Visiting MRDF Projects was an amazing and wonderful experience. I was reminded again that African hospitalty has so much to teach us! We were welcomed as a gift from God by people who own very little but generously wanted us to have everything of the best. They danced in welcome; they fired ancient guns for us; they poured the waters of blessing; and they brought gifts that had been especially made when they knew we were coming.
We met elderly people who climbed steep hillsides which exhausted me, and who delight in the possibilties that MRDF grants have opened up for their grandchildren. And we bring from them to all of you their greetings, their prayers and their thanksgiving.
These 2 pictures are farming groups whose hard work both feeds their families and gains an income for school fees and other opportunities. They work in community as well as in their own small gardens. 
The 2 projects are called PRTC Fonta (the Presbyterian Rural Training Centre at Fonta) and CDVTA which is a Community Development project offering technical assistance specifically to the elderly. This picture shows a meeting of some of the women involved in one area, with just a glimpse of the bowl containing the soap and washing powder they had made.
Many of you may have realised by now that I struggle with this form of communication - I would far rather talk to people face to face - but I long for those of you who follow this to glimpse for yourselves the great things God is doing through Methodism. So here are some more pictures.
Possibities include small shops - which turn into places to have a chat and a drink if you like corn beer! Or learning how to grow crops when before you only knew about herding. Or the advantages of the sort of farming where, handled well, growth comes naturally - try goats as well!
And don't forget the constant offer of music of all sorts, from their own traditions, to varieties of modernised options. And the simple joy of living.
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