It was the night before...

This is it... The suitcases are out again, only now there's a space limit of most of a car rather than the 23kg weight limit of British Airways. In a way, I've been dreading writing this, as I know it means that it's actually happening, that the big move is upon me, just a day away. I'm off to uni, to a new city, to new people, to a new church and to a new culture.

So many people have asked me if I'm excited, and I always pause before responding, unsure of what to say. Occasionally I would say 'yes' because I just didn't have the energy to explain to someone why on earth a 19 year old isn't raring to move away, party all the time, be with new people, 'barely' study (yes, someone had the nerve to say that!) and get in large amounts of debt regardless of the fact that she still was suffering culture shock from coming home and dreading going through it all over again. Occasionally I said 'no' and broke down (thankfully a rarity saved for only the closest people). The honest answer? I have no idea! I have a lot of anxieties about this next chapter of life and doubts as to my suitability, but I am excited, regardless. Perhaps expectant is a better way of putting it. I am expectant as I will be in new, testing situations, academically and socially, in an alien environment. But looking back on this last year, that's a beautiful place to be because it's where the extraordinary happens and where you're chiseled and refined. 

I haven't always been this coherent. Just on Monday I was on the tube in London desperately wondering why I am in this situation?! I fully believe I am in the centre of God's will in my going to uni, He's even been gracious enough to confirm it to me several times in my severely wobbly moments. But knowing God's will doesn't make it much easier to follow through, as many would assume. Oftentimes, I thought that if I just knew what I should do and where I should go, life would be so much easier. What if your will and God's don't line up? He's called me to uni, but in my humble opinion, I would prefer it if He'd called me back to Africa, back to missions, because that's where my heart is, with the completely gorgeous Stuarts and Nicos of Uganda. 

But. But I love Uganda. But I've had a year off. But I can't dance. But I'm scared. But, but, but. I've found these phrases clouding my mind so often recently, pleading with God, showing Him that really, He's in the wrong place. Basically telling Him my way is better and that He's made a mistake. Yep, I am guilty of telling the one who made everything, who knows all the hairs on my head and on your right arm, I'm telling Him that He's wrong. The loving Father who gave up His Son to win you and I back into His embrace, the One who over and over has told me this is the right thing to do, who promises that He is there every step... 

It's at times like these we should take a step back and take off our self-centred blinkers. Who am I to tell the Creator that He's in the wrong? Since when has that ever been the case? He works all for the good of those who love Him, so how can I think I know better? I don't even know what to wear tomorrow, what to eat for breakfast. I can only see one very small stitch of the huge and beautiful tapestry that God's weaving. 

But. Jesus has the most beautiful 'but' of all time (read this how you like; it's late and I've been in the depths of packing!): "Yet not my will but yours be done". If Jesus can pray that on the eve of his humiliating and painful murder, then I can certainly pray it on the eve of my move. I can, and I choose to, give up my desires and to fully embrace God's infinitely superior plan for my life. Freshers week here I come!

P.S. I will endeavour (no pun intended, Morse fans) to keep you up to date with how life as a student really is, but forgive me if I'm not regular or frequent in these insights as, contrary to some people's thoughts, I will have a lot of other studious things to do. Love you all.

An ethical opportunity for you all!

Exciting (and late notice) news for you all: I have an opportunity for you to do some ethical shopping! I knew you'd be excited by this; I am at least.

Tomorrow evening (Monday) I am sharing some of my gap year experiences and you are all invited! It's at Thornbury Baptist Church at 7.15pm in the Youth Block/ Upper Lounge. As much as I want to tell you some of what the ten months I spent away from home entailed, I'm also giving you an opportunity to get involved in two of the projects that I love deeply.

We've been away on holiday this week in Cornwall and got home Friday evening. In typical delivery style, my package full of Sak Saum beauties was delivered Friday morning. Fear not, as it is now here and ready for you to buy tomorrow evening. Sak Saum is based in Cambodia and do such wonderful work with local men and women, giving them hope, skills and a future. These products (bags, purses, hair accessories, scarves and the like) are a way for them to achieve those things, giving them dignity and freedom. I am so very excited to be able to show off these beautiful things to you and for you to be able to spread the news further through your purchases. Here's a taster:

The other ethical delight available tomorrow comes from Uganda, from the Acholi Quarters where I spent a couple of months this spring. Many of the women there now make paper beads as a safer means of income than breaking rocks in the quarries, and these beads make gorgeous products! I don't want to give it all away now or I'll bore you if you come along tomorrow, but they are all made from reclaimed, re-used paper and it's a brilliant example of restoration of the unwanted. Another sneak peak for you:

I really hope you can make it tomorrow: 7.15pm (for a 7.30pm start) at Thornbury Baptist Church. Let me know if you need directions, or if you can't make it but are interested in these products. It would be lovely to see you there. And, if none of this is tempting enough, there will be home-made and Indian-made Indian delicacies!

A week ago today

I've been meaning to write this for a week, but reading lists, packing, holiday and other bits and bobs have gotten in the way, so I'm afraid it's a bit late. However, my lack of organisation has actually paid off for once as this post about my attempt at ethical shopping is nicely coinciding with the end of Organic Textiles Week! How (almost) topical am I?

Last Wednesday, I braved The Mall again with a focused mission. Rozzie and I had a film to watch (If I Stay - thoroughly recommend it. I was an emotional wreck for the majority of it, but a good cry always does the soul good, and it's a pretty challenging story which I got some deep metaphors for life from) and I had an outfit to buy. In just two and a half weeks I'm off to uni. It's all quite daunting as life back in England is still hard to adjust to, without another culture shock of living in Oxford on top of it. Anyhow, alongside all the standard 'new student shopping' I'm slowly doing, I have an added extra of needing 'subfusc'. Don't worry, I had to Google it too! Subfusc is Oxford lingo for what I have to wear under my gown for matriculation and exams etc. - essentially black skirt/ trousers, black shoes and white shirt (who knows how that became subfusc!). With how my last window shopping experience turned out, I was not looking forward to tackling this required shopping spree, but armed with research and my wonderful sister, I tackled it. And I succeeded!

Two days before taking on The Mall, I did a sweep of our numerous charity shops in Thornbury, checking for black skirts and white shirts. I must admit, I have always been a charity shopper, but since my ethical dilemma, they have taken on a whole new necessity. How can you beat buying a second hand item of clothing?! The shops never put out tatty, poor quality rags; they check them and only sell the ones which are decent. You can even find clothes with their original tags still in! It's one up from recycling, you're sparing land fill and you spare your wallet too. The profits go to good causes, you get a good quality, almost-new top and you didn't have to go near the consumer trap of shopping centres. It's perfect! St Peter's Hospice came out on top with a black skirt in my size (which wasn't too hideous either), so I could check one thing off my list before even leaving town. From now on, when I know I need something specific, I will always check the charity shops before I head to any other retailer.

Having a set list of what I needed when I faced shop after shop after shop helped no end! In the little research into ethical shopping that I've done to make my own rules of shopping, I found that Marks and Spencers, Zara and H&M are the top of the high street brands according to the much trusted people at Ethical Consumer (http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/sustainable-fashion-blog/how-ethical-high-street-clothes) so they are on my OK list. My general order to buying clothes goes: charity shops first, then ethical brands and then M&S, Zara or H&M as needed. In my subfusc needs, charity shops helped for some, I tried my favourite ethical sites but didn't have any luck, so then went to the better ones on the high street. Suffice to say that M&S has white shirts and black tights so my conscience is reasonably content.

And now for my favourite ethical sites! People Tree is heavenly and I love when I can justify a buy (which on my student budget is rare, very sadly; www.peopletree.co.uk). In fact, last night, as we watched a mediocre play at the amazing Minack Theatre (an outdoors theatre set into the cliffs in south west Cornwall with the sea as the back drop where a pod of dolphins totally stole the show!!), a People Tree hat was protecting my head from the chilly gale-like winds. I found black skirts and white shirts but being 'tiny' (as Rozzie frequently describes me) it's hard to find ones which properly fit. There is also Annie Greenabelle who is great for more teenager-y clothes, especially dresses (www.anniegreenabelle.com), and they're British! Finally, to warm your toes, Toms are just gorgeous (www.toms.co.uk). They do this great thing where for every pair of shoes you buy, they give a pair to a child in an impoverished place who doesn't have any shoes. Walking around in the African sun and seeing a child with a pair of Toms is just beautiful and makes me even more excited about their shoes! Thanks to them, I have black shoes to finish my subfusc outfit, which is all within my ethical shopping criteria.

So there you go. Now, I'd be the first to say that my ethical criteria aren't perfect! I know that. But, I'm also exploring how to live ethically and it is not easy! This is the best I can do at the moment, and it is a lot better than Primark and Asda.

The Mall has changed my life!

I know it's been a while since I've written anything here... over a month, I guess, as I haven't done anything new since being in Africa. Has it really gone so fast? My first month of being back in England has been a mixed bag - of course I love being back with my family and friends and I must say I am enjoying hot proper showers and having decent cakes to eat! But it has been a struggle living in the West again. It still is; I thought it would get easier, but in a way it's getting harder. The guilt of enjoying hot showers and using a washing machine has reduced; other things keeping confusing me daily!

On Monday, I went to The Mall for the first time since coming home (our local out-of-town shopping mall). Ironically, on my first day back I was in one at least three times the size when we went to meet up with Rozzie in Manchester, but it didn't hit me then. On Monday, it was like someone had punched me in the stomach. And that's why I'm writing this, because I can't get it off my mind and it is still making me so angry and so sad whenever I think too deeply about it. 

The first thing I noticed was how rushed everyone was - running from shop to shop, mums trying to get back to school stuff for uncooperative kids, gangs of teenagers seeking out the newest trend at the lowest price, dads trudging behind whichever female relative was forcing him through his very own hell on earth. When did we all get so busy? Why are we so busy? No one noticed me, no one made eye contact with me. I have struggled a load with this unsociable and self-centred culture since returning from the warm, relaxed, extreme friendliness of Uganda. I miss people talking to you out of the blue for no reason, I miss kids holding my hands when I walk even though I've never seen them before, and I miss how everyone smiles at everyone. And I hate it because I'm so easily falling back into the English way of 'don't make eye contact'! I can walk around my town and not smile at anyone; I'm doing my best not to, but if people don't look at me, I don't make the effort. Why are we like this? We're so bundled up in ourselves and our problems and our schedules and our to-do lists that we forget everything around us, even though there is so much to smile at, be thankful of, and bring joy to. I challenge you to think about it. I'm sure some of you can't relate at all, because you're so extroverted and friendly, and good for you, keep it up! But can we all please slow down a few notches and look up a bit more? I promise, it's good for the soul.

For university, I have to buy a specific outfit for certain occasions, so I was on the search for a white shirt and black skirt, figuring I would have to do this someday, so why not today? Because I am so not the same girl that I used to be! I've always thought I was quite ethically conscious and all, but Monday was a wake up call. I was in Next and as I walked down the stairs and looked over the sea of clothes covering their shop floor, all I could see were the men, women and children who made these clothes in less that adequate conditions (this isn't specific to Next, but to the whole generalised fashion industry). And I couldn't do it, I couldn't bring myself to buy something which will make their lives worse by keeping them in those sweat shops. 

This is what I can't get my head around: on the one hand, how do you know that anything is 'ethical' and doing good instead of bad? But on the other hand, how can we flippantly buy things for just a few pounds when someone half my age could have made it? Too many times I've heard the argument that 'at least they're getting some money as they have a job. If we didn't buy the clothes then they'd have no job at all'. I disagree. Surely, if we buy more and more ethical clothes, then demand for them will increase and these ethical companies will expand, creating more jobs to make up for the ones which are being cut by the cheap, non-ethical companies who are having to downsize because demand has decreased. I admit, I haven't done a whole load of research on this, but doesn't that make basic sense? I cannot bring myself to buy a Topshop t-shirt for £10 because I know that it will keep the person who made it in their horrendous job. 

Driving home I was despairing at our world! It's so globalised that you can never completely know where your clothes have come from - where the raw materials were grown, what environmental regulations are/ aren't enforced there, who made the material, who shipped it from place to place, on what pay, under what conditions was it stitched, how old was the man or woman sewing it, how did it get to that shop floor? You can never fully know. I felt lost and helpless and confused! But I've spent the last couple of days doing a bit of research into ethical brands and my hope for humanity is being restored. Seeing all the alternative ways to positively use your consumer power (and it is powerful!) has made me so excited (as well as wince at the thought of how small my bank account already is and the dent ethical shopping will make in it). Yes, you can probably never know everything about your clothes, but isn't it great if you know it's got a positive part to it at least?

And so, I've made a deal with myself about my shopping habits (for clothes to start with) from now on: I will only shop in charity shops or from ethically certified companies. I'm determined. Even though I have never seen a sweatshop or children missing school to sew sequins on a dress, God has awakened something. Maybe having met victims of south east Asia's sex trade, it's easier to imagine a victim of the fashion industry. I don't know. But I do know that whoever made my jumper, or jeans, or whatever, that their life is as equally valuable as mine and yours. It would never be acceptable for sweat shops to exist here, 'employing' teenagers to make garments for wages under the legal minimum. So why do we accept and support it when it's happening in another country? Aren't we all equal? Fully believing that every single human is equal to the next and that we all have worth and value, I can't support the belittling and devaluing exploitations which occur all over our world to provide me with a £4 t-shirt. Can you?

P.S. As I continue to research and explore the alternative and more ethical options out there, I am planning on sharing it all with you, so you can try to shop in a way which will make the world a better place too, if you like!

The final days

I'm sat in my room at Joy's in Maya as I write the first part of this blog. It's Thursday evening and tomorrow I leave this beautiful village and head back to Kampala. Today I finished the mural and the two posters I had left to do, cleaned the house and sorted things so packing will be easier when I can be bothered to do it. Tonight, we're having a 'final conversation' as Joy calls it or 'the last supper'. It will be lovely as we actually never eat dinner all together. On the menu is chapati and pineapple - perfect! My leaving hasn't really sunk in yet, but now that my room is empty, I have nothing to do and I'm just waiting for our final gathering, it's starting to settle. 

I had a moment on Saturday when I told one of the girls I walk home with from the clinic I only had one day left there, and she looked so sad. She's called Lillian and I am her best friend! She's beautiful, as you can see, and I will really miss her. But when my final day at the clinic came, its wasn't as epic as I had built it up to be in my mind. The kids were actually crazy so I spent a lot of energy trying to control them, stop them running havoc in the clinic and stop them attacking me. One boy, who until a week ago was too scared to come near me, made my nose bleed! I explained it was my last day, but the three little ones I've come to adore are too young to really get it. The older group who I walk home from school understood more, but it was such a beautiful day I couldn't feel too sad, I just felt blessed to have such great little friends! 

Now, as all I have to do is pack here, I'm getting sentimental. I feel so deeply blessed that I have been able to call Maya, especially this family, home for the last ten weeks or so. I have been blessed to witness the clinic slowly blossom (we have treated over 115 patients!) and to be a tiny part of a dream becoming reality. These ten weeks have really impacted me in ways I can't quite express yet as I'm still processing them. I pray I will be back one day! But now I need to steel myself for tonight, for awkward forced questions, great Ugandan food, beautiful family and for holding back the tears which I can feel building. 

It's now Sunday night and I've given up trying to pack so am finishing this instead. Thursday night was a lovely close to Maya and there were no tears! Apart from that moment in my room, it hasn't hit me that I'm actually leaving all of this so I'm not getting too emotional. Joy took me out for lunch to the poshest hotel in Uganda (the Queen stayed there when she came on her royal visit here). It was lovely but I felt so out of place coming from Maya to that! I had delicious Indian, so went all the way back to the start of my trip. When I was much too full, Joy brought me back to John's and that was my ten weeks with her finished.

There was a team here from Brimsham Green (half an hour from my home!) for most of this weekend; they left this afternoon. But that was really nice, being able to chat to people my age as we shared our experiences and processed going home together a bit. I tied in my final visit to the Acholi Quarters with their going to see the community and buy beads which worked well so I did my final bit of shopping there too. I stayed on to say my goodbyes to all the ladies there. Once again, I was so amazed by them! They are so so generous, selfless and joyful despite their circumstances. I am blessed to have been able to spend this time with them! Aren't they so lush?

And so this is it. I have just had my final dinner in Uganda - matoke (green banana) with groundnut sauce followed by pineapple and yoghurt for pudding, perfect! All I have left to do is shower, work out how to complete the puzzle of packing my rucksack and try and actually sleep. Tomorrow, I'm going out for breakfast with the John, Sophie and Patience before going to the airport around noon. I'm flying to Nairobi mid afternoon and then after seven hours of nothing in the airport I will fly back home overnight. This doesn't seem real! I'm really torn right now, the fact that this is my final night is making me really sad - I love Uganda, I love John and Sophie and Patience, I love that I feel so at home in the incredible country. And yet I know it's time to come home, I know this time was always coming and I am really looking forward to being back with my family again, and seeing everyone that I haven't seen for months! I think right now, at this exact moment, the wish to stay a little longer here and sadness that I have to leave are the strongest feelings in me. Please don't take this personally anyone, it's just where I'm currently at. But I'm sure that once the final goodbyes are said, and I'm sitting on that plane to England, I will be ready to come home. And in all of this, I have that deep peace of God which is making the whole thing of leaving so much easier.

Right then, the next word from me will be from Rose Cottage. This is the end of my gap year, and what a journey it's been! Love you all.

Full circle

I expect this is going to be my penultimate blog, or even final one, before I leave Africa. Wow! I feel like I'm right back in that last week in England again, seeing everything as a 'this is the last time...'

Two weeks have almost passed since coming back to Joy's and its the same as always, in a lovely, yet slightly monotonous, way. Last week was quite hard at times as I had plenty of time to think about home and to miss stuff about it whilst mindlessly colouring posters all day. However, I came through stronger as always when I rely on God and seek comfort in Him. My poster count is now up to seven completed with the eighth in progress, but due to little data I'm afraid you won't get to see it this time.

The days are very hot as we are firmly in the dry season here. Rain would be welcomed by most, I think, myself included as its getting to the stage where I'm having to ration my showers, and then use my shower water to flush the toilet as the cistern takes over 20 hours to actually fill up again. And when I turn the tap on which bris water in from the tank, its full of bits of dirt which have settled over night. It's kind of gross, I know, but you all have a never ending water supply! I'm just saving our limited resources. There is thankfully still enough water to shower every few days (I just try to ignore the colour of the water!), and to wash clothes - I did my penultimate hand washing of clothes this morning! Evenings are mainly consisting of colouring and labelling a body, killing the swarms of mosquitos (my reflexes are getting so good because of killing them by clapping) and reading a bit of my geography book which I started in India but have only read 120 pages of! 

This week has been much busier, so I'm back to loving everything about life here! I have started my mural in the kindergarten too, which I am loving. Sketched it out at the beginning of the week and started painting it yesterday. It's the biggest piece of art I've done, and it is so much fun! It's also much more tiring than colouring an A1 poster, but hey ho. I will eventually put a photo up so you can see it, but it is just as well you wait a while until its finished. I reckon Tuesday should be the day of final touches, which is just as well as I will be heading back to Kampala on Friday so will need those couple of days after to wrap up the posters and clean and all. Oh, and sometime in my last week here I am also hoping to find time to start reflecting on and processing the last few months and preparing myself for going home. No time to miss you all anymore!

One week left here in Maya - two clinics, four beautiful walks, one walk with beautiful children, two posters still to do, one Sunday school and a mural to finish. By Friday evening I should hopefully to back at John's which I am really looking forward to; John, Sophie and Patience are like my family and I can't wait to have another few days with them before I leave. Sadly, the timing isn't so great as for the most part of my three days back there, John is hosting another team so I can't have the family all to myself. But I will be back someday, so it's all good. In those three days I will continue to to reflecting, processing and a lot of praying as well as getting the final bits I need to buy, errands to run, packing to do and friends to say goodbye to (including an afternoon at the Acholi Quarters). So there you go, the run down of my final ten days in Uganda! This week I am having an Internet free one which will help me focus on God and all that has happened, so don't worry about my silence. Have a lovely week or so until I next write. Love you all.

Culture shock

I have so much to share with you! That's the only sentence I remember from the two sides of A4 I spent an hour drafting today at the clinic for this blog. Typically, I left it inside my Geographical magazine in the second drawer in the clinic. By the time I'd remembered this, I was already ten minutes down the road with my regular Tuesday group of school kids who I walk home every week, and I'd endured a 'conversation' (more him talking at me in Lugandan and me looking very confused and slightly intimidated) with a drunk man who I'd had no desire to see again! So, I will start over, but I'm afraid that my forgotten draft will be so much more moving, beautifully written and succinct than is.

As you may know, I spent last week back at John's in Kampala with mum and the CRED team she was leading. The team were teaching a load of kids in the Acholi Quarters for five days who otherwise wouldn't have any schooling, and so I tagged along, eager to see old friends. The week didn't disappoint - the team did great, and I loved being back with the ladies and many of the kids I had taught for two months. I enjoyed it so much that my original plan of being in Kampala two days extended to the whole week. It was such a delight, seeing the kids with such happy smiles getting attention and love and education when they often get none. And the fact that I was remembered by so many was extremely touching! 

On the Thursday night, a Canadian woman who has been working in the Acholi Quarters for the last three years cam to John's house for dinner with us. She works in partnership with Ugandan there and they provide holistic trauma counselling, discipleship, job training, relocation and so on for the Acholi people. She came to share just why this community needed these things so much. I knew some of the history she shared with us - of the twenty year war in the north started in the '80s led by Joseph Koni, of the horrific things the Acholi people suffered which caused so many to flee, some ending here in Kampala. On my first Sunday at Joy's, one of the oldest boys sat down with me and shared some stories of what his people suffered. But last week, names and faces were put to these stories which always makes them so much more powerful, because they're personal.

One story we were told was the story of Bob (but I've changed his name). Bob and his brother had been sent to live in Kampala when Joseph Koni and the Lord's Resistance Army started their rebellion. However they had to travel back to their village in the north when they needed money and so forth. One day, they did this and on arriving home, their father told them that they could not sleep in the house tonight as it wasn't safe, they had to sleep in the bush. For the rest of the day they visited old friends and had a great time, so much so that they ended up staying at their friends house instead of doing as their father had told them. That night, the LRA came and abducted Bob, his brother and a group of their friends. They made them walk for miles in the dark, and hours later they stopped and split them into two groups - one of which would live whilst the other would die. Bob was in the group who were forced, for fear of their own death, to watch whilst Bob's brother and friends in the other half were hacked to death right in front of them. Horrendous right! It got worse. The rebels then got a huge cooking pot and started to boil the various pieces of the boys. Then, they told the surviving group that they would now be the murderers of their friends as they were going to eat them. Thankfully, the government soldiers turned up before this command could be forced into reality. As the fighting started, Bob ran. 

He is doing much better now after taking part in trauma counselling! Bob's is just one of four stories we heard that night, which reduced most of the team to tears, and these are a drop in the sea of Acholi people in the Quarters. The fact that people like Bob have lived through such harrowing things, and yet are being healed and are going on to live and love and smile and work and move on is quite extraordinary to me! I feel so privileged to call some of the people in that community friends, and to have spent time with such incredibly strong people.

Life is much safer now for the Acholi people, even in the north there is peace again, but many in the Acholi Quarters still have to struggle to make a living. One of the main sources of income in this shanty town is found in the three quarries surrounding it which is where so many of the women and children are found working. Harriet is the 'head' (if that is the right word) of the group of women in the bead making cooperative John works with, and so the teams work with. She used to work in the quarry (did so for 17 years or so, I think) and according to her she would earn 1000 shillings a day. To is the equivalent of 25p! To double her earnings, she would take all her children to work with her. But many of the women have found a safer (both financially and physically) way to make more than a few coins - through marking rolled paper beads. In contrast to the quarry, one single stranded bracelet sells for 1000; a broad bracelet costs 2000, which is equivalent to keeping a child away from the quarry for a day. After a lovely evening of shopping by the team and a few calculations, mum and I worked out that the total amount we had all purchased worked out at the amount one woman would earn working at the quarry for almost four years - we essentially had brought enough to keep one woman from this dangerous work for four years, or a woman and her family for two years! They are powerful beads! 

Sadly, one of the boys I used to teach, a wonderful boy called Maundy (the one in the blue top) didn't make it to all five sessions the team ran last week. When I asked why he hadn't come for a couple of days, he said he'd been in the quarry, and that he couldn't go that day either because he was babysitting (he was one of the ones I would teach who always had a tiny baby on their hip). It broke my heart! He should at least be allowed a week of being a child, he's only 10 years old. 

Thanks to all the beads being bought by various teams and other people who are buying them, there are going to be fewer Maundy's and more and more Dan's and Morgan's who's mums can now afford to send them to school. We just need to buy more beads I guess!

I told you I had a lot to say! I'm over halfway though. So I'm back at Joy's for the next two and a half weeks. My week in Kampala was wonderfully refreshing, despite being extremely full on compared to my rural way of life, but isn't that always the case when you change company and surroundings, especially when you're with family and the amazing Acholi people! As I was going to bed on Saturday night, I saw the baby bat was back, this time drowning in a bucket of water. The girl who stays in this house with me was just coming in, so I told her in a 'what should be do' sort of way. She got the bucked and threw the water with the bay outside and then shut and locked the door. What? Africans do not like bats apparently, and don't have the 'try and save a baby anything' thought process I thought was pretty common. So, sadly, after ten days of not being seen, the bat has probably met its end with some night hunter, or by the chickens who invade out compound during the day.

I got another culture shock on Sunday as I was about to go to church. Church allegedly starts at 9.30am (African time), but I don't go down until the main service starts at 11am. Joy called me over into the garden when I walked past on my way, and told me to stay with her a while. All very odd! We were basically hidden from sight with banana trees. It turns out that the kids (barely classed as kids - the youngest is 11, the oldest claims to be 17 but we think he's at least 19) were being beaten because they were late to church. They were very late, an hour and a half, but to be beaten for that?! I was so shocked! And troubled. This is one of the aspects of Ugandan culture which I cannot understand. I have heard a load about beatings in school, but never before in churches! Shouldn't the churches be the example, the light in the dark place? But Ugandans fully accept beatings as a form of discipline; it's not even questioned! It's their culture, and they don't even see that it's wrong. (I would like to say that this is the first time I have ever seen beating actually in this home, and Joy tries to discourage it as best as she can). One of the girls came home from school one day having been beaten on her elbow. When we asked why, she said they were beaten for every question they got wrong in a maths test... She got one wrong! Isn't that praised in our society, only dropping one mark, getting almost full marks. But she was beaten instead. She's in year 5! They all say that beatings are much more frequent in primary schools because the kids are stubborn, so of course they should be beaten. But one of the boys here goes to a private school nearby, he's 18 and in year 12 (equivalent). His whole class was beaten the other week because one boy was acting up. He's 18! 

I could go on and on about all the cultural differences I ave experienced here, but I think this is more than enough for now. I know it's not the cheeriest blog ever, but you are getting a very real insight into life here, as well as the hope and power of our actions in buying and in how we spend our time. But, the make it all a bit more jolly, here is one of my all time favourite kids who I love dearly, Innocent. If he can't make you smile, you're heartless! Love you all.

Refugees, an America and a bat

I didn't realise it has been quite so long since I blogged! I'm very sorry for the prolonged quiet period, but I needed it in a way and I can now fill you all in on life very happily. Quite a bit has happened in the last four weeks, enough to hopefully make this a relatively busy blog anyway. 

In my last blog, I mentioned a potential visit to a refugee camp. Well, it happened! Joy, Amos, one of the girls and myself set out on a Thursday afternoon on the five hour drive to Mbarara and the guest house we would stay at slightly beyond it. Mbarara district is beautiful and home to over 95% of all matoke (savoury banana) and milk in the country! It's also where Museveni, the president, comes from originally. So there you go! 

After a quiet night, we set out from the main road going deeper into the rich countryside to a school they visit every month or so, supported by a Korean church. It's the smallest and most run down school I think I've ever seen - the whole school was smaller than a standard school hall at home, but taught over 100 kids from primary one to primary six (reception to year 5 equivalent). We gave out juices and bread rolls to all the students who were very excited by having two muzungus there and then Joy preached to the older classes combined. As part of an illustration, the students were asked to guess which country they thought I was from (I hadn't been introduced yet) and these were there responses in order: Uganda (I loved this one!), South Korea, America, Canada, Russia and North Korea. Only when I had mentioned football and Amos mentioned the Queen did they get the UK - so that's what we're famous for! After, we all asked them questions and gave out various gifts as prizes. 

Before we left, they all sang to us and have us some papaya and beans. We were only there for a couple of hours, which was a long way to go for such a short time, but it was a great experience. Amos drove us through the 'camp' before heading back so I could see how different it is from the connotations that go with the phrase 'refugee camp'. In this area, the Ugandan goverment has given land to Congelese refugees and allowed them to build their own houses and integrate into Uganda basically. It's a pretty cool way of doing it, as families are now settled in their own homes and can work to make their living - in fact a load of the beans we get brought to Kampala are from this area and are grown by the refugees. Sadly, there were lots of kids in the area we drove through who clearly don't go to school but are used as extra hands to bring in the shillings, and the houses are very small, basic mud huts, but this way of supporting refugees seems, to me, to be quite a good way of doing it.

Around this time I also made my final decision as to when I will be coming home, and maybe this is a reason I haven't blogged in a while as it has taken longer than I expected to sort out and to be completely at peace with my decision. But it's all finalised now, and I will be back on English soil by the end of July! Just one month tomorrow! Wow, that's really soon; it also feels ages away - the cruel tricks of time. So from now on I will be tying up things here, finishing jobs and preparing all the unknowns of coming home.

One of the things I will doing at the clinic is training up a lovely lady to take over from me when I leave. The re opening of the general clinic has been postponed until the autumn, as John is now extremely busy with various teams and visitors until the end of August so doesn't have the time to seek out those dedicated staff we need. The dental clinic is still going on twice a week and is keeping a regular number of patients coming. Our most regular treatment is extraction as pros don't do regular dental check ups here, and so come only when the teeth are beyond repair. The kids who live around the clinic are getting used to me - a few come and play everyday, and every Tuesday when they finish school and walk past the clinic, a group of five or so pick me up and I walk them all home! So cute!

I have also had a friend from America visiting for ten days. He is a family friend from when we loved over there who we have kept in touch with since and visit whenever we are in the States and so during our visit last summer, mum planted an African seed which resulted in him spending about a month in Africa, ten days of which were in Uganda with me. It was really nice having a familiar face around and it was a lovely few days. Due to various things, he didn't get to stay here at Joy's for very long at all, but the kids all loved having a guy around, even though it was for only a couple of days! We started painting the kindergarten on one of the days (there was more paint on the walls than us, promise), which I am tasked to finish before I leave here, hopefully with the help of some of the guys here! 

His being here meant I have been back to Kampala a couple of times in the last fortnight. It is always a blessing to be back at John's with him, Sophie and the beautiful Patience! They are such a special family and I feel very much at home there (but I still prefer rural Uganda over cities in general, although there are a few luxuries I do enjoy whilst being in the city - running water, an actual bed and so on, which I can happily live without, but I appreciate all the more when I have them for a few days). I didn't realise how much I miss Patience when I am gone, but being back and having remember me and her play so happily with me is wonderfully heart warming! She can't say my name, but to her, I am 'puh' which originated in games of peek-a-boo when I first came to Uganda four months ago - she cant say 'boo' but said 'buh' and now it's 'puh'. She's adorable!

In between these more noteworthy events I have been continuing with spending a lot of time on the posters for the kindergarten. I have almost finished five, but have at least four more to do before I leave. So this will fill up a lot of the coming weeks, as well as painting the rest of the building and doing the mural for it. I really hope I have time to do at least the kindergarten mural! Joy asked my to do one for the church, but realistically I'm not sure it will happen, but we will see. 

And the exciting thing of this weekend: I see mum tomorrow! Yay! She's coming with a CRED team for a week, so I am meeting them for lunch at the clinic after church and then will go back to Kampala for a few days with them (the length isn't decided yet). They will be working in the Acholi Quarters, teaching kids for a week. I went back there on Sunday with Austin, and again on Monday to have more time with Catherine and the other women I spent so much time with. It was so so special, going back and seeing all the women and many of the kids I taught. It was a reminder of how blessed I was through it and what a great two months it was, despite all the difficulties at the time. 

I almost forgot the excitement of Thursday! How could I post this without telling you about how I became a mum for a day! When I got up, there was a baby bat drowning in the toilet, so after a speedy panic, I fished him out and bat-sat him for the day. He was so cute! I've never been a bat lover, but he was lovely and always wanted to be with me instead on in the home I made him in a box (after reading they can carry rabies, I held him in a towel, so I was safe, don't worry). 

He didn't eat anything or drink even though I tried many times. After warming him up and him resting for the morning, he got very active and agitated in the box in the afternoon. I got him out and he started trying to fly (only a couple of feet) about the room and was clearly freaking out. So I climbed on a chair in the bathroom and with the help of a mop, I got him into the roof through the gap in the ceiling which he must have fallen through. So, I think, he is back there and safe and with his family again - that's what in choosing to believe anyway! I keep checking the toilet, and its been two days without him reappearing, to my relief. It was a very bizarre day, but it was nice to have some company and it was a privilege to see how he went from being completely terrified and inactive to crawling and flying about. I don't love them, and i doubt I  would have been so attached to an adult bat, but in general the species has gone up in my estimation!

A change of pace

Last time I wrote things at the clinic were slightly unsure as we had lost our doctor. We had a great three days having a volunteer dentist from the UK at the clinic, but after he had left things have changed again. The general clinic has been closed for a week now, and looks set to stay so for at least one more whilst the search for dedicated personnel continues and we process a renewed licence. I haven't been in touch with John this week so I'm afraid I have no news of how the search is going. The dental practise is still happening twice a week, so I am at the clinic for two out of seven days at the moment. Yet again, my life has changed pace.

The first few days of being closed I had nothing to do, so hung out at Joy's and rested. I got the day off last Saturday from the clinic and Joy took me to the equator along with Amos, her fellow worker, and two of the girls. We live about an hour north of it, it turns out. I had obliviously crossed it going to and from Rwanda last month, but I could fully appreciate the painted line and cheesy sign this time around. It was lovely to be out seeing more of the Ugandan countryside and getting to know some of the people I'm living with better, with the help of pizza to fuel conversation. On the way back we visited Lake Victoria and despite the choppy waves and murky water I was so tempted to dive in! I didn't, but swimming is one thing lacking in my life. I can't complain too much though - as I'm writing this, the sun is scorching and the wind is rustling in the banana trees.

But now I am full of focus as I am being given the opportunity to stretch my artistic muscles which haven't been used in ages! Joy is opening a nursery next year and so I have been tasked with making the posters for the walls. The alphabet is complete and I am currently doing numbers 1 to 20. I love it! My perfectionist self is out in full force. She has also just asked me to design a mural for the wall, which I can paint when the building is finished! I am so excited!! This is a pretty perfect job for me and in a way, I want to keep doing only two days a week at the clinic so I can be arty for the rest of the week. But, of course, I will support John completely as and when the clinic moves and I do enjoy it there too - I can organise to my hearts content and colour code spreadsheets, what's not to love? And I miss the daily walk and all the kids too.

On Thursday, I accompanied Joy, Amos and another of her workers, George, to Luwero district where she was looking at land to buy. I hadn't met George before and I like him; he is very funny! As we drove through the small towns where he lives and works in the district, all the children would run to the road and shout 'bye muzungu!' at Joy and I (this is completely normal). George made us all crack up by saying 'I look after their pigs but they don't say bye to me, they don't been know you and they love you!' It was so funny! We were definitely on African time that day and the phrase 'he is coming' was said many a time whilst waiting for landowners to amble up hours after we arrived. It was a fun day out though - it always is travelling in this beautiful country - and it ended in a very western way of watching X-Men!

Friday night was pretty big for me. Joy had asked me last week if I would share a testimony with her family here, and I had said yes even though the thought of doing so freaked me out! I've never been one for talking a lot, and having to be open with all these kids was daunting. But God is good, and He is strong when we are weak. I shared some of the things that has happened to me this year and they all listened so attentively and politely, and I don't think I bored them too much! God kept me calm and focused through out so I ended up enjoying myself. The old 'muzai' (an old and respected man) who is our night guard was the most talkative when it came to questions which was so cute! 

So for this week I will be drawing and teaching the two boys in the evenings. Oh, and there may be a trip to a refuge camp too! But who knows what the coming weeks will hold and what the balance between Joy's and the clinic will be. God knows, so I am very happy where I am!

The back of beyond

I'm back in Kampala for a couple of nights whilst John is going to and from the clinic every day with a volunteer dentist from the UK who is here for three days, so I thought I'd let you know how things are going after my first week in Maya. 

I love living out in Maya! It's so beautiful and peaceful. Coming back to Kampala has actually been quite a shock - experiencing traffic, noise and busyness again. I am much more suited to living rurally I think. It has been so lovely seeing Sophie and Patience again. Patience gave me the most beautiful welcoming yesterday, running out and squealing when she saw me. She's never done that before and it was very humbling that she remembered me, didn't cry and was happy to see me!

Every day (except for Sunday) I have been at the clinic. I leave Joy's around 8ish each morning and get home between 5.30 and 6pm, so the days are pretty long. Patient numbers are slowly increasing as word gets around that we're open, but most of last week was pretty quiet. It meant I could record all our stock though and get things organised, which my perfectionist self found much satisfaction in! I afraid I don't actually have a photo of the clinic, which I will rectify soon, but this is the view from my 'office'.

We are having a few teething problems with finding committed staff though which is quite hard. Our doctor stopped after just four days of working, so now we are frantically trying to find people to fill in. But the medical system here is seriously messed up so greed is a huge issue we are having to tackle in recruiting for the humble, rural clinic. Doctors can have several 'full-time' jobs at various government hospitals and so get several salaries by going to each place of work for a couple of hours but signing for the whole day. Likewise dentists are 'full-time' lecturers and yet teach for two hours early in the morning and then sneak off to a practise and get paid for both. It's crazy! Finding dedicated, passionate and selfless people is very tricky. But John is so resilient and determined! He's done the clinic very cleverly - by building on already brought land, using solar panels for electricity and rainwater storage to provide all the water, at least monthly bills aren't a problem! Please do pray for the clinic and John as he continues to bring his vision into a reality.

My favourite part of the day is the walk to and from the clinic. It is a beautiful walk which takes between 30 and 40 minutes depending on the amount of mud and if I am joined by any of the villagers. Everyone is super friendly! They all smile and wave when I pass. The kids are too cute- they run out to the road shouting 'muzungu' and 'see you' or 'bye' everything they see me. They're all starting to trust me which is so lovely! I've had several bizarre experiences of intimidating looking men with huge machete blades in hand giving me the brightest smile when I say good morning. And an old man is calling me his wife - makes the proposal I got yesterday seem practically normal in comparison, at least that guy gave me the choice.

Last week was pretty rainy and so walking on the dirt roads was a messy business and I often reached the clinic or home a couple of inches taller thanks to the cloy-ey mud collecting on my shoes. Thankfully I haven't had any slips yet; that's one experience I will happily skip!

I love staying at Joy's orphanage. It is taking a while to get to know the kids there because they all stay in their houses and I am in a different one and being out all day means I don't see much of them. It's a lovely compound and they are all very polite and friendly when we do see each other briefly. Joy (the Korean lady who started the home) has been in Uganda for almost nine years and is full of insights into the culture, as well as into everything else. She is very chatty and so we have spent a lot of time sharing our faith, our experiences and our encouragements. It's really lovely to have someone so likeminded and open in their faith - we have really good conversations about God, which I have missed since leaving India. And she's a great cook! I am getting spoilt by having food from three different cultures most days - Korean breakfast, Ugandan lunch and either Korean dinner or European (depending on who cooks). It's just as well I'm walking twice a day or I would gain even more weight due to the food here!

Every Wednesday night and Friday night Joy's family have a service together. It's a wonderful atmosphere of community and despite having actually talked it many of them, being together in Christ makes you feel so united. On Sunday, we had church which was all youth and children, and after they had a sports day. Apparently this happens monthly, and it was a lot of fun. Some games were really bizarre and thankfully I didn't have to take part in many! I taught I game we learnt in Cambodia on outreach to them which eventually was understood and enjoyed, and I was coerced into playing netball with the girls too (not the proper version as we lacked goals and positions, but it was a lot more violent than I remembered it when I was in school). Having a day off from the clinic meant to got to hang out with the kids (most of whom are teenagers so kids is the wrong collective to use) which was so lovely! They are mostly shy, as am I, so it is pretty awkward with most of them, but the couple of guys who came and spoke to me made me feel very at home. It's a wonderful place, and being away for these two days has made me appreciate it all so much more, and miss it. 

As of tomorrow I will be back out in Maya with no trips to Kampala for the foreseeable future, which suits me just fine! I will probably start tutoring the three youngest boys (about 10 or 11) tomorrow in English and maths which should be fine - I'm just grateful I'm not having to teach the 18 year olds! So that's what's ahead - days at the clinic, evenings at Joy's, lots of walking and only God knows what else!

One week in the land of a thousand hills

Last week I was in Rwanda and it was seven days of much needed rest. It was about time I had some time outside of Uganda and, yet again, mum's contacts came in handy. I had no idea what to expect from the week as I'd been very African in organising it (i.e. vague with details) but I'd heard so much about this place from Mum and Rozzie that I was excited to see it, be in a new place and breath new air.

By bus, the journey takes 11 hours and it is the most beautiful journey! I could happily make that drive every week just for the incredible surroundings. 90% of the journey is through rural country and so the whole way has views like this. I wish I had taken a load more photos, but public buses where you are the only tourist isn't the most comfortable photography setting! The Rwandan part of the journey is much shorter than the chunk in Uganda, and is full of patchwork lime green paddy fields in the valley with terraced hills on each side and red dirt tracks cutting them up, contrasting with all the greenery. In Uganda, the hills are more rolling and rustic. It is idyllic! If you ever are in east Africa, please make this journey.

I was staying with a CRED partner, Pius, and his family in their home in Kigali, the capital of this small country. Pius is an amazing man who manages to balance being a father to three kids and a husband, with working constantly on various different projects. He was very busy the week I was there, which was fine with me as I hung out at his house a lot getting to rest up after the last two months and process all God has been doing in my life. I also got to see a fraction of his work, which includes somehow being involved with a catch-up education school for ex street children, all 226 of whom are still in vulnerable situations. The CRED team were here for a week last in July, so I got l see where mum and Rozzie had been and loved, which was great. Thankfully I didn't have to teach! The structured school setting actually intimidated me a little after the last weeks of chaos I've had. 

The school is doing a great job with very limited resources and provide primary education, as well as vocational skills, for those who otherwise wouldn't get any education. 

Kigali is worlds away from Kampala, especially the Acholi Quarters! I actually struggled with culture shock in the few days I was there (who knows how I will be coming home if I was that affected by Africa). In fairness, Kigali is very developed and growing quickly. It's clean, organised, well structured, full of huge houses, landscaped and feels a lot more like a capital city than Kampala does. There was barely any trace of poor people as far as I could see (I didn't see much of the city, but drove around most of it) which made me uncomfortable.

This year is the 20 year anniversary of the '94 genocide. Sadly, I didn't get to learn much about the history of the country until the journey home. Pius had lent me a book which included a brief account of the genocide and his incredible story of forgiveness. 

The week was just what I needed, and I really hope I will be back in Rwanda in the future. 

So now I'm back in Uganda and am about to embark of my next chapter of African life... rural life. On Monday I will be moving out of Kampala to a rural village an hours drive outside of the city. It won't be fully permanent as I expect I will be coming back to John and Sophie's a few times as this really feels like home, but the majority of my time will be living out in the green peace and quiet of Maya! A Korean missionary has a children's home where I will be staying, as well as teaching some of the kids every joe and then. There are 17 'children' (many of who are almost my age) and it's a little daunting but I'm excited for a quiet, simple life too. John is starting a general clinic out in the village where I will spend lots of time during the days helping set up systems, doing health posters and whatever else I can do to help make the opening weeks successful. So, that's my next seven weeks at least, until Kenya! I have no idea if I will be able to pick up 3G out there; if I can't, I will be very quiet for the next few weeks. Go with the 'no news is good news' stance for now and we will see how things pan out.

Two months in and time to move on

The last two weeks at the Acholi Quarters have been jam packed and wonderful. Despite missing two days because of rain, we have learnt colours, shapes, animals and how to tell the time all in the beauty of structured classes! It actually worked! Well, I'd say it had a 75% success rate as it took most of the two weeks for the kids to understand it and accept that some days I wouldn't teach them. In the end I'm pretty sure they have benefited from what they probably see as an abnormal amount of structure. 

By having smaller numbers of kids, I could give them more individual attention which many needed. It also meant I could be braver in what we tackled. As a result, we made kites as part of our shapes topic...

They loved it when we had stories! This one was all about animals and was well received despite me having to fight with drilling work going on to be heard. 

And we did the classic mask making this week to end our animals topic. They didn't quite get the idea of making them like a particular animal and all had very similar designs, but they loved it and had great fun in all the colouring and sticking.

Yesterday was a day of farewells as sadly it is time to move on from these beautiful people to meet others elsewhere. The kids and I had a party as our final class with games, dancing and laughing. I couldn't understand half of the games they were playing (lots of chanting, dancing and bizarre rules) but they all had fun which is what I wanted. These are the most amazing kids - they have so much on their small shoulders and yet they still smile every day and are loving, joyful and hard working. I will miss their smiles, their hugs, and maybe even them prodding and poking me (but we will see about that one!).

This is the group of ladies who welcomed me into their community and who I met with twice a week to do basic English. These ladies are truly inspiring - all of them are full time mothers and full time bead makers. They are basically raising their kids on their own; I have only seen one of two of their husbands, but I don't know where the others are or what they're doing. They have welcomed me in and have taken the time to practise basic English despite always working, cooking, cleaning or patching up their kids. Incredibly, two of the ladies haven't missed a single of the sessions and all except one (the one missing from this photo) have been remarkably consistent. They all want education, showing the gap for adult literacy. Betty, the lady in the bottom left corner of the photo, has a very special place in my heart. When we had our first session, she couldn't write, say or order the alphabet. She is one of the two who has come twice every week, and in our last class on Thursday she did almost the whole alphabet on her own, she can write her name, the letters in the right sizes and the colours. She is the 'lowest' in the class in a western rating but she is the top for me because she has progressed so far and has never given up despite being embarrassed many times and very unconfident. All of these ladies are precious and deserve all the blessings in the world.

I will be going back a couple of times to visit the Acholi Quarters before I leave so this wasn't the ultimate goodbye, thankfully. Please pray for them - the ladies and the kids - none of them will go to school when they start back next week after Easter and are in the daily grind of living in poor conditions; they are all so hopeful and positive, and I pray that God will meet all their needs including the needs of love, value and education.

So, what's next for me? Well, on Monday I will be travelling to Rwanda for a few days. I will be staying with the CRED partner, Pius, and his family whilst seeing the work he is doing, and hopefully having space to rest and process all that has happened in the two months since I arrived here. I will be back next Sunday. After that, I will be spending a lot of time outside of Kampala in a small town called Maya about an hours drive east of the city where John is starting a doctors clinic. I will be getting involved in this in some ways, which I will be more specific about when I actually get there.

I hope you all had a good Easter weekend. I was planning to blog then, but never got round to it. Sorry! Have a good couple of weeks until I write again. For those of you going back to uni, enjoy! And all the best with revision and exams - I am thinking of all of you entering this exam season. God bless you and keep you.

A miracle move

I set out for the Acholi quarters on Monday morning ready to face the kids and implement my new timetable. Mum and I had been there for a couple of hours on Saturday morning on CRED business so I saw many of my children who were extremely excited after not having seen me for a week. As expected, they all ran to my boda boda when I arrived and got my poor driver a little agitated as he navigated the rutted tracks and small energetic children. We walked to the hall where I met the loads in charge who said I couldn't use it that day. After sitting for a while and considering my options (putting off teaching the kids outside really because of past experience) I checked whether I'd have the hall the next day. 'No' was the answer, they were using the hall everyday until the 22nd! My heart fell. There was no way I could spilt the kids into classes outside because there was no way I could keep the other children out and focus on the ability groups one at a time.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were surprisingly very good days! The kids were very well behaved despite being outside, and I am slowly learning the better ways of engaging them and not. This week we tackled colours and shaped and they've done really well with them, especially the colours! Many knew most of them before this week, but they can all vaguely recognise the different colours and most can say their names unprompted. Recognising the names are proving to be more difficult, but the older ones are grasping that. The oldest boy I teach, Collin, is perhaps 10 (it's hard to tell because their size doesn't reflect their age due to the harsh environment they're brought up in). He stayed one break whilst the others all went for tea, and so I asked him to read a book we'd read before break. He said he couldn't read, but when encouraged, he could do the colours and some of the fruits I pointed out to him. His smile when he realised he could read some words was beautiful!

I turned up on Thursday and the two older girls in my class who have unofficially taken the role of translators and crowd control for me, told me they had a surprise and led me away from the place we learn outside and into the community. I was carried along by the majority of my class, at least thirty kids all trying to have a section of my arm! We eventually (due to the snails pace I had to take so I wouldn't stand on any small toes) turn up outside the church I went to at the end of my first week spent in the Quarters. 'This is our new classroom' they announce with huge smiles!!! Praise The Lord! 

I had mentioned to John about not having the hall on the Monday when I got home drenched by the storm we got caught in. He said he'd come in and talk to the ladies and that we'd work something out, because I wasn't at all enamoured with the prospect of having to teach outside every day for three weeks. As good as they were (thanks to extended break times in part), few would actually learn because I would have to pitch my teaching between all the abilities. In reality, I knew John wouldn't come until at least a week later. But it turns out he phoned one of the ladies and she sorted out the church for me to use. It was a complete miracle that it happened so quickly - things out here take forever to organise, especially in a place as chaotic as the Acholi Quarters where disorganisation is the norm. But God sees our needs and loves to provide for His children! So, tomorrow I am starting with the new timetable and we will see how it goes. I am expecting it to take a while to be accepted and understood, and I don't know how well it will really work. So many of the older children come with thief younger siblings, so I don't know how many will come if they are spilt up, or if I will still end up with all ages in the class. But I am trusting God in it all, and know that His will will be done.

Mum came back from Zambia on Thursday night, so we had a final couple of days together. Friday night consisted of a Stoneys (our favourite drink here) and watching Les Mis (our favourite film) and it was a very lovely night. We had to move part way through to under a mosquito net as they were eating mum alive - she hasn't been eating marmite! I promise you, I have actually seen a difference when I eat marmite for breakfast and when I don't. The week Rozzie and Dad were here I didn't have any marmite for various reasons (one being the delivery of hot cross buns I'd ordered!) and by the end of it I'd been bitten more times that week than in the whole month previous. I'm back to eating marmite most mornings and the number of bites are decreasing! Good times. 

Yesterday we went out for lunch and had a final shaking of ideas for my coming weeks, of general discussions and prayer before the drive to the airport. It was sad waving her goodbye and knowing that she won't be back again in a few days, nor will I see her until July when we meet in Kenya. But I have peace about being here, and with things more planned for the coming weeks, I am happier in why I am here too. That, and I got to lie in till almost 11am this morning, so my tiredness is slowly being reduced.

I hope you all have a blessed week and that it will hold all sorts of joy for you. Much love.