Sunday, March 28, 2004
I took cottage #2 to church this morning and then made some cookies and cleaned the house. It is Mike’s birthday and we decided to celebrate by having the children come for a visit.  We thought it would be fun to let them try ice cream for the first time. The ice cream here is somewhere between ice milk and Italian ice–not very creamy but it replicates the delight pretty well.  Chloe seemed to enjoy the treat but the others were not all that impressed. 
They found the sensation of cold too intense and they were not fond of the sweetness either! One man’s treasure is surely another man’s trash! It was fun seeing them all dressed up and ready for a party. Earlier in the day, Mike went with the Enis’ into Kampala to go to New City Bible Church. He had just changed clothes when one of the aunties came frantically knocking at the door.   She was very agitated because she had seen a snake under the plants that surround Mama Teopista’s cottage.  Mike wasted no time and followed her back to the site. I didn’t think much about it–in fact I thought the snake would be long gone before anyone could hunt it. Imagine my surprise when Mike came back with a dead green mamba! 
He and Mike Enis tried several scary maneuvers to kill this menace–it was after it was dead that I found out it was a green mamba–it is a very poisonous snake here in Uganda. I should have known that the auntie would not have been that upset for the safety of the children unless there was real danger. Thank goodness they were successful and the snake was not! Having the children over for a party just added more excitement to this already exciting birthday.
much love,
lissa
P.S. This day reminded me of the Acts 28 story,  “As Paul gathered an armful of sticks and was laying them on the fire, a poisonous snake, driven out by the heat, fastened itself onto his hand. The people of the island saw it hanging there and said to each other, “A murderer, no doubt! Though he escaped the sea, justice will not permit him to live.”  But Paul shook off the snake into the fire and was unharmed. The people waited for him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and decided he was a god.”