I can't believe I have at last entered the 21st century and have become a "Blogger" wey hey !!!
What have I been up to while Beki has been flogging herself to a frazzle teaching? mmmmm.... Emmanuel (hereafter called Emi) and I have met with a Christian artist called Haggai, and I hope to get a few different things to bring home and sell. You will be pleased to know that the Batiks that we sell on behalf of Emi and his family, are paying for his kid's schooling. It is particularly helping now as Samuel, his oldest, has started at Uni.
Each week I attend Prayer Meetings and Bible Study evenings at Bweyogerere church in the evening, so some of my day has to be spent preparing notes etc. I have also been taken to various churches that Emi oversees and have to speak at them also, so my head is always in my Bible (not a bad thing). One of the brothers in the Church took me out on home visits last Friday, which is quite an adventure as we have to go "footin" (i.e. walking). It is pitch dark by about 6.30 p.m. so you are forever tripping over and its a miracle to return home in one piece. I managed to see one of the Pastors (Joseph) who has been ill for about 10 days.... he was so pleased that we visited and prayed with him and his family... These visits mean so much to them.
Last Saturday we held a small Medical Mission at Bweyogerere Church. A Ugandan Doctor (Frank) works with the Medical Team that come over from International Connections. This was the only day he could spare us and we could not go too far afield, due to transport difficulties. He saw some of the orphans for general small problems. A lot of women and kids from the community also came with malaria and various infections. I worked alongside the Nurse putting the various drugs into little envelopes for them. Beki kindly played with the children to keep them occupied.
Last Friday I went to see the Orphans with Florence. They are now all back from the summer holidays and staying in the dormitories at Bweyogerere. We checked all their bunks to make sure they all had a bed, a mattress, a blanket etc. Afterwards we gave out the letters. Thank you to all of you who did a letter for your sponsored child. Their little faces lit up, they were beaming. The ones that did not get a letter had to be pacified with some biscuits we had left over from the children's ministry when the whole team were here. Also some of the kids are sponsored by a different group, who are actually visiting them at the moment. They look after 10 of the orphans. They are taking them out for a while so, Beki and I have cooked up an idea to help the others feel special. We will go down to the school at lunch time (while the 10 are away with the sponsors) and teach them some songs, play games etc. and of course give out biscuits. It is so difficult to know what is best to do. But I want every one of you to know that those kids really love you, your doing a great job. On Saturday, between patients at the medical mission, they were around Beki and I asking.... what is my sponsor like...... Obviously we gave you all a glowing report! At present, I am working on individual "profiles" for each orphan, with a few details of their backgrounds. These will be forwarded to Paul, then in time, Sue will give them out to you. Please be patient, as I can only get into Kampala a couple of times a week for emailing as the connection there is so much better.
Beki and I have been invited to meet the widows of Bweyogerere Church (there are 12 of them). We will be going to one of their houses and have a little meal then share something from the Bible with them.
HEY..... GREAT NEWS.... I'm a grandmother (again). Pastor John from Sonde and his wife Christine had a new baby girl on the 6th October and they have named her Marie. Obviously I am thrilled. I have also got Reenah Marie who is now about 5 years, she is the daughter of David and Emma Baraza. She was born when I was here for 3 months in 2003, and had a lot of health problems. She has had a couple of operations now and is a lot better. And then there is little Jennifer, who was rescued by Emi's mum from the witchdoctors, who were going to use her as a sacrifice (no.... I am not kidding). She lives with Emi's mum (Jaja) and came to Emi's house with the 2 older girls she lives with. When Beki asked her if she could tell us a story, she said "no but I will sing you a song". She then went right ahead and did it. I love her to bits.
Next week (on Wednesday) we hope to go to the village of Butinindi. Emi and Florence have a small plot of land there where they grow food for the school. Florence has a real burden for the elderly people who live there and, in Flo's words, "they have given up hope". So she wants us to go and tell them that Jesus still has work for them - as far as I know there are not many Christians there, so it is a good opportunity to evangelise.
The weekend of 11th and 12th October. Beki and I hope to be going with Baby Charles (the children's worker) to Soroti. We will visit the people who were effected by the floods last year. You may remember that Community Church raised some money for them. We want to see their Pastor - Francis - and just encourage them a little.
The date has been set for my visit to Rwanda - it will be 17th - 20th October. Emi, Flo, myself and a guy called Pastor Isaiah, will be going. It will take all day to travel their by coach and obviously a day to return. Saturday (18th) I will be visiting 2 churches in Kigali which Pastor Isaiah visits regularly, then on Sunday we will go to visit a church that Emi knows. This is a great opportunity to show the love of God to people who have suffered so much through tribal warfare, especially in Kigali which was the centre of the troubles some years ago when so many Tutsi people were killed by the Hutu tribe. Having said that there was killing on both sides. So many refugees and displaced people. I really cant imagine what it is going to be like. Pray for me. Hope to write some more another time. Mari
30 September 2008
27 September 2008
The Second Week
I worked in the school this week from Tuesday to Wednesday, and Florence (Emmanuel’s wife) who is the Director of the school came in and sorted me out a timetable. I have been given a P2 class (including 7-10 yr olds) for reading each morning, and then a mixture of P3, P4 and P7 RE, and English with P5 and P6.
The first few days were trying actually, and it was hard to get the kids to understand my accent, to figure out exactly what abilities they were and whether the teachers actually wanted me to help or not... but thankfully they do, and they kids want to understand me and after a few days it wasn't so hard to figure them out as i thought! Actually I finished up with a bag of lesson plans, textbooks, syllabusis (syllabi?) and a very high level of respect for teachers who are at that school from 6.30am till 4pm every day and then go back to cook, feed their children, clean their house and plan the next day's lesson - especially when the electricity goes and it's all by candle light!
Time is very short so will let you know more soon but today mari and me went with a doctor to the school and dished out pills and advice to the local ppl. Thanks for your prayers and we miss you all!
The first few days were trying actually, and it was hard to get the kids to understand my accent, to figure out exactly what abilities they were and whether the teachers actually wanted me to help or not... but thankfully they do, and they kids want to understand me and after a few days it wasn't so hard to figure them out as i thought! Actually I finished up with a bag of lesson plans, textbooks, syllabusis (syllabi?) and a very high level of respect for teachers who are at that school from 6.30am till 4pm every day and then go back to cook, feed their children, clean their house and plan the next day's lesson - especially when the electricity goes and it's all by candle light!
Time is very short so will let you know more soon but today mari and me went with a doctor to the school and dished out pills and advice to the local ppl. Thanks for your prayers and we miss you all!
The first real working week!
So yes, I'm afraid this has been a long time coming but it has become real work for us these last two weeks! not that we resent it, but the internet cafe suddenly seems a long way away. and I've recently found out that it's not the done thing for women to move around at night at all, and considering it gets dark at almost exactly 6.30 pm every evening, and the school day runs from 7am till 4pm everyday, that's not very practical! so here's a whirlwind tour of the last two weeks...
The school started back on Mon 15th, and I spent mon-weds of last weeks flitting around watching different teachers teach different lessons at Bweyogerere Primary School. The school has 2 nursery classes and the Primary 1 - 7, which is vaguely all kids up to the equivalent to year 8. But the trouble is a lot of kids dont every start baby class until they are maybe 7 so the ages of the kids in each class is very varied. And of course you have the classic issue of very different abilities in each class, and with no assistant even in the youngest classes that's not very easy! The school is on the same site as Emmanuel's church and there are also dormitories for about 50 kids who board.
Each classroom has a blackboard and desks like those old victorian wooden benches with the chairs attached, and kids are required to bring their own pens, pencils, exercise books and every loo roll and soap to school. That concludes the resources of the school! There are about one textbooks for each of the main subjects for each class, and there are some simple reading books but they are locked away in the office and the teachers have to sign for them. So its interesting...
Another thing I noticed during that week was how their teaching methods are very different. I think mostly because of the lack of things like paints and colouring pens they basically teach by writing on the board, getting the kids to spell and repeat words and then getting them to copy them down. It's all in English (apart from the nursery) and you run the risk of a caning from Teacher Esther if you're caught speaking l'ugandan at all on school grounds!
Then on Thursday 18th Me, Mari and Pastor Emmanuel got on a minibus taxi into Kampala and then boarded a stagecoach type bus to go to the West of Uganda for a few days. The bus was a hilarious if looong and hot experience. For starters although we were scheduled to leave at 9am the drive wouldn't go until his bus was very nearly full. So it was gone 11 by the time we set off! and during that time all the hawkers and sellers of any random thing you can possible think of came on the bus and walked up and down the very narrow aisle trying to sell socks, sodas, sweets, radios, hankies, bread, hairbrushes, chicken kebabs, bags, batteries and well anything you could carry onto a bus to sell! The actual journey took about 8 hours and they didn't stop at all (apart from for very persistant men who went for a short call by the side of the road). The road through Masaka and up to Mbarara was pretty good. It became more and more potholed towards Ibanda and then from Ibanda to Ishongororo we bumped along a dirt road that had been ruined by very recent rain. By this time we were desperate for the loo, fed up with the chav in the seat behind us who had a radio to his ear the whole time, and had numb behind from the not so padded metal seats. But all in all for about 6 pounds single ticket i think we had quite a good deal! And look at that photo of the scenery I took from the bus - it was really lovely.
We staying in a little motel type place in Ishongororo call the Go Down Boys lodge. The accomodation was very basic but comfortable enough and we were met by Boss and a number of people who seemed very pleased to see us! Boss took us to his little restaurant for dinner where his wife Alina (who I think could be the most talented cook in the whole of Uganda) treated us to dinner and tea and lots of good company. They are a lovely family and Alina and Boss absolutely adore eachother, their 4 kids are really hardworking a lot of fun, and they have started their business with hardly anything but a lot of dedication and graft!
The next day we attended the 15 year anniversary celebration of Ishongororo Pentecostal Church of God's Caring Ministries(which was the main reason we went!). The church was started by an old lady who must now be about 80+ in her house, and now the church is a big brick building with a few classrooms outside and is led by Pastor Azariah. He has 6 kids and his wife died about 4 years ago giving birth to the last one. He has now married a lady called Robinah and between them they really love and serve that church. The day went from about 11am till 6pm and there was lots of worship and singing and preaching. Mari and me both shared some things from the Bible, and there were absolutely loads of people there – it was terrifying! They had invited people from each of the 11 churches that had been planted out of Ishongororo, and part of the service was given to pray for all of the leaders of those churches, as well as listing the different things that the churches are involved in, as well as all their various needs and shortages. One thing about the Ugandan people is that whatever little they have they make it work somehow, and even though these guys didn’t have a lot, they have done so much including starting schools and supporting widows. I take my hat off to them!
The only thing about this place – I had a really good time – but the kids were fascinated with us whiteys, and kept surrounding us and prodding us, pulling our hair and just generally staring at us – it was a bit scary! But I did meet up with a girl called Rita who I met last year and had a great long encouraging conversation with her. She has been accepted to do a nursing degree but is about to start a diploma instead because she doesn’t have the fees, but the way she talked wasn’t asking for money but just really grateful for God’s provision for her so far and amazed at so many things like grace and forgiveness. So encouraging, so please remember her in your prayers!
The next day we ate the most fantastic breakfast of chapattis and omlettes and pineapple from Boss and Alina’s and went for a trek through the beautiful (if very muddy and hilly!) countryside nearby. Now Ugandans don’t just walk for fun, so of course we had a purpose in this escapade and that was to see the cows that our church has bought for the church to be used to provide milk to the local needy people including widows. The guy who looks after them (Asaph) also had some chickens, goats a pig, and farmed all sorts of things including coffee, pineapples, matoke and black peas. It was a great walk, but it started chucking it down with rain so on the way back we had to shelter in some poor families house. This was the most hilarious thing because the 10 kids who lived in these two rooms and obviously never seen white people before, and because it was dark in there we were literally surround by all these little white staring eyes and no talking. I can’t say we didn’t feel a little like an eighteenth century missionary explorer! Even the people working in the fields stopped and stood stock still as we walked past, to the point that Emmanuel thought they were scarecrows!
Azariah took us to his house for lunch and we then got in a car (Emmanuel, Mari, me, Boss, Boss’s two girls and the driver – leaving behind Azariah’s 4 kids who wouldn’t quite get in the car with all their luggage for the new term at Bweyogerere school!) and headed about an hour down the road towards Ibanda to Karutusi. This is a tiny village where a Pastor Ephraim leads a church that is one of those planted from Ishongororo. It feels out in the middle of nowhere because it is in the middle of a matoke forest and the road is little more than a slippery mud track. I really don’t know how that driver managed to stop us crashing into every tree we passed because we were sliding around like an ice skater – but we made it! Ephraim and his wife and kids very kindly gave up their mud hut for the two days we stayed with them and looked after us really well. They fed us enormous meals and it was hard not to offend them by refusing 3rd and 4th helpings of everything! The hut is fairly big and has a corrugated iron roof so we were very comfortable really. But there was some sort of prayer meeting at 2am and local cockerels and goats that didn’t go to sleep at all, and even the people got up before 6am to prepare things and chop wood for that days cooking, so we didn’t actually get much sleep! This experience has showed me actually how much I value sleep. I value it a lot. In fact I’m quite lazy really by Ugandan standards. Once I said to some kid they were very hardworking and they didn’t seem to realize there could be any different way of doing things!
So Sunday Emmanuel was actually quite ill so didn’t come to church for ages, and for a while it looked like Mari and me were gonna be the main preachers again! So we did our best but he came after a bit and also said something. The worship at this church was incredible, their drumming and jumping and shouting and waving really put us to shame. I told them all I wish I could fit them in my suitcase to bring them back to our church! The leaders have been encouraging the people to help each other and although they were really poor (they literally didn’t seem to have anything some of them) but they should learn to give still and club together and bless eachother. We knew a bit about that but were totally blown away when at the end of the service they had another collection specifically for Mari and me! How moving and actually upsetting was that experience, I can’t tell you. From around 200 people we got the equivalent of about 6.00, a box of matches and a hankie. It wasn’t much, but for those guys it must have been a massive sacrifice. Goodness me, it’s very hard to take in. But if nothing else I am learning a LOT!
I was pleased to meet up with a lady called Justine who last year had chased me down the road to give me a watch (which was also just about as moving as the collection experience) and had written to me once since. She sat and introduced me to her 4 children and her husband and they took us to see her little shop on the ‘main’ road.
The rest of Sunday was pretty quiet but we spent a bit of time meeting people and getting to know the leaders there a bit more. We slept much better Sunday night and got up about 6am the next morning to walk down to the road and catch a bus back. Justine met us again and gave us some bottles of water, a pineapple, and even tried to give me a woven grass mat as a wedding present for me and Dan! Unfortunately there was no way we could have transported it home because it was massive, but I was so grateful and she had such a good heart, that alone will certainly leave an impression!
The journey home was horrible really, and we took charge of both of Boss’s girls who were travelling back to go to the school here in Bweyogerere for the term. W got one bus to Mbarara, then a minibus taxi (with too many passengers for its license!) to Kampala, then a mad squish through the taxi park in the rain with people and taxis and shouting drivers everywhere, then another minibus taxi back to Bweyogerere. The girls we sooo incredibly well behaved and we didn’t reach home until about 6pm. Very very tired but had a lovely weekend and will remember those people for a long long time!
I have added the photos to the facebook album so you can see all the happenings at: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=40656&l=f4381&id=503957996
The school started back on Mon 15th, and I spent mon-weds of last weeks flitting around watching different teachers teach different lessons at Bweyogerere Primary School. The school has 2 nursery classes and the Primary 1 - 7, which is vaguely all kids up to the equivalent to year 8. But the trouble is a lot of kids dont every start baby class until they are maybe 7 so the ages of the kids in each class is very varied. And of course you have the classic issue of very different abilities in each class, and with no assistant even in the youngest classes that's not very easy! The school is on the same site as Emmanuel's church and there are also dormitories for about 50 kids who board.
Each classroom has a blackboard and desks like those old victorian wooden benches with the chairs attached, and kids are required to bring their own pens, pencils, exercise books and every loo roll and soap to school. That concludes the resources of the school! There are about one textbooks for each of the main subjects for each class, and there are some simple reading books but they are locked away in the office and the teachers have to sign for them. So its interesting...
Another thing I noticed during that week was how their teaching methods are very different. I think mostly because of the lack of things like paints and colouring pens they basically teach by writing on the board, getting the kids to spell and repeat words and then getting them to copy them down. It's all in English (apart from the nursery) and you run the risk of a caning from Teacher Esther if you're caught speaking l'ugandan at all on school grounds!
Then on Thursday 18th Me, Mari and Pastor Emmanuel got on a minibus taxi into Kampala and then boarded a stagecoach type bus to go to the West of Uganda for a few days. The bus was a hilarious if looong and hot experience. For starters although we were scheduled to leave at 9am the drive wouldn't go until his bus was very nearly full. So it was gone 11 by the time we set off! and during that time all the hawkers and sellers of any random thing you can possible think of came on the bus and walked up and down the very narrow aisle trying to sell socks, sodas, sweets, radios, hankies, bread, hairbrushes, chicken kebabs, bags, batteries and well anything you could carry onto a bus to sell! The actual journey took about 8 hours and they didn't stop at all (apart from for very persistant men who went for a short call by the side of the road). The road through Masaka and up to Mbarara was pretty good. It became more and more potholed towards Ibanda and then from Ibanda to Ishongororo we bumped along a dirt road that had been ruined by very recent rain. By this time we were desperate for the loo, fed up with the chav in the seat behind us who had a radio to his ear the whole time, and had numb behind from the not so padded metal seats. But all in all for about 6 pounds single ticket i think we had quite a good deal! And look at that photo of the scenery I took from the bus - it was really lovely.
We staying in a little motel type place in Ishongororo call the Go Down Boys lodge. The accomodation was very basic but comfortable enough and we were met by Boss and a number of people who seemed very pleased to see us! Boss took us to his little restaurant for dinner where his wife Alina (who I think could be the most talented cook in the whole of Uganda) treated us to dinner and tea and lots of good company. They are a lovely family and Alina and Boss absolutely adore eachother, their 4 kids are really hardworking a lot of fun, and they have started their business with hardly anything but a lot of dedication and graft!
The next day we attended the 15 year anniversary celebration of Ishongororo Pentecostal Church of God's Caring Ministries(which was the main reason we went!). The church was started by an old lady who must now be about 80+ in her house, and now the church is a big brick building with a few classrooms outside and is led by Pastor Azariah. He has 6 kids and his wife died about 4 years ago giving birth to the last one. He has now married a lady called Robinah and between them they really love and serve that church. The day went from about 11am till 6pm and there was lots of worship and singing and preaching. Mari and me both shared some things from the Bible, and there were absolutely loads of people there – it was terrifying! They had invited people from each of the 11 churches that had been planted out of Ishongororo, and part of the service was given to pray for all of the leaders of those churches, as well as listing the different things that the churches are involved in, as well as all their various needs and shortages. One thing about the Ugandan people is that whatever little they have they make it work somehow, and even though these guys didn’t have a lot, they have done so much including starting schools and supporting widows. I take my hat off to them!
The only thing about this place – I had a really good time – but the kids were fascinated with us whiteys, and kept surrounding us and prodding us, pulling our hair and just generally staring at us – it was a bit scary! But I did meet up with a girl called Rita who I met last year and had a great long encouraging conversation with her. She has been accepted to do a nursing degree but is about to start a diploma instead because she doesn’t have the fees, but the way she talked wasn’t asking for money but just really grateful for God’s provision for her so far and amazed at so many things like grace and forgiveness. So encouraging, so please remember her in your prayers!
The next day we ate the most fantastic breakfast of chapattis and omlettes and pineapple from Boss and Alina’s and went for a trek through the beautiful (if very muddy and hilly!) countryside nearby. Now Ugandans don’t just walk for fun, so of course we had a purpose in this escapade and that was to see the cows that our church has bought for the church to be used to provide milk to the local needy people including widows. The guy who looks after them (Asaph) also had some chickens, goats a pig, and farmed all sorts of things including coffee, pineapples, matoke and black peas. It was a great walk, but it started chucking it down with rain so on the way back we had to shelter in some poor families house. This was the most hilarious thing because the 10 kids who lived in these two rooms and obviously never seen white people before, and because it was dark in there we were literally surround by all these little white staring eyes and no talking. I can’t say we didn’t feel a little like an eighteenth century missionary explorer! Even the people working in the fields stopped and stood stock still as we walked past, to the point that Emmanuel thought they were scarecrows!
Azariah took us to his house for lunch and we then got in a car (Emmanuel, Mari, me, Boss, Boss’s two girls and the driver – leaving behind Azariah’s 4 kids who wouldn’t quite get in the car with all their luggage for the new term at Bweyogerere school!) and headed about an hour down the road towards Ibanda to Karutusi. This is a tiny village where a Pastor Ephraim leads a church that is one of those planted from Ishongororo. It feels out in the middle of nowhere because it is in the middle of a matoke forest and the road is little more than a slippery mud track. I really don’t know how that driver managed to stop us crashing into every tree we passed because we were sliding around like an ice skater – but we made it! Ephraim and his wife and kids very kindly gave up their mud hut for the two days we stayed with them and looked after us really well. They fed us enormous meals and it was hard not to offend them by refusing 3rd and 4th helpings of everything! The hut is fairly big and has a corrugated iron roof so we were very comfortable really. But there was some sort of prayer meeting at 2am and local cockerels and goats that didn’t go to sleep at all, and even the people got up before 6am to prepare things and chop wood for that days cooking, so we didn’t actually get much sleep! This experience has showed me actually how much I value sleep. I value it a lot. In fact I’m quite lazy really by Ugandan standards. Once I said to some kid they were very hardworking and they didn’t seem to realize there could be any different way of doing things!
So Sunday Emmanuel was actually quite ill so didn’t come to church for ages, and for a while it looked like Mari and me were gonna be the main preachers again! So we did our best but he came after a bit and also said something. The worship at this church was incredible, their drumming and jumping and shouting and waving really put us to shame. I told them all I wish I could fit them in my suitcase to bring them back to our church! The leaders have been encouraging the people to help each other and although they were really poor (they literally didn’t seem to have anything some of them) but they should learn to give still and club together and bless eachother. We knew a bit about that but were totally blown away when at the end of the service they had another collection specifically for Mari and me! How moving and actually upsetting was that experience, I can’t tell you. From around 200 people we got the equivalent of about 6.00, a box of matches and a hankie. It wasn’t much, but for those guys it must have been a massive sacrifice. Goodness me, it’s very hard to take in. But if nothing else I am learning a LOT!
I was pleased to meet up with a lady called Justine who last year had chased me down the road to give me a watch (which was also just about as moving as the collection experience) and had written to me once since. She sat and introduced me to her 4 children and her husband and they took us to see her little shop on the ‘main’ road.
The rest of Sunday was pretty quiet but we spent a bit of time meeting people and getting to know the leaders there a bit more. We slept much better Sunday night and got up about 6am the next morning to walk down to the road and catch a bus back. Justine met us again and gave us some bottles of water, a pineapple, and even tried to give me a woven grass mat as a wedding present for me and Dan! Unfortunately there was no way we could have transported it home because it was massive, but I was so grateful and she had such a good heart, that alone will certainly leave an impression!
The journey home was horrible really, and we took charge of both of Boss’s girls who were travelling back to go to the school here in Bweyogerere for the term. W got one bus to Mbarara, then a minibus taxi (with too many passengers for its license!) to Kampala, then a mad squish through the taxi park in the rain with people and taxis and shouting drivers everywhere, then another minibus taxi back to Bweyogerere. The girls we sooo incredibly well behaved and we didn’t reach home until about 6pm. Very very tired but had a lovely weekend and will remember those people for a long long time!
I have added the photos to the facebook album so you can see all the happenings at: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=40656&l=f4381&id=503957996
13 September 2008
Photos!
You will be pleased (I hope!) to know that I have uploaded some pictures onto Facebook, and for those of you who don't have that please click/type in the address http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=40656&l=f4381&id=503957996
Today has been another quiet day - the dull before the storm as Mari said! And we have had time to come down to the internet cafe again so I thought I would take advantage of the time and leave another little note, even if we have hardly done anything!
Tomorrow Emmanuel has asked Mari to speak in church, and asked me to take the "mature youth" (about 13+) out of the meeting for about an hour and a half to lead a bible study type thing. They don't already meet separately as young people so I am going to see what they think about starting something up regularly, as there are about 12 of them or so. But this morning we were basically mostly preparing that. There has been quite a lot of rain over night which we are grateful for because the mains were blocked for a few days, so the only water we have is collected off the roof! And actually you would be suprised how much water it takes to wash clothes by hand, especially when there is me, mari, florence, emmanuel, william, judah and norah all living there!
This afternoon we went around to a neighbours who was having a thanksgiving service as she lost her sister last week. It was really moving because they were all so strong and so focussed on Jesus, I was hoping that they weren't just suppressing the grief but that they really found comfort in God. We ate the biggest meal you have ever seen, adding to the stigma that we have already created that muzungus don't eat a lot!
So next week I am anticipating starting w0rk in Bweyogerere Multipurpose Primary school, which is run by emmanuel and florence. They have asked me to take some RE and English lessons with the older classes (years 5 and 6ish) and also help where they are short of classroom assistants with some of the younger classes. I am hoping that the kids will help me learn a bit of L'ugandan! There is also a nursery teacher called Gladys who is about my age who leads a little bible study group with some kids at lunch time, so I will probably help her at some point. Also on Thursday Mari and me with emmanuel and probably florence will be trekking across to Ishongororo in the west to visit the church there for a few days. The journey will take about 8 -10 hours.
God is really here with us, thank you so much for praying. We are having a really great time and feel so at home!
Today has been another quiet day - the dull before the storm as Mari said! And we have had time to come down to the internet cafe again so I thought I would take advantage of the time and leave another little note, even if we have hardly done anything!
Tomorrow Emmanuel has asked Mari to speak in church, and asked me to take the "mature youth" (about 13+) out of the meeting for about an hour and a half to lead a bible study type thing. They don't already meet separately as young people so I am going to see what they think about starting something up regularly, as there are about 12 of them or so. But this morning we were basically mostly preparing that. There has been quite a lot of rain over night which we are grateful for because the mains were blocked for a few days, so the only water we have is collected off the roof! And actually you would be suprised how much water it takes to wash clothes by hand, especially when there is me, mari, florence, emmanuel, william, judah and norah all living there!
This afternoon we went around to a neighbours who was having a thanksgiving service as she lost her sister last week. It was really moving because they were all so strong and so focussed on Jesus, I was hoping that they weren't just suppressing the grief but that they really found comfort in God. We ate the biggest meal you have ever seen, adding to the stigma that we have already created that muzungus don't eat a lot!
So next week I am anticipating starting w0rk in Bweyogerere Multipurpose Primary school, which is run by emmanuel and florence. They have asked me to take some RE and English lessons with the older classes (years 5 and 6ish) and also help where they are short of classroom assistants with some of the younger classes. I am hoping that the kids will help me learn a bit of L'ugandan! There is also a nursery teacher called Gladys who is about my age who leads a little bible study group with some kids at lunch time, so I will probably help her at some point. Also on Thursday Mari and me with emmanuel and probably florence will be trekking across to Ishongororo in the west to visit the church there for a few days. The journey will take about 8 -10 hours.
God is really here with us, thank you so much for praying. We are having a really great time and feel so at home!
12 September 2008
First few days on our own...
So everyone else has gone home, and Mari and I have had a fairly quiet few days in the real Uganda! No airs and graces, or rushing around on a whirlwind tour of every church in Emmanuel's network that needs a visitor, but more like real life now! I was sick the first day, Mari has been running about organising and rearranging things, and now we are able to finish off some of the church business we started while we were here. We spent Thursday at a tiny wholesale shop in Bweyogerere buying 46 of a few things the sponsored kids (plus the others who also live in the same orphanage but aren't sponsored by us) needs for returning to school next Monday. These were soap for washing, soap for washing clothes, a toothbrush, toothpaste, a pen, a loo roll and a little grass broom which apparently is required! We packed them all up in little bags and tied them up with bookmarks which said "you are loved" on them (thanks Helen!) Then today we trekked over to Lugazi to give them out. They were really pleased and grateful so thank you for all your generosity that made those little gifts possible!
On the way back we did a 90 minute or so detour to see Florences farm which is being looked after by Emmanuel's mum Jar-jar (which means grandmum), and picked her and the three girls in her care up fopr Bweyogerere. She looks after two 10 year old ish grand daughters plus another 5 year old who she rescued from being sacrificed by her parents to a witch doctor last year. Amazing women, still digging and almost 80!
On the way back we did a 90 minute or so detour to see Florences farm which is being looked after by Emmanuel's mum Jar-jar (which means grandmum), and picked her and the three girls in her care up fopr Bweyogerere. She looks after two 10 year old ish grand daughters plus another 5 year old who she rescued from being sacrificed by her parents to a witch doctor last year. Amazing women, still digging and almost 80!
09 September 2008
Sheppey in Uganda, Part 2
OK, so time is short again (11 minutes and counting!) but Emmanuel's son Judah has been kind enough to let me tag along to the internet cafe with him again so I can't complain!
Sat 6th - Today we split into two teams again. Dad Paul and me went to Sonde church, which is one that CCS have funded the building of, and had a great time actually. We were there all day, Paul preached twice, I shared something and Dad preached, and it all came together with a very African rendition of "this is an awesome house of God" because that was similar to what Paul shared. What a moment! They made it sound great, drumming and jumping and whooping. Of all the congregations we have been to, I think it was the church that seemed most similar to home. Mari and Helen ran a ladies day at Bweyogerere church with the help of Florence and shared a lot about the gifts and place of women in the church. Florence has asked Mari to keep sharing that message at different times while she is here because it was so relevant so please keep praying for those ladies!
Sun 7th - We split up again today and poor Mari felt pretty ill so stayed home in bed. Dad and me went with Emmanuel to a tiny village church out in the forests near Lugazi to a church we had never heard of before. They were few - maybe around 30 - and had only just finished building the walls of their own new building, and the roof was made with sticks and random tarpaulin banners they must have found, but it showed so much willing and dedication it was quite moving. Paul and Helen went to a slum church nearer Kampala which also we had never been to before but they had a great time with those people, and much was shared about the need for more children's ministry in the church of Uganda. It seems this is really a need which has been highlighted by Helen and Mari's work here. Something in fact that Emmanuel has suggested Mari and I run training sessions on during the next few months with Sunday school leaders/youth workers from various churches, encouraging them!
Mon 8th - Yesterday we split up again, and I went to support Helen and Mari with their kids work at Sonde, while dad and Paul went ahead of us to the orphanage at Lugazi where we sponsor some kids who go to Emmanuel's primary school in Bweyogerere. There were tons of kids at Sonde and many who werent from church. They loved the bible stories and songs that we taught them, all around the theme of "you are special!" Afterwards we joined the men at Lugazi to see the kids we sponsor, and discuss their needs for returning to school this term. They sung us some lovely songs and we spent some time playing games with them and listening to them. I seemed to make particular friends with some of the senior girls, who are not sponsored by us, but they appreciated visitors nevertheless. Most of the kids sent their love and greetings and thanks to all of you who sponsor them and remembered your names. They particularly love to write to you and receive letters from you so keep it up! it is a fantastic work. Mari is going to work with Florence to put together some histories for the kids so we can know more about their backgrounds and get to know them a bit so that will be great.
Tues 9th - Today Paul and Emmanuel and his son Judah went to see a church in Kampala run by a Pastor Eric who is friends with Emmanuel. They preached and shared lunch with the people under the shelter that had been constructed out of their bedsheets. It is in a slum area and there were many children who came. Paul and Emmanuel were pretty tired - Emmanuel isn't well today and I think Paul is anticipating a long flight home tomorrow. Dad Mari Helen and I went a few hours East to a village near Lake Victoria called Kiyindi. This church is run by a Pastor James (Who is a lot like Colin actually!) and last year they had reached ceiling level of a brick church they had been building. This year they had finished the roof and it is quite an impressive building, although they now need windows and doors. Helen and Mari worked with the kids outside for a while, Dad preached, Mari shared a scripture and Helen and I sang a song and shared something. We felt really at home and were encouraged by all the people there.
Tomorrow is the flight home for the rest of the team, they will be leaving about 6am and will arrive back on Sheppey at about 7pm. Please pray for them as they leave, and for Mari and I as we are left behind. And remember to pray for all the churches we have visited in Uganda and the pastors and their families!
Bye for now xxx
Sat 6th - Today we split into two teams again. Dad Paul and me went to Sonde church, which is one that CCS have funded the building of, and had a great time actually. We were there all day, Paul preached twice, I shared something and Dad preached, and it all came together with a very African rendition of "this is an awesome house of God" because that was similar to what Paul shared. What a moment! They made it sound great, drumming and jumping and whooping. Of all the congregations we have been to, I think it was the church that seemed most similar to home. Mari and Helen ran a ladies day at Bweyogerere church with the help of Florence and shared a lot about the gifts and place of women in the church. Florence has asked Mari to keep sharing that message at different times while she is here because it was so relevant so please keep praying for those ladies!
Sun 7th - We split up again today and poor Mari felt pretty ill so stayed home in bed. Dad and me went with Emmanuel to a tiny village church out in the forests near Lugazi to a church we had never heard of before. They were few - maybe around 30 - and had only just finished building the walls of their own new building, and the roof was made with sticks and random tarpaulin banners they must have found, but it showed so much willing and dedication it was quite moving. Paul and Helen went to a slum church nearer Kampala which also we had never been to before but they had a great time with those people, and much was shared about the need for more children's ministry in the church of Uganda. It seems this is really a need which has been highlighted by Helen and Mari's work here. Something in fact that Emmanuel has suggested Mari and I run training sessions on during the next few months with Sunday school leaders/youth workers from various churches, encouraging them!
Mon 8th - Yesterday we split up again, and I went to support Helen and Mari with their kids work at Sonde, while dad and Paul went ahead of us to the orphanage at Lugazi where we sponsor some kids who go to Emmanuel's primary school in Bweyogerere. There were tons of kids at Sonde and many who werent from church. They loved the bible stories and songs that we taught them, all around the theme of "you are special!" Afterwards we joined the men at Lugazi to see the kids we sponsor, and discuss their needs for returning to school this term. They sung us some lovely songs and we spent some time playing games with them and listening to them. I seemed to make particular friends with some of the senior girls, who are not sponsored by us, but they appreciated visitors nevertheless. Most of the kids sent their love and greetings and thanks to all of you who sponsor them and remembered your names. They particularly love to write to you and receive letters from you so keep it up! it is a fantastic work. Mari is going to work with Florence to put together some histories for the kids so we can know more about their backgrounds and get to know them a bit so that will be great.
Tues 9th - Today Paul and Emmanuel and his son Judah went to see a church in Kampala run by a Pastor Eric who is friends with Emmanuel. They preached and shared lunch with the people under the shelter that had been constructed out of their bedsheets. It is in a slum area and there were many children who came. Paul and Emmanuel were pretty tired - Emmanuel isn't well today and I think Paul is anticipating a long flight home tomorrow. Dad Mari Helen and I went a few hours East to a village near Lake Victoria called Kiyindi. This church is run by a Pastor James (Who is a lot like Colin actually!) and last year they had reached ceiling level of a brick church they had been building. This year they had finished the roof and it is quite an impressive building, although they now need windows and doors. Helen and Mari worked with the kids outside for a while, Dad preached, Mari shared a scripture and Helen and I sang a song and shared something. We felt really at home and were encouraged by all the people there.
Tomorrow is the flight home for the rest of the team, they will be leaving about 6am and will arrive back on Sheppey at about 7pm. Please pray for them as they leave, and for Mari and I as we are left behind. And remember to pray for all the churches we have visited in Uganda and the pastors and their families!
Bye for now xxx
05 September 2008
Sheppey in Uganda 2008 Part 1 …
So I am really please to have been able to get to an internet café to update this blog. Everything is so very spontaneous here it is hard to get organized! We have had a great couple of weeks with the team from church – Mari and Helen have been doing great things with children and Dad and Paul have been ministering to leaders and doing evangelistic preaches. I have generally been mucking in and hanging around having fun!
So in a nutshell (because we only have half an hour) this is what we have been doing for the last week…
Thurs 28th – We flew overnight into Entebbe from Heathrow and for the first time ever we all managed to get at least 3 or 4 hours sleep! It was emotional setting off – thinking that I wasn’t coming back for ages, and it seemed like such a long time… But as soon as we landed I remembered why I had been so excited about coming.
Fri 29th – Florence met us from the airport with Bartolomio the new driver in Emmanuel’s vehicle which has done far more than its fair share of miles on Uganda’s unmade rocky roads. It was so nice to see her again. She is a large smiley lady who laughs about almost everything but works really hard. She is Emmanuel’s administrator as well as his wife really, and has a massive heart for people in need, especially children. We spent the first day resting and Mari and Helen went off to buy lots of things for the children’s work like paper drinks a CD player and biscuits.
Sat 30th – The first day really. Dad, Paul and I ran a day’s youth conference at Emmanuel’s school Bweyogerere Pentecostal Church where he had invited young people from a number of different churches that he oversees. There were probably around 50 or 60 people there, and we ran some discussion groups and had worship and Paul and Dad both preached. Helen and Mari went over to a slum area of Kampala where two guys from the church have started a small school made out of papyrus and wood. It really is a deprived area, and they survive on what little payment they can get from the parents, which is often few and far between. They have about 80% muslim children and many have become Christians as a result of attending that school and surprisingly there has been no opposition from the parents. They are actually just grateful to have somebody willing to educate their children. The ladies had about 150-200 kids turn up for their day, and they taught them songs, stories and played lots of games. They say they ran out of everything but have never had so much fun in their lives!
Sun 31st – We stayed together this morning and attended Bweyogerere church, where Paul preached and the rest of us just shared a greeting. You wouldn’t believe how passionate these people are in worship and how responsive they are to preaching. There is a lot of energy in the room to say the least! Shouting and wooping and dancing, whether they are kids or older people, everyone is involved and they sit there for ages to listen to people share from the Bible. In the afternoon Dad and me went back for the final session of the youth conference and were interrupted bout 5pm with the most almighty storm, you couldn’t here any thing at all! I’ve honestly never seen rain like it, it was so loud and was washing the soil away around the building. All the windows were blowing open and water was flooding in from every corner… it was crazy. But the young people were again responsive and enjoyed discussing what they had heard.
Mon 1st and Tues 2nd – Mari and Helen went the 3 hrs up country to Diikwe today, a little bush village where Hope and her husband Herbert run a school and a church in the most remote place. They had hundreds of village children both days and were absolutely exhausted by the time they came home. I don’t think they had ever seen any thing like those two mad white people jumping around and being crazy. It wasn’t easy for them actually and they were pretty tired, but Hope was so happy to have such an input in her tiny corner of Uganda and they did a great job. Paul and Dad ran a conference for leaders under Emmanuel’s oversight from churches all over the country on these two days and did really well. Paul had prepared four sessions on leadership from Nehemiah and although he ended up just about as tired as Helen and Mari, he did a fantastic job. Emmanuel kept saying what a wonderful thing it was to have all his leaders together, and that they are going to try and do a similar thing in January. In the evening on Tuesday they all came back to Emmanuel's house for dinner and worship and we also had communion in his garden. And where there is no communion wine or grape juice, Coke will always do!
Weds 3rd - Nothing happened today, actually nothing! We were supposed to attend an evangelistic crusade at a local police academy, but at the last minute the Chief of Police of Uganda turned up to speak to all the officers, so we waited around for him to leave but... well he didn't. So the whole thing was called off. So as not to disappoint the church who was running it, we went just for an hour in the evening and worked with about 100 children in one of the school classrooms which they use as their church. It was really hard work as it got dark quickly and there were no electric lights, but I think they were grateful to have us any way. We made a collage of a shepherd and fields with a sheep stuck on by each child, and taught them the story of the lost sheep. The stupid thing is, it doesnt matter how little you do for these guys, they are incredibly excited to just receive you as honoured guests and encourage their church. I guess that's what we are here for really. O yea and we broke down in a traffic jam on the way back - and if you have ever experienced Ugandan driving you never want to be stuck in a traffic jam and pushing a bus between a million crazy mopeds and heavy trucks. Eeekk!
Thurs 4th - Today was a lovely day we spend with James Akolo and his family (our church met this guy while he was studying in the UK a few years ago, and he has a church which has also planted another one in a tiny village). We ate at his house, then drove down a road which had been specially prepared for our visit by the people of this new church plant, that had never had a vehicle or a white person down it before. It was a little like in the middle of nowhere, and at one point we got out and walked for a while. An experience of the real Africa! The church was up on a hill and absolutely packed with people. The walls were made out of mud and it had a corrugated iron roof. People were hanging on our every word as we shared greetings and said about our church's heart for Uganda. Dad and Mari preached and Helen and I sang a couple of songs with James' daughted Deborah. We called for a response at the end, and 7 youngish teenagers came forward to become Christians, which was very encouraging. And also loads of them asked for prayer for healing and stuff. It was quite incredible. It seems that the church never stands still here, no matter how much it is doing there is always another project up its sleeve! Please remember to pray for James and the pastors at this new village (its called Buyenge). Things are really tough there - they are short of water, jobs, good food, and many of the children had worms we think. This might be something we can help with...
Fri 5th - Today was also a wonderful day. We all went together to Kiwale where the church has started a school in the building built with funds from Community Church Sheppey. The congregation was made up on about 90% under 10s and the teacher there - Josephine - did a fantastic job with them. Mari, Helen and I along with Baby Charles (our translator and the youth leader at Bweyogerere church, also one of the guys who started the slum school) did songs and stories with the kids in the morning while dad and Paul took the leaders and a number of students from a Bible school that has just been started in that building. It was a long jounry over bad roads, and it was quite hard to share with very young children, but it has confirmed that probably the biggest need there is for people to look after the kids. Please pray for the other teacher who is very sick with malaria, and they are due to start the new term on the 15th. If she is not well enough that leaves Josephine to run the school on her own....
More to follow soon!
So in a nutshell (because we only have half an hour) this is what we have been doing for the last week…
Thurs 28th – We flew overnight into Entebbe from Heathrow and for the first time ever we all managed to get at least 3 or 4 hours sleep! It was emotional setting off – thinking that I wasn’t coming back for ages, and it seemed like such a long time… But as soon as we landed I remembered why I had been so excited about coming.
Fri 29th – Florence met us from the airport with Bartolomio the new driver in Emmanuel’s vehicle which has done far more than its fair share of miles on Uganda’s unmade rocky roads. It was so nice to see her again. She is a large smiley lady who laughs about almost everything but works really hard. She is Emmanuel’s administrator as well as his wife really, and has a massive heart for people in need, especially children. We spent the first day resting and Mari and Helen went off to buy lots of things for the children’s work like paper drinks a CD player and biscuits.
Sat 30th – The first day really. Dad, Paul and I ran a day’s youth conference at Emmanuel’s school Bweyogerere Pentecostal Church where he had invited young people from a number of different churches that he oversees. There were probably around 50 or 60 people there, and we ran some discussion groups and had worship and Paul and Dad both preached. Helen and Mari went over to a slum area of Kampala where two guys from the church have started a small school made out of papyrus and wood. It really is a deprived area, and they survive on what little payment they can get from the parents, which is often few and far between. They have about 80% muslim children and many have become Christians as a result of attending that school and surprisingly there has been no opposition from the parents. They are actually just grateful to have somebody willing to educate their children. The ladies had about 150-200 kids turn up for their day, and they taught them songs, stories and played lots of games. They say they ran out of everything but have never had so much fun in their lives!
Sun 31st – We stayed together this morning and attended Bweyogerere church, where Paul preached and the rest of us just shared a greeting. You wouldn’t believe how passionate these people are in worship and how responsive they are to preaching. There is a lot of energy in the room to say the least! Shouting and wooping and dancing, whether they are kids or older people, everyone is involved and they sit there for ages to listen to people share from the Bible. In the afternoon Dad and me went back for the final session of the youth conference and were interrupted bout 5pm with the most almighty storm, you couldn’t here any thing at all! I’ve honestly never seen rain like it, it was so loud and was washing the soil away around the building. All the windows were blowing open and water was flooding in from every corner… it was crazy. But the young people were again responsive and enjoyed discussing what they had heard.
Mon 1st and Tues 2nd – Mari and Helen went the 3 hrs up country to Diikwe today, a little bush village where Hope and her husband Herbert run a school and a church in the most remote place. They had hundreds of village children both days and were absolutely exhausted by the time they came home. I don’t think they had ever seen any thing like those two mad white people jumping around and being crazy. It wasn’t easy for them actually and they were pretty tired, but Hope was so happy to have such an input in her tiny corner of Uganda and they did a great job. Paul and Dad ran a conference for leaders under Emmanuel’s oversight from churches all over the country on these two days and did really well. Paul had prepared four sessions on leadership from Nehemiah and although he ended up just about as tired as Helen and Mari, he did a fantastic job. Emmanuel kept saying what a wonderful thing it was to have all his leaders together, and that they are going to try and do a similar thing in January. In the evening on Tuesday they all came back to Emmanuel's house for dinner and worship and we also had communion in his garden. And where there is no communion wine or grape juice, Coke will always do!
Weds 3rd - Nothing happened today, actually nothing! We were supposed to attend an evangelistic crusade at a local police academy, but at the last minute the Chief of Police of Uganda turned up to speak to all the officers, so we waited around for him to leave but... well he didn't. So the whole thing was called off. So as not to disappoint the church who was running it, we went just for an hour in the evening and worked with about 100 children in one of the school classrooms which they use as their church. It was really hard work as it got dark quickly and there were no electric lights, but I think they were grateful to have us any way. We made a collage of a shepherd and fields with a sheep stuck on by each child, and taught them the story of the lost sheep. The stupid thing is, it doesnt matter how little you do for these guys, they are incredibly excited to just receive you as honoured guests and encourage their church. I guess that's what we are here for really. O yea and we broke down in a traffic jam on the way back - and if you have ever experienced Ugandan driving you never want to be stuck in a traffic jam and pushing a bus between a million crazy mopeds and heavy trucks. Eeekk!
Thurs 4th - Today was a lovely day we spend with James Akolo and his family (our church met this guy while he was studying in the UK a few years ago, and he has a church which has also planted another one in a tiny village). We ate at his house, then drove down a road which had been specially prepared for our visit by the people of this new church plant, that had never had a vehicle or a white person down it before. It was a little like in the middle of nowhere, and at one point we got out and walked for a while. An experience of the real Africa! The church was up on a hill and absolutely packed with people. The walls were made out of mud and it had a corrugated iron roof. People were hanging on our every word as we shared greetings and said about our church's heart for Uganda. Dad and Mari preached and Helen and I sang a couple of songs with James' daughted Deborah. We called for a response at the end, and 7 youngish teenagers came forward to become Christians, which was very encouraging. And also loads of them asked for prayer for healing and stuff. It was quite incredible. It seems that the church never stands still here, no matter how much it is doing there is always another project up its sleeve! Please remember to pray for James and the pastors at this new village (its called Buyenge). Things are really tough there - they are short of water, jobs, good food, and many of the children had worms we think. This might be something we can help with...
Fri 5th - Today was also a wonderful day. We all went together to Kiwale where the church has started a school in the building built with funds from Community Church Sheppey. The congregation was made up on about 90% under 10s and the teacher there - Josephine - did a fantastic job with them. Mari, Helen and I along with Baby Charles (our translator and the youth leader at Bweyogerere church, also one of the guys who started the slum school) did songs and stories with the kids in the morning while dad and Paul took the leaders and a number of students from a Bible school that has just been started in that building. It was a long jounry over bad roads, and it was quite hard to share with very young children, but it has confirmed that probably the biggest need there is for people to look after the kids. Please pray for the other teacher who is very sick with malaria, and they are due to start the new term on the 15th. If she is not well enough that leaves Josephine to run the school on her own....
More to follow soon!
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