update

The snake which bit Marjanne was sent to the Zambian Wildlife Association in Petauke to be identified and they told us it was a cobra.  We are very thankful that it was a small cobra because otherwise the bite could potentially have been fatal.  Marjanne's leg remains severely swollen and painful and she is still unable to walk.

Meanwhile, Nelson the cook/handyman was attacked by a mamba while he was in the College kitchen.  Thankfully he was wearing very heavy boots which prevented him from being bitten even though the snake struck several times!  We are unspeakably grateful for the evidence of God's mercy and protection over us in the midst of these dangers.

I now have the theme music of "Pride and Prejudice" as my ringtone.  Very cool...

I also have a fever and I've been feeling ill all day.  David and Elijah are starting to act under the weather, too.  I think there may be a virus going around as several others have been ill with fevers, etc. in the past couple of days.  David and I have been plugging away today trying to wrap up our February newsletter which needs to be sent out ASAP!  It's not the easiest thing to compose when your brain is addled by fever and you're so achey that life almost seems unbearable.  Blah.  Hopefully you'll see this newsletter in your inbox soon!

This week we got the dining table and 8 chairs which we ordered from the carpenter in Petauke.  It is so nice to have some proper furniture in our living area at last. :)  Funny, there was not a tablecloth to be found in all of Petauke!

And hopefully, Lord willing, next week we will be able to pick up our new sofas (new to us anyway)!  It has been such a logistical challenge getting the details of purchasing and transporting these sofas worked out... but I'm happy to say that it looks like it might all be coming together at last.

And last, but not least, we will be hosting Nell from http://namesacrossnations.blogspot.com for a few days in the middle of this month as she will be trying to obtain cultural information about Zambian names.  This is the first time that I've arranged to meet, in person, someone from one of the blogs I've followed, and it's rather exciting!