We had a bit of a scare this morning (Monday). Barb was working with the library program and all of a sudden the whole library database was gone! We tried everything including looking in the trash where we found something but it too was empty. With over 3,000 books in the database we were a bit nervous to think that it was all gone. Barb has been backing up weekly since we arrived so we knew we had most of the data but how does one have the database one minute and the next it is completely gone? We wondered if it was a glitch in the unsteady Kenyan electricity, did she accidentally hit a wrong key and delete the library (this is virtually impossible because the program asks you several times if you are sure you want to delete records - but she knew that she hadn’t done anything unusual). Finally, we hit upon the idea of restoring the system to a previous date (last Friday) to see if we could get the information back. Thankfully, everything was restored!! We were really relieved. We were just glad that it happened while we were here as the library assistants would not have known what to do. They, too, were thankful that it happened while Barb was on the computer and not either of them. The only thing we could figure out was that there actually was a glitch in the electricity or the library program. I don’t think we will ever know.
Ray spoke to the students in chapel this morning. He said he explained his “life verse” and what was on his mind that he wanted to share with them. Getting to know the students at RITT has been a real joy for us. One of the female students told us last week that meeting people like us was one of the reasons she was at RITT.
Frieda, a student, preached at the RCEA church on campus this past Sunday. She did a great job and had tremendous connection with her audience. She will be a dynamo for the RCEA in the future. The service her starts at 10am and goes for three hours. We did not get out of church until after 1pm. There is a lot of singing, testimony, prayer etc. The sermon is anywhere from 45 minutes to over an hour depending on the pastor. Most services are translated either from English to Kiswahili or from Kiswahili to English. Of course, this takes additional time. We sit on wood benches – needless to say one gets a very numb hind end sitting so long.
Time here at RITT is passing quickly and we leave for Nairobi this coming Friday morning. So this will most likely be our last blog from Eldoret, Kenya. We will be in Nairobi for one day and then take a 3 day safari to Masai Mara Game Reserve to relax and see elephants, lions, cheetah, leopard, crocs, hippo, rhino, etc. We plan to stay in a tent and really look forward to that. Our meals are all inclusive as is our travel by road from Nairobi to Masai Mara and includes game rides etc. Then we will be back in Nairobi for 1 day and catch our light to Amsterdam and then on home.
The rest of the library furniture and shelving has not arrived yet but we at least have the library set up pretty much in the new building. Tonight is the first night that the new library is open for study. New hours are 9am to 9pm. Wesnesday evening we will provide desserts and drinks for a library opening celebration.
We have been having a lot of rain – unusual for this time of year. We had a gorgeous rainbow yesterday (Sunday) and were able to get some great pictures. After the rainbow dissipated the sunset was one of the best we have seen – also some great shots of it. God is so good and continually shows His presence to us in such unique and majestic ways.
Hope to see some of you soon. Blessings, R & B
