We are back in Uganda

Well the last 6 weeks have come and gone.  It doesn't seem that long ago that we were preparing for furlough and some holidays and now its gone.  We have hit the ground running in Uganda.  We arrived on Sunday and Simon was already doing preparation for a flight the day after.  Nothing stands still for long :)

We had an interesting time on furlough with Joshua and his toe infection.  Thankfully he has recovered well and the wound has completely closed and is looking great now.  We are thankful for all the medical attention he was given and that God's timing was perfect again in that it took place in Switzerland.

We managed to see quite a few people whilst in Switzerland although our time with Joshua in hospital changed plans a bit but we managed to meet all the commitments that were made and enjoy some time with some of Simon's family up in the mountains although a bit shorter than planned.

We spent some time in Dubai with a friend en route back to Uganda.  We had an amazing time in the desert, visited a water park and enjoyed different sights in downtown Dubai.  We also were able to help our friend move house (his wife and children were in the States visiting family) which meant we ended up staying with him the whole time rather than moving to a guesthouse.  It was a win win situation for all :)  I will upload some photos at another time.

Simon is back into flying again.  He did a base check for one of the pilots today and is off to Congo tomorrow.  I guess we are really back into the swing of "normal" life again.  Joshua and Zara start school on Thursday so need to get them ready for that.

As ever there are always things to be done.   Our washing machine sounds like an airplane taking off at full speed and so we have decided not to fix it again.  It was fixed not long before we left for furlough but the same problem has come back.  I guess getting 10 years of life out of it hasn't been a bad deal.  So time for a new one.  I could hardly hear myself think a few minutes ago due to the noise of it.  This is for all you ladies out there who can't live without a washing machine.  :)

Today Joshua and Zara met up with some of their friends and had a great time of fun and laughter.  So much so that all the kids begged that we do a repeat tomorrow :)

This morning Zara and I did some gardening.  We pulled out bushes and made some more space for our strawberry patch.  She is a great wee worker and did a wonderful job helping.

This week I am planning for Bible studies and making sure they all start off well.  This is because I will be heading to Scotland next week for a close friends wedding.  Need to make sure everything runs smoothly before I head off again.  Looking forward to catching up with people and seeing family.

Please pray for Simon, Joshua and Zara as they remain in Uganda.

Please pray also for Simon's Mum.  Her test results after the last set of chemo were not very encouraging and so she needs to decide whether to start more chemo or not.  Pray for the pain to subside in her stomach and back and also for the right decisions to be made with regards to further treatment. 

Thanks to all of you for your prayers and encouragement whilst we were on furlough.  We know God looked after us during that time.

Update

The doctor gave the all clear yesterday for Joshua to fly on Saturday.  We are thankful for answered prayers that Joshua is doing much better.  It will take a while for the wound to heal completely but we are grateful that the infection is gone.  He will have a small procedure tomorrow to remove some dead skin.  Pray that the local anaethestic works.  He is not good with pain :(.  It has been a learning process for him for sure.

We are grateful to the hospital staff and insurance company for being so efficient and taking care of the situation.  We were glad it happened in Switzerland and we didn't have to make another trip to Nairobi if it had taken place in Uganda.

Thankful also for Simon's parents who have helped out immensely too.  Also for the visits we have had with people here in Switzerland.  It has been good to catch up with those that partner with us and enable us to continue our work on the field.

We leave on Saturday for Dubai where we will stay with friends and have a holiday together as a family before heading back to Uganda.  We will be ready, when the time comes, to get back into a work/school routine.  We will keep you updated as and when we can.

Update on Joshua

Sorry for the delay with an update on Joshua but we did not have access to the Internet this week.  Joshua was discharged from hospital on Monday and is now an outpatient and goes to the hospital every second day to be seen by a wound specialist.  We headed up to the mountains on Monday as it was supposed to be our time away with Simon`s parents and his sister and her husband.  It was a beautiful setting and we enjoyed good weather.  Simon took him back to the hospital on Wednesday for his appointment (about 1 1/2 hours away).  He is progressing in the right direction and we are truly thankful for that.  He has been seeing a wound specialist the last two visits.  We are praying it heals well from the inside to the outside well.  He has done well overall now that the pain has subsided.

We were able to obtain a wheelchair for Joshua which meant we could take him out and let him see something of Switzerland.  Joshua and I went up on a gondola together yesterday while everyone else went walking.  We felt like we were on top of the world as everywhere we looked all we could see was mountaintops.  Quite amazing.  We also went in a pedalo boat in the afternoon which he steered around the lake while I pedaled :)  Simon and Zara headed our way after they scootered down part of the mountain so jumped in the boat halfway through our time.  It was a lovely day.  There are more stories to tell as you can imagine but they will be better told with photos at some point.

Joshua just walked in the door from the hospital.  The surgeon would like to see him again on Tuesday and then he will say whether we have a green light to travel or not the following Saturday or whether we need to stay longer in Switzerland.  The care we have received for Joshua has been amazing and we are grateful to all those involved.  Thanks also to all of you who have been praying.  We have really appreciated it.