Got to love those "donkeys" that carry all the cargo and people...the four legged one and the one with wings.

The solar panels being put on the top of the invertor house

Mud glorious mud unless you are trying to get a plane off the ground.

The work team

Simon hard at it with the man from the solar panel company trying to use every available moment to get the job done in time.

Simon said by the time they got back to Kajjansi Scotty needed a serious bath.

Beautiful South Sudan taken from the top of a mast.

Catch up

I can't believe it has been so long since I have posted something on our blog.  This month seemed to go by at top speed.  It started out with Joshua's 9th birthday on the 1 May and then tomorrow will be Zara's 7th birthday.  We had a joint birthday party for them last weekend with some friends.  There was a total of 16 children and 10 adults.  Wow it was full on but the kids had fun with a BBQ, cakes, sweets and games which included water surprisingly enough.

Simon was away this month for a couple of nights with Aid Sudan.  He travelled to a place called Nasir which is about 4.5 flight hours one way.  It is in the middle of nowhere and very much a"village".  Simon was helping the teams with an invertor system so that they could power the radio for broadcasting chr*stian programmes.  It was a busy time for the team to get it all done so long hours were put in but were very satisfied when everything was accomplished.  They had hoped to come home a day earlier but the planes wheels got stuck in the cotton soil (black mud that is very sticky) and so there was no way they could take off.  They just prayed it didn't rain anymore as they would have been delayed further.   Thankfully the rain held off (answer to prayer) and they were able to get off the ground and return to Kampala.  We give thanks for the Aid Sudan team and for the ministry they are doing in South Sudan.

The MAF Guesthouse closed this month due to economic restraints.  It was sad to see this ministry come to an end but we are grateful that all the staff have found new jobs and that they are all working in the same area so we get to bump into them now and again.  I will continue teaching two of them in a Bible study during their lunch hour so that is a blessing that we can keep up with that.

We had a guest from Switzerland this month, Ruth Stocker, who is from Simon's home church.  She stayed with us for two weeks before heading to the east of Uganda to look at some other ministries.  It was a pleasure to have her in our home and Joshua and Zara also enjoyed all the additional attention that comes with having a guest which included Swiss chocolate and toys.

Next week we have another guest, Emma Blackwelder who is a student at a University in Missouri.  She will be using her summer break to do some ministry in Uganda.  We first met Emma in Dubai when we were there two years ago and have kept up with her since then.  She will arrive in a weeks time whereby she will stay with us for two weeks and then head out to Fort Portal to do some women's and village ministry with George and Luan Fellman.

Some other news is that we have changed churches.  After over 8 years at Calvary Chapel we decided, for various reasons, that it was time to move on.  Over the years we have enjoyed the teaching and worship at Calvary and have gained so much from our time there.  For the past two months we have been going to a church plant called Freedom Church which comes out of the UK.  (www.freedomchurch.co.uk)  They are located in a cinema in the heart of Kampla so the seats are very comfortable. :)  The worship is very different to what we are used to but good for us to get out of our comfort zones.   The teaching and creative pieces they display on the big screen have challenged us in our christian walk and make us think bigger which is sometimes what we need.  Joshua and Zara are loving Boom Town (Sunday School) and also get a lot out of the main event.  For now we will continue at this Church unless the Lord moves us on. :)

We just heard from Simon's parents this week that Simon's Mums' cancer has started to grow again.  We are not completely surprised as we knew that things were not right when they came to visit us in Uganda in April.  However, it is disappointing to hear the news.  Please pray for Bethli and for Fritz as they come to terms with this news and the chemotherapy that is planned for 18 June.  Of course, we pray for healing for her which we know God can do but more importantly we pray for God's will to be done in this difficult situation for them and the rest of the family.

I am coming to the end of teaching our women's Bible studies on Spiritual Warfare.  It has been a 5 week series and it has been fun to worship and study together with the ladies.  God has given us all we need to stand firm against the enemy (Ephesians 6) and we are grateful for the truths we have learned through His Word.  This Wednesday will be the last week and we will be looking at the lies women believe.  Please pray for us that we would be women who listen to God and His word and not the lies that the devil would like to sow in our minds.

I do hope to add some photos to this blog soon to show you some of the things that I mentioned in this "catch up".  Hopefully in the coming week if the internet stays at a reasonable speed :)

Thanks again for your prayers for us.  It makes a difference in our lives!!!!

Hangar Dedication

The ground being prepared for the hangar structure to go up

Delivery of the hangar in containers....its amazing that this structure fit in a few containers...glad I wasn't the one packing it.

More ground preparation....

Finally a structure

a structure with a back wall and sliding doors being assembled

Offices being constructed

 A view of the new hangar and the old hangar...

The celebrations about to commence with the MAF US team working on a plane at the same time :)

Could this be a future pilot from MAF....one our wee "MAF kids"

This post was supposed to be available last week but we have had some internet/connection issues.  Not all the photos uploaded and it took almost 24 hours to upload these ones :)  Anyway glad it has worked now.

Two weeks ago we had the dedication of our new MAF Hangar.  It was a challenging project from the beginning to the end but we are glad to see it up and in use now.  Together as a team we celebrated with worship, speeches and food.  We pray that it will be blessing to all those who work in it and that our planes will continue to be a blessing to many in the countries that MAF Uganda serves.  If you would like to see the video of the dedication then you can find it at the following location https://www.zeta-uploader.com/1561147595

If you are reading this and you supported this project in anyway then we say a big thank you to you.