Back in Gesses

We had a safe trip back to Gesses.  PTL!  We never take our safety for granted especially when we see so many vehicles that have not fared so well.

We were surprised by cooler weather than is normal for this time of year.  Daytime temp is mid 30's C (90's F) and it still cools off to mid 20's C (70's F) at night which allows us to get rest at night. 

We have some rat issues which is normal considering we were gone for almost 3 weeks.   Rats on our back porch (one caught last night) and either a mouse family or rat family is enjoying the home school room.  Nicole had a small rodent run over her foot during class yesterday and Ariana’s water bottle has teethmarks all around the top.   

Rolf fixed the dehydrator (which has been used in the past but was broken when we arrived).   He fixed it as I was cutting up bananas and other fruit and vegetables to dehydrate.  It worked fabulously and in one day, everything was dried and ready to put into bags.  We are entering a time when there will be no fruit and vegetables available so we brought some extra with us from Addis but don’t have a fridge to store them in.

I dipped some of the sliced bananas in a diluted lemon juice dip (1 Tablespoon lemon juice in one cup water) and others in a diluted honey dip.  They both worked very well (keeps them from browning) though the ones dipped in honey stuck more to the plastic mesh that they were placed on.  Next time I would just do the lemon juice dip.  The strawberries and plums worked very well although I only did a small number.   I steam blanched some carrot slices and dehydrated them as well.    Next time, I will certainly bring more veggies and fruit so that I can dehydrate a larger number because these won’t last long.

On Wednesday and Thursday, I will do some preschool teacher training and next week they will register children for the program.

Our satellite internet connection is presently not working so communication is a challenge.  Today, Barry is driving to a town 1.5 hours away to do some errands and can send some emails from there.

I appreciate all who are praying for my language learning ... I am getting lots of practice, still feeling frustrated but have been able to jump back in.  

Pray also for the Gumuz men and women desiring baptism to step forward in faith. 

Pray for perseverance.