Thunderbolt and lightning....very very frightening (to quote Queen!!!)

I am sitting writing this blog singing ‘and the rains came down and the floods came up…’ hoping that our house has not been built on sand.  The evening storm has come which has been threatening all day and the rain is pretty amazing.  We have had rain in England but this is real African rain with a thunderstorm going on overhead with simultaneous thunder and lightning which has been going on for quite a while now.  However it is so hot that it is a welcome relief.

Linda has not felt at her best today so went to visit the nurse earlier and has now got a cocktail of vitamins which should make her feel better – that and a good rest this afternoon has meant she has been able to enjoy dinner with us and some friends of mine (Wendy and Benno) from Canada tonight. Wendy and Benno looked after Beautiful Gate while Bryan and Anita were back home in America and I have known them since I first started coming out here. Linda made her famous lemon cheesecake this morning which was very interesting!  It usually takes her a couple of minutes in the food processor but we all had to give it a stir with a wooden spoon this morning until our arms ached!  Amazingly we had managed to get all the same ingredients in the supermarket right down to the digestive biscuits imported from England (for a price).

Anyway back to our day – we started the day in playgroup where Stephanie and Linda did some playdough and painting activities with the children.  After snack time we went outside and took some tables out there to do some colouring but I was called away to the office as I had a visitor!  If you followed my blog last year you will remember that Benno and Wendy had taken me up to the mountains to meet a friend of a friend called Jacob. He hadn’t happened to be there so I just met his children but this year, through the connection I had with a lady in Bedford who used to live in Lesotho, he had arranged to come and visit me. It felt odd introducing him to people as ‘my friend Jacob from Leribe’ when I had never met him before but it was too long and complicated to explain.  When I introduced him to the locals I let him tell the story and all I understood was the odd word – who knows what he was saying. Anyway it was great to see him and if you are reading this Annette Glenn – I took some photos for you.

Anita cooked us a traditional Basotho meal at lunch time of Chakalakah, Pap, wurst, mince sauce, and moroho which today was made of cabbage rather than the more traditional spinach.  It was great to sit outside in the sun on the porch with the US contingent and share food, chat and laughter.

I managed a siesta under the the tree today – half an hour in the sun with my book made me feel good before 2 of the older children came home from school and wanted to come and colour.  I didn’t have much time with them as I had to prepare for Time with God which I had rashly volunteered to lead and that actually meant transposing the chords because neither Steve or I could manage them!  Anyway, without practice we managed to sing reasonably well but not in comparison to the Africans who filled the chapel with their wonderful sound.  Fortunately with a translator I only had to say a short amount and Steph shared a few things too so it all went well and then we had time for a bit of play before snack time, bath time and tea time. 

I had prepared dinner at lunch time so the Coq au Vin was ready to be heated and rice cooked before our guests arrived.  We had a really pleasant evening and in true Basotho style we started early and dinner was cleared away and our guests had gone by 8pm. We just enjoyed chilling and talking for the rest of the evening and as I said right at the beginning we have enjoyed listening to the storm.

I cannot believe we are over half way through our time now – sadly we only have 3 nights left.  Tomorrow morning will be an early start as I want to go over to school. Wendy and I sorted out the books that I brought over and there is a large suitcase full to be wheeled over the mud into school tomorrow. I am looking forward to meeting the staff at school again and cant wait to introduce the others to the education system although I think Steph may stay behind and continue her work in playgroup.

We are aiming for an early night tonight and it is looking good as it is only 10 am.  Our energy levels are low mainly due to the heat and the altitude and even Steve (H) didn’t manage much of  a run this morning – he had been talking about going every morning but this was the first time he made it and apparently he came face to face with a load of dogs so decided to run inside Beautiful Gate land.

Enough for now….

Tune in tomorrow to read about our school exploits and hopefully a little treat for Terp (volunteer from the US who I know from previous visits) and me but I will tell you about that tomorrow!

Sleep well

Love

Jenny x