School holidays are not always what they seem!

Amano has enjoyed four weeks of holiday - no sign of the students at all and at times very few signs of life on the campus itself! Two weeks of the period coincided with a break for most of the Zambian workers, so it would be true to say that it was in general very quiet. However, the Lord's work must go on and things must be prepared for the new term which starts on Tuesday 5th May.
Our pictures show the construction of the framework for the new general purpose hall. This part of the work was done by contractors who moved with amazing speed and dedication! They lived in a tent on the site and worked from early morning until the light faded in the evening, getting the steel supports in place and the sheet roof fitted in under three days! Our pictures show the steel supports being put in place, the roofing almost complete and finally a view of the structure as it now stands taken from the school Admin block. We give grateful thanks to the Lord for this work done and look forward to the completion of the project which includes a new kitchen and dining room and an indoor multipurpose sports/meeting hall.
Inside the Admin block there was work to do on the computer system. Again we praise the Lord, this time for generous gifts that have allowed us to add to new computers purchased at the end of last year. A new server has been received and commissioned and additional desktop computers will make the work of administration much more pleasant. All the computers in the school, including the server, are using Ubuntu Linux and delivering a wide range of educational tools for our students. All the setting up of these machines takes a great deal of time. Our picture shows Harold Shamanoh working on the set up process. Harold has worked hard to learn quickly and has been invaluable in getting the work done.
Amano's head teacher, Hilary Millard, has also been hard at work on timetables and other important matters, ready for the staff meeting on Monday.
'All work and no play' is rumoured to have made a certain 'Jack' very dull, so our final picture shows a scene at Mindolo Dam near Kitwe on a beautiful day during the holiday. The aptly-named Rod Boatman is a skilled sailor and captained the yacht shown, taking various people for a very pleasurable sail. Student Daniel Vedder is cautiously donning a life jacket prior to boarding, meanwhile Daniel's father Marco and a younger sister paddle a canoe.
Please remember Amano in your prayers as the new term starts. There is much to do this year and our longing is that the Lord Jesus Christ will be exalted as a result.