What a weekend

Greetings, today was a day we had been waiting for, the children returned to school, yaaaah!!! I must confess I said to Marilyn that it was awfully quiet at 8am. but I soon got used to it. I think we were all ready for school to begin, children included. The last week has been particularly full. On Thursday the children were ready to go swimming but the day was wet and overcast, so we had to deal with some pretty disappointed children. It was a good lesson though, as on Friday it was fine and warm and we were able to go. On Thursday afternoon the weather did clear enough for the kids to go and do some community service in one of the nearby villages with the team from Canada. It was a very good activity and it saved the day from total boredom. We introduced the older boys to Monopoly in the evening which was an entertaining experience to say the least.
As mentioned earlier, Friday was fine so 34 children and 8 adults went down the road to 'African Village' for a swim, lunch, then more swimming, arriving home about 4pm. The end of holidays disco took place in the evening with the mandatory juice and popcorn, and rewards for those children who had excelled in doing the chores during the holidays.
Saturday was a busy day as two of the teachers were getting married, in different places, but the reception for both was here. The wedding of teacher Mark and Winnie was held here, and Marilyn played for it with assistance from Josh. We were only able to choose the music on Friday night so most of Saturday morning was spent in practice. The wedding was timed for 1pm (African time).  The groom arrived at 2pm. , the bride at 2:15pm and the Pastor arrived at 2:25 so the wedding got underway at 2:30pm.
The other wedding (Teacher Wycliff and Dorah) was in nearby Mukono timed for 2pm. It too started late but not as bad as ours.Most of the older children attended this service as Wycliff is their classroom teacher.
The reception for both was here in our new church (still unfinished, but a large enough space for the 250 or so guests plus children). The day had been fine and warm but unfortunately, just as the entertainment was about to begin, the heavens opened and the rain thundered down. We then had about an hour and a half of solid rain but it was unable to dampen the festivities. Needless to say we got to bed tired but pleased that the day had gone well ( at least our part in it had).
Sunday gave us another new experience in the afternoon. We arrived for church at about 10 to 2 to find a snake in the rafters. It was about a metre long and a green grass snake, harmless I'm told but we needed to get it out by poking at it till it dropped and we were able to eradicate it amongst great 'excitement' from the children. We were then able to continue with our service, but many did look up again during it, just in case!!
I must say a word about our Pastor (not the one who arrived late the previous day). We feel we are particularly blessed to have Pastor John minister to us. His sermon on Sunday about going the extra mile was spot on for many of us, I think it has engendered a greater atmosphere of helping one another, evidenced even today. John and his wife Johann give wonderful service to us all and we enjoy their ministry here.
This week has seen the arrival of another two new babies, both on Friday, and both as a result of the mother dying in childbirth. There is a staggering statistic that 5000 mothers die in childbirth in Uganda EACH MONTH!!! Thankfully we are involved in only a fraction of this, but it is still traumatic to get new babies in this way. The babies are Ronald and Damali, not related except that they are now brother and sister in Noah's Ark. Damali's father is 77 years old and her mother was 54. They have thirteen other children and no way to care for Damali. Please pray for these babies and their families, continue to pray for Britta who seems to be doing better, and also pray for Pita that she can get enough rest to cope with these little ones.
It has been quite a week and weekend, life is never dull here.
Till next time
God Bless