Settled in

So here I am, another week gone by in a flash! Its been a week of frustration and joy and everything inbetween - but overall its been great!

I have settled back into life here as we know it - I bought some bamboo and I made some shelves for the bathroom, my room and the kitchen - so now we have storage for our pots next to the gas cooker! And we were loaned a hammock which I put up today in the kitchen - so right now I'm 'hanging out in the kitchen'! :)

We have had loads of rain this past week. I think I mentioned the water features in our kitchen? Anyways, we've collected loads of rainwater to bathe with, cook with and just as the last of our water was finished we prayed and it rained - it actually rained non-stop for 2 days! Rain here during the day is unheard of so Wednesday just ground to a halt, NOTHING happened, no work nothing. Its just too muddy to get anywhere and Ania (my house mate) and I stayed inside most of the day collecting water! It was such a luxury to have a whole pot full water to wash with instead of the 3 litres that we'd been rationing ourselves to!!! And we haven't run out of water again. The buckets were nearly empty when it started raining and it pretty much stopped when all our containers were full! Its so good!

Us long term missionary girls were really spoiled last night - some of the visitors decided to treat us and they rented a bungalow at the hotel across the road for the night and we took our toiletries and a towel and had a real proper shower! And just before you think that my life revolves around water and showering - they had snacks, and we got massages and manicures too! Just a great night out for the girls!

Outreach this week was also great - it was to a village about an hour away - we got there early, waited for the sun to set then showed the movie, preached and prayed for the sick, and were able to leave at 8:30!! I was really hungry when we arrived and some of the girls from the centre that had gone with us bought some flame grilled corn-on-the-cob, so I asked one of them to get me some too - tasted kinda interesting, like soft popcorn kernels that were slightly burnt, but it was filling!!Also it was strange to be home before 10!! But good, I could get an early night - I'm on water duty for these 2 weeks and that means that I have to get up at 6:30 every morning, turn the water on for the base and then monitor the filling of our own buckets, and by the time that's done then I'm usually awake...

All the rain these last few days have made loads of little itty-bitty frogs appear... I would almost call it a plague, but they don't cover the ground quite that thickly - just have to watch where you step, usually about 20 frogs leap for survival at every step - ugh I really don't want to step on one, that would be just gross.

Sound wise things are good - there are so many things that are wrong with the sound system(s) - so many repairs to be made. Its been great to have a visiting mechanic from Canada here - he has managed to repair all the generators we have - and I've had a crash course in generator care and maintenance, so I hope they last a while...

I am planning on visiting our other bases in Mozambique in the next week or two - first Dondo, then Maputo, then to South Africa - probably spending about 2 weeks at each centre, so I will be away from Pemba for about 6 weeks again... :( and its hard living out of a suitcase, and I have to fend for myself at the other bases - in terms of getting food... There is always rice...

I am so sorry that I haven't been answering any emails - to tell the truth I haven't even read them yet - until I get my own laptop I just cant do emails - the internet is just too slow and its SO expensive! So sorry - maybe sms me, I would like that - I need some contact from the outside world!

Tonight was pretty good - we don't have TVs or anything like that here on base, but the restaurant/bar across the road do - and Erik (a fellow missionary) convinced the bartender to switch the satellite to the Spirit Word channel - my home church!!! It was great to watch my church on TV in a bar in Northern Mozambique!!!! I think that there were a few people that wernt too happy with us, but hey, who cares?

That's all for this week! Thank you to everyone that is praying for me, and texting me and well if you're thinking of me then thats great too!