Diary Note 5    date 16th May 08
Hello Everyone,
Firstly, I am very sorry about the last Diary entry (4) as it was so short and no ending.  There was a problem with the computor and I called for help at the internet shop, they mis-understood and thought I wanted to send the e mail and before I could stop them they had sent it! God Bless their hearts.  Then the situation was compounded as we then lost total electricity in the area.  I decided it was not my day for e mailing, so said a prayer of thanks and went home, it will wait for another day. I will also play safe and use 'Notepad' and send when ready as an attachment.
Following on from Diary entry 4.  I had my tea, a little chuckle, a prayer to say thank you for my nights sleep, the start of the new day and set about resolving the matters at hand.  The frogs were removed by throwing a towel over them and gently putting them outside,  the Ghiko's (Chit-Chats) remain as they are good for removing insects, the cockroaches and ants were eliminated, and the mosquito's seem to have disappeared, no doubt to re-group and attack again tonight. All holes and open spaces in the room ware sealed, found some mosquito type netting which I installed on the windows to stop the mosquito’s coming in.  Open wall slits where ants could crawl into were sealed and the whol  room was sprayed with repellent. Finally all drains were covered and sink plugs blocked.  After this, I was happy and I walked in the grounds, it was 6.30 am.  I saw a snake scurrying away into the undergrowth which reminded me to check with my new found friends of the types and what to do in emergencies.  Normally snakes will not attack unless it is the King Cobra, they will just run away, ha ah hopefully. It also did remind me to look ahead when walking around. Rajesh my Indian Christian companion and friend in the villa shouted good morning, he had graciously prepared an Indian breakfast of dhal, curry vegetables and chappati’s, followed by a thick mango and ice mix. We thanked our Lord for the food and started to eat quickly as we were very hungry.It is now ten days on,  I  am really beginning to feel at home and things like the normal activities of market shopping and fish purchasing from the traders on the roadside  has become a part of the normal day.  Our food is only fresh and supplies stocked only for a day or two. Fresh cut pineapple is 15 pence and lots of mangoes, local fruits & veg readily available.  Have managed to commandeer a bicycle (ladies bike but thats ok), have a wide brimmed straw hat and I cycle daily into Colva where the internet shop is. I stop and have a coffee and talk to as many people as I can, to spread the Gospel.  The novelty of seeing this white English man cycling down the tracks shouting good morning to everyone has had it desired affect and the locals now shout back ( ah ah I hope what they are shouting is good)  It is not really the season for foreign holiday makers as the monsoon season is fastly approaching, end of May. But there are quite a few Indian tourists so quite busy.
The Villa is very peaceful and spiritual.  Since I have been here there have been quite a few individuals that pop in to see and pray with Rajesh at the Villa. Even before I arrived, it is a place that over time is getting to be known as a villa of prayer and now with some teaching.  We have been praying for, and on the second Sunday here, we have re-started the Prayer Church for all comers every Sunday at 4pm.  There were three of us last Sunday, isn’t that great considering we have just started! as we plant the seeds news will get around we leave the Lord to water and grow to bring more.  Please pray for us in this. The format of the service is basic - A welcoming & prayer, followed by worship songs, gospel reading and closing in prayer.  We end in the Grace 2Corinthians 13:14
Rajesh and I rise at 5.45am daily. we first start the hose pipes to water the fruit and spice trees in the grounds, then we make tea, then by 6.15am we start prayer and bible study until 8am. Hard to start with but now used to the routine and finding such joy being with the Lord and understanding more of his word.  Rajesh understands quite a lot of English and speaks broken english.  In study I get him to repeat the teachings so I make sure he understands the meaning.  Daily we cover half a chapter of the O T starting at Genesis, then half a Psalm and finally half a chapter of the  NT starting with Mathew.   When we started we spent some time on how the Books of the Bible and how it was structured  ie:  First 5 books being the law, then the history, poetry and the Gospels and Episltes etc etc.  Rajesh is quick to learn and he gets very excited when he understands, this is infectious to me and I get excited also, I really feel and know that God is working on us both.  Thank you Father.The other day a local Pastor (young man - David) arrived from a village 25-30 kms away.  He was leaving his area and he came to talk to Rajesh and Alcino to see if they would look after and pastor a local family in prayer. Without hesitation Alcino and Rajesh travelled the round trip of 60 kms on their motor bikes) just to be with the family and guide them in prayer, this was at 7pm at night, that was a very Christian and loving thing to do. They will travel weekly until an alternative arrangements can be made.