The Month of May...the Hottest Month of the Year

Usually the month of May is the most challenging month of the year due to the heat. Last year at this time we were sleeping on our terrace, but this year we moved out into our yard. Gary attaches a 12 volt fan to our water barrel and hooks it up to our truck battery. All night long we have air blowing across us and by the early morning hours it is quite cool.
The added bonus of sleeping outside allows us to enjoy the night skies. Either the moon is shining so brightly we could use sunglasses, or the dark night makes the Milky Way and other constellations stand out in a beautiful display! It's a wonderful way to fall asleep!
During the second week of May, Gary and I visited one of our churches about 20 kms in the bush. After a great visit, as we were leaving, one of the members brought us two chickens. I was so excited because I had been wanting some chickens and was considering buying some at market. I decided to name them George and Martha. (Gary was reading a biography of George and Martha Washington at the time) Sadly after just one week, before I could put a certain medication in their eyes, both of them caught a poultry disease common in our area of Africa, and died. I was quite disappointed.
By the second week of May, the temperatures were hitting around 120 most days. Gary found that one of his missionary friends could come down and help him and our church men to roof our new church. The guys were on top of the tin roof most of the days, and struggled with keeping hydrated and not getting a sunburn. Thanks to Chad's help, the Makalondi church got it's new roof on before this years' rains arrive.
Towards the end of the third week of May, a particularily memorable occaision occured. Due to all the power cuts in the city and the internet problems, we decided to buy an Airtel USB stick from our Airtel cell provider to enable us to connect to the internet via Airtel. The best thing about that was that for the first time ever, we were able to connect to the internet from Makalondi! We never thought we would see that day in our village...
This summer many of our families who serve the mission in Administration will be taking their holidays and some are taking children home for college. Gary was asked to come into the city and cover the administration of the SIM office for two months. We knew that before the summer started, we should try and get away for a week of much needed rest. We found just the spot: Loumbila Beach. A beautiful, affordable and quiet resort in Burkina Faso, located on a lake. Most of the week we had the place to ourselves and we just enjoyed resting, reading, swimming, and meals under beautiful gazebos. The staff made our stay totally enjoyable and we came away greatly refreshed....and planning to visit them again in the future.