Sunday

At last! I can post on the day it's supposed to be for!

Today I discovered that the sound of crickets that I thought I was hearing during the day was actually being caused by the electric wires that cross between a pole in the centre of the cottages to each one – as the power usage rises and falls so does the sound of the crickets.

However, all the other wildlife is real – the giant cricket and the toad/frog that joined us at dinner a couple of nights ago, the beautifully coloured butterflies on the verbena hedge outside each cottage, and today some pretty little steely-blue butterflies.

This morning we joined the local church for their morning worship – we were there for the last 3 hours of their service – I don't know when it began, but it was in full swing when we arrived. Their singing was lovely – harmonies and at full volume, quite a contrast to when the team sang some songs for them. I was struck at how smart and clean everyone was, considering the conditions in which they live; I didn't recognise some people who I had met before. At the end of the service, as each person left and shook hands with a row of people they joined the end of that row to greet the people leaving after them, which meant that we shook hands with everyone (about 170 people).

This afternoon we had free time, and I had a very welcome time at the swimming pool, cooling off and getting a little bit of exercise too.

The following photos give an idea of where I am staying and what the team looks like – if you look at Google Earth you can find Chamba Valley and also Kaunda Square community.

This evening we had a very generous bbq, followed by a showing of “Africa United” - a film about a group of children who make their way from Rwanda to South Africa for the World Cup.

Back to work tomorrow at Fountain of Hope.