THE CONTAINER HAS ARRIVED!!!! and we went white water rafting!

The container has finally arrived...

However, the days need to be spoken about in order. Yesterday we had a great day white water rafting. Unfortunately, Mark and Coby did not come with us. Mark (I hope you are reading this) spent his day helping out at Jinja Christian School, whilst Coby spent some time with some of the girls in re-sizing and re-purposing rather large shirts.

A few of us were quite scared about the white water rafting, but it turned out to be a fantastic day. I did learn, rather than saying, ‘Are you from England?’ to say, ‘Where do you come from?’ Luckily, I fixed that mistake quickly, although did flack a lot of cop for it. There was a scary moment, when one of the team took a little while to re-surface, and we were quite relieved when she did. It was a spectacular day, and was great to see a beautiful part of God’s creation.

Although scary, it certainly was a lot of fun. You can never get enough sunscreen on when in the water, so a few of us did have a very pink tinge by the end of the day. I personally, am so thankful to God for keeping us safe, and giving us a great day.

Whilst we were having a ball, the container FINALLY arrived on site at the Village. What a relief and such excitement all at the same time.

Today was our second last day buildering. There is so much more to do, and I’m sure many of us would love to stay to see the houses completed. Marty worked hard all day and got some of the fascia up on House 7, the kitchen framing was worked on, Brad continued on some maintenance at Subbi House and the container started to be unpacked. The girls spent time finishing off brick-laying in the kitchen and painting fascia as well. The container unpacking brought much delight and enjoyment, all at the same time, to everyone involved.

I had a great afternoon talking with Anne about curriculum, reports, discipline, uniforms, planning and all other things school related. Our time in Uganda is quickly coming to an end. I know we have all had a fantastic time and a part of each of us, will be left behind. We are looking forward to our last day building, and spending time with the kids before we leave.

Prayer for the following will be appreciated:

·         Our last day building – that it is productive

·         Safe travels to Kenya

·         The process and emotions involved with saying good-bye

Ugandan happenings of the last few days

It’s been a while since the blog has been updated, so we thought it was about time. On Sunday we had a great time of fellowship at church. Once again, it did go for a while, and finished with Lord ’s Supper. Instead of wine, we had bread and Mirinda (berry flavoured), which was a new experience for all of us. In the afternoon we spent some time in Jinja and then went back to the Village at 5 o’clock.

The time we spent in the afternoon was a challenging, but special time. We had a memorial service for Bert Van Weeghal, Coby’s husband. Ron and Mark Matheson happened to be there, and they also had been on the team with Bert, so were able to share some memories of him and what he had achieved and contributed, while here in Uganda. A lovely plaque has been made in remembrance of him, and will sit on the Hope Builders rock.

Most of us spent Monday building in the morning, and town in the afternoon. The posts for the kitchen went up, as well as some of the beams. Some brick laying was also started in the kitchen as well. A great dinner of spaghetti bolognaise and then ‘Machine Gun Preacher’.

A doctor’s visit in the morning for Michelle B was an experience, as the equipment used, seemed quite ancient. All that was needed was an ear syringe and all is better now. Whilst that was happening, the beams on the kitchen and 5 out of the 6 kitchen trusses were finished. Brick laying was also worked on as well. As for the kitchen, there is one more truss to go up, one more brick wall to be finished and pitching the roof, as well as the actual roofing itself.  

The afternoon was spent on a lovely little boat trip at the ‘Source of the Nile’. Unfortunately for us, we had to pay ‘the rest of the world price’ which is a lot more expensive than local prices. A very funny sign though.

This evening was a different experience again. Walking through the streets of Begembi and purchasing food from the food stalls, was a lot different to the cafes in Jinja. So, if anyone is sick tomorrow, we can probably figure out why.

Continued prayer for the following things would be grand:

·         Finalising and delivery of the container

·         Getting things completed before we leave

·         Saying good-bye and actually leaving

Reflections from the last couple of days

The last couple of days have been pretty full on and intense. Yesterday morning, we rose at 5 am and walked the half an hour up Monkey Mountain. At the top is a high school, which we had permission to go into and watch the sun rise over Lake Victoria. Despite the really early morning, it was a time of enjoyment for all. Watching the sun rise over Lake Victoria, was beautiful. The mist cleared up before the sun rose, and it was just a really special time. Seeing a different part of God’s creation, having a chance to reflect and spending time together was great.

We had a pretty relaxing morning after that, eating breakfast, fuelling up ready for our day’s visits. In the morning, we visited a childrens home. There are three sections; the babies, the toddlers and the older children. We just spent time with the kids, blew bubbles and blew up balloons as well. These children were quite used to mzungus, but it was great to show them some love. Many children are adopted out of this home, into a variety of countries.

In the afternoon, we spent some time with a couple from Uganda, named Fred and Judith. With Judith, we went into a slum that she often visits. The women that we visited with are a part of a HIV program that Judith runs. We were invited into their homes, and prayed for them. We also gave them practical gifts of sugar and soap. Each of their stories is heart breaking, as well as being quite similar. Often, they don’t have money for their HIV medication, for food, or school fees money for their children. A few of us, also brought bubbles and balloons and spent time with the children from this slum. Seeing their interactions with each other, all to gain a balloon, was quite sad and difficult to fully comprehend.

Both of these visits were eye-opening, as well as challenging.  Regardless of the situation these women are in, their faith in God was clear and encouraging. It was amazing to see how thankful they all were for the simple and practical gifts we gave, as well as purely for our visit. Judith explained to us, that because of their situations, they don’t get visitors. We would love it if you could please pray for these women that we met, that they can continue to love God, and know his love for them and their families as well.

Today we were back on the building site. In the morning, a few of us continued to build trusses. Some of us are even considering giving up our normal jobs back home, to get an apprenticeship in truss building, as we are so pro at it. The roof framing for House 7 is very close to being completed. We would love your continued prayers on getting the container on Monday as well, so that we can continue to work on these houses. A few of the girls got a head start on the trusses for the shared kitchen of House 7 and 8 also.

This afternoon most of the team went to the Paradise Hotel for a swim. Once again, this was a great time to relax, think, and spend some quality time with each other. Some of us were even lucky enough to get a hot shower.

We have one week left in Uganda, working with the village of hope. We would love your continued prayer for the following things:

·         The container arriving by Monday

·         Continued progress on the houses in the Village

·         Prayer for the women that we met in the slums yesterday

·         A few tired and aching bodies

Another day in the village - buildering

Today was another day of buildering, as Glenn likes to call it. The brick-laying of House 7 and 8 was finished yesterday and the trusses started going up today. The first job was to finish the two main trusses of House 7, before it took numerous people to lift them up and put them into place and brace. The three boys with trade experience are doing a great job leading, directing and giving out jobs. We are learning many different things each day, from how to actually make a truss, to nailing in hoop iron and how to successfully eat or distribute your greens.

House 7 trusses and roof work is certainly taking place. The buildering method is a lot less conventional than we are used to, but it does the job. Hoop iron and gang plates are used a lot more often over here, and the process does take a little longer without a nail gun.

A load of rock was also delivered and needed spreading out, which took a lot of muscle power and determination, but a lot of laughs was also had.

Robert K made a visit to check out the progress and his comment was, “You are very close to getting in trouble because you are working too fast”. It sure is satisfying to look at the work that we have completed at the end of the day and remember the reason we are doing it.

Dinner tonight was posho and beans – our first experience, followed by Devotions, capably led by baby Mich and ‘War Dance’, the movie.

Hello 2013

After a nice sleep in the team enjoyed a lazy morning relaxing around Suubi House before taking the long walk up the road to the Village. A strech of road that is now very familiar but always full of different sights and sounds and smells.

New years day is a huge celebration and holiday that most people take. The village was in celebration mode with a huge lunch provided for all - Chicken, Irish, and greens as well as the staples of matoke and rice. Some fantastic Ugandan pineapple and paw paw was more than most of the team could take in.

We all then loaded into the buses and headed to JCC - Jinja Christian Center - where the children got to enjoy a great range of christian singers and performers. One of the highlights was the local youth dance crew who performed an amazing couple of numbers.

After 4.5 hours the team called it quits and went for a pizza in town as the children and mama's saw out the last few numbers and then headed home for a well earned sleep.

We continue to see God work in amazing ways!!

Good Bye 2012

The last day of the year began with and early start on the work site. Ron & Anne's ute prooved to be a much faster way of moving bricks up to site than carrying them. The whole village got in to the swing of things under Mark's trusty leadership - at times there were more children in the ute than bricks!!

House 7 is now ready for trusses the kitchen/bathroom walls have began and fair slab of the walls in House 8 are now complete. The team have been working so hard and there were a few weary and sunburt bodies as we headed of to the Village for a special NYE devotions in the evening. Up on the hill at the foot of the rock we had some great singing, powerful times of prayer and some prayers of blessing for each of the children and finished of a with a reminder that Jesus is the light of the world as we handed glow sticks and burn sparklers.

After this the team headed out to 2 Freinds for a late dinner and a pretty impressive fireworks display. The usual 1.5 hour wait for food led to some interesting passing of the time with the creative use of some drinks lables.  All in all not a bad way to see out 2012!!

Sunday

Sunday is always a great day at the Village. We began the day with a worship service at Abundant Life with some great praise, a fantastic skit from the youth and a challenging message. It is always a joy to worship with such vibrant people. Sunday afternoon involved a lazy afternoon walk around Wairaka visiting Hope Community High School and the brand new Jinja Christian School. It is so good to see these education projects continuing to have an impact on breaking the cycle of poverty in this area.

Sunday evening involved an epic socccer match on the VOH pitch - which did result in the shedding of blood from a few of The Subbi boys. Unfortunately Subbi House went down 4-5 the the Village of Hope Boys.

After the game the team headed off for dinner at different houses where the size of the serves tested even the heartiest of appetites, appernetly there was some sharing of food with the children sitting next to us.

We finished of our evening with a great time of devotions  - awsome singing and prayer  and the puppets made an appearance also with some talented acting to boot as David and Goliath was reinacted with stunning accuracy.