Wednesday 28 October 2009

Medical evacuation update

In the last post I mentioned that Simon was doing a medevac for a man who was suffering from convulsions. He had had a stroke the previous day and so was in need of treatment from the hospital in Kampala. Last night I received a phone call to say that the man had died. Simon and the medical staff did a lot to keep this man alive even during his transporation to Kampala. Before they took off the man had stopped breathing. Fortunately they were able to get him breathing again and Simon was able to hook him up to the oxygen in the plane. It can be quite frustrating for all those involved to make this medevac happen and then at the end of it the man dies. Pray for the family, his co-workers and friends as they mourn his loss. Also for Simon and the MAF operations staff as they come to terms with it too.

As believers we can hold onto the fact that God has all our days numbered and this does not come as a surprise to Him. He had a purpose in all of this even although we can't comprehend it.

Monday 26 October 2009

A long awaited update...

October has been a busy month for us between one thing and another. As you can imagine there is lots to tell. I will omit the photos for now otherwise this update might take a bit longer to complete.

This month we had more visitors. This time from Switzerland. Simon's two sisters and brother-in-law made a three week visit to Uganda. They were able to enjoy some of the delights of Uganda and took in a trip to Kidepo National Park. They saw lots of animals including a leopard which was a special treat. It was great to spend some time with them and Joshua and Zara loved all the extra attention.

Simon had a special trip out to Buvu Island in Lake Victoria this month with some other members of the MAF team including Sam from Jesus Film Ministries. This day was set aside to go and mark out a possible airstrip and meet with the local people there including visiting a school and donating some gifts. It was a productive day but you could tell that no women were on the team as most of them got sunburned (didn't put enough sunscreen on) and some didn't drink enough water. Simon's face was peeling for days. :)
We now just need to be patient and await what is next for this project on the islands.

Two weeks ago Zara had a school trip to Bananule Primary School. This is a local school that her year supports. The classes had a cake sale and the money raised went towards new school supplies and toys for this local school. Zara's teacher asked if I would join them so Therese (Simon's sister) and I went on the class outing too. The children all mingled well together and even did a dance together which was fun to watch. I will post some photos of the morning in the next few days.

Last week was half term for Joshua and Zara so we decided to take a few days off. We went to Jinja (2 hour drive from Kampala) to a place called Kingfisher. We have been here many times for holidays because it is reasonably priced and has a swimming pool which is a necessity when you have two fish in the family. :) Joshua and Zara swam everyday and almost all day till we had to drag them out of the pool for their meals. They had a fun time especially as some of their friends also turned up for a holiday too so they had plenty of friends to play with.

Zara had her first sleepover this month too. One of the other MAF families has a daughter who is slightly older than Zara and they are good friends even although they now go to a different school. Zara was invited for a sleep over and so we decided to let her do it seen as the family don't live too far from our house. It wouldn't have been too disasterous if we had had to go and get her during the night. As it happened she had a fantastic time and didn't want to come home. This, of course, started a chain of events and before we knew it Joshua was having a friend over for a sleepover. This weekend they both want to invite a friend over for Saturday night. Our family of 4 will increase to 6. We shall see how it goes.

Today Simon was supposed to fly to Congo but due to some difficulties in getting clearances MAF Uganda couldn't fly into Congo and MAF Congo couldn't fly into Uganda. Simon flew up to a place called Arua in Uganda and then the passengers were then transported by road, across the border, into Aru, Congo where they would be picked up by the MAF Congo team. Not the best way to travel but the only solution at the moment. We are praying that the clearances come through soon so normal operations can start again.
Also while Simon was in Arua he got a call for a medical evacuation. A man was having problems with convulsions which the local hospital couldn't deal with. Simon and the OPs team were organising for him to be transported to Mulgao Hospital in Kampala where they have "better" facilities. We pray that his condition will be diagnosed and the correct treatment administered.

A week from Thursday I will be leading the ladies Bible Study in the MAF Office. I would value your prayers as we look at Proverbs 31 - The virtuous woman. The ladies seems excited to study it and i ask for prayer that I would be a clear communicator and that God would guide me as I lead. Pray that these Bible Studies would be life changing and that we would allow God to change us accordingly.

Well I think that gives you a snippet of what is going on with us right now. I will try and do a picture update soon.

Monday 5 October 2009

Ladies Bible Study








We are now into the fourth week of Ladies Bible study with the employees in the office. Luan and I have been encouraged by all the ladies who are so willing to participate and learn from God's word. We have already heard comments like "...I never knew that before and I am learning so much.." It is great to see each woman contribute to the study either by asking questions or sharing what they have learned. We are going through the Women of the Bible and are spending two weeks on each women. So far we have covered Eve and are half way through Miriam. Please continue to pray for the women that they continue to grow in their knowledge of the Bible and that it would transform their lives. Thanks to all of you who have been praying. We are seeing God answer prayers.
In addition to that we have a Bible Study for the International Ladies on a Wednesday. I am hosting it and Luan is teaching it. We have about 6 ladies getting together to study the book of Daniel. It has been quite an eye opener to us all as we study. Daniel's complete confidence in God is quite amazing and as we study the prophecy section of Daniel we see very clearly that we are indeed living in the end times. Exciting times!