New Windows

 These windows that you see in the photo above are the louvre windows that we have throughout our MAF homes here in Dodoma. They are good for letting in the fresh air but not so great for preventing the relentless dust and sand which blows through the outer mosquito netting and into our rooms. They are also impossible to shut completely, so the noise from the early morning preaching can never be muted by the glass, as the noise just blew straight in like the Dodoma dust.
The invasion of noise each day from the early preaching became so stressful for me that I came close to wondering if I could actually carry on living here. It was an unusually stressful situation. However, Andrew hit on the bright idea of changing our windows- it would not prevent the noise from being heard, as the volume is so loud, but it would help to soften it a little.
So we put in an application with the MAF team who work on maintaining our homes and they agreed to change the windows in our bedroom! :-) A couple of weeks ago, the louvre windows above were ripped out and replaced by the closed glass panels below, fixed into place by workman Tumaini:

Tumaini did a great job. The windows are not double glazed, but it is a help in blocking both noise and dust. However, I am very, very happy to report that there have been wonderfully silent mornings recently and not a single early morning sermon for the whole of July, and only the occasional early sermon in June, which has  helped to preserve my sanity while allowing me the luxury of choosing to wake up when I need to and not at 05:30 every morning. What a relief.