Well, it is hot here. We are in the midst of what they call "the suicide month." At 105-6 degrees as an average temperature, we are thankful the humidity is fairly low. With no air conditioning, we really feel the heat.

Thankfully, the rains should be starting next month and they will bring blessed relief. As a friend remarked recently if we remembered how hot October is each year we would all have left by now. So we are thankful for short memories!

The heat is compounded by a lack of water. Our village has been without water for a week. Thankfully, we have a water tank to help us through these difficult times. Supposedly, there is a plan in action to remedy our water problems. We will see.

One of the teachers at Noka ya Botshilo, the school where Elise teaches, said she is so tired of looking out at the river just a half a mile away and then down at her empty water tap. How, she asked, do we live on one of the greatest rivers and yet are constantly without water!

Pray for our neighbors who have no tanks and must walk a long way to get water. Pray also that this situation can be remedied in a proper way so that water shortages are a thing of the past.

Ben, the son of our friends Rick and Julie, has been visiting us for about 2 weeks. We have enjoyed his youthful enthusiasm for Africa and its people. When he arrived from Kenya, he had just gotten over a bout of typhoid. We took it easy on him those first few days but have now got him out at the small farm resource center clearing brush in 102 degree heat! Needless to say, he and Keith really worked up a sweat! Thankfully, today is in the 70s since it rained all night and cooled down.

Also, Ben has been working on a tower garden experiment with old auto tires. That did not turn out so well, as it is difficult to cut through the steel belt that runs through the rubber. So next he experimented with the softer sides of the tires, but that ended up looking like some strange alien object. Back to square one on that idea.
It has not been all work no play. Ben has had some fun as well. One evening, we took him out to the river so that he could see the amazing sunset over the Chobe River and then an hour and a half later, the almost full moon rise. It was a lovely evening sitting by the Chobe listening to the hippos laugh as the sun set and the silvery moon rose.

This past weekend, he, Elise, and some friends went to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, to see the falls, raft the Zambezi, and swing over the gorge. They came home Sunday evening exhausted but happy about a great time in the falls.

We will miss Ben but he has promised to bring his parents on his next trip. So we will be planning some exciting activities for Rick, Julie, and Ben on their next visit.

My neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Kachana have three children. The oldest son, Person, has been ill for a while. Mrs. Kachana had taken him to the doctor a few times and every time the doctor told her it was just something that would go away with time and gave her some medicine. Finally, Mr. Kachana on seeing his son wasting away before his eyes, took Person to the doctor and insisted that the doctor run tests to find out what was ailing their son. Sadly, the diagnosis came back as Type 1 Diabetes. This has been devastating news for the Kachana family as this is not a common disease here in Kasane/Kazungula. In fact, the Kachanas were unfamiliar with it.

After nearly 3 weeks in the hospital, the doctor has finally been able to somewhat regulate Person’s blood sugar levels. However, his life and his parents have changed forever. A diabetic diet is challenging at best, but especially here where food that is not processed is not so readily available. Yes, there are fresh vegetables here but they are expensive as is beef or chicken. Most local people eat maize meal porridge with canned fish or a few boiled vegetables and occasionally beef or chicken. Bread, sweet tea, soft drinks, French fries and potato chips are also occasionally part of the diet. This will be a difficult transition for the family to find healthy alternatives for Person. Thankfully, Mr. Kachana has a very good job and is therefore able to buy fresh vegetables for his son. Please keep them in prayer as they learn to adjust to this new life style.

Elise came home the other day with news that a young woman had been killed, beheaded by her boyfiriend. When the police found him, he was just sitting there with the headless body beside him.

Stephen one of our brothers at fellowship Wednesday night confirmed the story and said it was not really surprising as the place or community where this awful act was committed is known for violence. Even its name is steeped in evil. . . Kupalemadi. . . "To scoop up blood."

There is such a darkness over this place and we are praying that we and those others who are believers in this place will shine with the Son's light to dispell this darkness. Please pray for the family of both the murdered woman and the man who committed this horrid deed. Please pray for us as we seek to minister here in this valley of darkness that we be His light of love to all who seek Him and to those as well who reject Him.

Last night at our mid-week Bible study, we celebrated our sister Dorcas’s birthday. She is a young woman who has become a dear friend to Elise and Carrie, being single and about their age. As a clerk in a fashion shop, she rarely is able to attend Sunday service, thus Wednesday night is special for her. Having found out last week that her birthday was this week, we decided to make her a birthday cake and celebrate at fellowship.

When Dorcas walked in the door to the fellowship room, we sang “Happy Birthday” and watched as she became very shy. We just laughed it off, thinking she didn’t care to be the center of attention. Later, after singing again and watching her blow out the candles, we enjoyed cake and coffee/tea together before diving into the Word. At the end of our time of study, we close with prayer after taking prayer requests. Dorcas began to speak and then was overcome by tearful emotion. Sitting beside her, I had heard two words, “My family . . . “ and then nothing While she cried and tried to speak, we all waited quietly. Finally, she was able to express that she would tell us her request next week.

After prayer, and telling everyone good night, we all started to climb in the truck to head home, when Carrie said, “I found out what Dorcas was going to say.” We instantly got quiet as Carrie told us that Dorcas was overcome with feelings when she saw her birthday cake. It was her first! She said her family had given her a few gifts now and again for her birthday, but she had never had a cake. Standing there stunned, Elise expressed what we were all thinking; “To us a cake is nothing!” What joy filled our hearts as we headed home! To think that baking a cake for a sister was a priceless gift of love!