Prom night




Saturday was prom night for the American School of Kinshasa here. Last year Josh experienced his first prom (two proms actually). This year Emily was asked to prom, so even though she is still home schooling until next fall, she got to attend. Emily told her dad that she wanted her very first dance to be with her daddy, so she got ready early and they shared a dance before she left for the evening. I was glad to be on the other side of the camera because I started crying, watching my daughter dance with David. Josh is a senior this year, so this prom was special for him also. I don't have any photos of them with their dates because my camera batteries died and I had to stop taking photos. But here are some I managed to capture. I had very mixed feelings that night. They were so grown-up and good-looking, inside and out, so I was proud. But I was also sad. This came all too quickly for me.
As for the rest of our week: we've now gone two weeks without electricity, long enough to make it a real drag and not just a nuisance. The electric company still has not even begun repairs. The burnt transformer is still in place. Up the hill from us, they ALWAYS have power, and we've been told that it's because the president's mother or some-such person lives there. The electric company claims there are no new transformers to be found, but if you drive by their headquarters, you can see a bunch of them through the gates, just sitting there. That's the aggravating part - knowing that something could have been done, but wasn't because of politics and money. If we were willing to pay bribes, we could have power. On the upside, I've really enjoyed getting acquainted with our newest MAF family - the Abbotts. Jennifer is a lot of fun and I admire the way she and Luke jumped in "with both feet". They have teens, so Emily is very happy to have a few friends who aren't going on furlough this summer, since almost all of our other friends are. One of my friends is leaving today. The real exodus begins after the last day of school.
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Fish Tales


Two months ago, a friend and I went shopping and out to lunch to celebrate my birthday and I found this fabric at a really good price. I needed a new shower curtain and thought this would be a fun design, so I bought several yards. With our power issues being what they are (we've had zero electricity now for eight days, it took me all this time to finish when it would have been a one-day project in the U.S. But! I did finally finish it! I would have finished a little bit sooner, but I made a mistake and had to correct it. I was staying up late to sew because for a while we were only getting power from midnight to 6 or 7am. I thought I was nearly finished with my shower curtain when I took a closer look at it and realized something was not right. My fabric was 42 inches wide, so I had sewn a second panel to the bottom of the first panel in order to make the curtain long enough. I must have been a little too tired when I sewed them together, because I had sewn the bottom panel on upside down. All the fish were "belly-up." So, today while the generator was on, I stole some time for sewing and finished my curtain.

Last week Joshua travelled to Morocco with his school swim team for a meet. He came back with a medal, some new friends, souvenirs and photos, and nearly $60 in Moroccan currency. Not sure if we'll ever find a place to exchange that. He had a marvelous time and we are very grateful that he was able to go. It was a real answer to prayer because the cost was way out of our budget. The team had several fundraisers and worked very hard together. I have to brag on them because Josh was the new kid and from the very beginning the entire team has been behind him, helping him improve his swimming skills and encouraging him. They truly function as a team and I am proud of all of them. Here's a photo of them. Josh is "front row, center." Check out the TASOK pants! They were a real hit at the meet.

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