Life in a Rural Country

Today on the way home from school I actually had time to stop and snap this pic. I often see these guys with their oxcart, loaded with clay pottery on the way to school in the mornings, and occasionally on the odd day that I head home while it's still daylight. This afternoon I was heading home for Home Group this evening, and this cart was stopped by the side of the road, with a "Lexus" parked behind it. It was clear the guy from the Lexus was seeking a bargain from the pot seller, and the girls with their bicycle took great delight in getting in the picture. Each day as I see these carts, I am reminded of the rural nature of this country, and how so many of the people live in daily dependence on the land that God has blessed them with (although they don't all know that). Many have limited income, and are still dependent on skills they have learned from previous generations.

A couple of days ago I saw an even more unusual site. I can't remember what was on the carts, but as I travelled to school one morning I passed several smaller carts (a lot smaller than these) which were each being pulled by a single pony. Now that was something different, and definitely not something I see every day. If I see them again I'll have to stop and take a photo, even if it makes me late for school (it probably won't).

Meanwhile school has been relatively quiet this week, with most of the high school students away on Bible Camp. Certainly it was much easier doing "Rover" duty this afternoon (clearing hallways and other areas of the campus of students who are supposed to be somewhere else).

It was interesting that just this morning the principal mentioned as a major prayer point our electricity situation, when by 9.20am we lost power completely, and were told we would be out until 5pm this afternoon. It was a pleasant surprise when it came back on around 12.30pm and stayed on for the rest of the day. What tomorrow will bring, who knows, but as there's nothing we can do about it, then there's no point in worrying about it. So why is our electricity situation a major prayer point? Unfortunately when the school was constructed, the amount of electricity we would need in terms of supply from the mains was somehow either not calculated or miscalculated, and so consequently we don't have enough. Now I'm not talking about a minor not having enough, I'm talking a major issue. Currently we have one 100Amp line coming in to the school. Now that's probably adequate for a domestic residence, but for a school with 300+ students? I'll let you work that out. Consequently classrooms on the Southern side of the building can run air-conditioners in the morning (but only one per room), and rooms on the Western side can run one per room in the afternoons. The office and several other areas are not running any at all. The other day, I turned on the Overhead Projector without turning off everything else in the classroom, and oops, minutes later we all went out. I won't do that again. So progress has been made in establishing what the true needs of the school are, but the cost is going to be in ten thousands of US dollars. So why pray? Because our God is the owner of the cattle on a thousand hills, and we know that He cares for us. Somewhere out there, God has already decided how the necessary equipment and work will be done. Please pray with us, that He will make this clear to the management team in the near future. The "cool" season is rapidly drawing to a close and the days when it will by 30 degrees Celcius by 9am are fast approaching. Teachers and students alike find it hard to work well in those conditions. And if you know someone or an organisation that might be willing to consider contributing to this, or taking it on as a sponsorship project, please contact the school through the website (or e-mail me if you know me personally). Meanwhile we will continue saving on our electricity bill, and trying to be fair about who gets air-conditioning when.

Time for bed.

Goodnight.

Karen