News and Notes - October 10

Still no diesel!!!! The secretary of energy for the country of Zambia was fired last week, we hear. The story on the street is that he planned a trip to Paris in the middle of this fuel crisis. That must have been the last straw, and now he’s out. The government has finally given permission for the fuel companies to import diesel from other countries. Estimates are that diesel will be flowing by the 15th. We shall see! In the meantime, we are staying home. There were no outreaches this weekend except to places that the students could get to on foot or by bicycle.

We have now had five baptisms in our backyard cistern. Two of them were students that David has been studying with. One of the young men was over six feet tall, and the cistern was barely big enough! We built the cistern to catch water for use in the garden, but it has turned out to be very useful as a baptistery.

Long-time residents tell us that October is the worst month to be in this part of Zambia. The temperatures are hot and everything is dry and dusty. It hasn’t rained here since April, and the rains won’t start until late October. The amazing thing is that many of the trees and plants are turning bright green! Somehow they are drawing on deep reserves of moisture. People tell us that by the time the rains come, the countryside will already be green. There’s got to be a sermon in that somewhere!

The jacarandas are another beautiful sight. These very tall trees are covered with bright purple blossoms. The road to Roy Merritt’s house (where we go to send e-mails) is lined with these trees. They form a purple archway, and as the blossoms drop, the dusty road begins to look like it is strewn with jewels.