Dries and I spent the week working on Gabriel. We managed to get in a full week’s work. We had to get going early in the morning as the heat made work between one and at least half past three impossible. School was closed for the mid-term break and it made perfect sense for me to spend the week on the boat. I did my share of painting and cleaning, but it was more to be a support to Dries. It helps if he doesn’t have to worry about meal preparation.
Back at home, twelve to seventeen hours power cuts are now typical. We cannot run our fridge properly, so it is doing it the Malagasy way this coming week, buying what we need for the day. We charge up some batteries to enable us to run a fan at night as it is impossible to sleep without one at this time of the year.
The Land Rover’s clutch broke on Friday. This means that we have to order the parts from Antananarivo. Please pray with us that it will be available and secondly that it will still arrive this week. This means no work on the boat while the Landy is out of commission.
Many people have asked us if Gabriel was already back on the water. We decided that it would be better to wait until after the rainy season, which takes us to April next year. I think end of May sounds more reasonable. There is work at school that needs to be done before the rain starts in earnest. That means before December. As you remember, when the school’s roof had blown off, the gutter system was also destroyed. It is very demoralising to have to redo something that was done so well and functioned perfectly.
Please pray for us, because we do feel overwhelmed and tired by everything that is going on. The building of the classroom at school is such a frustration! We are simply wearied by the constant need for checking the quality of the work that you pay people for.
I think the children’s love and passion for school are the things that keep us going. The Discovery Rangers were so enthusiastic about what they have learned about Madagascar’s birds during the five weeks of their Bird Merit. We had a Bible quizz about the book of Proverbs with the Adventure group last week. Their fervour for the truths they had acquired, does leave one humbled.
My biggest difficulty is to challenge the teachers at school to improve their proficiency in French. There seems to be a barrier or a resistance to want to learn. I am frustrated that they don’t realise that it is to the children’s advantage to be fluent in French by the time that they go to secondary school.
I have given you an array of prayer requests this week of which the salvation and spiritual growth of our children and their parents are always a priority.
Thank you for your love and support.
E-posadres: lynettedj@gmail.com
Bank: ABSA, Lynette de Jager, Rekeningnr: 1410142909, Takkode: 632005