What's Cookin' on the Roof?

I've just had rather a shock! The telephone man came to fix our phone line, thus here we are back online, but this isn't the shock, although it could be as we only asked him to come on Saturday and we didn't mention any granny turning one hundred! But no, I was in the kitchen making an ordinary supper when I heard the girls shrieking, "MUM! Come here!" After realising it was a fun shriek and not bad news shriek, I said I was busy making supper. But they were insistent that I come to the rabbit hutch. So I did, but couldn't see them. Upon asking where they were, I heard their little voices coming from above, "we're up here!" To my horror, there they were prancing about on top of the upper roof! "The telephone man got us up here!" And so he had. He was there with them, his mate below tossing pliers up to him (thankfully just missing Louisa's head!) While I nervously shouted up to them not to move and to stay away from the edge etc. etc. .... he had them helping him clip and twist the wires! Oh my goodness, if this were British Telecom in England! Can you imagine what Canadian health and safety officials would make of this? Unbeknownst to mother, telephone engineer takes her 5 and 8 year old kids up on the roof to snip wires. But all was well and the two guys (who we do seem to know very well now after all the times they have had to come out!) got them carefully and safely down with only one squeal from Louisa, whom I thought until now was terrified of heights! Maybe she's cured now! And my heart rate has slowed down again now, too.

Fixing the phone line in the heights above!

We had a fun and busy weekend with Amisadai's birrthday party on Friday night and a wedding on Saturday. For Amisadai's birthday we enjoyed hot chili around a bonfire on which we roasted hot dogs, potatoes, doughboys and marshmallows (Laura's treat from Canada!). And then ate the girls' gingerbread house. It was good fun with Laura and the Galvins and the Sharpes.
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Roasting marshmallows with the Galvin girls!

On Saturday it was the wedding of Mama Marian, whom some of you will know as she has worked for EI for many years. She looked beautiful and very happy! And for a small wedding that originally was not going to have a party to follow, with over 100 people eating and celebrating, it was actually quite the party!



Today, Tim and Amisadai went with Andy and Dan and three workers to a village about 70km away called Ikuka. Andy is currently doing a water project at the school and they have asked us about building a fuel-efficient institutional stove and it could be possible that we do a stoves project there in the future. They then went on to see a Compassion project operated by the KLPT Church in Ilula. They met with a number of the teachers and children, including some of the children who are sponsored by our home church in Tadley. It was great to see the difference that is being made in the lives of these very poor children.



The latrine pit being dug at Ikuka school



Compassion Children (some of them!)