Drought and salt

The worst news is that there is the prospect of drought in south-western Zimbabwe. An e-mail yesterday from the parish we support there has this stark message. We have not received any significant rains and so we have not planted anything. Usually by this time of the year the maize crop should have grown up to 30 centimeters but this season there is absolute nothing. We hope the rains will come but now it seems like there is going to be a devastating drought.  We continue to pray for the rains.

Meanwhile, these deposits are appearing at an extraordinary rate on what were damp patches on the inside walls of St Michael’s. The encouraging suggestion (I hope it is true) is that, as the walls dry out following our recent work on the roof above them, these are salts which have until now been held in solution in the wall.

Praying for Zimbabwe

While I've been without internet access, pictures have come from the priest and parish we support in Zimbabwe. The chickens and goats are part of an income generation project we funded. He says It seems the rain season has changed because it used to start end of October or early November but only now are we just starting to receive good rains - we hope it will remain the same and have a good season - in your cycle of prayers please include good rains, the hardship that we face under this government, and my health.