Africa is much bigger than most people realize. Africa is more varied than most people realize. It is not all tropical jungle. It does get hot here in Eswatini, although we are south of the tropics. As most of you are headed toward winter, we are moving toward summer. And it may be a lot hotter for us than in past years.
Our landlord decided that many of the trees behind the house were a threat to the property. Those trees were tall and not very healthy. He was afraid they might fall during a storm and damage the house. He also decided that the chain-link fence should be replaced with a concrete wall. That meant that some trees in front of the house were also taken down. Now the sun shines in the back windows all morning and in the front windows all afternoon. It was so hot yesterday that it was a struggle to work.
We will work it out. We hung shade cloth outside the office window yesterday to keep it cooler there. If we can find someone to do the work, we may have the windows coated with sun blocking film. We are do-it-your-self-ers, but tinting windows does not happen to be on our skill set.
Electricity issues
Over three years ago, Donald Baraball donated a generator so that the church in Timbutini could use a projector for singing and for scripture slides. It was a very small generator, and it was not new. It was just barely strong enough to run the projector. About two months ago we found that the generator was no longer capable of powering the projector.
In December Eswatini’s electricity contract with South Africa expires. We do not know what to expect, but it seems likely that we will begin to experience frequent blackouts. We wanted to install solar. But to install solar would be beyond our means. And we could not take a solar installation with us if we must leave this location. So, we bought a generator instead. Currently it is used to power the projector on Sundays (and a fan if it is a hot day). Once January arrives, the generator may also be needed to power our refrigerator.
As you know, Chery’s dad passed away a few months ago. Royce did not have much, but Chery’s sisters agreed to donate the funds needed to wire the church building at Timbutini. We may not have enough to hook into the grid (and may not want to join the grid if blackouts become common). But if the building is wired it will be easier and safer to connect the generator at the building. Our current system (involving three long extension cords) is far from ideal.
Recordings
Brother Maseko has made excellent progress on recordings this past month.
Some recordings are already in use. The sound quality is outstanding. Originally, we had planned to place the recordings on the little audio Bible devices. We will still do that in some cases. But we have found that many people own phones that can play back the recordings. Loading the lessons onto phones will be a significant savings.
Permits
We are still awaiting news regarding our “pensioners’ permits.” We are also awaiting news concerning Sydney Mhango’s permit application. Sydney is critical to the work at Timbutini, and very helpful in a lot of other ways. We are fairly confident about our application, and hopeful about Sydney’s. But neither is a certainty. Keep both in your prayers.
Gap funding
We recently mentioned that two of our key support commitments were going to expire before we can begin receiving our social security. We were asking for help to cover that gap. This morning, we received word from a couple (who we have never met) promising to cover a sizable portion of that need. This is incredibly encouraging. There is still some need, but the pressure has been greatly reduced.
If you were planning to give toward that, please feel free to do so. There are needs on every hand. Anything given beyond what we need for our own monthly budget will be used to help with the agriculture project, the recording project, or to subsidize the cost of books for those who cannot afford them.
African Textbook Ministry
%Church of Christ
5130 Flanders Road
Toledo, OH 43623
africantextbook.com