As I have reported before, we have two guard dogs, Rex and Simba. In September 2023, Simba had seven puppies. This past September, she had seven more puppies. However, this time, only three puppies survived.
They seem very healthy. We make sure that they are vaccinated and both Rex and Simba seem to take care of them. Two of the puppies look like Simba and one looks like Rex.
Simba is getting a bit old, but she is a sweet dog. And Rex, I think, is just a beautiful dog. He runs to me when he sees me because he knows that I will rub his neck, and he gets a bit jealous when Simba tries to butt in.
The puppies are a bit shy. Patrice does a great job of feeding them during the day. Our regular night watchman, Ibraham, and our Sunday night watchman, Kefa, take care of feeding them and looking after them during the night when they run free. Every once in a while, I hear them running around at night chasing who knows what!
During the daytime, they are in their shelter. They love barking at people when they enter the grounds during the day. Little do the people know, but they are fairly harmless once they think that you are a “friend.” But it is probably good for people to think that they really are “guard” dogs!
While we are on the subject of animals, the 200 chickens are growing fast. I think Valentino said that we should be able to start eating them by Christmas time. I took this photo a few weeks ago and it is amazing how much they have grown even since then.
In an earlier blog I mentioned that the Canadian Province of the Congregation of the Resurrection had bought us many much-needed appliances. We made the last of the purchases last week. Our two dining room tables seat 14 people, but we needed another table. (Each “table” is really two tables that are put together.) So, we were able to buy another table and 20 chairs.
Fr. Daniel and I went to two different furniture shops to get prices, and after selecting one, they had constructed the tables and chairs in just over two weeks. They are solid, well-built, and fit our needs perfectly.
We were also able to buy some new furniture for the student lounge. I went with Paschal, Joseph, and Livinus to look for something that would fit our needs. We visited about eight furniture shops. Most of the couches were too bulky, making it difficult to seat more than two people. It seems that furniture in Tanzania is very “bulky,” almost as a status symbol. However, it is impractical, taking up too much room and not providing enough seating. Since we have 18 seminarians living in this building, we needed something different. Finally, we found what we were looking for!
Not only is the furniture “practical” but the brown color will hide the dust that is part of life here. The seating is firm, we can move the furniture into different configurations, and everyone seems very happy with the purchase.
People were very happy to try out the new furniture while watching a football game in the evening.
If there was one complaint, it came from the “taller” seminarians. It seems that the “shorter” guys fit perfectly, but the couch is not long enough for everyone to stretch out for a nap!
More to come on www.resurrectionists.ca
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