He Is Risen!

Hello All,
Happy Easter to everyone!  The holidays here kind of sneak up on you.  There is no TV or ads at the shopping place to remind you constantly that you need to buy something for the upcoming holiday.  It is a blessing, but things can sneak up on you.  Good Friday was a holiday for the hospital and we sort of took the day off too.  Monday is also a holiday and we are going to have an afternoon BBQ with friends so it will feel like a day off.  Easter is such a special time for us in that we celebrate the sacrifice Jesus made for us and what it means.

Isa 40:28-31 says:

28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;

31 but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

I was listening to a song at the gym the other day and they quoted this.  It is really a comfort.

 

I have some pictures of Trevor's Zanzibar trip as promised.  There are lots of them so if you don't want to see, just skip past!

Beautiful flowers

 

All the kids on the Beach

the windows and doors are beautiful

great sunset

Coffee in the morning!

Bread to go with coffee

Fishing boats

drinking the juice from ??

The fish monger

the market

the market also

swimming with the dolphins

Crazy boys!

the spice market

wonderful doors

wow at that sunset

Trevor loves coffee!

Clock tower

Lunch!

The whole guy gang!

 

 

They had  a great time as you can see.

 

We are babysitting another dog.  When the school closes, many people need dog sitters.  Toby is just with us for a week, but he is a good dog.  He is just 7 months old and all legs, but well behaved.

 

Pepper on the left and Toby on the right

 

 

TB Clinic:  We are moving ahead and signed the contract for the contractor to begin work.  We think he will be here this coming week to actually start. 

 

Water Project:  This current project is a subset of the long term water project (i.e. a temporary solution).  We should have something in place in another week or so to fill some of the hospital tanks.  We have been running out of water even though the rains have started.  The rains do not seem to be as heavy as they were last year (so far) and that will cause drought problems later.

 

Bethany Kids Wing:  The contractor is still having difficulties getting enough material to keep the men moving.  They are losing days of work rapidly.  They have said they are working on making sure there is enough material, but we are still waiting.  The architect made a comment to Jim the other day that we need to anticipate a 2 year project and not 15 months as per the program!  That has put us on edge a bit and Jim is fighting everyday to get them moving. 

 

I started a class called Mizizi this week.  It is not really a bible study but is designed to help you grow in your transformation from the inside to be more Christ centered.  I am the only mzungu (white) and I wanted to do it to get to know some of the hospital staff a bit better.  As class mates, we will share things that are more personal and be able to pray for each other.  Jim and I feel out of touch sometimes with the locals and their struggles and this should give me an opportunity to change that a bit.

 

We had dinner with some old friends last night that were here 2 years ago and have now returned.  It was encouraging to hear from them how they can really see a difference in the campus with all the projects that we are involved in.  He said (without a prompt from us) that what we are doing is really making a difference in the lives of the people that come to this hospital.  Many times we feel out of touch not having daily interaction with the patients and their struggles, and we struggle with that.  But, we understand our role is a bit different and that is OK.  Someone has to mess with the septic system!  Our Engineering and Facilities team here has really grown and just looking around the campus tells the story of how well they are doing!  It was encouraging to hear the words! 

 

Hope you have a great Easter Day. 

He is Risen - He is Risen indeed!
And, remember:
... those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

 

In His Hands,

Jullie T.