I don't even know what to title this one...

Today we had a great day! We spend the morning at a school in Ilula, about 45 minutes away from Iringa (our home town). The water council put in a well about 2 years ago at the Ilula hospital. Now they would like to also bring water to the primary school (they are right next to eachother). One of the requirements is that the school clean up the school yard. So today, we helped organize (I use that word loosely)the students and help them clean up the school yard. Try to imagine us trying to get 4th graders to clean up, when we don't speak their language, and they have never really had to clean before. Interesting to say the least. Anyway, we started cleaning up. Sandy, Carolyn and I had large plastic bags that the students dumped their smaller bags into. We decided that we would make a pile of the trash in a hole that they had dug. I emptied the first large bag of trash into the hole, and before I knew it, one of the students had started the pile of fire! I kinda freaked out... But the school head master said it was ok. Before I knew it, we must have had 6 different fires going on the school yard. Before long, one of the students who was attending the fire, thought it would be easier if he just did a controlled burn of the entire school yard. Picture what it looks like when we burn ditches in Minnesota, now add a 5th grader controlling it, and you have Illula school yard in a nutshell. Again this was ok with the school head master. We have found that fires are very common hear, they burn all their land. They think it gets rid of the bugs. Needless to say, it was an interesting day. We didn't get the yard totally clean, but we did make HUGE progress! It was great! We take so many things for granted in the states. We take for granted that our schools have running water... This one doesn't, we take for granted that our schools are clean... This one wasn't, we take for granted that our water isn't being polluted from mass amounts of trash (well maybe it is, but not in the amount that it is here)... This water is not good, we take for granted the things that some of the students don't even know exist. We are blessed people who often times live like we don't have a clue. I speak that statement to myself, but hopefully you can learn from it as well. that's all for now, Its time for supper. Tomorrow we will be spending the day in town and at the market. I am preaching on Sunday in a village about 2 hours from here. Thank you for all your prayers, we are all feeling health and having a great time. And we are ALL and I mean EACH ONE OF US, are craving a hamburger and French fries (sandy doesn't want the fries though). Thanks for those of you who comment or email. It is a fight for the computer to see who gets to read about back home first. Today, I lost. But that also means that the ladies are in the kitchen cooking because it is my internet time! For what it's worth... Chris and the ladies