Tuesday, 27 January 2009

Guests come and Guests go.... and so do family!

The fated day had arrived. That day was Sunday. It was time for my Mum to return to Scotland. Airports are fun places to be at when people arrive but not so fun when they have to go. We were sad to see her go as it was becoming normal just having her around. She helped us a lot in the time she was here and I am sure she went back home for a rest. :) Joshua, in particular, took it badly and even cried in the afternoon saying "I miss Granny". We consoled him with the fact that we would be home in the summer and see her again then.

Yesterday more guests arrived. Due to a change in plan we had to put these guests in our MAF Guesthouse as their original schedule meant that they overlapped with Mum's visit. Anyway we decided to give our guest room a break and keep the plan as it was. Hillery and Helena are here in Uganda to see the Life of Christ play take place in Kiwangala, near Masaka. To give you a bit of a background. Hillery Ingram Smith used to be my Bible Class teacher at Wester Hailes Baptist when I was a wee lass. We were reacquainted again through this Life of Christ play taking place in Uganda. It is amazing to see how God orchestrates things to work out in ways we could never picture. She has been the costume designer for this play and has been working with local seamstresses and Pastors since June last year. She made an initial trip in June 2008 and then a following trip in August 2008. Now she is here to see the production with a friend from Church. It is exciting how God has opened doors for this play and we pray that many will understand the Gospel because of it and come to a new life in Christ. Please pray for this minstry that God will make Himself known not only in this area of Uganda but that it might spread further afield even into neighbouring countries :)

As I write Simon is overnighting in Sudan. He is picking up a team from a place called Kauda tomorrow. We pray for good weather for him as we have had quite a bit of rain and storms the last couple of days. It seems rainy season has started early. The fun rides to school are about to start. :) Praise the Lord for 4WD!

Well it has been a busy day and I am also struggling with the cold and sore sinuses so I think it is time to call it quits for the night.

Wednesday, 14 January 2009

Trains, Planes and Rockets!




While Joshua and Zara were on holiday over the Christmas period they made up different games in the garden to keep themselves busy. One of them was to sit on top of the water tank and play trains, the other one was to climb up the tower of our second water tank and play rockets and then the third one was to use their Cubby house as a plane all kitted out with screw drivers in the wood for controls. Joshua was studying modes of transport last term so I think that this might have had something to do with it.

Yesterday I found them in the train with a passenger..one of the chickens. The funny thing was that the chicken seemed to be quite happy sitting in there with them or it just froze with fright. Our new batch of chickens are very friendly and squat down when you go near them so you can tickle their feathers. What a family we have :) Anyway enjoy the photos of the train and the chicken..apologies for the darkness of the photo still having camera flash issues!

A wee update

Apologies for the delay in updating our blog. I had hoped that 2009 would start quieter than 2008 finished but alas it didn't so we are already playing catch up. I thought it was about time that I gave you a flight story as it has been a while....

Simon had a flight over Christmas and was able to pick up a lady who had damaged her eye. She was cutting grass and a hard object bounced up and hit her in the eye. She went to the local clinic but they were unable to help her. A MAF flight happened to be flying into that area so she was able to get on the flight with her three year old child and go to the eye clinic at Mengo Hospital in Kampala. This eye clinic was set up by Christian Blind Mission and they do a marvelous work. We haven't had any feedback yet but MAF was glad that they were able to assist this lady in getting the best treatment for her eye injury.

Just to give you an update...the Project Management course has started and we are half way through. It is going well and very practical which is what we need. There are two projects we are working through in class and then we have our own practical project that we are doing so we can use the tools we have been given. Jacqueline and I are actually doing a joint project for the Guesthouse. We are looking at designing a self contained apartment. It is fun to do this project as it might become a reality one day once we have the funding. The guesthouse is doing well and has been full for most of January so far. So much so that we are having to turn people away. Maybe we need to look into doing a bigger project - starting a hotel :)

Thursday, 1 January 2009

Christmas 2008 and New Year 2009

Zara the Cinderella Princess

Zara the Fairy Princess


Joshua the Super Hero

Zara enjoying all the new gifts



Joshua was so excited about Christmas Day. He couldn't open his gifts quick enough!


Christmas Eve

A feast fit for a King!


Zara was a bit unsure of the sparklers at first....thanks to Granny for the treat!

Do you like the fire coming out of Joshua's head :)


We enjoyed a busy time over the Festive period. We had 14 people celebrating with us on Christmas day but only 10 for the dinner. What a feast we had. We also ate outside on the verandah which was great. We have been in Uganda 7 years now which we can hardly believe so we are getting used to the warm Christmases. Thanks to all of you for the gifts that you sent us. I know some of you have sent us packages but we are yet to receive them. Hopefully the issues with the postal service will be sorted out soon.
We enjoyed a special Christmas Eve service at Church remembering the real reason we celebrate Christmas. This was the first time that we took Joshua and Zara and they thought it was such a treat being out so late at night. Zara loved the music and was dancing away until she got a bit too carried away and Simon had to stand at the back with her.
Above are some hightlights from our time over the Christmas holidays. They are not in any specific order and I apologise for the dark New Year photographs. The flash on our camera seems to have died. I guess we were too late to ask Santa for a new camera :( Anyway we are grateful for the time that we had with my Mum and so many friends. Now we are trying to get back into work mode. Easier said than done :)