Africa Hot

It was a partly cloudy sky this morning, which meant that a small contingent of our group rose extra early and headed to the beach to watch the sunrise.  The photos won’t hold a candle to what was seen, but were still gorgeous to look at for those of us that missed out!  We started the morning going to a well dig.  We drove down a dirt road for what seemed like miles to arrive in a community that was in the beginning phases of receiving a World Hope well.  We were able to see the first stage of the dig and the involvement of the villagers in this process.  Our group then headed to another village for a third well dedication.  It has been amazing being welcomed into these villages as honored visitors.  The gathering at this village today was the largest one yet and everyone was so joyful as we got out of our cars and greeted them.  We were given the opportunity to each introduce ourselves to the gathering and the leaders of this particular community and nearby communities were able to introduce themselves as well.  There was actually a government official of the area in attendance.  Some of the people of the village had actually prepared a short drama for us about what life was like before the well and what it is like now.  It was amazing.  At the end of the drama, the men and women were dancing and Vanessa and Amanda were invited to come and dance with them.  Todd and Steve couldn’t stand being left on the sidelines and jumped right into the action.   We learned that the women beating the branches of leaves on the ground as they danced signified their thankfulness.  Todd is now an expert and well practiced in showing his thankfulness.  We are all thankful that Jeff was able to capture every moment of this on video.  Today we were again able to pray over members of their community; people who were sick or in need of prayer for any reason.  The community today had a lot of people with head and joint pain, tumors, leg crippling, and even a precious little boy who asked for prayer to make good grades in school.  Again, what a humbling experience to be able to spend time praying over men, women, and children and calling on the power of the Holy Spirit to come and heal.  After this time of prayer the well was dedicated.   Today Sally had the honor of helping the small children cut the ribbon and standing beside a woman of the community pumping water from the well.  We made a trip down to the old water source; an open well in an area we were told had many snakes nearby.  The water in that old well looked even darker and dirtier than the water we saw yesterday.  After seeing the old well we all walked back up to the dedication area where Jeff was invited to show us his talents on the drum.  When his drum solo was over, shouts of joy and adulation went up from all in attendance!!  There is also video footage of this moment!  Another delicious lunch was served and we enjoyed eating with our interpreters, World Hope staff, and some of the village leaders.  Our new friend Simao taught Vanessa and Shawn how to use the top of a water bottle to pop the top off of a coke bottle (the old glass kind).  Vanessa was quickly a pro and Shawn nearly took the life of a bird in the tree above us as his flew off with the speed of a bullet!  As we were preparing to leave Shawn, aka “The Candy Man” pulled out a bag of bubble gum and took off running with a mob of small children following.  As he rounded the corner of the church the mob overtook him and bubble gum went flying.  We said our good-byes to the joyous people and once again made our way back to Xia Xia and the Lehman’s house.  Vanessa, Todd, and Jeff went for a little swim in the Indian Ocean when we got home.  Sally and Amanda rested on the Lehman’s front porch as Steve went with Orai (Mr. Lehman) on a mission to town.  After another fabulous dinner we are preparing for an early bedtime and looking forward to the day tomorrow.  We are planning on visiting an orphanage in the morning and COT’s (Community Orphan Trusts) in the afternoon.  Thank you again for your prayers over our trip.