Fire

Greetings. Today has been a day we have been looking forward to. School is back!!
It has been a very busy week since last time. Monday was Timothy's birthday and as we weren't able to do the shopping last week we took him and one of the girls Peace (who is Joshua's sister) with us to Kampala shopping. We were able to get the remaining three boxes we had sent from NZ so we were very happy that we have them all. We celebrated Timothy's birthday up at the home, then with a DVD and party here for about 16 kids. On Tuesday we were visited by Alex & Simon which was good to catch up with them. Wednesday was fine and sunny so we took the boys, along with Alex & Simon, to Jinja for a day at the pools. We went in the bus which had been serviced the day before, the speedo didn't work so I scored a speeding ticket just going out of Mukono, much to everyone else's amusement (except Marilyn). The rest of the trip was taken at a very sedate pace. We arrived in Jinja to find that the pools were closed for repair and due to open on Saturday. Fortunately they were able to direct us to another hotel with a pool so we eventually got to have our swim. The boys loved it and were more confident in the water than the last time. The highlight for us however was watching Alex. He really took to the water all day and tried all things that Marilyn was teaching the boys and by the end of the day was very close to being able to swim breaststroke. Simon had got water in his ears so only lasted half an hour then watched for the rest of the day. This was the first time they had ever been swimming so it was just delightful. Chicken on the way home completed a good day out (except for the ticket). Thursday was a catch-up day for us, I had to pay my fine at the bank and then visit the local police station to get my license back. No problems.
On Friday we had about 40 children down for a DVD night to watch 'Cool Runnings' which was enjoyed by all.
For Saturday supper we decided that we would have a cookout and get the boys to cook their own sausage stew. They built their own fires and were given the same ingredients and worked well to get the end product, which was quite edible in both cases, yet quite different in taste.
However that is not the Fire referred to in the title of this posting!!
On Sunday morning as we went up for Sunday School we were told that there had been a fire in the office at Piet & Pita's side. It was an electrical fire, they were awoken by their computer beeping about 6.30 am. Piet saw a strange glow coming from the office and heard a bang. He rushed to investigate and found the room filled with smoke. He grabbed a fire extinguisher and was able to contain the blaze before it took hold, so there was minimal damage fortunately. So we thank God that they caught it early as, if it had taken off, the results could have been tragic. It has heightened our awareness that we need a fire extinguisher here too.
They went to collect another baby on Sunday, involving a trip a fair distance away, so we looked after another new arrival, a wee girl Rhode, for the day. Managed to return her to the home about 10pm.
Today has been a good day, we got Raghma down about 10am and have had a lovely day with her and with each other. Tomorrow, we will be back looking for shoes for the school again, yipee!!
Please pray for the new baby girl, Dina, as she was in very poor condition yesterday. Also pray that we may overcome our tiredness and, as we try to get away for a few days next week, we can find someone able to look after the boys in our absence.
Till next time
God Bless