our other the other times we worked in East Africa there have been very few power cuts….. until this week. On Friday the power went off at ab9.30 and returned at 5.30. For most of the staff this made no difference to their work. They didn't miss the power as they continued working by hand or using treadle machines.  For us it was a problem – no power = no computers!

 

We were also invited to a ‘Pizza party’ by a couple of American Missionaries, who happen to have their own pizza oven. Malcolm did not take many photos as they all looked like this.

 

When he used a flash it ruined the atmosphere, and he almost ended up in the oven having blinded everybody else. They could have done without that!

 

One of the Missionaries had built their own house on the hillside. The geography of the area is such that the landscape is covered with massive boulders. It is hard work to try and remove them to clear the site, so what better way of dealing with one than to build the house around it and make it a feature. Not a furnishing you will pick up at IKEA!.

Finally, it was one of our cafe staff's birthday. Oneof the customs is that the person feeds cake to their friends. Malcolm couldn't do without that!

SeNile and Die?

It’s Easter – and time for a few days away.

We went with Corrie to a lodge on the banks of the River Nile. One source of the Nile is at Jinja on Lake Victoria which is a beautiful part of Uganda to visit.

 We would like to say how active we all were. In fact, the ladies were very active, including swimming several times a day. Malcolm just sat around enjoying the view.

As a reward for all the exercise we all shared in some Easter chocolate. At least the ladies will have worked the calories off.

Corrie set herself a target of doing a large jig saw. There is nothing like sitting outside doing a jigsaw overlooking the Nile.

 

One creature which did not need to feel guilty about being lazy was a small sun bird which had built a nest by the swimming pool. She kept busy by getting food to feed her chicks.

On the way home we were overtaken by a coffin on wheels. You never know when you might need one.

This weeks proverb from the BBC Africa web-site is from Sierra Leone:  "No matter how beautiful and well-crafted a coffin might look, it will not make anyone wish for death"


PS. Despite the title, see you next week?