Cooking by candle light.....

Cooking by candle light!

How does one manage to cook without electricity in Africa?! Fortunately our stove is supplied by propane gas....so, you can cook your meal. However, when the electricity does go out (which is a daily occurrence...and you never know when it will go out) while you are preparing dinner....you simply cook by candle light! Oh yes, and it really helps to use a headlamp too! A fellow missionary had suggested for us to purchase headlamps prior to arriving in Africa, for just this very reason.

A little side note: Have you noticed that our candle holder is fashioned from an old wine bottle? When you wish to buy peanuts as a snack here, the street vendors who sell them package them into old /used washed out wine bottles. Once they put peanuts in the bottle, they cork the bottle back up, so that ants and bugs can't get into them! By the way, this is the only way to buy your peanuts in Bangui.

What a view!

What a view!

This was the view from the apartment that we rented for approximately a month (in the month of March). What is not pictured in this view is the chickens and roasters that would roam through several times a day (like clockwork). We also enjoyed watching a beautiful white egret walk through this area as well each morning....looking for bugs to eat.

Donuts!

Donuts.....we have found dounts!

Where we are currently living we are only about a 10 minute walk to buy and enjoy this wonderful little donut treats! There is a lady who sets up a huge metal kettle filled with oil and places it over a fire made from coal and wood to make these donuts. A couple of times a week, we will take a walk to see if this dear lady is making these donuts....oh, what a disappointment when she is not there!
They are absolutly delicious!

African Style Fashion....

Karen, proudly wearing her first African style blouse and skirt. The detailing in this blouse is absolutely beautiful.

Trace, proudly wearing his African style shirt that was thoughtful and wonderfully made by an African colleague.

Benders in Bangui!

Welcome to Bangui Benders!

This was the welcome sign on our door as we entered our room at the guesthouse the first day we arrive in Bangui, Feb.19. We stayed at the guesthouse for 5 days, we then moved and are currently living in a fellow colleagues home, while she is away working on translation in another part of CAR. This sign (pictured above) was so lovingly and thoughtfully made by a couple of MK's (missionary kids)! THANKS to all our colleagues who have so warmly welcomed us and continue to help us get settled in here!