Summer

Well, summer is here. And it's hot. It was 105 yesterday and is getting hot again today. It'll probably stay closer to 90 today, but we'll see. One difficulty is that there are no screens on windows here. The reason for this is two-fold. 1) Windows here are made from solid metal rather than wood, with bars on them. They're more secure, but don't have an easy way to put screens on them. 2) Screens are expensive. Bugs here aren't a big problem (fewer than in Milwaukee, but still present), so they aren't required. But I remain wary about leaving my windows open overnight, because there are bugs and lizards that I try to keep outside.

Church yesterday was a bit strange. I got there to find it crawling with white people. It turns out that about 25 missionaries were here from the United States. I wasn't quite sure what to do with all of them, but it seemed like they were getting on fine, so I didn't interfere too much. One of them preached. He's the chaplain at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, the largest maximum-security prison in the world. There, he ministers to people like Derrick Todd Lee, and has trained over 200 ministry workers among the inmates. His message was about how the love of God reaches from the highest mountain to the lowest hell, and it reaches us wherever we are, no matter what. I thought it was really quite good, and I love the way old Southern ministers preach.

I'm still working on applications for education after Africa, so I would appreciate continued prayers along those lines. I am also very concerned about my friend in Nairobi, especially after a bombing there last night. She's fine (and less concerned than I am), but I am concerned by nature and the situation there doesn't help.

Have a good week,
-Ben