Easter is synonymous with spring. But the new-life analogies are lost here in Africa since we're heading into autumn rather than spring. Actually, we're bypassing fall and heading straight into winter. We tend to go right from one extreme to the next, and most Africans don't know what you mean when you refer to any season beside winter or summer. Overnight, our 73-degree weather melted into the 40's, and it rained nonstop for 5 days straight. Wet and cold is a bad combination when you don't have indoor heating. Wednesday was supposed to be our dam day. (FYI: Since most bodies of water in South Africa are man-made, they're called dams rather than lakes.) Some of our interns wanted to be baptized, and we planned to make a day of it---staying to celebrate with a barbecue and some fun in the water with the wave runners. But with the nasty weather preceding it, Wednesday wasn't looking too hopeful.

I awoke that morning and peeked out the window---cloudy and dreary, but not raining. Hmph. I decided to do the "big shave" in the shower, just in case. (I hadn't shaved in a long time... it adds an extra layer of warmth... almost like wearing Under Armour leggings.) I hoped it was going to be worth the effort.

At 10:00, the clouds started clearing and we decided to give it a go. So glad we did...

It ended up being over 80 degrees! The sky was bright and clear, the water was warm, and we all had a really great time. It was a memorable day for the baptizees, that's for sure.

I love having a dam day every once in a while.