Left Behind in the Rain

We've felt a bit left behind and rained on too of late just like this little teddy bear! As you likely know we've had a few technical hiccups in the past few months what with a burnt generator, a back up unit not working, the 3rd back up burned its capacitor after several weeks and things rather snowballed from there! We had to borrow a neighbour's generator which meant 3 hours of driving every day to pick it up and drop it off, but we were sure thankful for the electricity! Unfortunately, in all this our internet modem also got fried...hence the silent blog. So yes, left behind in terms of all that needs to be done and all that is happening online. (I'm currently at an internet cafe in town--nearly an hour's drive from home, so not the most conventient way to do things.)
We've also been rained on royally in the past month, especially in the last few days. We held a pastor's intensive seminar last week and though we weren't sure how we'd cope with all our power troubles (which also means possible water shortages), we managed and things went very well in fact! Here is a picture of the certificate ceremony with orphans performing in dance and song.

Right now we've had a group of youth leaders...65 in all...for a 3 day retreat. We don't usually accommodate so many, and on such short notice, but there was some miscommunication and they REALLY needed a place to stay. So we agreed. Maybe we shouldn't have since they had no sooner arrived and moved into the tents when the skies unleashed a mighty thunderstorm and torrential rains that lasted a good 8 hours! It was one wild storm and it dumped 200 mm of rain over night. Then last night it did about the same thing, just with a little less rain, but still the cumulative effect on our river has been impressive!Exciting news:
-2 of our staff have completed their training as 'Health Care Worker's' at the provincial hospital which means that finally each health post will have its own full staff member plus a spare for vacation leave! Yay!
-Sponsored school kids helped a man with leprosy (with no use of his hands) to plant his field with corn for this year. This is the first time in a long time that he has a crop in the ground and he is SO happy! It's great when people work together.
-Christmas time is coming! I love Christmas, and this year is extra-special because our kids are coming to spend it with us! We are counting down the days and know that though our time will be short together, the moments will be packed with all the talking and whatever else we can fit into them.

Just a little green here to add to your Christmas :) TTYL (hopefully from a repaired internet modem)