A week of “FUN”

  In the past 9 days or so, there has been a lot happening here in Mumba. We just came off of Easter and a conference for our Bible clubs— TASGRACO.  Along with all the camp planning we have had a good time with our fellow missionaries here.
It began with a great pizza party to say, “Good-bye.” to Trevor as he is off to his last term at school before heading to the States for college.  Nothing like cooking pizzas in a clay oven and taking them out fresh. We cut them into just enough pieces for everyone to try and then put another in the oven!  It’s always a great time of fellowship.
We also had a birthday party this week for Jenna in which we grilled hamburgers outside and had fresh strawberry shortcake.
They are installing a hydro-electric plant for the station. This past week they have been dynamiting through rocks in order to have an ever-dropping ditch to lay pipe.  The first blast was a bit scary and went further than expected catching my co-workers off guard as they were taking pictures.  The next few blasts were respected and we stood afar to get video and pictures.  It’s funny some of the things that the blasts have done.  The vibration alone has cracked some windows and opened screen doors. A water pipe was crushed but thankfully it’s one of two from the dam to the pump house. A few stray rocks have found their way into people’s homes through their metal roofs. One little stone killed a young pig burying itself in base of his skull.  It’s an adventure as we get news that they are going to blast and quickly lock up the house and drive across the river and around the village to a safe filming spot.  Then we sit and wait, not knowing if the guy in charge, who isn’t the most dependable, will mean three minutes when he says it over the walkie talkie or if that really means 45 seconds!  I’m sure I won’t have enough internet capability to post the video but you can find it on Jeff and Jenna’s blog.  I will put a couple pix here just for fun! (check out Jeff and Jenna’s blog for more pictures.)

Jeff in front of one of the huge sections that was moved by the blast!

Most of the trench is nearly finished.

   

 I was out of commission last weekend with some stomach problem. That’s nothing new in Africa, but I’m doing fine now. My co-worker Barb has been in Dar most of this week to get a molar worked on. She has missed a lot of the fun!

 Then this weekend we went on a big adventure.


This is all of us before starting the climb, while we still were full of energy.

 

Some of our many pit stops along the way up. See the Valley floor just behind me on the right?

The goal was to hike to the top of Mt. Memya and camp there so that we can see the sunrise. Memya is one of the tallest mountains in our area and is unique in that is slopes up from this side and then cuts off dramatically down to the floor of the Rukwa valley nearly 4,000 ft. below. The base of the mountain is about 45 minutes to and hour away in the car, then you climb up to the top for about 45 minutes. This was the first time anyone had ever camped up there, but it was fun.
Usually we go up for an afternoon but this time meant carrying a lot of supplies. We had to carry firewood, water, tents, sleeping gear, warm clothes and food up with us. That made for a much longer hike, as we had to stop often to catch our breathe. I had a rough go and about 2/3 of the way up Jeff, the experienced backpacker, helped me out with my bag! It was beautiful to overlook the Rukwa Valley from this tall peak and to look back over the Ufa “crack” Valley in which we live. We were a little nervous when we saw a storm heading our way but thank the Lord that it only rained for a little bit. And we were able to get some sleep. check out my friend's blogs for more pictures.

Morning fog behind us over the Ufa Valley. 

                 

The dawn and sunrise.

 We were awake before the crack of dawn and sat on the edge of the cliff watching the morning come to light, finally seeing the sun peak up over the mountains on the other side of Lake Rukwa.  It only took about 20 minutes to come back down the mountain and we made it back home in time to take a morning shower.
 

Mission Accomplished!