What's cookin' in Tanzania... and Uganda?: Sprouting Cheerful Wonders

We now have just over a week to go! This really has been the longest ever month! We seem to have had rather a lot of bad news, but there are some good things sprouting in the midst of it all. Our seeds are starting to come up which is always a cheerful wonder.

Here are some photos of the canavalia jackbeans and sorgham seeds sprouting in their blanket of mulch. The lablab is continuing to do very well as are the pigeon peas. All good crops with their own wonderful purpose!

Recently, it has been a blur of daily power cuts, computer problems, sickness for the girls, car problems, seriously disgusting termite problems and various project delays. Our guard Thaddeus is travelling next week to search for his sons who are still missing, our other guard is going this weekend to say goodbye to his mum who is dying; our house-help, Lucy has had a three day seminar this week after sickness last week.

But I did finally got a toilet seat that fits ... but I need to figure out how. As I puzzled over it, Louisa said, "we don't need a proper man, mummy. We can do it!" Only I am not so sure!

I went back to the post office with the required money and passport photos that they last week asked me to bring. I went from desk to desk, talking to three different people, before finally being told that there were no boxes available. All were taken. Right.

And in the middle of it all, there was the timely, cheery, wonderful gift of a delicious meal dropped off for us by a kind friend. And there was the cheerful help of a "proper man" who came over to get our car sorted out!

This beautiful new hive arrived this week!
It will have to wait until we come back now to get put in place and occupied!

We've had a music recital, which was lovely - only in Tanzania would all the kids at the recital sit with dirty, bare feet hooked around a piano bench and only in Tanzania would the power go out on the fourth piece (thankfully there was a generator!) We've had endless renditions of songs and dances preparing for the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory school production next week. We've had football club, youth club, mamas groups ... And today I went to the tree nursery and discovered a huge tree had fallen in the strong winds. Yes, right on the nursery enclosure! So with Joseph and Bahati Daudi, we spent the morning repairing the fence, sorting the tree seedlings and preparing compost.

But again, in repairing the ruins, we saw again the small good things shooting up. Seedlings with potential to bear so much fruit. The wonder of our Creator.