Waterfalls, Fireworks and "Ball Drops" top our New Year festivities

About 40 of us workers including kids, visiting families and some other volunteers headed out of the city about 3.5 hours southeast where we camped out for 2 nights. The road is mostly paved, at least one lane so we were able to go about 50 mph keeping in mind you have to share that lane sometimes :) It is also, quite dusty now as it's har-ma-tong. That is when the winds pick up carry dust from north. They have actually tracked dust from the Sahara in Mali all the way to the Bahamas. So there is just a constant haze in the air.

The Pieper family will be thrilled to know that we pulled off and ate sausage, bread, chips and fruit for lunch going and coming alongside the ride out of the tailgate of the trucks! Complete with cows in the background and outdoor potty -- it's a rest stop Mali style.

It was a wonderful time of camaraderie, encouragement and fun. We enjoyed the beautiful full moon which lit up the sky New Year's Eve. Incidentally, I viewed the "Engergizer Bunny" in the moon for the first time. You can apparently only see it in Africa and it's true, the darker spots on the moon actually very clearly resemble the Engergizer Bunny.

We BBQ hamburgers and had lots of treats- homemade chocolate chip cookies, homemade pecan pie and derby pie and fudge (there are quite some chefs here!) and Mali style chex-mix (with croutons instead of chex). The kids had fun shooting off an wide-aray of fireworks much to the enjoyment of the African children surrounding the compound who took seats on the wall to view the show. We roasted marshmallows on the bonfire, sang songs and had prayer for the New Year. As midnight approached (no we did not celebrate at midnight US time like some of you asked) someone mentioned we need to have a countdown. One thing led to another... one of the guys found a soccer ball and put his headlamp on it and turned on the red light, then bungee cords and ropes to attached is to a tree and the rest of us stood around it and strobed our headlamps at the ball and we counted down to midnight as he lowered the ball from the tree.... the ingenuity when you have little can amaze you!

It actually gets cool enough at night outside the city to be in sweatshirts and socks and curled under a sleeping bag. New Year's Day brought a nice bucket bath then cleaning of piles of potatoes and green beans for dinner as we sang old hymns. We played frisbee with the kids and enjoyed some quiet reflection time as well.

After lunch, we drove about 40 minutes to Chute de Farako, which is a waterfall fed by a spring. Normally it's not very crowded they said, but since it was a Holiday it was quite packed. The water was quite refreshing as we enjoyed wading in it. The people watching was great -- very non-African acting on this Holiday with skimpy clothes and kissing in public. The trees on the banks quite different and interesting to examine. There actually are quite a few palm trees spread about the country.

That evening they projected "His, Hers and Ours", the old Lucille Ball movie onto the side of the house and we watched an outdoor movie with popcorn and more snacks and cookies.