In our prayer letters, one of the things we’ve asked prayer for is protection over us, and especially Esther. We have been greatly encouraged by your messages, and especially any words you have had for us from God. There have been a number of instances where we have felt God’s protection for us, but will only mention three.
A couple of weeks ago, we got up in the morning and after breakfast went to change Esther’s nappy. In it we found a dead scorpion! It was small, about an inch long and we’re not sure how it got in there, as I didn’t see anything when I put the nappy on! But Esther was completely fine. There wasn’t any sign of a bite or sting or any mark whatsoever on her, so praise God for that!
This week we got an email from a good friend in our church that’s been praying for us. She had a picture and some verses from God saying that He is protecting us and looking out for us, and wanted to encourage us that God is with us. We read this email on Tuesday morning. During Tuesday afternoon, Lucy found Esther chewing something green, and took it out of her mouth. It was a small piece of unburned mosquito coil that she’d picked up whilst exploring the garden. Those coils are full of insecticide, and we were initially worried for Esther, but were reminded of the email we received that morning. Esther has been completely fine and hasn’t shown any ill effects! Praise God!
The third incidence involved me on Wednesday afternoon. I was trimming some plastic pipe with a 4” angle grinder, when it slipped and hit my right hand just below the knuckle. Blood literally sprayed out, and I had to hold it tight to stop any major blood flow. I had thought I’d hit the vein, as blood shot out pretty quickly! I managed to walk to Wayne, who was driving the tractor close by, whilst clutching my hand. He took me the Helsby’s house, where Becky gave me first aid. I had visions of tearing down the road to Mwanza to hospital, but thank God the cut missed the vein, the tendon and bone. It is a deep cut, as you can see in the picture. Thank God that the bleeding stopped very quickly, and the Helsby’s had some butterfly stitches that were brought by Becky’s parents, who only just left last Monday! The wound has healed really well, as the stitches have done the trick, plus I have full mobility. It is still slightly sore, but that hasn’t stopped me writing another lengthy blog – sorry!
The grinder cut on my hand
Anyway, I took Thursday off and helped Lucy look after the kids (see below), and took it very easy on Friday. Though I did spend the afternoon helping to cast a concrete slab for the first staff house!
Oh yeah, forgot to explain the title of the blog. Well the power of prayer bit is obvious, but “pole
Lucy –We have spent today (Sunday) in the house today which has been really nice. It’s been pretty rainy all day (the rainy season has now started although is generally at it’s heaviest in April and May). We did ‘church’ at home this morning listening to one of the sermons from our home church that we downloaded the other day. I also spent nearly 2 hours shelling peanuts! Mavuno grow peanuts and I learnt and saw (for the first time in nearly 33 years on this earth) how peanuts grow! We bought a bag of them from Mavuno and boiled a big batch 2 nights ago. Never realised how long peanuts take to shell and just made me realise, once again, how easy it is for us back in the West – so much of the initial preparation of food is done for us.
This week, on Thursday, the locals who work for Mavuno village were treated to a day out in the Serengeti. Around 7 guys, plus their wives went along. None of them had ever been before, with the majority of them having spent their entire lives living about an hour’s drive away. The main reason being is the cost of transport to, from and within the reserve. The entrance fee for a local is around 75p (the non-resident fee is, in contrast, $50!) But the cost of bringing a vehicle into the park is $200. Needless to say, they all had a fantastic time and saw lions, giraffes and elephants – all for the first time. I was talking to Milka (the first on-site “mum”) and she was so excited about seeing an elephant. Until now she had only ever seen one in books.
As both Milka and John (the on-site “parents”) went to the Serengeti, I was asked to look after the 3 children they care for – Esther (age 9), Mariam (age about 5) and Jona (aged about 2). Esther was at school during the day and so generally I was just looking after Mariam and Jona. At first, it was a bit daunting. They don’t speak English and I speak very little Swahili and no Sukoma, the local tribal language… But they are lovely kids and were really pretty easy to care for! Hitesh was around too for most of the day (see above as to why!) so that definitely helped. We picked them up at 7:45 in the morning and brought them back to ours. In the morning they played with Esther and her toys, and drew pictures. We then went to the Helsby’s for lunch, and they then came back to ours for a nap. Both Mariam and Jona fell asleep on our bed, with no complaints, and no noise whatsoever. I couldn’t believe it. I don’t know many kids who would do that in somebody else’s house – but as Becky explained they have, until now, lived such an unsettled, neglected and unloved life, that they have probably learnt to accept whatever happens to them, which was so sad to hear. In the afternoon we headed back to the Helsby’s for them to play a bit with the other kids, whilst Becky, Amy and I had a bit of a bible study. We then headed back here for more playing and then dinner. We hadn’t planned on having to do dinner so it was a bit of an odd mix – but they loved it. Pancakes, Peanuts, Avocado, Mango and Bananas – they devoured it all. And just kept eating whatever we put in front of them! John and Milka arrived at ours just before 8 to pick them up. I was really glad we could help out - this was such a ‘special’ day for John and Milka, and the others.
Esther and Mariam
Mariam, Lucy, Esther, Esther and Jona
Yesterday too, was an interesting day. I was collecting some of our washing to take over to the Helsby’s to use their was machine, and as I lifted up the clothes, which is always a high risk operation as there is often a spider or some other bug beneath, out ran a mouse - a very cute and small mouse, but a mouse none-the-less. It definitely surprised me, but was preferable to some of the very big spiders we have around here. We caught it under a bowl and released it outside.
The Mouse
During the afternoon, for 3 hours, we had an AIM Prayer Day, held down on the beach at Mavuno. There were only 9 of us there – but it was really good to meet some other missionaries and find out a bit about what work other people are involved in, in
In the late afternoon I popped over to visit the Catholic Choir who were having another practice session. I wanted to give them a copy of the disk we had made for them of them singing, last week. (see last blog entry). I couldn’t believe the reception I got. They started clapping as I approached them, and then when I handed the leader the disk, he literally jumped for joy. He was so excited and was jumping around, thanking me again and again. He then opened the envelope with the DVD in it and his hands were shaking. The other members of the choir too, were so excited. They all gathered around to look at the DVD. It was such a small thing for us to do, I felt so incredibly humbled and amazed at the happiness it brought. We have so many CDs and DVDs at home, so many electronic gadgets, and ‘things’ in general, and yet I don’t think I have ever seen someone so happy to receive a gift. I left feeling pretty privileged but also very thoughtful.
Esther continues to do well, and is such a big source of happiness to us. Today she learnt a new trick of putting Hitesh’s shorts on her head and over her eyes, and then tried walking until she bumped into something! Not the most sensible move ever, but very entertaining for us. She is now also getting to the ‘helping out’ stage and wants to be involved in whatever Hitesh or I are doing – it’s lovely to watch – if a little frustrating at times!
Esther helping with the peanuts
Esther – Harrow again! I has had a fun week and got to play lots with my friends Kate, Jona and Mariam. It was all rainy today, but Mummy and Daddy still took me out for a walk, though I was all cover-ded up, which was good fun.
Going for a walk in the rain
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